Remembering Miss Buck Fever
All this pageant talk makes me think of the very few times I was in a pageant.
When I was 11 I was a contestant in the Buck Fever pageant in the very small town of Banks, Ark.
My family moved there when I was 10.
My teen years were spent in a place that made East Franklin look like a budding metropolis. We lived 20 miles from Fordyce, the birthplace of Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant; 17 miles from Warren, where I attended school; and 12 miles from the small town of Banks, which had a grand population of about 100 back then and even less now.
Banks had a general store named McFarland’s, owned by the town’s mayor. The store dates back to the 1800s. There was a Post Office, two small churches, a gas station and a cafe.
Now, the gas station and the cafe were on-again, off-again businesses so they really weren’t that dependable for service.
When we first moved there, the Buck Fever Festival was going strong and drew a big crowd because it was held the first weekend of deer season. Basically, it was a lot of vendors and a deer hunting competition, and the entertainment was the pageant followed by a dance.
Our second year there, I was in the pageant. It was casual dress. No gowns were allowed. I remember going out there and doing my little walk, waving at the judges.
More than that I remember not placing. I really didn’t care about the trophy or anything. I just really wanted the tiara. I rebounded pretty quickly. I mean, it was Miss Buck Fever not Miss America.
Fast forward to my senior year of high school. I entered the pageant because of a dare from my friends. I really thought I might have a shot of getting my little crown made of rhinestones, but I fell short again.
These were really the only two pageant experiences I’ve ever had. But, I did serve as a model during a fashion show my freshman year in college. That was lots of fun.
I know these memories might seem funny to you but they are funny pieces of my childhood that helped make me who I am today. Looking back, I can’t help but laugh at myself for ever being a contestant in the Buck Fever Pageant.
