Miss Bronze Ohio

Ric and Karen Sheffield grew up seeing this picture of their mother hanging proudly on the wall at their grandmother’s house. Their mother, Oneida Fisher, was a contestant in the Miss Bronze Ohio Pageant in Columbus, Ohio in 1942. She ended up winning 4th place.

This is a documentary partly about this bit of family history, and partly about a mixed race family’s experience living in rural Ohio and their relationship to beauty standards. Two siblings reflect on their past in this story, recorded in Gambier, Ohio in 2017. The original short film was my senior thesis project at Kenyon College. It now exists as an audio piece as well (created for my application to the Salt Documentary Studies program at MECA, 2019).




Special thanks to: Karen Sheffield, Ric Sheffield, Jonathan Sherman, Jonathan Tazewell, and Martha Gregory.

Oneida Fisher in her Club Regal Pageant sash.

Oneida Fisher in her Club Regal Pageant sash.