67 years later, a piece of Miss PNE history returns to the fair

Nannely Vandergaast was one of the contestants in the 1958 Miss PNE contest.

Alas, she didn’t win. But 67 years later, she finally got to wear the Miss PNE tiara.

The 85-year-old recently contacted the Pacific National Exhibition about donating a piece of its history back to the fair, a sterling silver bracelet given to Miss PNE contestants.

Made by Birks, the bracelet had an engraving inside reading Nannely Vandergaast, Miss West Vancouver, Miss PNE contest 1958. There was also a tiny engraving of the PNE’s front gate, circa 1958.

PNE President and CEO Shelley Frost had a small reception in her office for Vandergaast, who became Nannely Lawson after she was married in 1963.

Frost brought out the PNE tiara, which hasn’t been given out since the contest ended in 1991. It now resides in