Ugly Man Contest 1st Place Winner, Aaron Nichols with Ephraim Bee Festival 2023 Royalty.
D.C. HISTORICAL SOCIETY
HOSTS
ANNUAL UGLY MAN CONTEST FOR
EPHRAIM BEE FESTIVAL 2023
This past Saturday was a very eventful day for Doddridge County. It was the now-famous Ephraim Bee Festival 2023. Doddridge County Historical Society was honored to host the popular “Ugly Man Contest.” I know… I know. What a terrible name for a contest indeed. However, it is the name chosen by Ephraim Bee himself and has nothing to do with appearance. It is really about being outrageously funny and appealing to the crowd.
It all began when the first contest was held in our humble little town of West Union back in the 1800s. It is said that Ephraim Bee won the contest and was awarded a pocketknife for his prize. He proudly exclaimed to anyone who would listen that he had won the “Ugly Man Contest” and therefore had earned the right to be declared the ugliest man in all of West Virginia. Of course, it was a joke, and all done in fun. He was by no means an ugly man and he knew it.
You see, Ephraim Bee was said to be one of the biggest practical jokers ever known in the entire state. He had the unique ability and self-confidence to make jokes about himself and everyone else in his presence. It was done for fun and for the benefit of getting a friendly laugh from his friends. He was well-liked by nearly all who knew him… (We need more confident men such as Ephraim Bee today.)
It is with this knowledge that we hold the “Ugly Man Contest” at the Ephraim Bee Festival each year. We were pleased to have this year’s contest held in front of our largest crowd to date. They were a happy and lively bunch. The winners were chosen by the applause given to each of the contestants, which was recorded using a decimal meter operated by Harlen Harris and the scores were recorded and tallied by Sherri Harris.
This year’s registered contestants were Thomas Bee, Wesley Chapel, FL; Waldo the Clamper, Hillsboro, NC; Navelint Short Clamper, Morganton, NC; Tommy Wilson, Ritchie County, WV; Sam Bee, New Matamoras, OH; Aaron Nichols, Morgantown, WV; Rich Hannaman, Orange Park, FL; Roy Musgrave, Monroe, VA; Waine Nicholson, Sunnyside, WV; Steve Gaswint, Nashport, OH; Richard Bee, New Matamoras, OH; Robert McMillan, New Jersey; and David Swalip, Salem, WV.
This year, for the first time, we had a tie for 1st place – Aaron Nichols of Morgantown, WV, and Rich Hannaman of Orange Park, FL. We conducted another applause decimal meter test, and the final 1st and 2nd place winners were 1st Place – Aaron Nichols, winning him the coveted red-bone handled Ephraim Bee pocketknife with “Ephraim Bee Festival, 2023” and the words, “Ugly Man Contest” engraved on it., and 2nd Place – Rich Hannaman, winning him the stainless-steel dog tag engraved with the same except “Not ugly enough” was added. 3rd Place – David Swallop of Salem, WV, who was last year’s 1st place winner, won an engraved keychain with the same engraving as 2nd place. David is also a member of the popular band called the Band of Misfits.
1st place winner, Aaron Nichols, 2nd place winner, Rich Hannaman, 3rd place winner, David Swallop.
Waldo the Clamper and Navelint Short Clamper of NC.
And we can’t forget the funniest man of the entire show… the great Waldo, the Clamper, and Navelint Short Clamper, both from NC.
Regretfully, the other contestants did not have their photographs taken, and we therefore could not share them with everyone.
And we can’t forget the funniest man of the entire show… the great Waldo, the Clamper, and Navelint Short Clamper, both from NC.
Regretfully, the other contestants did not have their photographs taken, and we therefore could not share them with everyone.