WILLISTON – The 75th Miss North Dakota Scholarship Competition will bring 17 contestants to Williston this week, along with many Forever Miss North Dakota women who had held the title over the years.

Among them will be Kitty (Page) Tomkinson, 94, of Scottsdale, Arizona, who was the first Miss North Dakota in 1949.

The competitions for Miss North Dakota and Miss North Dakota Teen will be held Wednesday through Saturday at 7 p.m. each evening. Preliminary competitions take place the first three days, with the finals on Saturday. Ticket, livestream and other details are available at MissNorthDakota.org.

Tomkinson, a Bismarck native, had attended the University of North Dakota for a year and a half, leaving due to a bout with mononucleosis. She was serving as a page in the North Dakota House of Representatives when she was encouraged, at age 19, to compete in the first Miss North Dakota contest. She competed as Miss Bismarck, displaying her talent with the baton and in tap dance as a former majorette. She was one of 23 contestants, and as Miss North Dakota, she went on to compete in the Miss America event in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Her daughter, Kim Ludwig, who lives in Georgia, said her mother recalls participating in the dedication of the natural amphitheater at Painted Canyon near Medora and taking part in many parades as well as events in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Tomkinson became a stewardess for Northwest Airlines, meeting her future husband, a professional baseball player, on a flight. After their marriage, they lived in Buffalo, New York, and raised three children.

She is a Gold Life Master at duplicate bridge and still plays bridge online with people from around the world.

“She’s highly regarded as an excellent bridge player,” Ludwig said. “I think that’s what keeps her sharp.”

Tomkinson has written more than 200 humorous short stories, which her family is now helping her compile in a book. She also was a home furnishings consultant and raised horses to compete in English hunting and jumping.

She moved to Scottsdale in 1973, and her husband passed away a couple of years ago.

This year’s Miss North Dakota contestants are Miss North Dakota State Fair, Emma Tong, pre-med sophomore at the University of Alabama; Miss Magic City, Hannah Ripplinger, sophomore in marketing at North Dakota State University; Miss Peace Garden, Kambrya Stephenson, a pre-law freshman at the University of North Dakota; Miss Pride of the North, Chloe Shelton, senior in finance at UND; Miss Dakota Territory, Noelle McVicar, musical theater graduate from Drake University; Miss Heart of the Valley, Becca Simmon, cosmetologist; Miss West Fargo, Ilanora Peterson, pre-law sophomore at UND; Miss Grand Forks, Gabriella Lilley, pre-law senior at UND; Miss Prairie Rose, Carli Jordan, UND graduate in business administration-marketing; Miss Red River Valley Fair, Sydney Helgeson, graduate of the University of Alabama in management; Miss Bonanzaville, Heather Gades, graduate student at NDSU in higher education management; Miss Walsh County Fair, Cylee Walton, freshman in marketing at UND; Miss HollyDazzle, Sophia Richards, UND graduate in strategic communication; Miss Central Dakota, Lyndsey Scheurer, graduate in graphic design and communication from Bismarck State College; Miss Summerfest, Kyla Andvik, freshman in communication at South Dakota State University; Miss Capital A’Fair, Hope Burdolski, graduate in education from UND; and Miss Williston, Brooke Wetzstein, junior in business at Colorado Christian University.

The event is preliminary to the Miss America Scholarship Competition.

The 18 Miss North Dakota Teen contestants are Miss Magic City, Kaitlyn Graney, Beulah High freshman; Miss Peace Garden, Ellamae Richter, Harvey eighth grade; Miss Heart of the Valley, Bethany Dreffs, Dreffs Homeschool Academy sophomore; Miss State Capitol, Rita Johnson, Williston High junior; Miss Downtown Street Fair, Autumn Fisher, Dickinson Trinity senior; Miss Red River Valley Fair, Ellie Ahlfeldt, Oak Grove junior, Fargo; Miss Central Dakota, Kendall Jones, Simle Middle School, eighth grade, Bismarck; Miss HollyDazzle, Jessica Fulcher, Riverside Christian School senior, East Grand Forks; Miss Prairie Rose, Lora Wolle, Brigham Young University Online High School sophomore; Miss Grand Forks, Addison Pringle, Surrey eighth grade; Miss BisMan Power, Keira Rambousek, Dickinson Trinity senior; Miss West Fargo, Sofia Watterud, Williston High junior; Miss Western Star, Aubrianna Staloch, Williston High junior; Miss Williston, Tayler Christianson, Bishop Ryan senior; Miss Bonanazaville, Caroline Dreffs, Dreffs Homeschool Academy sophomore; Miss Summerfest, Grace Butler, Oak Grove freshman; Miss Williams County, Bonny Huwe, Williston High junior; Miss Chokecherry Festival, Alivia Lowery, Williston High freshman.