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Miss America 1937, the 11th Miss America pageant, was held at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday, September 11, 1937. Shortly after being presented as Miss America, the newly crowned 17-year-old winner, Bette Cooper, left Atlantic City and returned home. Once there, she missed scheduled appointments on her first day as Miss America, as well as a theater appearance and a trip to Hollywood. Her father cited illness as the reason. Though not placing in the top five, representatives from different areas of New York captured three of the semi-finalist positions.

Results

Placements

Awards

Best Evening Gown

• Bette Cooper (Bertrand Island)

Preliminary awards

Awards	Contestant	Title
Talent	Phyllis Randall	California
	Claire Jean Nevulis	Massachusetts
	Grace Travis	New York City

Contestants

Name	Title	Hometown	Age	Talent	Placement	Awards	Notes
Lorraine Mayfield	Atlanta	Atlanta
Olga Strickland	Augusta
May Vivian Miller	Baltimore	Baltimore
Bette Cooper	Bertrand Island	Hackettstown	17	Vocal, "When the Poppies Bloom Again"	Winner	Best Evening Gown Award
Josephine Beall	Birmingham
Helen Fleiss	Bronx	The Bronx			Top 16
Evelyn Townley	Buckeye Lake				Top 16
Phyllis Randall	California	Hollywood	20	Vocal/Dance	3rd Runner-up	Preliminary Talent Award	Sister of Miss North Carolina 1941, Joey Augusta Paxton
Betty Hunneycutt	Charlotte	Charlotte			Top 16
Sally Lillian Frank	Cincinnati	Cincinnati
Frances Greene	Connecticut	Milford
Nickey Harriet	Delaware	Harrington
Mary P. Hollran	Delray Beach	Delray Beach
Helen Greene	District of Columbia		24	Blues Vocal & Piano
Beryl Kober	Eastern Pennsylvania	Chalfont
Margaret Myers	Eastern Shores	Rock Hall
Dorothy Armstrong	Empire State	Whitesboro
Frances Powell	Jacksonville
Lucia Benton	Kansas	Norton			Top 16
Audrey Catherine Flaig	Kentucky	Bellevue
Gertrude Rissie Miller	Louisiana	Winnsboro			Top 16
Cornelia Campbell	Maine	South Portland
Claire Nevulis	Massachusetts	South Boston		Vocal/Tap Dance	Top 16	Preliminary Talent Award
Irmigard Dietel	Miami			Vocal	4th Runner-up
Cecelia Rodge	Minnesota	Minneapolis
Virginia Riley	Mississippi	West Point
Mary Sue Klein	Moberly	Moberly
Ingram Starkey	Montgomery	Montgomery
Ruth Lenore Jones	Nebraska	Nebraska City
Grace Travis	New York City	New York City		Vocal	Top 16	Preliminary Talent Award
Ruth Covington	North Carolina			Tap Dance, "Gonna Go"	2nd Runner-up
Jean Fadden	Ohio	Cleveland			Top 16
Kathryn Crase	Philadelphia	Philadelphia
Malen Pietrantoni	Puerto Rico
Dorothy May Eden	Rhode Island	East Providence	18				Dr. Dorothy May Eden Trayner Erinakes died at 97 on March 20, 2017 in San Luis Obispo, California.
Helen Frances Murphy	Riverside	Riverside
Oliver Henderson	San Antonio
Carolyn Cumbie	Savannah Beach
Wayring Smathers	South Carolina	Columbia
Margaret Julia Jardon	South Jersey	Burlington
Wauneta Bates	St. Louis	St. Louis			Top 16
Kathryn H. Kendrick	Sunnybrook	Sunnybrook
Alice Emerick	Texas	Fort Worth		Tap Dance	1st Runner-up
Irene Alice Vanderburgh	Troy	Watervliet
Frances Lee Sultan	Virginia	Kecoughtan			Top 16
Juliana Bernhardt	Washington	Seattle
Evelyn Raye	Westchester County	New Rochelle			Top 16
Mary Ann McLaughlin	Wyoming	Riverton

References

1. United Press (1937-09-12). "17-Year-Old Jersey Blond is Miss America for 1937". Syracuse Herald. p. Two A.
2. Hetrick, Christian (July 18, 2015). "The curse of Miss New Jersey". The Press of Atlantic City. Pleasantville, NJ: BH Media. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
3. Associated Press (1937-09-13). "Bette Cooper, Tired and Ill, Leaves Atlantic City with First Boyfriend". Lewiston Daily Sun. p. 13.

Secondary sources

• Saulino Osborne, Angela (1995). "Miss Americas and their Courts". Miss America The Dream Lives On. Taylor Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-87833-110-9.

External links

• Miss America official website

• Miss America
• 1937 in the United States
• 1937 in New Jersey
• September 1937 events in the United States
• Events in Atlantic City, New Jersey