Bonnie Bland, known as a stunning blonde, was the only Miss Orange who became Miss Texas and competed in the famed Miss America Pageant. The year was 1948 and her picture in a modest, two-piece bathing suit was displayed prominently on the front page of the Orange Leader. Bonnie Bland Brauer passed away last week in Houston at the age of 87 and was buried in Mose Granger Cemetery in Orangefield.
In 2011, she was the oldest former Miss Texas attending the 75th anniversary of the pageant. She said in an interview that she “was a farm girl, reared on a dairy farm in a rural district.” She graduated from Stark High School and went to the University of Texas, where she took many honors, including Aquacade Queen.
She went to the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, N.J., in September 1948. Her talent included something no one had ever done before. The Orange Jaycees, which sponsored the Miss Orange pageant, helped her pack her artwork to display while she sang. The song was a sultry “Put the Blame on Mame,” which was famously sung by Rita Hayworth in the film “Gilda.” After being a beauty, Bland modeled in New York City and moved to Houston in 1953.
She was born on September 30, 1927, and her parents were Henry Thomas Bland Sr. and Lillie Granger Bland, who were longtime owners of the Capistrano cafe on Green Avenue.
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