Miss Walterboro 1952 - Archive Photo Found

Miss Walterboro 1952, Myrtle Ann Benton,
prior to the Miss South Carolina pageant

A local social media campaign to raise awareness about the accomplishments of women recently revealed an unidentified photo. On March 1 the Colleton Museum and Farmers Market changed their Facebook profile picture to show a distinguished young lady. A local Facebook user recognized that woman and notified her privately. She contacted the Colleton Museum and is now identified as Myrtle Ann Benton Dennis, Miss Walterboro 1952, on the eve of the Miss South Carolina pageant.

            

The Colletonian newspaper reached out to Matt Mardell, the Director of the Colleton Museum, to confirm the information. “We are glad to share historical photos from our archive with the online community, and thrilled that this one has been identified,” said Mardell. “This photo was posted on March 1 to kick off our salute to Women’s History Month, but it had no caption. We have now added their names, with Myrtle Ann Benton standing in front of car and Marjorie Warko sitting in the backseat.”

            

A phone interview with Myrtle Ann reveals much broader details around this interesting photo from Walterboro’s past. “The Miss Walterboro pageant was held in the spring, just before my graduation from Walterboro High School in 1952, and the Miss South Carolina pageant was held that summer in Myrtle Beach,” said Dennis. “Since I was still young, my first cousin Marjorie Warko went to Myrtle Beach with me as chaperone and roommate, and it didn’t hurt that she was also a hairdresser.”

            

Miss Walterboro 1952 in Myrtle Beach Parade by Old Pavilion

“The photo was taken in Walterboro, but the next day we rode in that same convertible in the Sun Fun Festival in Myrtle Beach,” said Dennis. The Miss South Carolina pageant was held that evening, and I can remember Miss America being there, which added significance to the pageant. I didn’t place in the competition, but that evening everyone attended a big dance at the Ocean Forest Hotel, which was a swanky place in that day.”

            

“The Miss South Carolina pageant had three components including swimsuit, talent and evening dress,” said Dennis. “For my talent I played the piano and I played the Black Hawk Waltz. I had taken piano lessons in high school and I played piano at our church, Pine Grove Baptist Church, Number One. I was proud to represent Walterboro in the pageant and wasn’t too disappointed when returning home, because I got to ride in the Hampton Watermelon Festival as the reigning Miss Walterboro.”

            

Myrtle Ann Benton went straight into MUSC nursing school in Charleston, and graduated in 1955. While working as an operating room nurse, she met Dr. Patrick H. Dennis Sr. and they were married in 1956. They lived in Abilene, Texas for a few years while Dr. Dennis Sr. served in the U.S. Air Force as a flight surgeon, before returning to Charleston where she worked in his private ophthalmology practice. They went on to have three children, one of whom is a writer for the Colletonian, and they have been happily married for 62 years.