Florida Poster Girls

"Nana, what's this photo from?" Victoria loved days spent with her Nana Ruby. She had many stories to tell and amazing photos from years past.
"Ahhh, darling, that's the day your Great Auntie and I became Florida Poster Girls! Have you heard this one before? I owe Doc Webb to my discovery." Ruby was an actress with a long and impressive career. Great Auntie Edie was a model until she retired in the 1970's. Both ladies grew up in St. Petersburg, FL, just like Victoria now. Ruby poured two glasses of sweet tea and sat down in her favorite chair. Victoria settled across from her on the bungalow porch, ready to be transported to the past...
"Put yourself in a beautiful afternoon around May 1949. I was getting dolled up for the big night and waiting for Edie to come round......"
Ruby smoothed her curls and pouted her lips to apply her Tan-Gee Red-Red shade of lipstick. It was her favorite and old stand-by for important events, such as today. Ruby and her best friend Edie would be heading over to Webb's City to discover if they made it as a Doc Webb famous poster girl! Only eight young ladies from the surrounding area were hand-picked per year and it had gotten so huge that they competed against thousands of applicants. Ruby and Edie dreamed of becoming poster girls since they were ten and Edie's mom had taken them for root beer floats at Webb's drug store, the largest this side of the Mississippi, or as Doc Webb boasted, the largest in the world! Not only would they be honored to become a part of such a glamorous club, but as poster girls they would travel across the USA as representatives of their beautiful "Sunshine City". Ruby and Edie knew that this was the perfect stepping stone to get into the movies. In 1946 the group competed against California's prettiest and were sent to Hollywood to rub shoulders with movie stars and their agents.
"Ahoy gorgeous!" Edie sang through the open screen door. "Ready to knock everyone's socks off?"
"You betcha!" Ruby hugged and air-kissed her best gal, so as to not muss her hair and make-up of course. "Let's hit it, that wiggle dress is the bee's knees!"
A St. Pete gem, Webb's City and the original drugstore came complete with circus acts, dancing chickens and mermaids. Everyone knew it was the place to be seen. Tonight the corner block downtown had been roped off to cars and to really make the announcement of the new girls a major attraction. Ruby and Edie walked arm and arm into Webb's precisely at the given call time, an hour before the presentation. Doc Webb stood, arms outstretched, bidding the two girls a warm welcome. He then directed them to the back room with the other 25 finalists last minute primping and shooing away any nervous feelings. Ruby and Edie sat down, heads held high, taking in all the other competitors. Finally the call came:
"Ladies, line up please!" The lead director would usher the girls out on to the outdoor stage and then Doc Webb himself would make the announcement to the eager crowd.
Luckily Ruby and Edie were able to stand next to each other as they were the same height. Lined-up and peering into the masses, Edie spotted her parents first and next to them, Ruby's.
"Here's to us." Edie whispered, squeezing her best friend's hand tight.
"The time has come ladies and gentlemen! Tonight is the night for a new glamour group! A new bunch of beauties! Eight new lovely young ladies to grace the USA as my very own, FLORIDA POSTER GIRLS!!"
Commence wild crowd cheers and applause. Doc Webb was a wonderful showman. He could put vigor into any audience.
"For the fantastic year of nineteen hundred and forty-nine, I present this years eight finalists...plucked from the lovely shores of Spa Beach, the brick roads around Coffee Pot Bayou and whilst enjoying the flora of the Sunken Gardens. I pride myself in having a great eye for female beauty. Earning a place in history and honor, these eight gals will surely represent St. Petersburg for all the fun in the sun and beautiful nights we have come to enjoy. St. Petersburg continues to grow in size and recognition, thanks to the sight of beach scenes and bathing beauties!"
Ruby drew in a sharp breath as the anticipation nearly killed her. Edie squeezed a bit tighter to reassure both of them that, yes we made it, don't worry.
"Walk forward and claim the coveted spot this year, Miss Lauren Brown! Miss Meg Johnson! Miss Virginia Davis! Miss Ruby Morgan! Miss Edie O'Neal! Miss Kim Haines! Miss Darlene Blass and Miss Marjorie Rose! Congratulations ladies!"


Ruby and Edie heard their names and then only noise. Cheers and claps and whistles. Their bodies moved forward but their brains were thrown for a loop. Edie looked over, smiling wide at Ruby, still holding hands as Ruby simply said, "I knew it!" and then dissolved into laughter while a sash was placed over each girls' head and shoulders.
The fanfare of the event was one of the best nights Ruby and Edie had together. The next week they were both featured in Life magazine's advert for Webb's City. Ruby framed it years later and placed it on the mantel next to photos of trips taken for film shoots and vacations to exciting locales taken with Edie and their husbands. Despite such a glamorous life, both women settled back home in St. Petersburg to raise families and live out their golden years.
"Nana that was wonderful!" Victoria exclaimed breathlessly. "Auntie Edie and you are the prettiest of the bunch!"
"Thank you my darling love. It was a grand time in our lives, the beginning of everything, I always say. St. Petersburg has a rich history and I am very grateful to have been such a wonderful part in it."
THE END