Newspapers / The New Bern Mirror … / Sept. 13, 1968, edition 1 / Page 1
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What's in a name? Quite a lot if you h^pen to win a fecial award in the Miss America Pageant, and suffer the embar rassment of hearing someone else's name called out as you step forward to receive your honor on coast to coast televi sion. How does New Bern's Miss North Carolina, Anita Johnson, feel about an error so regret table that the National Broad casting Company apologized to her for the hard-to-understand blunder. It was tj-plcal of this girl that she shrugged off the incident, displayed no bitter ness, and accepted the apology at face value. From our vantage point on press row, a very short distance from the stage, this editor watched Anita's reaction to the miscue, while it was happening and during the balance of the program. She was relaxed, rather than fuming, and wore a smile that lor serenity outdid Mona Lisa's expression in one of art's greatest masterpieces. Tuesday the two of us dis cussed this and other aspects of the Miss America Pageant dur ing a three-hour get together. As only the closest of friends will, we did a lot of confiding in each other. and much of what was said won't seeprlnt,nowor' later. "I've always had religious faith," she told us, "but I’ve been closer to God this year than ever before. It was tangi ble faith, and I felt that what ever was in store for me was God's will, and I accepted this fact." What Impressed her most in Atlantic City? "The contestants I had to compete with," she quickly answered. "The com petition was terrific, but they were wonderful girls, every one of them, and all of- us cried when it came time to say good bye." However, no one else won Anita’s affection quite so com pletely as Patricia Joy Burmelster, who represented New York State. The two form ed a mutual admiration society as soon as they met, and our Miss North Carolina was elated when Pat was selected as one of the ten finalists. Born July 5,1944, Patlssev eral years older than Anita, but they have much in common, including a great lovefor music. Surely, you’ll remember Mi.s-s New York for her brilliant ren dition of a difficult opera tic aria, "The BeU Song." To our way of thinking it was one of the top all-time perform ances in Pageant history. Incidentally, Anita and Pat were the only two girls among the fifty competing who were invited to audition for Radio City Music. Hall. We have it through the grapevine that their auditions are only a formality, and that both need only to say the word to receive a contract. We have been told that Miss North Carolina was second in her division in both talent and swim suit competition, and was tops among the fifty contestants in evening gown competition. Reports have it that her frank answers during interviews, which is the only way Anita would have wanted it, cost her a place among the ten finalists. Frank answers or not, Leon (Continued on Page 8) ««• »■“» The NSW BERN PUBLISHID WBIKLY IN THI HIAIIT OP lASTIRN NORTH CAROLINA ’ saseo VOLUME 11 NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1968 NUMBER 25 BACK HOME—New Bern’s Miss North Carolina, tired but still vivacious, cheerfully scrambled out of bed, and chased the sleep from those dark ^es of hers to pose for this special Mirror portrait. That beautiful trophy, awarded along with a thousand dollar scholar ship as proof she was the best popular singer in the 1968 Miss America Pageant, is a sight to behold. Anita Johnson, so popular with other contestants that she missed the Miss Congeniality award by just two votes, is being offered a RCA-Victor recording contract, wooed by Radio City Music Hall to not only sing but dance, and has been invited to go abroad on a USO tour. Right now she is booked until March for Tarheel appearances covering tens of thousands of miles, with special consideration given small towns. “The smaller the better,” says Anita, “1 love them.” —Photo by Billy Benners
The New Bern Mirror (New Bern, N.C.)
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Sept. 13, 1968, edition 1
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