By Tuesday evening, young ladies from every stretch of the county glide into Thurber to prepare for beauty battle, bringing with them a small army of mothers and aunts to act as stylists, handlers and cheerleaders. Come Sunday night, the beastly masses of Reynolds County stand on rocking feet at the steps of the Muriel Perkins Memorial Library, the only building structurally sound enough to accommodate such a large crowd. It’s also the most architecturally stylish building in an otherwise unmemorable town square, with tan bunting billowing from every available window frame. In short, it’s the only place in all of Thurber decent enough to crown the Reynolds County Grain Girl in.

It’s also the only place in all of Thurber where pageant winner Darlene Moffitt has been murdered.

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— If you haven’t had the chance to check out my long read piece on the unsolved murder of beauty pageant winner Darlene Moffitt, you can do so now over at Minutiæ. It’s insightful, intrepid, insidious, inspiring. And absolutely insane.