The original photo is impossible to beat but I still wanted to give it some color. The more I worked on it and thought about it the more the man on the right stood out to me, and he already figured pretty strongly, the strongest of all the men basking in the radiance of Miss Sunshine.
Of whom this is a photo. Fire Prevention Week’s Miss Sunshine.
Quite the difference between her and Fire Prevention Week’s Miss Flame. I keep wondering if Miss Flame proved a little too intimidating so they decided to go for Miss Sunshine. The several photos of Miss Sunshine are dated October 1951 while Miss Flame’s are dated 1950.
Four suits here and the difference between the suit on the woman and the ones on the men really make the prize certificates stand out (one is probably some sort of bond). Awarding money for such a nebulous and subjective thing as beauty seems pretty absurd and says more about the judges than the contestants. And of course absolutely demeaning to women.
Contests awarding scholarship money for beauty are even more bizarre than an outright cash prize. Nothing rational about it.
I’m probably reading a lot more into the photo than the situation warrants but the men on either side of her look like they’re a bit drunk on their authoritiy in respect tto the generosity of Miss Sunshine’s warmth (which is one way of putting it). The man on the right, holding the red wrap, attracts my attention most as he looks less titillated by having achieved the authority to bask in Miss Sunshine’s rays than possessive of her, as if he’s able to smile while the other two get their victory hugs because he’s the one driving the Miss home afterwards.
Attracted my notice too how Miss Sunshine is fondling the lapel of the Man in Badge. Must say that Miss Sunshine and the Guys do make Richland/Hanford look like a very friendly place.
There are no photos of Miss Flame getting huggy-huggy or the guys getting huggy-huggy with Miss Flame.
Photo from the “Hanford Historical Photo Declassification Project”
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