Family members seeking any information about the birth and father of the first MISS IDAHO who was born in Julesburg, CO on 23 January 1922. Katharine Eileen Gilchrist Hooker was crowned MISS NAMPA IDAHO in 1938 then competed and won the 1938 MISS IDAHO beauty contest. This contest was the first MISS IDAHO beauty contest ever held.
Katharine Eilene Gilchrist (possibly Gilcrest) was born to Lura Dee (Bower) on 23 Jan 1922 in Julesburg. The father was an unknown Gilchrist (or Gilcrest). This may have been an Out-of-Wedlock birth as the mother was from New Plymouth, Payette County, IDAHO and returned there shortly after the birth. Lura Bower then wed Russell C. Hooker on 23 November 1922 in Reno, Nevada. The child was raised by the name of Eileen Hooker.
LEGACY OF A BEAUTY QUEEN
Local history: Nampa girl danced her way to Hollywood. Miss Eileen Hooker, who, after winning the titles of Miss Nampa and Miss IDAHO, went on to become a successful Hollywood dancer in the 1940s, appearing in seven musicals from 1942-47, often as the lead dancer. The article with the glamour photo was so intriguing that the staff decided to do some research to find out what happened to her. It was discovered that some of her family still lived in Nampa. The staff immediately contacted the family and learned that Eileen was one of the star chorus dancers and performed in almost all of Betty Grable's musicals. This is her story. Miss Nampa 1938, 1939. Eileen Hooker began dancing at a young age when she enrolled in dance lessons from a local dance instructor, May Van de Steeg. She was a natural and appeared in many recitals and programs in Nampa. During high school, she was conducting dance lessons in Emmett and New Plymouth while still continuing her own dance lessons. When Eileen was 17, she entered the Snake River Stampede Rodeo QUEEN contest. She didn't win that contest, but later that summer entered a beauty contest sponsored by the Nampa Elks. She was chosen Miss Nampa 1938. This entitled her to compete in the Elks-sponsored Miss IDAHO competition in IDAHO Falls. Her beauty, poise and talent won her the title of Miss IDAHO, beating 12 other contestants. The prize for winning Miss IDAHO was an airplane trip to Hollywood, three days' stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel with all expenses paid and a screen test with one of the major film companies. Her aunt, Dorothy Bower Grasmick, accompanied her on this trip. While in Hollywood she decided to stay eight months instead of three days. She stayed with friends and studied dramatics with a private teacher formerly with the Hollywood Little Theater. Hooker returned to Nampa in the spring to graduate with her Class of 1939. That summer she entered the Miss Nampa contest again, but this time the contest was sponsored by and held at the Majestic Theater and was connected with the Miss America Pageant. She competed against four other girls and again won, now with the title of Miss Nampa 1939. This was the first time Nampa was to have a representative in the Miss America Pageant. Watch out Hollywood. This time the state beauty pageant was held in Sun Valley. The winner would be crowned Miss Sun Valley of IDAHO and would go on to the National Finals. Hooker did not win the title of Miss Sun Valley of IDAHO, but she did land a job as one of the entertainers at the Sun Valley Lodge. After seeing her talent during the competition, in which she performed a ballet, a tap dance and an Italian aria, Manager Pat Rogers of the Sun Valley Lodge contacted Hooker, and she was offered a position to dance and sing. It is interesting to note that Eileen was in Sun Valley at a time when it was still a relatively new ski resort (built by Averell Harriman of the Union Pacific) which attracted many movie stars. Hooker entertained for two seasons at the Sun Valley Lodge and also was a model and appeared in various magazines and newspapers promoting the Sun Valley Resort. After one of her performances in her second season at the Sun Valley Lodge, Darryl Zanuck of Twentieth Century Fox Studios, who vacationed in Sun Valley, asked her to go to Hollywood and audition for some of the musicals the company was planning. She auditioned and signed a contract with Twentieth Century Fox. Eileen's younger sister, Marge Newby, was 7 years old when Eileen began her dancing career in Hollywood. She remembers going on the set when they were filming one of the movies and meeting Betty Grable. She was so impressed with the dancing that she decided she wanted to be a dancer, too. Vern Hooker, Eileen's brother, recalled that during World War II his sister helped the war effort by entertaining the troops in USO shows. To show their appreciation to the entertainers, the troops would name military vehicles after them. Eileen had a tank named after her. Although Hooker made it big in Hollywood, her heart remained in Nampa. She married her high school sweetheart, Earl Robinson, who was stationed in California, in the mid-1940s. They returned to Nampa in the late 1940s and later returned to California where she died at the young age of 37. Technology was not nearly as advanced back then as it is today, but it is believed that she had a heart defect and the strenuous job of all those years of dancing eventually led to heart failure. She left behind a loving husband, two children, a devoted family - and a legacy of dedication, hard work and success in a career that she truly loved.

California Death Index records Eileen Robinson, DOB 23 Jan 1922 in Colorado, DOD 28 July 1958 in La Canada/Flintridge, Los Angeles County, California. Lists mother's maiden name as Relyea, father's surname as Hooker. Age at death was 36 years, 6 months, and 5 days.. Cause believed to be Heart Attack. (Note: Her grandmother's name was Veda Rose Relyea. Her father's name was Gilchrist, although she was raised by Russell C. Hooker who married her mother on 23 November 1922 in Reno, Nevada. It is unknown if she was adopted by Russell Hooker, however, she continued using the Hooker surname throughout her life.)
Contact: Bob Schoonover, Email: schoony@comcast.net