Tugging at our Hearts: Miss La Mesas from Tacky Wacky Carnival to Today's Modern Pageants

The self-confidence, and balance, needed to become Miss La Mesa was no better reflected than by Diane Gibson, Miss La Mesa of 1957.  At the opening of the Bancroft Freeway (today’s state Route 125) in March 1957, Gibson and her fellow pageant competitors were asked to help with the ceremonial ribbon-cutting.

Wearing swimsuits and 3-inch heels, pageant contestants lined up on one end of a tug-of-war rope. On the other end were Jacob Dekema (California Highways regional director), Mayor Julius Acevez and members of the City Council, plus other VIPs.

Miss Gibson was precariously stationed on the hood of the city’s fire engine—a true feat of acrobatic skill.  (We are told that such “dangerous” gymnastic duties are no longer required of today’s pageant winners.)

Of course, the skill sets of Miss La Mesas were far greater than high heel balancing.

Suzanne Reamo,  Miss La Mesa of 1958,  was a talented operatic singer and performer, for example.  Although she lost the 1958 Fairest of the Fair contest to La Jolla’s Rachel Tejada (later known as Raquel Welch), Suzanne won the Miss California contest in 1960 and ended up as runner-up in the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City.

On March 4,  La Mesa again taps one of its talented, effervescent and attractive young ladies to be honored with one of its most-coveted civic titles.  For the 59th consecutive year, a bevy of youthful female competitors will be judged on poise, presentation and ability to show grace under pressure—all to serve a memorable year as Miss La Mesa.

Starting in 1952, the official crowning of Miss La Mesa has been an annual tradition.  That year, 17-year-old Sandra Hesen, a senior at then-new Helix High School, won the first formal Miss La Mesa pageant. 

Many of La Mesa’s “favorite daughters” have sought the coveted honor ever since—with the winners serving admirably as civic hostess, spokesperson and community representative. 

Although the pageant dates to 1952, the oldest reference to one of our young ladies as Miss La Mesa appears in 1929.  In October, the Fox Movie Theater Co. sponsored a countywide “beauty contest” to coincide with the opening of its new Fox Theater in downtown San Diego (now Symphony Hall).  La Mesa’s Rose Tillery won the local popularity contest to represent the city as Fox Theater’s “Miss La Mesa.” 

No formal “beauty contests” are documented in the 1930s.  Although the La Mesa Scout would feature the local Masonic Job’s Daughters’ “Honored Queens” and Grossmont High’s “Harvest Queens,” the only other reference to a La Mesa girl representing the city in the pre-World War II era was in 1940, when Grossmont High’s Joan Kaller took part as “Miss La Mesa” in a Miss County American Legion contest. 

World War II, however, put the dampers on any such contests for four years.

After the war, La Mesa was primed to celebrate America’s victory and promote its growing city.  In 1945, Mayor Ben Polak helped organize the late summer “Tacky Wacky Carnival” to help raise funds for a war memorial auditorium (the name inspired from an annual Grossmont High School “dress-down” day event).

One of the fundraising events was a Carnival Queen contest in which the public voted for its favorite young lady.  Grossmont High’s Margie Hicks was the 1945 winner with fellow Foothiller Colleen Campbell outpolling five other contestants in 1946. 

In 1947, the Carnival Queen event reflected its lighthearted moniker when La Mesans voted 82-year old Mrs. J. H. Dockweiler as Tacky Wacky Queen.  La Mesa’s youth and beauty were not left out, though. Earlier that spring, the Chamber of Commerce named Betty Jeanne Hopkins as La Mesa’s representative to the newly created countywide Fairest of the Fair contest at the Del Mar Fair, and La Mesan Barbara Mackay won the Pacific Beach “Miss San Diego” contest.

In the summer of 1948, however, a local polio “scare” forced the cancellation of the Tacky Wacky Carnival and the revived Fiesta de los Flores Flower Show (started in 1929 and stopped during World War II). 

The Tacky Wacky Carnival would never recover. 

In 1949, several La Mesa candidates would vie for queens at the El Cajon Country Fair, Spring Valley Carnival and El Cajon Mother Goose Parade, but none would claim a title.  An apparent lack of sponsor provided no La Mesa entrant for the Fairest of the Fair contest as well.

In 1950, La Mesa re-entered the pageant scene. Grossmont High School sponsored a Fairest of the Fair contestant—senior Mitzi Beck.  In addition, 14-year old freshman Ann Engfelt, sponsored by La Mesa’s Comanche Bowl bowling alley and restaurant on El Cajon Boulevard, would be named the princess of El Cajon’s Mother Goose Parade. 

But in 1951, lack of a sponsor resulted in no known La Mesa contests and contestants, although the Fiesta de los Flores would greatly enlarge the revived annual flower show that year with the first of its five-year run of float-filled “Fiesta Parades.”

In 1952, the chamber-sponsored Fiesta de los Flores announced that it would name a Fiesta Queen to reign over the enlarged event while the La Mesa 20-30 Club offered sponsorship of a Fairest of the Fair contestant to be formally honored as Miss La Mesa.  For the next four years, this resulted in two La Mesa “beauty contests” honoring La Mesa misses. 

From 1952 to 1954, the same young ladies won both contests: Sandra Hesen (1952), Sandra Sebby (1953) and Marilyn Hawkins (1954).  (Although in 1954 Rolando Village’s Jo Johnson, also a Helix student, entered the Fairest of the Fair contest for Rolando and won the overall title.)

Only in 1955 did the two contests result in different winners.  Mary Youngblood being named Miss La Mesa for the Fairest of the Fair competition and Carol Wilson named Fiesta de los Flores Queen. (Carol’s sister Linda would be named Miss La Mesa in 1965.)

When the chamber removed its support of the Fiesta de los Flores in 1956, the Fiesta Queen contest was dropped.  The 20-30 Club still held the Miss La Mesa contest that year, with Connie Mastorakos winning the title.

In 1957, the La Mesa chamber stepped up and became the main sponsor for the Miss La Mesa contest, a role they would hold for many years.

With the event having stable support, the pageant became an annual highlight of La Mesa’s social scene.  In addition, with the chamber’s position as the city’s official public relations consultant during this period, the public role of Miss La Mesa became that much more visible. 

The pages of the La Mesa Scout from these years are filled with many photos of Miss La Mesas at nearly every civic and business event in addition to their participation in the Fairest of the Fair and other contests (Over half a dozen Miss La Mesas would eventually win the Fairest of the Fair Contest up to its cancellation in 2005.)

As we look back, these photos, and the events that Miss La Mesas presided over, certainly reflect their times.  In the 1950s and early 1960s, it can be noted that a majority of the publicity photos for the Miss La Mesas feature them attired in fashionable one-piece swimsuits—and 3-inch-high heels!

Many also turned their experiences as city spokeswomen into modeling and public relations opportunities. 

Charlyn Helsel, Miss La Mesa of Miss 1962, was the first to connect with the new San Diego Chargers football franchise.  In addition to her Miss La Mesa duties Charlyn served as Miss San Diego Chargers and AFL All-Star Game Queen, when the game was held in San Diego in January 1963. 

Miss La Mesas would continue to be involved with the region’s initial major league sports franchise.  Laura Autry, Miss La Mesa of 1977, was a “Chargerette.” Miss 2000 Alex Stathoulis, Miss 2003 Troy Lemperle and Miss 1991 Marci Mitrovich (Latimer) of KOGO radio, and Miss 2004 Ashley Borden also were Charger Girls.

Miss La Mesas were not limited to promoting and cheering for sports.  With the changing role of women in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it was only fitting to see a great athlete serve as a Miss La Mesa. 

In 1971, Grossmont College student Patrice “Pat” Donnelly won the contest.  Halfway through her term, she resigned to pursue a place on the U.S. Olympic track team.  Donnelly, a world-class hurdler, would fall short of the squad in 1972 but would make the Olympic team in 1976 and compete in Montreal.

Unfortunately, this column does not allow space for telling all the wonderful and inspirational stories of our Miss La Mesa alumni. 

And certainly the role, requirements and fashion statements of Miss La Mesas have changed over the years.  By the mid-1960s, the attire became more “professional,” with business suits more associated with the high fashion inspired by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. 

In the early 1970s, the women’s liberation movement and popular culture trended toward a more “casual” and less “beauty queen” appearance for the “Me Decade,” while big hair and shoulder pads ruled the day in the 1980s. (Oh, to have had the Aqua Net concession back then!)

Since 2004, the Miss La Mesa pageant selects not only Miss La Mesa, but also Miss Teen La Mesa.  Both young ladies fulfill the important role of representing our city at many civic, social and commercial events throughout their hard-earned year of service. 

It is no wonder that the more current focus on communication skills has led several recent Miss La Mesas into media and public relations careers, including Miss 2004 Troy Lemperle (Hartpence) of Channel 10 television.

As we celebrate our centennial over the next year, it has become a focus of the pageant’s current director, Alex Stathoulis Kuty (Miss La Mesa of 2000), to reconnect with all the past Miss La Mesas, especially those from pre-1980. (For example Miss 1955 Mary Youngblood is a judge at this year’s pageant). 

Kuty is looking to put together a reunion of all the former “Miss La Mesas” in 2012.  (See below for contact info).

So as 2010 Miss La Mesa Erynne Grecco and Miss Teen La Mesa Danamarie McNicholl-Carter pass on their crowns to new, and worthy, young ladies on March 4, they will join a special alumni club that has, and continues to provide La Mesa with, a tradition of beautiful, talented—and well-balanced—young ladies.

The Miss La Mesa Pageant will be held (along with the Miss Santee Pageant)  at 6 p.m. Friday, March 4, at the Sonrise Community Church, 8805 N. Magnolia Avenue, Santee.  Tickets are $20. For more information, write  MissLaMesaPageant@yahoo.com.

The Miss La Mesa Pageant and La Mesa Historical Society seek photographs, memorabilia, and to make contact with all Miss La Mesas in order to hold a reunion during the city’s Centennial in 2012.  If you know how to get hold of a former Miss La Mesa or La Mesa pageant queen, please contact pageant director Alex Kuty at MissLaMesaPageant@yahoo.com or the Historical Society at information@lamesahistoricalsociety.com or 619-466-0197.