One of the oddest contests ever promoted in Albert Lea was to select the area’s &uot;Miss Slick Chick.&uot;

Now, before anyone gets too excited about this supposedly sexist title based on the old slang term for young girls or women, maybe a lot more explanation is needed.

This particular contest was sponsored by the Albert Lea Chamber of Commerce in February 1947. The chamber was looking for &uot;hens with charm, personality and sex appeal,&uot; according to a news article on the front page of the Feb. 26, 1947, edition. That’s right, folks, this slick chick contest was for the birds, chickens, that is. We’ll explain why later.

Prizes for the winners of this contest consisted of a 100-pound of Gold Band chick starter feed made by the Speltz Grain and Coal Co., a 100-pound sack of Cargill’s Crumbalized starter mash donated by the Albert Lea Feed Co., a 100-pound sack of Donlea starter feed from Donovan Grain and Fuel Co., and at least 15 other prizes donated by area merchants.

The winners of this contest would be determined after the hens posed for their pictures to be taken at the National Guard Armory on March 1, 1947. Then those photos would be entered in a national contest to determine the number one American hen, or Miss Slick Chick.

The owner of this particular hen would win a trip to New York City, a solid gold egg, a number of fur-lined nests, and become a special guest at the premier of the film &uot;The Egg and I.&uot;

As the Tribune article explained. &uot;Judging will not be made on a scientific approach to the hen’s qualities but on her general feminine charm. The contest idea, adopted nationally, was started in Hollywood as a means of promoting the forthcoming film and was taken up by poultry concerns.&uot;

Now, before switching the topic to the film, &uot;The Egg and I,&uot; and its unintended spinoff of seven more films, I have one more detail to cover. The local winner of the Miss Slick Chick contest was John Eckart, 911 Bridge Ave., who displayed a white Leghorn hen.

Here’s what one reviewer had to report about the plot of this film: &uot;( The 1947 film ‘The Egg and I,’ was) based on the true life adventures of best-selling humorist Betty MacDonald. A young urban bride agrees to help her new husband realize his life-long dream of owning a chicken farm. A dilapidated house, temperamental stove, and suicidal chickens test the bride’s perseverance, as do the zany antics of her country-bumpkin neighbors, Ma and Pa Kettle, who make their screen debut.&uot;

The featured stars in this poultry production were Claudette Colbert, Fred

McMurray, Marjorie Main (Ma Kettle) and Percy Kilbride (Pa Kettle). In fact, one of these stars was even nominated for an Academy Award in 1947. It was Marjorie Main as the best supporting actress. For those interested in film history, Celeste Holm won the Oscar for her supporting role in the movie. &uot;Gentlemen’s Agreement,&uot; that year.

&uot;The Egg and I&uot; was an interesting comedy based on life in the Puget Sound region of the state of Washington.

After this movie came out the folks at MCA in Hollywood found the formula for capitalizing on two of the supposedly supporting characters in this film.

Thus, the chickens and Puget Sound were forgotten. Ma and Pa Kettle and their 15 children were recast as hillbillies. Their first separate film was issued in 1949.

What followed were the following cornpone films: &uot;Ma and Pa Kettle Go To Town (1950),&uot; &uot;Ma and Pa Kettle Back On the Farm (1951),&uot; &uot;Ma and Pa Kettle At the Fair (1952),&uot;

&uot; Ma and Pa Kettle On Vacation (1953),&uot; &uot;Ma and Pa Kettle At Home (1954),&uot; and finally, &uot;Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki (1955),&uot; This ended the series because Percy Kilbride (Pa Kettle) decided to retire.

I have a hunch &uot;The Egg and I&uot; and the Ma and Pa Kettle films are still being shown on cable television channels. I do recall seeing a recent magazine ad offering videos of the seven Ma and Pa Kettle films as a complete set available by mail order.

Tribune feature writer Ed Shannon’s column appears Fridays in the Tribune.