7. Lana Kurtzer standing in front of seaplane, circa 1950s

The collection includes 105 photographs (and 29 additional duplicates) depicting beauty queens from communities throughout the Pacific Northwest as they prepare for seaplane excursions with Kurtzer Flying Service between 1956 and 1968. The young women visited Seattle to participate in Seafair activities and these photographs were subsequently published in their hometown newspapers.

The majority of photographs are attributed to Forde Photographers and the Greater Seattle News Bureau. The young women pictured were the winners of beauty pageants in Washington, Alaska, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia. The contestants include future Miss Washington 1965, Kippy Lou Brinkman (appearing here as Miss Tri-Cities); a future Miss Canada 1965, Linda Douma (appearing here as Miss PNE Vancouver); Miss Alaska 1961, Teresa Hanson; and Miss Washington 1958, Anne Henderson (Spokane).

The women took part in seaplane rides as part of their activities surrounding Seattle’s Seafair celebration. Most of the photos show three or four women wearing their sashes accompanied by a float plane pilot, Seafair representatives, or in some cases, Lana Kurtzer, founder of Kurtzer Flying Service. These flights were an early Seafair tradition for many years. Additional photographs show earlier views of Lana Kurtzer and the Kurtzer Flying Service facilities at South Lake Union. An image of Bryant’s Marina on Portage Bay is also included.