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THE BRUNSWICK BEACON, Thursday, June 11,19S7—Page 5-A
'87 Miss Brunswick County's
Living A Little Girl's Dream
BY SUSAN USHER
Whether or not she gains the title of Miss North
LaroUna next week, the reigning Miss Brunswick County,
** fulfilling a childhood ambition,
"m/ 1^ ^ watched pageants on
W, I told my mother I wanted to do that,” she said.
At Meet, 3-Inches and 103 pounds, the 19-year-old
resident of the Mill Creek community doesn’t fit the
stereotypical image of a pageant queen. But she makes
up for it in self-determination, effort and poise.
I,ooking interviewers straight in the eye, she can tell
them, ’Tm ready. I’ve been preparing a long time,” and
answer tlieir questions succinctly.
She won her county crown in December, after first
gaining the Miss Teen Brunswick County title five years
ago. In between, she finished second runner-up in the
county pageant and learned a valuable lesson as a contes
tant in the Miss N.C. Fourth of July Queen’s Pageant.
At first unable to give a prepared statement, she
burst into tears and left the microphone, but determined
ly returned to finish the task.
’’Everything’s a learning experience,” she reflected,
determination showing in soft, gray-green eyes. “I’ve
made my blunder.”
As Miss Brunswick County she’s traveled approx
imately 3,500 miles and made more than 25 appearances,
many of them within the county at events ranging from
grand openings to parades.
While her reign may not end until December, the
Miss North Carolina Pageant June 14-20 will be a
memorable part of it. The finals will be aired Saturday
June 20, on WECT-TV 6, at 9 p.m.
Lorri Bowling leaves Sunday for Raleigh, where she
will take her place as a member of "Group A.” That
means she will compete in interview on Tuesday after
noon, talent on Wednesday and swimsuit on Friday, “and
Saturday do it all over again,” she added optimistically.
A rising sophomore majoring in marketing at the
University of North CaroUna at Wilmington, she's taken
the summer off from classes to finish preparing for the
pageant. “It’s a lot more work than most people realize,”
she noted.
That work has included a regional seminar in
January and a working weekend in Raleigh in March.
Then, for the first time, she stepped up and looked out
across Memorial Auditorium.
Even in an empty hall, she conUnued, “It’s
something else being on that stage.”
THIS FORMAL portrait will be Included in the pageant
program. In it. Miss Brunswick County’s wearing her
first all-sequined gown.
When she returns to Memorial Auditorium next
week, she’ll have an entourage of supporters that In
cludes her business manager from the Miss Brunswick
County Scholarship Pageant Inc., county attorney David
Clegg; her best friend, Sondra Rabon of Winnabow; her
sister, Debbie, who pushed her Into entering the county
pageant; and sister Susan; her mother, Vera Bowling;
and a special male friend.
“Twenty-five seats have been reserved for Saturday,
all of which have been taken,” noted aegg.
Her regimen since Deceinber requires time manage
ment and self-discipline—budgeting wisely, practicing
the piano, exercising nightly while watching the David
Letterman show. She also keeps up with current events,
formulating opinions on the issues of the day in prepara
tion for the state interviews. She’s worked with a profes
sional hair and makeup stylist in Raleigh who will be with
her at the pageant.
Wardrobe is important, but Lorri Bowling’s couldn’t
be called extravagant by any pageant’s standards. ”I try
not to put a lot of money into clothes I won’t be able to
continue wearing,” she explained.
Clean lines are the key to her look for Raleigh, with
most pieces fashioned by Myra Palmater of Wilmington.
“Everything’s very simple,” she said, “to let the person
show instead.”
For her interview, she chose a red and white dotted
silk blend dress with long sleeves, coordinated with red
crocodile shoes and belt
She’ll perform her talent number, a semi-classical
Spanish piece by Ernesto Lecuona, “Malageuna,” wear
ing a dress of red lame under black lace, fashioned with a
very full skirt, puffed sleeves and fitted waist
, During evening gown competition, she’ll don a cobalt
blue matte crepe with a V front and back, fitted waist,
and a straight skirt that flares out at the tail.
Finale gowns include one gown with a redesigned
bodice and a black cocktail gown, bought in a county
shop, that is covered with sequins from top to bottom.
“I had to have it,” she said. “It’s my first all-
sequin^ gown.”
Her swimsuit has been worn in other pageants—a
Pleased With
Our Choice
(Continued From Page 4-A)
itself was Immaculate, orderly and
well-equipped.
It is a comfort and a source of pride
to have such excellent medical per
sonnel and facilities so easily
available. It is a pleasure to express
publicly my thanks and support to
those who are providing quality, tru
ly people-oriented medical care.
Louise T. Greene
Holden Beach
Planning For A
Long, Hot Summer
I avoided reruns of “The Long Hot
Summer” last week, that two-part
NBC movie based on a William
Faulkner novel.
Although the movie is fair (I have
seen it before), I wasn’t in the mood
for such “summer” entertainment.
Summer entertainment should be
special. It should also start in June.
Terry
Pope
Brief Notes
From Subscribers
To the editor:
We have enjoyed your publication
for two years. Now we are
culminating a dream and finally
moving into Brunswick County.
G. G. Dale
Wexford, Pennsylvania
By the way, June began last Mon
day. People are starting to mumble
wise sayings about the summer heat
and how we need rain—just like in
the movie. However, summer won’t
officially begin until June 21,
Father’s Day.
To the editor:
Please find a check for year’s
subscription to The Brunswick
Beacon.
I have a house on Holden Beach
and feel that keeping up with the
news through the Beacon could be an
advantage to me. I look forward to
receiving the first copy.
Phyllis B. Noah
Mount Airy
June is also the chosen month for
weddings (the Brunswick Beacon
staff is monitoring Susan Usher’s
countdown to June 27) and for family
vacations. I still love summer vaca-
tlons—Tweetsie Railroad, Disney
World, Carowinds. Only, I’ll be
reading Shakespeare this June.
prepared. Fights break out over fun
ding. June is the last month of the
fiscal year.
Following Memorial Day, area
beaches start to feel the influx of
tourists. Vacationers and property
owners also start heading to the
ocean. There, they celebrate the
long, hot summer. They enjoy the
waves and they soak in Uie sun.
To the editor:
Enclosed is a check for another
year of The Brunswick Beacon. We
enjoy reading about the happenings
in Brunswick County.
Every week when we read the
paper we feel as if we have had a
short visit back there.
Guy and Ixiuise Bolen
Kai.sasCity, MLs.souri
I’m enrolled in Shakespeare I at
UNC-Wilmington, a course I need in
order to fulfill my requirements in
English. Somehow summer and
Shakespeare don’t seem to match. It
takes a certain state of mind to read
Shakespeare during the long, hot
summer.
It’s also difficult having to attend
classes five days a week, 90 minutes
a day, at 8 a.m.
For sports fans, the NBA cham
pionship series also began June 2.
For one (rf the teams, either the
Bo.iton Celtics or the Los Angeles
Lakers, it will be a long, hot summer
spent watching films and discussing
what went wrong.
Things just seem to happen in
June. People seem to do things in
June that they wouldn’t normally do
during any other month of the year.
Town and county budgets are
The N.C. Department of Transpor
tation has been thinking of June
recently. They worked to install a
new traffic ^gital on the Holden
Beach causeway so It would be ready
to handle the June traffic.
School graduations are held in
June. School vacations begin in June.
Vacation Bible Schools are (rften held
in June. And, I’m afraid, with June
comes the hurricane season. The list
goes on.
I’m planning my version of the
long, hot summer and I’m hoping to
mix in some sununer fun here or
there. That may be difficult
I don’t want to appear “wimpish”
by having to read Shakespeare on the
beach, but I may be forced to do so.
The textbook was obviously not
designed by someone who enjoys a
long, hot summer at the beach. It’s
not a carry-along edition, for it takes
a strong arm to carry this huge thing
around.
Next month, it’s PE 101. I’ll tell you
more about that later.
_ PHOTO•Y SUSAN USMI*
LORRI BOWLING displays one of the finale gowns 8he*ll wear during the Miss North CaroUna Paaeant
next week in Raleigh. “
simple maillot cut on the bias in a sUvery-tone fabric that
under strong stage lights glimmers with the blue of its
underlining.
The state pageant will be celebrating its 50th an
niversary, and has something a little different planned
for the opening of the show. Contestants—and past Miss
North Carolinas-will don idenUcal long black skirts and
s^uined tops. In recent years contestants have been
given a theme and a color scheme and encouraged to
create their own costumes.
All that has gone into preparing for this week in
Raleigh including the miles of travel, public speaking
engagements, grooming and wardrobe preparation will
have cost about 85,000, which Bowling’s business
manager, David Clegg, said is “average.”
Added Bowling, “There will be some people there
who have spent 820,000, I’m sure."
A year ago, watching the Miss North C^arollna
Pageant from the balcony of M.-:morlal Auditorium, she
turned to her friend Sondra and said, “That could be me
next year.”
Whatever the outcome of the pageant, Lorri Bowling
knows she’s already a winner. And she’s enjoying her
year as Miss Brunswick County, though she’d willingly
give it up to first runner-up Jennifer Kye in order to ac
cept the state title.
So much is she enjoying her year, it’s an experience
she’d reconunend to anyone as plans are made for the
county pageant in December.
“If there are any girls out there even slightly in
terested in pageants,” she said, “I’d encourage them to
pursue that They’ve got nothing to lose and everything to
gain.”
Including a Utle that will be Uwira for life.
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