2022 Midsummer Issue

HISTORY
There She Is…
Myrtle Richardson, Miss America 1934 on a
Chris Craft for Hockenjos Boat Yard.
Contests to determine “the fairest of them
all” have been around since ancient
Greece. While the topic of women’s beauty has
long been discussed, the first modern American
beauty pageant was staged by P. T. Barnum in
1854.
Though he had previously held dog, baby and
bird judging contests, it seems that Americans of
that era were not quite ready to judge women in
the same way. It is unclear whether the contest
was ended by public protest or if Barnum was
unable to convince respectable young ladies of
the Victorian era to publicly display themselves,
but live beauty pageants would have to wait for
another day.
However, Barnum developed a brilliant
alternate plan wherein he accepted entries in
the form of daguerreotypes (photographic
likenesses), which were displayed in his museum
where the public was invited to vote for their
favorites.
In the decades to follow, the photo contest
format was widely imitated and became a
respectable way for teens and women to have
their beauty judged. Civic leaders across the
country held newspaper contests to choose
women who represented the spirit of their
communities.
One of the most popular of these occurred in
1904, when promoters of the St. Louis World’s
Fair asked newspapers across the country to
select a young woman representative from their
city to compete for a beauty title at the fair.
There was intense competition and thousands
of photographic entrants.
By the early decades of the 20th century,
attitudes had begun to change about beauty
pageants. Prohibitions against the display of
women in public began to fade, though not
disappearing altogether.
When one of the earliest known resort beauty
pageants was held in 1880 at Rehoboth Beach,
Delaware, it was dismissed as the activity of a
“working class” beach resort. Beauty pageants
only became widespread after the turn of the
century.
34
by MARTY KANE
Photos courtesy of the
LAKE HOPATCONG
HISTORICAL MUSEUM
ARCHIVES
LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Midsummer 2022
The 1925 swimsuit competition contestants at
Nolan’s Point: Peggy O’Neal, Peggy Kimmeth (first
prize winner), Marie Davis and Ruth Mutch.
One of the issues that had to be overcome was
that Victorian dress codes did not allow for the
development of close-fitting, one-piece bathing
attire for women before the early 20th century.
In the early 1900s, women were expected to wear
cumbersome dress and pantaloon combinations
when swimming.
In 1907, at the height of her popularity,
Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman was
arrested for indecency on Revere Beach,
Massachusetts, while wearing one of her fitted
one-piece costumes. However, the popularity of
her suits won the day and resulted in her own
line of women’s swimwear.
Public opinion, clothing and timing all came
together in 1921 when a beauty pageant, which
would become the first Miss America contest,
was staged in Atlantic City. Local businessmen,
looking for an event to entice tourists to stay
past Labor Day, happened upon the idea of a
bathing beauty pageant.
Nine young women competed: three from
New Jersey and six from surrounding states.
A carnival atmosphere surrounded the event.
There were fireworks and a decorated float
was towed in from the ocean carrying “King
Neptune,” (portrayed by Hopatcong’s own
Hudson Maxim) who would crown the winner.
So as not to offend public morals, the contest
was just one event in a weeklong, elaborate
festival that included sports events, automobile
races and orchestra and choir competitions.
Stressing that the contestants were both youthful
and wholesome, the Miss America competition
developed a concept that would be followed in
future years.
Following the success of the Atlantic City
competition, beauty pageants became popular
summer events across the country during the
1920s and 1930s. Lake Hopatcong was no
exception, holding its first beauty pageant in
1924.
Charles Engelbrecht, a photographer with
a studio at Nolan’s Point, was familiar with
Above left: Miss Bertrand
Island 1937, Bette Cooper,
competing and winning the
Miss America title in 1937.
Above right: A 1927 flyer for a bathing beauty
contest at Bertrand Island Park.
Atlantic City’s pageant and thought a similar
event could be successful at the lake. He
combined a beauty pageant with a baby parade
and swimming and diving contests. The crowd
was so big that the bathing beauty pageant had
to be moved into Allen’s Pavilion (located where
the Windlass sits today).
In 1925, Engelbrecht repeated the event and
added boat races. In 1926, the Lake Hopatcong
Association was founded “for the betterment
of the lake.” Engelbrecht, one of the group’s
founders, helped plan a fundraiser. The Monster
Carnival, as it was billed, featured a wide array of
events, including a two-part beauty pageant—a
bathing beauty contest at Lee’s Park and an
evening gown competition at Bertrand Island
Park. The association planned another carnival
in 1927 with the beauty pageant moving
entirely to Bertrand Island.
From 1927 until World War II, beauty
pageants were a mainstay at Bertrand Island
Park and became one of its most successful
promotions. Young women representing
various parts of the lake as well as some hotels
would compete for local championships—Miss
Northwood, Miss Castle Edward, etc.
Bertrand Island Park conducted one of these
local events. Miss Bertrand Island would then
compete against winners of the other local
pageants for a chance to become Miss Lake
Hopatcong in a competition held at Bertrand
Island Park.
The biggest beauty pageant held at Lake
Hopatcong took place in 1934. Though the
Miss America competition had originated in
Atlantic City, there were several years during
the late 1920s and early ‘30s when the contest
was not held by the Atlantic City organization