Guide to the Miss California Scrapbook Collection (1956 – 1985)

The Miss California Pageant was first held in 1924 in Santa Cruz, California. In the first years the competition was called the ‘Miss California Bathing Beauty Contest.’ A number of local Santa Cruz businessmen and politicians wanted to boost tourism and revenue by making Santa Cruz more like Atlantic City. This idea came from the popularity of the first Miss America Pageant held in Atlantic City in 1921. The first Miss California was Fay Lanphier of Oakland. There was a small controversy concerning her win and title as ‘Miss California Bathing Beauty’ as she could not swim. In 1925 she won the title of Miss America.

The pageant became vastly popular and drew huge crowds every year. In 1945 the Miss California Pageant began awarding scholarships. This changed the emphasis from a ‘beauty pageant’ to a scholarship program.’ The competition was moved from the boardwalk to the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium in 1966.

The competition was moved to San Diego in 1985. The franchise was again moved in 1994, it now resides in Fresno, California. The Miss California officials have maintained the assertion that the pageant is a scholarship program focused on career development, education, and community service, not just a beauty pageant.

Protests – There have almost always been protests associated with the Miss California Pageant. In the 1920s protests focused on women wearing too much makeup and showing too much skin. The protestors saw the competition as an indecent and immoral spectacle. Protests since the 1960s have focused on a lack of diversity and the negative effects on female body image. One of the most disruptive protestors was Ann Simonton. A former model and founder of Media Watch, she was outspoken about how the pageant objectified women. Some of her protests included wearing dresses and bikinis of meat (denoting that women in the competition were treated like meat), throwing a bucket of blood on stage, and creating the ‘Myth California’ counter-pageant with Nikki Craft. The ‘Myth California’ protestors wore sashes identifying them as contestants, such as Miss Behavin, Miss Understood, and Miss Ogeny. These protests were part of why the pageant was moved to San Diego in 1966.

Linda McPherson – This collection of scrapbooks was donated to the Museum of Art and History by Linda McPherson. Along with the scrapbooks, she donated other pageant materials such as photographs, videos, and a crown. In 1961 Linda McPherson, then Linda Epperson, won the title of Miss Santa Cruz and competed in the Miss California Pageant.

Series I. 1960 Scrapbook

Series II. 1970 Scrapbook

Series III. 1971 Scrapbook

Series IV. 1972 Scrapbook

Series V. 1973-1974 Scrapbook

Series VI. 1974-1976 Scrapbook

SERIES I. 1960s-1970s SCRAPBOOK

One (1) Scrapbook

Series Content and Scope

This series contains a large scrapbook. The cover is green with gold and emerald patterned details, and ‘Scrapbook’ written in gold lettering in the bottom right corner. The binding is a green shoestring. The book contains invitations to and from sponsors of the pageant, dinner menus, awards dinner programs, events programs, newspaper clippings, and other documentation of the pageants through the 1960s through the early 1970s.

Box ID #
3

SERIES II. 1970 SCRAPBOOK

One (1) Scrapbook

Series Content and Scope

This series consists of a large green scrapbook. It is thirteen by fifteen inches. The front and back covers are hard and green. The back cover is plain, while the front cover has an embossed gold patterned border and a shield motif in the center. The book is filled with newspaper clippings. These clippings include information on the sponsors, news surrounding the pageant, and press releases. Many of the clippings follow the lead up to the pageant, the win of Karin Kascher and encompassing her reign as Miss California.

Box ID #
3

SERIES III. 1971 SCRAPBOOK

One (1) Scrapbook

Series Content and Scope

This scrapbook is thirteen by fifteen inches. The front and back covers are a shiny reddish/orange color. The front cover has a gold border and crest. The scrapbook covers the 1971 pageant and the reign of Carolyn Stoner. Within the book are newspaper clippings, information on sponsors, tickets, lists of contestants, information on events, a ballot, and a pageant program published in the Santa Cruz Sentinel Newspaper.

Box ID #
1

SERIES IV. 1972 SCRAPBOOK

One (1) Scrapbook

Series Content and Scope

This series consists of a large scrapbook. The plastic cover is yellow with white flowers. The scrapbook contains information and news on the 1972 Miss California Pageant. The information contained in the scrapbook includes: newspaper clippings, information on contestants, sponsors, events, director, volunteers, information on the awards program, and advertisements for ticket sales. The clippings come from local and state newspapers. Many of the clippings cover the win and reign of Lillian Diane Wagner.

Box ID #
2

SERIES V. 1973-1974 SCRAPBOOK

One (1) Scrapbook

Series Content and Scope

This scrapbook, like the other in the collection is thirteen by fifteen inches. Its covers are green in color with beautiful gold embossed designs all over the front cover. The book has information from the beginning of the 1973 pageant to the first meetings of the 1974 pageant. The pages are filled with newspaper clippings, news about events, lists of contestants and sponsors, biographies of winners, there is also a pageant program with a list of past winners going back to 1924.

Box ID #
1

SERIES VI. 1974-1976 SCRAPBOOK

One (1) Scrapbook

Series Content and Scope

This series contains a large scrapbook, it is blue in color with a gold pattern embossed on the cover. The scrapbook contains newspaper clippings, stories about the events around the pageant, information on the directors, photos of the contestants, and profiles of some of the contestants. Many of the articles cover the win and reign of Alice Tobler in 1974, and Lucianne Buchanan who took over for her later in the year. The newspaper clippings are from both local and statewide newspapers.

Box ID #
2