Seventy Years Ago, Rutland’ s Carlene Johnson Became Vermont’ s First and, Thus Far, Only Miss USA
Carlene Johnson’ s friends in Rutland called her“ Muscles.” The petite blonde participated in all manner of sports at Rutland High School— baseball, basketball, volleyball, and cheer. In addition to her athletic prowess, she showed off her biceps and lifted heavy things for the amusement of her classmates.
Spectators across the country learned all about“ Muscles” in July 1955 when Johnson entered and won the Miss USA pageant. Johnson was the first and, thus far, only Vermonter to win Miss USA or Miss America. She is, in fact, the only resident of any northern New England state to win either pageant.
Johnson put those muscles on display in the post-pageant press conference when she lifted the large and cumbersome Miss USA trophy over her head. Every previous winner had relied on a male chaperone to hoist the trophy, typically with two hands.
The outward strength that Carlene Johnson displayed that summer evening in Long Beach, California offered visible proof of the inner strength she displayed during her brief life. Johnson died at just age 35 in 1969 after a lifelong battle with juvenile diabetes. During her childhood, Johnson’ s name appeared frequently in the Rutland Herald on the list of people being admitted or discharged from the city hospital— a then-commonplace practice in newspapers. Mentions of her illness are few and far between in published accounts. dental practice in Rutland. Carlene was close with her older brothers, Lyman and Raymond. Lyman joined the family business, becoming a dentist himself. Raymond enjoyed a long career as an advertising executive, primarily in New York City.
Ray and Clara King, Carlene’ s maternal grandparents, resided in Rutland for most of her childhood, relocating from Lincoln in the early 1940s after closing their laundry business.
Initially, the Johnsons resided on Killington Avenue before purchasing a new home on Piedmont Parkway, a quiet development built not long after World War II. The family clearly adapted to their new surroundings well, becoming ensconced in the city’ s professional class. They joined Grace Congregational Church and belonged to the Rutland Country Club.
Carlene attended the Dana School for her primary education. Her name appeared frequently in the Rutland Herald for her involvement in Girl Scout Troop 1. Rarely did a Thanksgiving or Christmas pass without Carlene and
Carlene Johnson’ s life was rich with victories over the disease. Johnson was born in Rutland on May 31, 1933, just as insulin therapy became widely available. Canadian pharmacologist Frederick Banting and his team at the University of Toronto had won the Nobel Prize in 1923 for their discovery of the treatment. It took time for the therapy to become accessible to many diabetics, particularly children. Well into the 1930s, a majority of children diagnosed with diabetes did not reach adulthood.
Carlene King Johnson was one of the lucky ones who got the chance to author an adult life. She was the third child of Dr. Norman F. and Katherine Johnson. Her middle name was her mother’ s maiden name. The Johnsons relocated to Rutland in the 1930s from Lincoln, Nebraska. Norman was a dentist and decided to join his older brother Earle’ s
Carlene Johnson on the Rutland Fire Truck, August 31, 1955
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