It’s Formation, and the Application and Preparation Process

How much time does one need to prepare for a beauty pageant? I was unsurprised to find that it was an extensive process, involving months of preparation. Speech writing, posture practice, community engagement, sponsorships, the list go on. However, it was not always this way.

The process of the very first Miss Abbotsford Pageant began in June of 1955, only two months prior to the ongoing Miss PNE Pageant, which had been running since 1948. It was a significantly shorter preparation period compared to later years, by a wide margin. The decision to sponsor a Miss Abbotsford Pageant was made by the Abbotsford Junior Chamber of Commerce, along with members of the Kinsmen and Lions clubs in attendance of the meeting.[1] The announcement was made in the Abbotsford News on June 8th, 1955. The Junior Chamber of Commerce, or Jaycees for short, served as the main organizers of the event, seeking sponsorships not only from the Kinsmen and Lions but other organizations in the district of Abbotsford.

By June 15th, the Jaycees had more details set. Once again, the Abbotsford News published the announcement along with the full application form.

It’s a short form; barely a full page, and only asking for basic personal information like age, phone number, etc. What is worth noting are the physical descriptors: height, weight, hair colour, and eye color, to be discussed further in the “A Pageant for All?” section of this website. Despite six applicants, there were only five competitors at the final judging. The five competitors were, from left to right, Joyce Siemens, Davida Swelander, Shirley Zurowski, Ann Lukiv, and Pat McKinney.

As the paper describes, the Jaycees Parade brought the women to the judging event in convertibles and escorted inside by RCAF Cadets. It would not be an exaggeration to say these women were treated like royalty. After all, they were competing for a “queen” -like title and those that would not win would become “princesses”.

The judging took place at the Canadian Legion Auditorium, a building that was sadly torn down in 1981.[2] Details of the judging were provided in an earlier issue of the Newspaper.[3] There were five judges that used a 100 point-score to judge these women. Points were divided as follows:

  • 30 points for character and personality
  • 30 points for beauty and figure
  • 20 points for ability in public speaking
  • 20 points for general intelligence and special talents

The article details the types of outfits the girls would wear during the competition, amounting to two: a summer dress, and simply shorts and a T-shirt.[4] Decidedly simple and not risqué, though that may be more a sign of the times.

The competitors also delivered speeches, seemingly more personal than later years, where they were asked questions on political subjects. For the 1955 group, they spoke about their personal history and their interests. Unfortunately, research has yet to provide examples on subjects these young women spoke on in later years of the pageant.

Finally, the prizes for the Abbotsford competition were a $50 cash prize and a wardrobe for the Vancouver competition. That may not seem like much, but thanks to the Bank of Canada’s inflation calculator, that prize would be worth about $550 in 2023.[5] A large sum of money such as this meant there was a lot riding on who would be the winner of the competition.

On July 29th of 1955, 17-year-old Davida Swelander was crowned Miss Abbotsford.[6] At the time, Swelander was still attending Abbotsford Senior High School. Described by the newspaper as “petite” and “vivacious”, Swelander had the honour of being Abbotsford’s first Pageant Queen. Swelander surely put in hours of hard work, and participants from later years would only put in more. By the time of the final years of the pageant, preparation would begin in November of the preceding year, with weekly meetings to practice. Swelander was the first in a long line of winners, a rather extensive list that must be mentioned.

The List of Miss Abbotsfords

  • 1955 – Davida Swelander
  • 1956 – Barbara Munson
  • 1957 – Marilyn Patterson
  • 1958 – Irene Fedje
  • 1959 – Louella Schmidt
  • 1961 – Carol Kisch – Miss PNE
  • 1963 – Pat Shulba
  • 1964 – Sylvia Dawn Smith
  • 1965 – Pat Whitmore
  • 1966 – Janet Wood
  • 1967 – Ann Pattison
  • 1968 – Linda Swanson
  • 1969 – Cheryl Sutherland
  • 1970 – Sharon Wood
  • 1971 – Anne Marie Krautter
  • 1972 – Penny Siggs
  • 1973 – Jeanette Warmerdam – Miss PNE
  • 1974 – Carol Alsbury
  • 1975 – Leanne Moore – Miss PNE
  • 1976 – Lindy Dekker
  • 1977 – Carina Olsson
  • 1978 – Shelley Griffiths
  • 1979 – Carol Sim
  • 1980 – Tracy MacDonald
  • 1981 – Tracey Horner
  • 1982 – Sandi Friesen – Miss PNE
  • 1983 – Barrie Ann Paterson
  • 1984 – Susan Greenwood
  • 1985 – Diane Wandfluh
  • 1986 – Traci Howard
  • 1987 – Jennifer Kazinci
  • 1988 – Claire Newell
  • 1989 – Tamara Sturges
  • 1990 – Tanya Bittner – Miss PNE
  • 1991 – Shara Fergus – Miss PNE Princess
  • 1992 – Cory Wright
  • 1993 – Shea Fenner
  • 1994 – Camille Fortin – PNE Youth Ambassador
  • 1995 – Lorraine Siebring
  • 1996 – Sheila Evani ?
  • 1997 – Tiffany Poirier

A few notes on this list:

This extensive list of names was found on a pamphlet, titled “Youth Ambassador Pageant”. By the time this Pageant was coming to an end, it had already re-named itself. No longer a beauty pageant, now a youth ambassador program. There were also two years absent from the list: 1960 and 62. Research could not provide a reason for those two years’ absence, though it should be mentioned that the pamphlet had a typo on it, stating Carol Kish won in 1960. 1991 was the final year of the Miss PNE pageant, and Shara Fergus did not win the full title, but was the runner up, hence “Princess”. In 1994, Camille Fortin won the title of PNE Youth Ambassador, as the PNE had fully moved onwards from “Pageant” status.

These women put hard work into this competition, along with all of those that helped organize the event for 40 years. In total, five young Abbotsford women were fortunate to win the title of Miss PNE, though unfortunately, Miss Swelander was not fortunate enough to win. Nevertheless, Swelander was the first Miss Abbotsford, and the first to compete in the Miss PNE Pageant.

[1] The Abbotsford News, June 1955.

[2] The Abbotsford News, 2016. https://www.abbynews.com/community/column-in-its-day-the-legion-hall-was-largest-and-busiest-building-in-abbotsford/

[3] The Abbotsford News, July 1955.

[4] The Abbotsford News, July 1955.

[5] https://www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/related/inflation-calculator/ Price calculated on April 18th, 2023.

[6] The Abbotsford News, July 1955.