Miss Kingsport of 1935 - Eileen Williams - Dies at Age 99

Eileen Williams, who passed away earlier this week at age 99, was the mother of my pal Ralph Williams and grandmother to Mark and Tom Williams, D-B football stars of the eighties.

Her obituary noted that she was crowned Miss Kingsport in 1935.

When I mentioned she was the first Miss Kingsport in a column years ago, I heard from relatives of Sophia Ballis, who thought she was the first Miss Kingsport.

I dug around and found that Miss Kingsport was a popular title in the thirties. Eileen was named Miss Kingsport in a contest sponsored by the Strand Theater. Sophia’s title in 1932 was referred to in the newspaper as a “popularity contest.”

Neither title was affiliated with the Miss America contest.

I wrote about the various early Miss Kingsport contests in a 2013 column:

When Sue Parham was reading Sunday’s story about her old pal and classmate Dottie Slaughter, the first Miss Kingsport, it reminded her of another old friend. “Her name was Mabel Morrison. I think she was Miss Kingsport sometime between 1935 and 1939. The reason I know this is she lived next door to me on Watauga Street, across from the Fire Station. I remember a picture that my mother took of her when she was elected Miss Kingsport.”

First let’s get this straight – and Sue agrees: Dottie Slaughter was the first Miss Kingsport. There is no disagreement on this. She was the first girl to win the first local beauty pageant to be affiliated with the Miss America pageant.

Dottie Slaughter was the first Miss Kingsport.

But there were other girls who were named a Miss Kingsport before Dottie won the crown in 1954.

The very first was Sophia Ballis, who was selected “Miss Kingsport for 1932” in a popularity contest sponsored by an actor and promoter, who included the contest as part of an evening of entertainment that featured a play and a radio singer. Among Ballis’s prizes were a five-pound box of chocolates and a sight-seeing trip to New York City.

And Mabel Morrison would eventually hold a title of Miss Kingsport. But not before a few setbacks.

Mabel was one of 20 contestants in a 1935 Miss Kingsport contest, which was apparently the first beauty contest to pick a Miss Kingsport. “First Annual Beauty Parade In Order To Select Queen Who May Be Sent To Hollywood Studio.” The contest was sponsored by the Strand Theater. There was no talent portion of the contest. “The winner of the local contest will be chosen on four characteristic points: beauty, personality, figure and popularity.”

The winner would go on to Nashville to compete in a state pageant, with that winner getting a trip to Hollywood. It was all part of a promotion run by Crescent Amusement Company, one of the country’s largest movie theater chains, with 78 theaters in five southern states.

Mabel didn’t win. That honor went to Eileen Rau, who would later become Eileen Williams.

Three years later Mabel was a contest winner. She was named Kingsport’s “Movie Queen,” which earned her the lead role in a Kiwanis Club stage production of the same title. She was also honored with a parade. But still no Miss Kingsport title.

She finally got her Miss Kingsport sash in 1939, when she competed for the title of “Miss Aviation” in a beauty contest held in conjunction with the Air Class air show at Tri-Cities Airport (then known as McKellar Field). There were five girls entered. Mabel was selected by a ballot of newspaper readers to be “Miss Kingsport.” At last, she was Miss Kingsport. (Ilene Smith was “Miss Eastman.”) The other contestants were Miss Johnson City, Miss Bristol Virginia and Miss Tennessee Bristol.

The contest was held at the airport in front of more than 6,000 screaming fans, most of whom were presumably in attendance to witness the Karl Steele Air Show, featuring stunt pilots, air acrobatics, parachuting feats and wing-walking.

Miss Tennessee Bristol, Irene Millard, won the title of Miss Aviation.

But Mabel Morrison was Miss Kingsport. At last.

(Click on image to enlarge)