CHAFFEE WOMAN WATCHES GRANDDAUGHTER AT PAGEANT

CHAFFEE -- Almost 60 years ago Bernice Montgomery had a chance to compete in the Miss America Pageant, but her father wouldn't let her travel alone to Atlantic City, N.J., and she didn't go.

Last Saturday, Montgomery got to the pageant, as a spectator, to watch her granddaughter compete as Miss Arkansas.

From her front-row seat, Montgomery saw her youngest granddaughter, Paula Gaye Montgomery of Cabot, Ark., win second runner-up to Miss America.

Bernice Montgomery said she hadn't thought about her chance to compete 60 years ago until Saturday night. "What if I had gone?" she said she wondered. "Back then it was just a beauty pageant."

The Chaffee Lions Club had asked Bernice Montgomery to compete in the Miss America Pageant back then.

Paula Gaye Montgomery, 22, the daughter of Paul and Gaye Montgomery of Cabot, has been competing in pageants since she was 5, her grandmother said.

When Paula was born in Cape Girardeau, her father sent his wife a dozen red roses and a card that read: "To the Mother of the Future Miss America," Bernice Montgomery said. Then 22 years later, Paula Gaye Montgomery competed in the Miss America Pageant.

"It's a true story," said her cousin, Jeanette Wachter, a teacher at Chaffee High School. "She still carries the card around."

Another milestone, Paula was named second runner-up on her parents' 23rd anniversary. She also was named to Miss America's Court of Honor.

At the competition, Paula Montgomery was the first-runner up in the swimsuit preliminaries leading up to the pageant. She earned the Miss Arkansas title in July and will continue her reign. In 1991, she was crowned Miss Teen Arkansas.

Montgomery, a senior at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, is studying broadcast journalism. She received a $20,000 scholarship as the second runner-up in the pageant.

Besides her grandmother, several other relatives watched Paula compete in Atlantic City, including aunt and uncle Morris and Betty Montgomery of Chaffee, cousins Scott, Jeanette and Zach Wachter and Chris Montgomery, all of Chaffee, and family friend Joan Gones of Gordonville.

Being able to see the pageant live was exciting, but being privy to the 75th anniversary activities was better, Jeanette Wachter said, adding that security was tight at receptions after the pageant.

As part of the 75th anniversary of the pageant, viewers were asked to call a 900 number and vote on whether the swimsuit competition should remain -- 79 percent of the callers approved of the competition.