Rita Jenrette: The infamous Playboy model who covered the Miss America Pageant
In 1981 a political researcher named Rita Jenrette made big news. For several years prior, Rita Carpenter – her maiden name – had been gradually making a name for herself in political circles as director of research for the Texas Republican Party, as an aide to Sens....
The origin of the silver three-cent coin
The late 1840s and early 1850s saw problems developing in our system of coinage, which had been created under the premise that a coin had its value in the metal it contained. That is, a silver dollar coin contained one dollars’ worth of silver and a five-dollar gold...
The first Miss America pageant
A Look Back at Ocean City One hundred and four years ago, September 8, 1921, the first Miss America pageant was won by Margaret Gorman of Washington, D.C. She was named “America’s Most Beautiful Bathing Girl” (a year later, her title was shortened to...
Lou’s: Life behind the counter at Ventnor’s most iconic eatery
Life is What Happens Skip ahead to the bio at the end of this column and you may be surprised at what I’ve included: Claim to fame, waitress at Lou’s for four summers. Lou Adelman and wife Helen opened Lou’s of Ventnor in the winter of 1946, which began the...
Remembering when Miss America became a modern woman
Remembering When It wasn’t the best of times for the Miss America Pageant. By the time the 1970s dawned, American society was significantly different than it had been just a decade earlier. Among the most visible and wide-ranging changes were those in the status and...
