In the early years of Fairmount College and then Wichita University, the Parnassus staff chose a bevy of beauty queen contestants to be named the “fairest of them all,” the Parnassus Queen.
The competition began as a good-natured contest to see which of the girls’ campus societies could sell the most yearbooks.
In 1927, the Parnassus staff did away with the sales competition and enlisted Cecil B. de Mille as beauty judge.
Fourteen girls were chosen, and the list was narrowed to seven whose photos were forwarded to de Mille.
In later years, photos of Shocker beauties were sent off to a variety of judges, including Hollywood stars Frederic March and Tyrone Power.
In 1934, Bing Crosby selected the Parnassus Queen, pictured at left.
Crosby wrote, “According to my insufficient talents along this line, I have selected Miss Adalyn Swope who seems to be an outstanding example of true American pulchritude.”
