Celebrating 50 years: Reflections on the first Miss OBU pageant
January 01, 2020
Editorial Note: The Miss Ouachita Baptist University pageant celebrates its 50th anniversary
this year. Enjoy these reflections on the first Miss OBU pageant from that year’s
winner, Sharon Evans Bale, and join us for this year’s pageant on Feb. 4, 2017, at
7:30 p.m. in Jones Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $12 each at the door ($7 for
OBU students with ID).
Ouachita was all abuzz. We were going to have our first Miss Ouachita who would compete
in the Miss Arkansas Pageant and perhaps on to Miss America! We didn't know if we
were so excited because of having a representative or because swimsuits would be worn
on the campus for the first time! (Remember we had to wear raincoats over our gym
shorts to go to gym back then.)
This was 1967, and Vietnam was hanging over all our heads. Lyndon Johnson was President.
Gas was $0.33 a gallon. It was the year of the first Super Bowl and the first Big
Mac. Elvis & Priscilla were married. The Beatles released Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. "Respect" by Aretha Franklin and “Can't Take My Eyes Off You” by Frankie Valli were
favorite singles. Bonnie & Clyde, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and The Jungle Book cost us $1.25 to see. And we would gather around the TV in Mom Chu's room to watch
The Lucy Show, Mission: Impossible or, when she'd let us, Laugh-In! The Freeze and The Minute Man were favorite Arkadelphia hangouts.
The campus was planning all the regalia that went along with a pageant. There were
32 girls who would be representing the different organizations on campus. So many
that we had to do swimsuits in the afternoon with Friday and Saturday nights full
of talents and gowns.
The quality of the talent was equal to most state talent competitions. Singers, drama
students, flutists, pianists and one dancer, me. Mother made my clothes, as did so
many of the other mothers.
The rehearsal halls were always full of girls singing or playing an instrument. Girls
in my dorm helped me choreograph my dance to the “Overture” from Mame! Preparation for interviews was not even thought about! We all had so much fun anticipating
the event before us that I honestly don't think that ”'winning” entered many minds.
When I was announced as the first Miss OBU, my life changed as nothing I had ever
imagined! The best part of the summer of 1967 was there were 14 of those 32 Miss Ouachita
contestants who also participated in the Miss Arkansas Pageant with their own titles.
The auditorium in Hot Springs was full of Ouachitonians competing and cheering! One
of the first memories I have after standing there on Saturday night, with a new crown
on my head as Miss Arkansas, was looking to the side of the stage and seeing hundreds
of Ouachita students and faculty waiting to celebrate. That was the moment I truly
“got it" – this crown, this life, was not about Sharon Evans, but each of those incredible
friends and every person who lived in the state of Arkansas and beyond!
The experience of being Miss Ouachita expanded my opportunity for not only Miss Arkansas
but also the rest of my life! The 50 years since that July night of 1967 have given
me thousands of life experiences I remember and cherish! These 50 years have given
me the joy and delight of seeing 49 other women represent Ouachita on the stage of
Miss Arkansas and some on the stage of Miss America!
Because of the Miss Arkansas title, I was given flying lessons and there met Johnny
Bale. Marriage, two sons, two daughters-of-my-heart, two grandsons and giving back
as I am blessed now consume my days. Numerous family members and friends have walked
with me and sometimes carried me through this journey of life!
When I think back to those days on the Ouachita campus, from the fall of 1965 to the
spring of 1969, it was those who walked before us that coated the campus with the
layers of faith, prayers and belief in God and each other. It is the spirits of those
who walked with me that bring such a joy and peace to my being. Each friend remembered
brings a smile to my heart! It is those who have come after us that continue to add
the layers of wonder to this ground known as Ouachita Baptist University, "The Queen
of the College World!" And yes, these 50 years later, we still sing your praises!
Sharon Evans Bale (top center) was crowned the first ever Miss Ouachita Baptist University in 1967 and went on to win the title of Miss Arkansas that year. She now lives in Little Rock with her husband, Johnny. They are the proud parents of Hardin (wife, Kristy) and Hunter (wife, Brooke) and grandparents of John Hardin and Evans.
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