Author: Johnathan Croyle / Source: syracuse.com
Miss America 2019 will be crowned on Sunday in a revamped ceremony, minus the pageant’s swimsuit competition.
Now in its 97th year, the pageant has been an American tradition for decades.
It began, as a way to increase tourism to Atlantic City as summer ended.
In 1920, a modest “Fall Frolic” was scheduled for Labor Day weekend.
Meanwhile, at a newspaper circulation manager’s meeting in Philadelphia in 1921, publishers were looking for ways to increase readership.
They hit on an idea of “photographic popularity contests” featuring young women. Finalists from each city would be chosen for their personality and social graces during citywide events, with each winner, called “Inter-City Beauties,” receiving an all-expenses-paid trip to Atlantic City’s Fall Frolic.
Frolic organizers saw the popularity of these newspaper contests and created a beauty pageant.
It was a hit and in just two years, it had grown from eight to 75 contestants.
In Syracuse, the Herald was the organizer of the Miss Syracuse contest, which decided who would represent the city in Atlantic City.
In 1923, Miss Syracuse was Eileen Snyder and she made an impression at the third Miss America Pageant.
The paper covered her journey every step of the way, often describing events in language that would make readers cringe today.
More than 400 local women submitted photographs for the consideration of the judges.
Eligibility was simple. A woman had to be a resident of the city for one year, at least 16 years old and unmarried.
The “expert” panel would quickly narrow the field down to 25.
Judges included Syracuse Mayor John Walrath, who the Herald said, “has taken a deep interest in the contest,” Syracuse University Professor Fine Arts George Hess, Olive Schiller, “whose artistic photographic studies are widely known,” photographer Edwin Hyatt, and John Burnes, manager of the Keith’s Theater.
The rules to be eligible to become Miss Syracuse were…
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