OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The history of Miss America pageantry and the Overland Park Public Works Department may be a lot closer common than some think.
KSHB 41's Megan Abundis spoke with 1966 Miss America title holder Debbie Bryant-Berge, who talked about how she's reconnecting with her past.
"It’s kind of like, 'What are the odds, you know?'" Bryant-Berge said.
"When I look at the video, I always can’t believe that it’s me in that position," she said. "It’s not until much later after the crowning you finally realize that it did happen, and I’m living the dream, the experience."
Bryant-Berge said after winning Miss Kansas in 1965 and becoming 1966's Miss America, the homecoming parade and tour across Pratt, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, was grand.
“Everyone was pretty stoked about having the first Miss America from Kansas," she said.
She said the excitement and the enthusiasm took over the state.
"I think the whole state got behind the experience," she said.
That's where Joshua Welge comes in; he’s the manager of the Maintenance Operations Public Works Department in the city of Overland Park.
"This is our stock room facility," he said.
He said it's there where the city's signs, street light parts, signals, and snow parts are housed.
Welge said the department purchases about 1,000 street signs a year and keeps an inventory of over 3,000 on hand.
"We were cleaning up this area and organizing (the storage area) and discovered these signs faced up against the wall here," he said.
The hidden signs, now 58 years old, were once displayed all over Overland Park with a message on them printed: "Overland Park, Home of Miss America 1966, Debbie Bryant."
"We cleaned the signs up, and we sent one to the Overland Park Historical Society, and we thought, 'Why couldn’t we track down Debbie?'" Welge said. "It’s uncommon for us to find something that old and especially something that has been preserved so well."
Soon after, the crew used some investigative skills to find Bryant-Berge, who now lives in Arizona, and sent a sign back to her.
"It was really exciting to see that unveiled from wherever it had been in the depths of storage," she said.
Bryant-Berge mentioned the signs were added to her collection, but not before her husband proudly displayed the sign for a brief period in their front lawn.
“We live in such a throwaway society, so when something gets worn out and you toss it," Welge said. “It’s unique to find things like that, that are that old and we certainly didn’t want to say, ‘Oh that’s neat,' and throw it away in the recycle bin."
Bryant-Berge said receiving the sign reminded her why Kansas holds such a special place in her heart.
"It is nice to go back and remember how things were, because we can learn so much from it," Bryant-Berge said. "Kansas will always be home, but this act has certainly solidified its position in my heart, you know."
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KSHB 41 reporter Megan Abundis covers Kansas City, Missouri, including neighborhoods in the southern part of the city. Share your story idea with Megan.