First Jewish Miss Wyoming Heading to National Stage
Hazel Homer-Wambeam hails from a small but mighty Jewish community in Laramie, Wyoming. With only 1,150 Jews in the whole Cowboy State and no synagogue in sight, the Jews of Laramie gather in a local Masonic Temple for services, meet for potluck dinners and join in dance and song.
Homer-Wambeam took her deep-rooted love for dancing and singing from Laramie to the talent portion of the Miss Wyoming competition where, in June, she was named the first Jewish crown holder. In December, Homer-Wambeam will head to the national competition to vie to be only the second Jewish Miss America in the program’s history. The first was Bess Myerson, who competed as Miss New York during World War II in 1945.
“I can imagine that Myerson brought on a lot of hope for people, and sadly in the...