It is a centuries-old tradition for communities to pick a pretty girl to be the âqueenâ of their seasonal festivals. The traditional selection of a May Day Queen evolved into the beauty pageants that weâre all familiar with. In the mid-20th century, businesses and communities began to see the huge commercial possibilities of holding a contest where girls would compete just for the honor of representing their product or main export, from sausage to doughnuts . Below are listed just a few.Â
In 1955, the Zion Meat Company declared Geene Courtney the Sausage Queen of its National Hot Dog Week. Miss Courtney, who once appeared as a bathing beauty in a Three Stooges short, is reported to have been a staunch Catholic who refused to pose nude for Salvador Dalà . Because a girl has to keep her dignity. Â
Although the identities of past Apple Festival Queens are not clear from the festivalâs online history , each was part of the long tradition of Jackson, Ohio's Apple Festival Queens dating back to 1937 (interrupted only for WWII). The festival  still produces sweet crisp apples and queens today.Â
The Alabama National Peanut Festival began in 1938 (featuring key speaker George Washington Carver , of course). The 1939 Peanut Queen, Dot McArthur, wore a peanut swimsuit and presented a prize to one lucky winner.Â
Dark Shadows was a bizarre 1960s and '70s TV soap opera about a centuries-old vampire named Barnabas Collins. In a tie-in with the show, a Miss American Vampire contest was held. Regional winner Christine Domaniecki of Belleville, New Jersey, was crowned by the original Barnabas, Jonathan Frid. The national winnerâselected by a panel of judges that included Regis Philbin âwas Sacheen Littlefeather, best known as the Native American woman who refused an Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando . Â
The Circleville Ohio Pumpkin Show began in 1903 when the cityâs mayor decorated his office-front with a few jack-o-lanterns and corn shucks. It has grown considerably since then, and has crowned a Pumpkin Queen every year since 1933 (minus the years of WWII.)
The Muller Brothers Automotive on Sunset Boulevard, established in 1920, was a four-acre paradise for cars. The goal of this service station was to fill any automotive need a customer might have. By the time LIFE Magazine came to document the Mullers' 3 millionth car wash, there was no limit to what this piece of car heaven could provide. You could buy your car and get new tires, lube jobs, gas, a car washâand a magnificent polish job. Miss Polish Job was one of many beauty queens the Mullers promoted, including Miss Infra-Red Paint Job, Miss Auto Accessory, and Miss Lube Rack. Â
Precious little information is available about the Uranium Queens and their radioactive achievements , which we sincerely hope have nothing to do with overexposure and internal irradiation. At least uranium isnât absorbed through exposed skin.
Kris Nodland beat out 250 hopeful girls across America to be crowned Donut Queen of 1951. She posed with the Gingerbread Donut Boy to announce the opening of the 14th Annual National Donut Week, April 7-14, 1951. National Donut Day is still a holiday in America, claiming to have pre-WWII roots when women would bring donuts and coffee to wounded soldiers.
The Miss Sweater Girl contest was sponsored by the Wool Bureau and the Knitted Outerwear Foundation. Miss Jeanne Davis of Alabama was crowned Sweater Girl of 1952. A cute little junior miss was also crowned, and five years later a Mr. Sweater (âThe Man Weâd Most Like To Buy A Sweater Forâ) was added to the pantheon. Otherwise, it would have been a bosom-and-bullet-bra competition, which didnât fit the family image of the sponsors.Â
In the 1950s, chiropractors didn't get much respect. So they tried to promote the legitimacy of their profession by bringing on the pretty girls with the well-aligned spines. Girls who wanted to wear the Posture Queen crown would have to stand on scales, one under each foot. The goal was to have the same amount of weight distributed on each foot, proving perfect posture. Well-balanced Diane Stopky was chosen as the 1957 International Posture Queen. That girl has coccygeal vertebrae that just wonât quit!
This story has been updated from its original version.
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