Monday, May 9, 2022

A Wonderful Find

 How thrilling for me to find this little card in Norma Niblock's archive. (see below) Her identification card which allowed her to board a train for the final pageant in New York, with "dining car" privileges! I knew George Ullman devised this method and I cite from his memoir, page 30:

The railroad executives were most cooperative. I did not want to send the winning beauty contestants either the money or the tickets for their railroad fare, simply because I thought that some of the girls might use the money (or convert the tickets) and fail to appear in New York City at the required date. So I arranged with the various railroad executives to allow the conductors on the trains to accept the girl’s signatures in lieu of cash or tickets. All of the girls got to New York in time.”

* Norma would not take the train to New York and drove herself, with her mother from Toronto. A wonderful find in her papers and photos and which I share in the book. (front and back)