Queen for a Year 1998

Diana decided that she wanted to run in the teen queen pageant for our camping organization again. She really enjoyed her experiences during her trip to Pennsylvania as 1997 queen.

She planned well ahead and bought her own dresses, including a new formal, a beaded and sequined, two piece, burgundy gown.

The 1998 pageant was held during the Kansas Campers fall state convention in Kingman at the fair grounds. The convention began Friday of Labor Day weekend and continued until Monday.

The contestants spent Friday and Saturday doing prep work and stage practices. Saturday morning started out with a parade downtown with the theme “Under The Sea.” Everyone really got into the theme and turned out as fish and mermaids galore. Diana sat on the back of a Mustang convertible driven by her Dad and drove a pair of seahorses.

Saturday evening, after the entertainment, the contestants and the current queen, Shelly Parks, held hospitality for everyone. Each contestant greeted their fellow campers and presented them with a small gift and snack. (This is a tradition at campouts; the gift is a very small swap item.) Diana’s swap was a gummy fish on a safety pin tagged “I’m hooked on camping” and her snack was pieces of salt-water taffy to go along with the theme.

The actual competition began Sunday afternoon with the Queen’s Tea. The contestants were introduced in front of the judges and the dignitaries of the organization. The tea was followed by individual interviews and the swimsuit competition, which is held off-stage.

The rest of the competition was held Sunday evening before all the attending members. It opened with a production number to “Vogue” starring the current queen ant the contestants. After a quick change, the girls came back for the talent portion. Diana sang “42nd Street” from the musical of the same name. That was followed by another quick change into evening gowns for that portion of the judging. They finished up the competition with the on-stage question. Both girls were asked the same question, “KCA is making a time capsule, not to be opened for 100 years. What two items would you put in and why?”

The judges tallied up and the results were announced: Miss Congeniality, Diana Hyle, Top Talent, Diana Hyle, Miss Kansas FCRV, Diana Hyle. A clean sweep!

The national pageant was held July ‘99 in Ontario, Canada.

This was an account originally published in our family newsletter in 1998.

Story ID:	789
Written by:	Shannon Marie Hyle (bio, contact, other stories)
Story type:	Family Memories
Location:	Kingman Kansas USA
Year:	1998
Person:	Diana