USA Beauty Pageant Host Barker Makes the Fur Fly

--The show must go on. But in the case of Tuesday night’s televised Miss USA Pageant, it would have gone on without longtime host Bob Barker if pageant officials hadn’t decided at the last minute to drape the semifinalists in fake furs. Barker, an animal rights activist for a decade, had threatened to pull out of the show if the semifinalists wore real furs over swimsuits in a production number that featured a winter setting. But, like much on television, the drama had a happy ending when pageant director George Honchar finally agreed to let the contestants parade in fake mink and ermine. “There’s no way to make a fur coat without causing pain to one of God’s creatures,” Barker said. Real furs were still used as contest prizes, however, but that portion of the show was to be handled by co-host Mary Frann of TV’s “The Newhart Show.” Michelle Renee Royer, 21, of El Paso, Tex., was crowned Miss USA.

--Jeanne Eckerson and Charles Jackson found each other on the obituary pages. Eckerson, 29, writes obituaries for the Northern Virginia Daily in Strasburg, Va., while Jackson, 30, works for a local funeral home. Every day since June they’ve spoken on the phone when Jackson called in funeral notices. Eventually, they started dating. Then last week, with the help of several newspaper employees, Jackson placed an ad on the obituary page without Eckerson’s knowledge. It read: “Jeanne. We met through this page. We’ll end up on this page. Will you spend the rest of your life with me? Chuck.” She said yes. They hope to live happily ever after--till death do them part.

--The wearing of the green--a longstanding Girl Scout tradition--will come to an end this summer when the official scout uniform will become blue. Girl Scout spokeswoman Karen Arthur said a recent survey indicated that the scouts preferred blue to the staple green. But green hasn’t been abandoned altogether. The new uniform for about 184,000 cadets and seniors will feature a blue skirt and vest, a blue-and-green striped blouse and green bow tie.

--A Valentine’s Day footnote: The stork--standing in for Cupid--delivered a 7-pound, 14 1/2-ounce boy named Andrew James to Rebecca and Dayle Valentine of Rochester, Minn. The couple’s first child was due Feb. 8, but they were hoping for Feb. 14. “We talked and joked about it,” Rebecca Valentine said, but “the chances are so slim. I don’t think you can plan that.”