History of Mrs. America:

Mrs. America owes much of its present day popularity to its rich history
and tradition. The pageant dates its origin to the year 1938, when the
first Mrs. America competition was held at Palisades Amusement Park
in New Jersey. For the next thirty years, Mrs. America devoted itself to
a national search for the ideal homemaker, and became an American
institution.  The original contest was not considered a beauty pageant
but a competition of homemaking skills, including table setting,
arrangements, laundry, bed making and cooking, as well as managing
the family budget, personality, hairstyle, make-up and formal dress.
The pageant was discontinued after 1968,
during a period when the theme of wife and homemaker was subject to
changing social mores.  But in 1977, after an absence of nearly a
decade, the pageant was revived under a new and more modern
format. The man responsible for the renaissance of Mrs. America was
David Marmel, an independent television producer.

What does the Mrs. America Pageant represent? Now celebrating its
35th year in its modern format, the Mrs. America Pageant is the only
nationally televised pageant for married women. It focuses the attention
of the nation and the world on the versatility of the contemporary
American married woman.  Each of the 51 Mrs. America candidates
earns the right to participate in the national event by winning her
statewide competition. These state pageants are under the direction of
Mrs. America State Directors, a network of respected and talented
community and business leaders reflecting one of the finest pageant
systems in the world.

What does the Mrs. America title stand for? The winner of the Mrs.
America crown receives cash, prizes and endless opportunities. During
her exciting and memorable reign, she will make personal appearances
throughout the country. For the entire year she acts as the
ambassador and spokesperson for America’s married women. She
speaks to civic groups and business organizations, appears in print
and television commercials, and conducts countless interviews with
members of the press. She becomes, in effect, the public symbol of all
wives and mothers.
April Lufriu
Mrs. America