By Mallory McGowin
Wednesday, September 09, 2009 at 4:24 p.m.
Read more: Local, Community
WESTPHALIA -- This summer's county fairs were marked by pagents that crowned young beauty queens all across mid-Missouri.
The Missouri Health Care Association held a pageant of their own this summer and one of its big winners who is young at heart.
Peg Carbee is an 89-year-old mother of two, grandmother of five, and great-grandmother to four children. And now she's a crowned nursing home pageant winner.
"I have never done anything like that before," says Peg. "And I thought it rather humorous and silly to end up being a queen at the age of 89."
Peg was crowned the winner of the local Missouri Health Care Association pageant held at the Capital Mall back in June.
Peg then traveled to Kansas City a few weeks ago to represent the Westphalia Retirement Center and all of mid-Missouri at the state pageant. She finished in second place.
"I never dreamed I'd have to go on to the state contest in Kansas City," says Peg. "I might not have ever gone in the first place if I'd known that, but anyhow I had fun."
Peg and her husband Dick have been married for 65 years and just moved to the Westphalia Retirement Center in February.
"When the people here originally decided they wanted me to represent them in Jefferson City, I said, 'Why me?'" says Peg.
Westphalia Retirement Center staff members tell me they asked Peg to participate because of her many life experiences.
Peg was both a music and english teacher. She also traveled to Europe nearly a dozen times with her husband.
Retirement center officials say they also found Peg's positive outlook on life both refreshing and inspiring.
"It doesn't do you any good to sit around and mope," says Peg. "You have to keep your spirits up. And I get a lot of pleasure out of life yet."
