Press described Johnson as“ the prettiest Republican you ever saw.” Johnson answered“ nolo” to“ Yes or No” questions from the judges, explaining that“ nolo” was the Latin word for“ no.”
Her appearance and responses earned her a spot in the finals with four other competitors— Miss Arkansas, Miss Georgia, Miss Nebraska, and Miss California.
During her final round of questioning, Johnson was asked why so few successful beauty contestants seemed to come from New England.
“ Well, as you know, the East is very funny about beauty contests. We’ re a very conservative people, but my family goes along with me as does the town [ of Rutland ], as long as I don’ t get a lump on my head,” Johnson said, drawing laughs from the Miss USA judges.
Later that evening, the judges announced their selection of Carlene Johnson as Miss USA 1955. In addition to the trophy she held aloft, Johnson won a six-month movie contract with Universal and a pearl necklace.
“ Gosh. I didn’ t dream I’ d win. When I came out here and saw all the beautiful girls in the contest, I felt like turning around and going home. When they announced I was the winner, I just got numb all over,” Johnson told the Los Angeles Times.
Carlene gets awarded the Police Badge by Rutland Chief John Dinn
Minutes after the announcement, a banner proclaiming Carlene Johnson as Miss USA stretched across Main Street in Rutland. Vermont’ s conspicuously frugal governor Joseph Johnson( no relation) felt sufficiently luxurious about the Rutland native’ s victory to send her a congratulatory telegram.“ We knew she was going to win,” Rutland Chamber of Commerce president Robert S. Franconi told the Burlington Free Press.“ We expect our girls to be champions. After all, we also have Andrea Mead Lawrence, Olympic ski champion. And Mae Murray, one of the top U. S. woman golfers.”
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the backstage cattiness following Johnson’ s victory seemed like something out of a bad movie.
“ I think something must be wrong with the judge’ s eyes,” Miss Delaware, Helen Denise Blackwell, told the Philadelphia Inquirer. The paper indicated that several other contestants felt similarly but none of the others would be quoted directly.
Johnson created some controversy of her own on the night of the pageant.
Johnson gave evasive answers about whether she had a boyfriend, suggesting at one point that she might have ties to more than one young man and may be going through a tiff with one of them.
Several Vermont newspapers had reported her engagement to Leslie Streeter in summer 1954. Streeter and Johnson met at Middlebury, where Streeter was captain of the ski team. At the time, Streeter, a native of Northfield, Vermont, was the reigning NCAA national skiing champion. He was selected to the 1956 U. S. Winter Olympic Team in Cortina, Italy but was unable to participate due to an injury he sustained in training.
“ She was wearing my ring when she left,” Streeter told United Press International,“ but I don’ t know what she’ s doing now. I’ m not too worried. She’ s
VTMAG. COM HOLIDAY 2025 / WINTER 2026 17