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Date: 10/2/2023
HOLYOKE — The queen and her court are headed to Atlantic City, and she’s hoping more supporters — or Atlantic City fans — would like to come along for the ride.
On Oct. 15 at 7:30 a.m., reigning Ms. Massachusetts Senior America Queen Diane Erikson will board a bus at the Agawam Senior Center that will carry her and her supporters to the Ms. Senior America National Pageant at the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, for the five-day pageant festivities. A contingent of fellow contestants and former Ms. Massachusetts Senior American pageant winners will be joining Erikson to support her in the multi-day competition, but State Pageant Coordinator Lorraine Gorham said there is still room for people to join the bus trip, which is about the pageant — and so much more.
“There’s great shopping and great food right at the Tropicana, and Caesar’s is right next door. There’s a trolly that brings you to the boardwalk … I put my feet in the ocean even though it’s October,” Gorham said, adding people are welcome to join the trip just to experience Atlantic City.
The cost for the round-trip bus, which will return at around midnight on Oct. 20, is $250 — “we were supposed to take a $50 non-refundable deposit, but we will take people up to the last minute,” Gorham shared, and the cost of a room at the Tropicana under the Ms. Senior America package is $95/night double occupancy. For more information, or to join the trip, contact Gorham at 413-534-1318 or Joanne Impoco at 413-525-7065.
So, what is Ms. Senior America?
Founded in 1972 as a “Ms. Senior Citizen” pageant by former 20th Century Fox music artist turned minister Dr. Al Mott as a way to honor the older women in his local senior center, by 1981 the innovative concept had blossomed and taken root across the country, with pageants sprouting up in nearly every state. Today, the national Ms. Senior America Pageant “is the world’s first and premiere pageant for women over the age of 60 who have achieved the ‘Age of Elegance.’ It is a search for the gracious lady who best exemplifies the dignity, maturity, and inner beauty of all senior Americans,” according to the pageant website, https://mssenioramerica.xyz/.
In Atlantic City, this year’s state queens will compete again in the pageant’s four categories — personal interview, evening gown, philosophy of life and talent — before a panel of carefully selected judges. Those judges will narrow the field down to 12, from which they will ultimately chose and crown a Ms. Senior America National Queen on Oct. 19.
And of all the state pageant queens she has accompanied to the national pageant, Gorham said she feels Erickson has the best chance of capturing the national crown.
“She is well-traveled, well-spoken and the kind of senior woman who we want to represent senior women. She’s always helping others, Gorham said of the 5’10” “very attractive” current Massachusetts state queen.
Meet the Ms. Massachusetts reigning queen
The third time was the charm for 77-year-old Diane Erikson from Milbury, Massachusetts, where she is also president of the local branch of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, and is spearheading her club’s work on teen mental health in the schools.
“My first year I did a monologue as to why I don’t have a talent,” the U.K.-born Erikson joked about her initial attempt at capturing the crown. “But I love dressing up and looking smart and I always try to look together so I had fun and I really enjoyed it so I said I can do it again.”
The second year Erikson said she prepared a song, “There’s a Kind of Hush,” in tribute to her brother-in-law, who was battling pancreatic cancer, as her talent. And though she didn’t capture the title on her second attempt, the well-traveled Erikson — she grew up in Qatar, worked in Algeria and lived in Egypt when her husband of 40 years, John, was there with G.E. — said she “still enjoyed the rehearsals and I enjoyed working with the former title holders. The ladies have all stayed together and they are very supportive.”
Erikson had decided this year would be her last attempt before entering the Ms. Massachusetts Senior America contest for a third time. “This year I worked with Richie Mitnick, and he brought my voice up to a level I was considered for queen,” she remarked. And in June she captured the crown.
Erikson said for Atlantic City she’s going back to her second-year song, “There’s a Kind of Hush” — “I love that song, hopefully we can get the crowd to participate a bit,” Erikson shared.
Erikson herself is no stranger to the working of pageants. Her daughter was involved in the state-level Miss Massachusetts Miss America pageants “back in the day,” and she became a volunteer, a role she still plays for that competition. “Because I live just outside of Worcester and the [Massachusetts] Miss America Pageant is held at the Hanover Theater, I book the hotel and feed and house the girls for pageant week,” she explained.
Erikson said she first met Gorham through her other volunteer work with the General Federation of Women’s Clubs — they are both members — and because of her involvement with Miss America, Gorham initially asked Erikson to be a Ms. Massachusetts Senior America pageant judge. That involvement turned into a nudge to try her had at the competition, and the rest is history.
“Who knew that I would be up on the stage in front of everybody,” Erikson remarked. “You’re never too old” to step out of your comfort zone and try something new, she shared. When she entered this year’s state pageant, Erikson noted she said to herself “now I’m done… and hey, here I am [as queen] and so far, it’s been a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to going to Atlantic City!”