We all know and love Leann Denning (mother and grandma), but here is a little fact you may not have known about her.

She was a contestant in the Miss Rexburg Pageant in 1956.  I was talking to her about it and told her that it surprised me a little that she would have done this, since I always saw her as more of a shy person.  She said that she was asked by the Pfaff Sewing Center to participate and if she would, they would sponsor her.   She gave it some thought and decided to do it.  She then had to decide what to do, because as she put it, “I had no talent to speak of.”   In our discussion I learned another little known fact about my mother, she was in drama and did a number of plays in high school.  She told me how she had one of the main roles in the play “Taming of the Shrew”, but the night before the first performance she got appendicitis and had to miss all the performances.

More about the Miss Rexburg pageant.

The above article list six young women that would be participating in the pageant and I believe there were two more late entries.   Leann went to her drama teacher and they decided she could do a reading for her talent.

I am sad to say that she did not win.  But, she did win the Miss Congeniality trophy, which she was very proud of, since that trophy was awarded by the vote of the contestants, the other girls.   As a child I remember seeing it on her dresser.

The next time you are with Grandma, ask her about her experience in the Miss Rexburg pageant.