Bopin' Hood

Great 60's cartoon with animation from Irv Spector among others.

Bess' Plaque Gone For Good

I received an email from someone connected with the Atlantic City shopping district. She explains that all of the Miss America plaques were accounted for when the Rose Walk was reconfigured during the construction of the new shops along that street. Since then two have been stolen, one being Bess Myerson's. The other one I don't know; I'll try to take a closer look next time I'm down there (I'm supposed to be back November 28 for the Brian Setzer Orchestra holiday show).

It is my understanding that the artwork/plates for these plaques is nowhere to be found so the plaques will not be replaced when they're lifted, which is a damn shame.

Action May Be Taken

I notified the head of the Atlantic City Visitors and Convention Bureau and he has said he will look into the matter addressed in the previous post.

Bess Mess '09

I didn't even have to take a new picture this year.

You will recall last year in this space, we bemoaned the disappearance of Bess Myerson's Miss America plaque on the Rose Walk and its replacement by a municipal garbage can. We spotted this on the Thursday of the NJEA Convention last year. The convention is still held in Atlantic City, while Miss America no longer calls the seaside town home.

Exactly one year later, the situation has not changed.

Bess Myerson was one of the more important Miss Americas. She is so far the only Jewish Miss America, and she later became a television personality in her own right, appearing as a model on quiz shows, then later as a valuable member of the panel on "I've Got a Secret" from 1958 to the program's cancellation in 1967. She's still alive, although semi-retired. Why, then, is her plaque gone from the Miss America Walk and a trashcan unceremoniously placed where Bess' rightful place should be? I mean, even Vanessa Williams has a plaque, and she posed for those dirty pictures.

I think this is the year I start digging for answers.