Behind Her All the Way
Graham's Miss North Carolina
The Jeanne Swanner Exhibit

Your invitation to visit!
We'd love for you to see it!

A permanent exhibit in the Graham Historical Museum 135 W. Elm Street, Graham, NC
Sponsored by the Graham Historical Society

Back in 1963-64, the people of Graham, North Carolina celebrated their beloved hometown when local girl Jeanne Swanner was crowned the 1963 Miss North Carolina. Over 400 Graham citizens traveled to Atlantic City for the Miss America Pageant where Jeanne was awarded the Miss Congeniality title by the highest margin of the votes in the Pageant's history.

The Behind Her all the Way exhibit symbolizes a community united together - a place where dreams can come true with love, support and good home town values.

It is a tribute to what people in Graham did for one of their own when Miss Graham won the title of Miss North Carolina in 1963 and went on to become Miss Congeniality in the Miss America Pageant. Gowns, crowns, photographs and 6'2"Jeanne's ukulele are among items on display along with detailed chronicles of the more than 500 appearances she made that year.

Much more than a beauty queen's memorabilia, the exhibit provides a look at small town America in the early sixties when beauty pageants were extremely popular in the South, and North Carolina hosted the largest Miss America state pageant in the nation. (84 contestants)
The exhibit opened forty years to the day when Jeanne was crowned Miss NC.

The Graham Historical Museum is open most Sunday afternoons,
by appointment or ... when the flag is out!