A pageant, a crown, and a backdrop for war

One of the more telling moments of the 2003 Miss Oshkosh Scholarship Pageant - a big annual fete here in this working-class town on the shores of Lake Winnebago - arrives during the talent competition.

As the lights dim and quiet settles onto the sold-out crowd of 1,500 - a sea of pearls, furs, and double-breasted blazers - stagehands wheel out an impossibly long piano. And Contestant No. 5, Amy Rider - a biology major at the local university - strides out, sits down, and begins playing Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag.

Her manicured fingers flash across the keys. But halfway through, she falters - then recovers her place, and stumbles again. After a moment, still smiling, Amy finds what passes for the song's end - and gives it an extra punch. The crowd roars.

Throughout the pageant - and across this one-time sawmill capital of the Midwest - there's a velvet steeliness. It stands out in the way the 62,000 residents grip life and work and family - with long vowels, flat accents, bulky wool sweaters, and serious devotion to the duty of the day. It's also evident in how many of them view a potential war with Iraq - with a cut-and-dry determination that the US should oust Saddam Hussein.

There is, for instance, the recently reactivated Mothers Against Saddam Hussein (MASH), a support group for families with relatives in the Persian Gulf. There's the student government at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, which recently voted 43-6 to disallow formal debate on an antiwar resolution. And there's the klatch of local women knitting slippers, socks, and hats for troops overseas - along with cotton "cool ties," for soldiers to wrap around their foreheads for relief from the heat.

Certainly there are those opposed to war here, too - and they're just as hardy. For weeks now, a small antiwar group has stood in the town square every Friday - even in subzero temperatures - holding peace signs.

But outgoing Miss Oshkosh Rebekah VanScyoc may speak for most residents when she says, "Since 9/11, it's just became clear that Saddam Hussein has to go." The petite blonde has spent the past year riding in parades, promoting community service, and earning her $3,000 in scholarship money. "We need to remember the families of 9/11," she says, "and support our troops."

Another steely pageant moment comes when local beauty queens are introduced. Miss Fon du Lac, Miss Door County, Miss Fox River Valley, and others stride across the stage, with perky "parade waves" in the Queen-Mother tradition. Then comes Miss Southern Wisconsin - on crutches. No big smile, no graceful wave: She simply puts her head down and barrels across the stage. The surprised crowd gives her an extra helping of applause.

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