# Miss America 1948

Miss America 1948, the 22nd Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 11, 1948.
The winner, BeBe Shopp, was the first Miss Minnesota to take the crown. Shopp performed a song on a Vibraharp during the talent competition. Later in life, she became an Episcopalian minister.
Third runner-up, Miss Kansas, Vera J. Ralston, and another finalist, representing Chicago, Lois Nettleton, went on to become successful Hollywood actresses.

## Results
### Placements

| Placement | Contestant |
| Miss America 1948 | Minnesota – BeBe Shopp |
| 1st Runner-Up | Wyoming – Carol Held |
| 2nd Runner-Up | Alabama – Martha Ann Ingram |
| 3rd Runner-Up | Kansas – Vera J. Ralston |
| 4th Runner-Up | Oklahoma – Donna Jane Briggs |
| Top 15 | Atlanta – Jerry Long  Chicago – Lois Nettleton Detroit – Doris Evelyn Johnson  Florida - Rosemary Carpenter  Massachusetts – Barbara Louise Laughton Memphis – Lois Jeanette Welsh  Montana – Patti Anne Luer  New York City – Connie Inge Ronde  Oregon – Joyce Davis  Utah – Marilyn Robinson |

### Awards
#### Preliminary awards

| Awards | Contestant |
| Lifestyle and Fitness | Atlanta – Jerry Long  Kansas – Vera J. Ralston  Minnesota – BeBe Shopp |
| Talent | Montana – Patti Anne Luer  Tennessee – Dorothy Jane Free  Utah – Marilyn Robinson |

### Other awards

| Awards | Contestant |
| Miss Congeniality | Hawaii – Yun Tau Zane |

## Contestants

| Title | Name | Hometown | Age | Talent | Placement | Awards | Notes |
| Alabama | Martha Ann Ingram | Tarrant | | Classical Vocal, "Quando me'm vo'" | 2nd Runner-up | | |
| Arizona | Donna McElroy | Phoenix | | Dramatic Monologue | | | |
| Arkansas | Van Louis McDaniel | Forrest City | | Monologue, "Spartan Parents" | | | |
| Atlanta | Jerry Long | Atlanta | | Tap Dance, "Cherokee" | Top 15 | | |
| Birmingham | Marjorie Orr | Birmingham | | | | | |
| Boston | Barbara McGrath | Boston | | | | | |
| California | Reba Watterson | Stockton | | | | | |
| Canada | Betty Jean Ferguson | Halifax | | | | | |
| Chicago | Lois Nettleton | Chicago | | Dramatic Monologue from Saint Joan | Top 15 | | |
| Colorado | Virginia Smith | Pueblo | | | | | |
| Connecticut | Fairfax Mason | Bridgeport | | Classical Vocal, "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" | | | |
| Delaware | Lorna Edwardson | Dover | | Classical Vocal, "Un Bel Di" from Madama Butterfly | | | |
| Detroit | Doris Evelyn Johnson | Detroit | | Vocal, "Worry, Worry, Worry" | Top 15 | | |
| District of Columbia | Joann Miller | | 23 | Vocal, "An Old, Old Castle in Scotland" | | | |
| Florida | Rosemary Carpenter | Miami Beach | | Classical Piano & Accordion, "Fantaisie-Impromptu" & "Two Guitars" | Top 15 | | |
| Georgia | Gwendolyn West | Statesboro | | | | | |
| Greater Philadelphia | Betty Jane Bruce | Philadelphia | | Vocal, "Fool That I Am" & "Mean to Me" | | | |
| Hawaii | Yun Tau Zane | Honolulu | | Hula | | Miss Congeniality | First Asian-American to compete at Miss America |
| Illinois | Viola Ruth Hutmacher | Quincy | | Classical Vocal, "Italian Street Song" | | | |
| Indiana | Patti Grubbs | Gary | | Vocal, "When You Are Away" | | | |
| Kansas | Vera June Ralston | Wichita | 18 | Oratory | 3rd Runner-up | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | Better known as actress Vera Miles |
| Kentucky | Mildred Joanne Hollinger | Louisville | | | | | |
| Maine | Muriel Applebee | Enfield | | | | | |
| Maryland | Juanita Melrose Lookabaugh | Cumberland | | Hawaiian Hula Dance & Dress Design | | | |
| Massachusetts | Barbara Laughton | Reading | | Vocal, "The Moon Belongs to Everybody" | Top 15 | | |
| Memphis | Lois Jeanette Welch | Memphis | | Vocal & Fashion Design, "Gianni Mia" | Top 15 | | |
| Michigan | Linda Carroll | Grand Rapids | | Impersonations of famous people | | | |
| Minnesota | BeBe Shopp | Hopkins | 18 | Vibraharp, "Caprice Viennois" by Fritz Kreisler | Winner | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | |
| Mississippi | Virginia Hollingsworth | Kosciusko | | | | | |
| Missouri | Dorothy Smith | Kansas City | | | | | |
| Montana | Patti Luer | Anaconda | | Vocal/Dance, "Gypsy Song" | Top 15 | Preliminary Talent Award | |
| Nebraska | Betty Love Booth | Fremont | | | | | |
| New Hampshire | Betty Taylor | Rochester | | Dramatic Monologue | | | |
| New Jersey | Barbara Anderson | Bloomfield | | | | | |
| New Mexico | Betha Young | Cuba | 22 | Art Sculpture | | | |
| New York | M. Yvonne Fix | Niagara Falls | | Classical Vocal, "Un Bel Di" from Madama Butterfly | | | |
| New York City | Connie Inge Ronde | New York City | | Dramatic Reading, "State of the Union" | Top 15 | | |
| North Carolina | Patsy Osborne | Lawndale | | Vocal & Piano | | | |
| Ohio | Maxine Waack | Fairview | | Rumba Dance | | | |
| Oklahoma | Donna Briggs | Tulsa | | Painting Display | 4th Runner-up | | |
| Omaha | Serena McKinney | Omaha | | | | | |
| Oregon | Joyce Davis | Bend | | Classical Vocal, "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" | Top 15 | | |
| Pennsylvania | Ruth Douglas | Harrisburg | | Vocal Medley, "Let my Song Fill Your Heart" & "Lover" | | | |
| Pittsburgh | Sarah Cromwell | Pittsburgh | | | | | |
| Puerto Rico | Irma Nydia Vázquez | | | | | | |
| South Carolina | Esther Greene | Greenville | | | | | |
| South Dakota | Myrna Clemenson | Conde | | | | | |
| Tennessee | Dorothy Free | Chattanooga | | Vocal Medley, "Let my Song Fill Your Heart" & "Embraceable You" | | | |
| Texas | Bonnie Jean Bland | Orange | | Vocal/Art Display, "Put the Blame on Mame" | | | |
| Utah | Marilyn Robinson | Ogden | | Dramatic Monologue, "Tommy, Tommy, Tommy" | Top 15 | Preliminary Talent Award | |
| Vermont | Jean Peatman | Montpelier | | | | | |
| Virginia | Bobby Joe Wilson | Hillsville | | | | | |
| Washington | Lorraine Lowder | Aberdeen | | Hula Dance | | | |
| West Virginia | Jane Queen | Huntington | | Vocal & Piano | | | |
| Wisconsin | Marvene Fischer | Milwaukee | 19 | | | | |
| Wyoming | Carol Held | Douglas | | Piano, Hungarian Opus 9 by Edward MacDowell | 1st Runner-up | | |