A young lady from Pascagoula by the name of Katherine Wright, who was a friend of my family’s, became Miss Mississippi and first alternate to Miss America way back in 1949. This was before the pageant was televised, and I’m not sure it was even on the radio.
I was 7 years old at the time, but I still remember all the hoopla in town when it was announced that Katherine had come so close to the national title. As my mother said, “Everybody loves and adores Katherine.” I remember my 17-year-old sister Janice trying to explain to my 7-year-old mind what the Miss America Pageant was, but I just didn’t quite get the gist of it. I did, however, recognize what a beautiful and lovely person Katherine was, so I, too, was excited that she had almost become Miss America, whatever that was.
A couple of years later, one of Janice’s Phi Mu sorority sisters, Jessie Wynn Morgan, from Mississippi Southern College (now Southern Mississippi) became Miss Mississippi and was among the finalists in the Miss America Pageant, so I heard a lot about the pageant again. Then in 1955, Janice’s good friend, Janet Scheffler, became Miss Pascagoula and asked my pianist mother to ac- company her talent in the Miss Mississippi Pageant. Janet sang her way to third alternate in the state pageant that year.
I was 13 years old the summer that Janet was Miss Pascagoula, and Mother brought me here to Laurel with her for the two-day pageant. (For those who don’t remember, the 1955 Miss Mississippi Pageant was in Laurel. It moved to Biloxi the next two years before settling in at Vicksburg for the duration of time.) Anyway, after actually seeing the pageant, I now understood what it was all about, and this is when I became totally fascinated by it and officially became a fan.
The Miss America Pageant had its second national telecast the following September, and I’ve never missed a single showing of it since.
During the early 1970s, I even directed the Miss Belhaven College Pageant and also served as judge for several local pageants throughout the state. I’ve met and also become friends with several pageant winners throughout the years, and I’ve got a good eye for what makes a winner on the state level, and even on the national level. This is why I’m predicting that our next Miss America will be Jasmine Murray, the present Miss Mississippi.
I first saw Jasmine in the Miss Mississippi pageant in 2012, when she placed first alternate to the lovely Marie Wicks. Jasmine really caught my eye that night with her incredible singing, poise and beauty. I then saw her again in 2013 and couldn’t believe that she placed only in the Top 10. “What happened?” I thought. “She was better this year than last year.”
This past July, however, I tuned into the 2014 Miss Mississippi Pageant and was delighted to see that Jasmine was participating again. As soon as I saw Jasmine walk out on stage in this year’s pageant, I knew she was going to win. She was magical. First, she is an absolutely beautiful young lady. Second, she is one of the most talented pop performers I’ve ever seen. Add these two factors with her charm, poise, intelligence, articulation, and practical and pro- found platform, and I personally don’t think she can be beaten.
Take it from a long-time (and I do mean long-time) pageant fan, Miss Mississippi is the girl everybody’s going to try to beat this year in Atlantic City.
Remember Katherine Wright? Years ago, she opened a great Italian restaurant in Pascagoula, which was unfortunately destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. But during the restaurant’s heyday in the 1990s, she had a giant picture of all the Miss America contestants from 1949 hanging on the wall. Katherine and the 1949 winner just sort of jumped out at you from the picture. They were special. They had that magical something. They were obvious winners.
In the same way, Jasmine Murray just sort of jumps out at you. She has the same magical, sometimes indefinable qualities that make a winner. Mary Ann Mobley and Lynda Lee Mead had those qualities when they became the first two Miss Americas from Mississippi. Later on, Mississippians Cheryl Prewitt and Susan Aikin had them when they were crowned Miss America. Mississippi also had a couple of first alternates along the way: Patsy Puckett from 1966 and Joan Myers from 1968, and they both had these qualities.
Tune in tomorrow night and see if I’m not right. I know I’m stepping out on a limb here, but I formally predict that Jasmine Murray, Miss Mississippi 2014, will become Miss America 2015.
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