In a night filled with applause, bright stage lights, and hometown pride, Norwood celebrated the crowning of Janice Marie Ryan as Miss Norwood 1964 during Saturday evening’s scholarship pageant at the Norwood Junior High School auditorium. Sponsored by the Norwood Junior Chamber of Commerce, the event brought together contestants from Norwood and surrounding communities, each vying for the title and the opportunities it carried.
Ryan, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William E. Ryan of 101 Berwick Place, is a graduate of Ursuline Academy in Dedham and a sophomore at Boston College, where she is an honor student in the School of Education. Along with the crown, she received a $300 scholarship and will represent Norwood at the Miss Massachusetts Pageant in Fall River on June 27. She plans to use her scholarship toward a year of study abroad at the Institute of Foreign Studies in Paris beginning in the fall.
The judges named Mary Ellen Jajoie of Norwood as first runner‑up and Cynthia Ellen Marsh of Mattapan as second runner‑up. Josephine E. Tedeschi of Stoughton received the title of Miss Congeniality. Other contestants included Roseann Lillian Cavialino of Norwood, Valerie Audrey Lemos of Stoughton, Carolyn Pedonti of Medford, and Maurine G. Gianni of Brighton.
The evening’s photograph captured Ryan seated at center, surrounded by her fellow contestants—an image reflecting both the pageant’s celebratory spirit and the community’s pride in its young women.
Source: Norfolk County Press, April 29, 1964
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