Miss America 1969, the 42nd Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 7, 1968 on NBC Network. Miss Illinois was the winner, Judith Ford performing on a trampoline during the talent competition of the pageant. She later became a physical education teacher at an elementary school.
The event was the site of a protest held on the boardwalk sponsored by feminists. They threw feminine products, like bras, pots, false eyelashes, mops, and other items into a "Freedom trash can". The event was reported under the headline "Bra Burners and Miss America," which conflated the idea of the protest with men who burned their draft cards.
Results
Placements Placement Contestant Miss America 1969 – Judith Ford 1st Runner-Up – Catherine Monroe 2nd Runner-Up – Susan Thompson 3rd Runner-Up – Marjean Kay Langley 4th Runner-Up – Katherine Virginia Field Top 10 – Dellynne Cole Catching – Linda Fitts – Patricia Joy Burmeister – Brenda Joan Seal – Cherie Suzanne Davis
Order of announcements
Top 10
Top 5
Awards Preliminary awards Awards Contestant Lifestyle and Fitness Alabama - Dellynne Cole Catching Illinois - Judith Ford Iowa - Susan Alane Thompson Talent Florida - Linda Fitts Illinois - Judith Ford Virginia - Cherie Suzanne Davis
Other awards Awards Contestant Miss Congeniality New Mexico - Karen Jan MaciolekNon-finalist Talent California - Sharon Terrill Connecticut - Gunnell Ragone Idaho - Karen Ryder North Carolina - Elisa Annette Johnson South Dakota - Ann McKay Vermont - Elizabeth Sackler Wyoming - Carol Rose
Protest
A protest held outside Boardwalk Hall was attended by about 200 feminists. The protest, nicknamed No More Miss America!, was organized by New York Radical Women, included tossing feminine products, bras, pots, false eyelashes, mops, and other items into a "Freedom trash can" on the Atlantic City boardwalk.
A story by Lindsy Van Gelder in the New York Post carried the headline "Bra Burners and Miss America." Her story drew an analogy between the feminist protest and Vietnam War protesters who burned their draft cards. The bra-burning trope was erroneously and permanently attached to the event and became a catch-phrase of the feminist era.
A lesser known protest was also organized on the same day by civil rights activist J. Morriss Anderson. It was held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel a few blocks from the Miss America pageant. They crowned the first Miss Black America.
Contestants
+StateNameHometownAgeTalentPlacementAwardsNotes AlabamaDellynne CatchingBirmingham19Piano Medley, "Doctor Gradus Ad Parnassum", "America the Beautiful", & "This is My Country"Top 10Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award AlaskaJane HaycraftFairbanks18Popular Vocal, "Walking Happy" ArizonaLinda JohnsonWarren20Authentic Tahitian DancePreviously Arizona's Junior Miss 1966 ArkansasHelen GenningsBatesville20Popular Vocal, "What the World Needs Now is Love" & "Love Makes the World Go Round" CaliforniaSharon TerrillTorrance21Dramatic Reading, "Little Word, Little White Bird" by Carl SandburgNon-finalist Talent Award ColoradoPamela KerkerSterling21Ballet/Jazz Dance, "By Myself" & "Babalu" ConnecticutGunnell RagoneWest Hartford21Popular Vocal & Monologue, "Guantanamera"Non-finalist Talent Award DelawareGayle FreemanWilmington19Vocal & Guitar, "Times They Are a-Changin'" FloridaLinda FittsPanama City20Charleston Dance, "Twelfth Street Rag"Top 10Preliminary Talent Award GeorgiaBurma DavisWarner Robbins20Vocal, "This is My Country" HawaiiDeborah Ynez GimaKailua18Hawaiian Song, "Wonderful World of Aloha" & "Kaneha" IdahoKaren RyderWeiser20Magic Act, "The Shadow of Your Smile" & "Born Free"Non-finalist Talent Award IllinoisJudith FordBelvidere18Acrobatic Dance & Trampoline, "The Blue Danube"WinnerPreliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award
Preliminary Talent Award IndianaKit FieldIndianapolis21Vocal, "Why was I Born?"4th runner-upFeatured performer at Miss America 1970 IowaSusan ThompsonDes Moines21Piano, Warsaw Concerto2nd runner-upPreliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award KansasJane Kathryn BairParsons18Ballet Interpretation, "My Friend the Sea" KentuckyJanet HatfieldJeffersontown18Vocal, "I'm Glad There is You" LouisianaSusanne SaundersShreveport18Popular Vocal, "I Can See It" MaineBrenda Renee VercelesBangor19Tap Dance, "Step to the Rear" from How Now, Dow Jones MarylandKaren Anne HansenCollege Park20Vocal, "Just You Wait" from My Fair Lady MassachusettsCatherine MonroeLynnfield20Sign Language & Dance, "What the World Needs Now is Love"1st runner-up MichiganDarlene KurantMuskegon19Vocal, "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" MinnesotaMary WilliamsMinneapolis20Tap Dance, "Wall Street Rag" by Scott Joplin MississippiMary MillsMcComb19Piano Comedy Presentation, "Habanera" & "Le Poupée Valsante" by Fritz Kreisler MissouriKathleen GoffDe Soto21Vocal, "I'm Gonna Live 'til I Die" MontanaKaren FrankPark City21Western Vocal & Guitar, "I Want to be a Cowboy's Sweetheart" NebraskaDiane BoldtOmaha19Character Dance NevadaSharon DavisReno19Classical Vocal, "Quando m'en vò" from La bohème New HampshireMichelle GodfreyPortsmouth18Modern Interpretive Dance, "Tabu" New JerseyJeannette PhillipukLaurel Springs20Vocal Medley, "The Sweetest Sounds" & "Nobody Told Me" from No Strings New MexicoKaren Jan MaciolekAlbuquerque19Waltz Ballet, "Wunderbar"Miss Congeniality New YorkPatricia BurmeisterPortville24Classical Vocal, "L'Air des clochettes" from LakméTop 10 North CarolinaElisa Annette JohnsonNew Bern19Vocal, "As Long as He Needs Me" from Oliver!Non-finalist Talent Award North DakotaVirginia HansonBismarck21Semi-classical Vocal, "This is My Country" OhioLeslyn HipleLouisville19Vocal Medley, "If My Friends Could See Me Now" & "I'm a Brass Band" from Sweet Charity OklahomaBeverly DrewHarrah22Vocal, "Step to the Rear" OregonMarjean Kay LangleyMilton-Freewater19Classical Ballet, "The Dying Swan"3rd runner-up PennsylvaniaSusan RobinsonPittsburgh22Comedy Monologue, "Sis Hopkins" Rhode IslandArlene PintoWarwick21Vocal/Dance, "Thoroughly Modern Millie" South CarolinaRebecca SmithClover19Semi-classical Vocal, "America the Beautiful" South DakotaAnn McKayVermillion21Dramatic Monologue from This Property is CondemnedNon-finalist Talent Award TennesseeBrenda SealKingsport19Popular Vocal, "What Now My Love"Top 10Contestant at National Sweetheart 1967 TexasDiane HugghinsTyler20Jazz Dance, "Put on a Happy Face" from Bye Bye Birdie UtahKathleen Frances WoodSalt Lake City19Monologue, "The Promise of One Person on This Planet" VermontElizabeth SacklerPutney20Modern Dance Interpretation to Self Recorded Reading of "The Last Flower"Non-finalist Talent Award VirginiaCherie DavisClifton Forge20Classical Vocal, "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix"Top 10Preliminary Talent Award WashingtonJoyce StepanekIssaquah20Comedy Routine, "The Adventures of Huck Finn" West VirginiaCharlotte WarwickCharleston22Semi-classical Vocal, "The Impossible Dream" WisconsinMarilyn BrahmsteadtWisconsin Rapids21Vocal, "What a Difference a Day Made" WyomingCarol RossBurns20Clarinet Medley, "Clarinet Concerto" by Mozart, "Strangers on the Shore", & "Ji-da"Non-finalist Talent Award
References