By Mary Jo Nissen

 

Iowans played central roles in the development of the chiropractic profession. Indeed, it is said that chiropractic was born on Sept. 18, 1895, in Davenport when D.D. Palmer’s adjustment of the spine of Harvey Lillard, who suffered from deafness, caused Lillard’s hearing to return to normal. The Palmer College of Chiropractic that Palmer established in Davenport was the first in the world and continues to exist as one of only 19 accredited chiropractic colleges in the United States. Iowa was the home of many of the early leaders in chiropractic who helped to establish, defend and publicize the practice.

 

Another Iowan also had a starring role in the early days of chiropractic: Louise Goodwin of Baxter was named “Miss Perfect Back of America” by the National Chiropractic Association (NCA). This is the story of Goodwin’s participation in that contest, how and why the NCA established it, and the roles that other Iowans played in it.

 

Goodwin won the national title in 1933, but her experience with back contests began two years before then. It was the summer of 1931, she had just graduated from Baxter High School at the age of 16, and her family took a trip to southern California. While there, Goodwin’s mother noticed a newspaper clipping about a “Miss Perfect Back” contest to be held in Los Angeles, and the family decided that Goodwin should enter it. She was a beautiful girl, and it wasn’t impossible that she had a perfect back. Another factor that probably played a role in this decision was that Goodwin’s first cousin was Claire Dodd, also born in Baxter, who was beginning her career as a Hollywood movie star. While Goodwin and her family were visiting California in 1931, the first of Dodd’s nearly sixty films was released, so they might all have been a bit starstruck and hopeful that Goodwin could follow in her cousin’s footsteps.

 

When Goodwin and her mother went to Los Angeles to register for the contest, they were told that registration had closed two days previously, but the director of the contest decided she could enter anyway. Out of the 520 young women who entered the contest, 46 finalists, including Goodwin, donned swimsuits for the final judging. Goodwin did not take first place, but the judges named her the “most perfect brunette” and awarded her a gold medal and a plaque. 

 

Let’s consider this idea of a perfect back contest. Who came up with it, and when? Was it really about backs, or was it a beauty contest? The first such contest in North America was announced in 1921. Frederic P. Millard, an osteopath who had graduated from the American School of Osteopathy in Kirksville, Mo., was the founder and at that time president of the National League for the Prevention of Spinal Curvature, and he spearheaded the idea of holding a contest for the best spine in North America. Newspapers all across the United States advertised the contest, which offered a prize of $1,000 to the winner. Women could enter by submitting two photos of their unclothed back from neck to hips — one full on and one from the side — as well as a certificate from an osteopath who had examined their back. Judging was based entirely on the photographs and the report of the osteopath. Because of the relative ease of entering the contest and the size of the prize money, more than 40,000 women entered and the media frenzy was extensive. 

 

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