Remnants of the glory days
Let me show you two pieces of clothing related to the Miss Sturgis Pageant.
First is a delicate, beautifully handmade peach silk dress worn by LaFern Hopkins, named Miss Sturgis 1931.
The second is a luxurious handmade gold trimmed purple velvet cape with a high collar and cream colored lining. For many years this cape was draped over the shoulders of new Miss Sturgis. Both pieces of history are safely preserved at the Sturgis Historical Museum.
We plan to look more closely at the Miss Sturgis pageant, but from easily assessable documents, it was clearly in full swing in the 1960s and 1970s before dwindling in the early 1980s. Miss Sturgis was crowned during Michigan Week and reigned for a year with the opportunity to move on to the Miss America pageant.
