During her school years she took piano lessons and participated in local pageants.

What animates the local pageants is not analysis of the real world, but nostalgia for a fictionalized American past.

Shortly after she entered a local pageant and won the title of Teen Indiana.

Although contestants have different reasons for competing, many of the women come from small rural towns, where participation in local pageants is often expected and encouraged.

Her radio skills, she said, served as an asset in both the local and state pageants, where she won first place in the interview category.

By the late 1960s, Meade began entering local and state-level pageants.

As with many other Miss America state pageants, delegates first must qualify by winning a local pageant.

Gaxiola began participating in local pageants at age three.

Some have won their places in the competition through victories in local pageants; others have been appointed by government officials.

The first local pageant, Miss Cape May County, takes place next month.