PARENTS HOPE CINDERELLA STORY HAS HAPPY ENDING

Patricia Thiele still hopes that the Cinderella story her seven-year-old daughter was living has a happy ending.

Thiele planned a fund-raising dinner on Saturday at Muddy Waters Entertainment Center, which is on Bend Road just outside of Cape Girardeau, to keep the fairy tale of this beauty pageant winner alive.

The money raised from the dinner at Muddy Waters was going to enable Thiele to accompany her daughter, Amanda Adkins, to the 1994 Miss Junior Pre-Teen national pageant in Orlando, Fla. Adkins placed first among 16 girls in a recent St. Louis Miss Pre-Teen Pageant to earn the right to compete in the national pageant Jan. 6-11.

Adkins gets an expense-paid trip to Orlando. But her mother, who works part-time in temporary positions, is unable to pay for the $1,400 trip. Thiele, who helped her mother sew Amanda's pageant dress, must raise the money by June 15.

The signs that were posted on Saturday to direct traffic to Muddy Waters were torn down and only seven people showed up. "Two people ate before they gave a donation and then left just a dollar on the table," said Thiele.

"It had to be a bunch of kids running around on Saturday night who decided to tear the signs down," said Thiele, a quiver in her voice underscoring the emotional state of her household. "Amanda is really upset over this," said Thiele. "She tossed and turned all night long.

"She's outside holding up the sign we made to direct people to Muddy Waters. We're telling ourselves there must be a reason for this. Maybe only God knows why."

The sign read: "Missouri Pre-Teen Fundraiser, come eat for $5 a plate."

Thiele is convinced several people planned on attending the fundraiser, but turned around when there were no signs leading them to the site. "People called today (Sunday) and told us they turned around at Nell Holcomb School because they weren't sure where to go from there," said Thiele.

Because so few people showed up at the fundraiser, Patricia and Bill Thiele, who is disabled, must find a way to pay for the food that no one ate.

"We have bills that will total about $700 from the fundraiser," said Thiele. "A lot of food was donated, but we expected so many people that we decided to put our own money into it to make sure there would be enough."

Thiele said the only way to recover money lost from the fund-raiser and to make the January trip to Orlando possible would be through a savings account set up at Mercantile Bank in Cape Girardeau.

"We expected this thing to just turn out perfect after Amanda won the pageant in St. Louis," said Thiele. "We advertised the event so well, with television and the newspaper. All that was left was to show people how to get there and that was take away."

Anyone interested in helping the Thieles may donate money in Amanda Adkins' name at Mercantile Bank or by calling the family at 334-3240 for further information.

"I believe there's an answer to all of this and that there are still a lot of good people out there," said Patricia Thiele. "For Amanda's sake, I would like to take the trip with her because she's earned the right to compete in the national pageant."

When Adkins was picked as a top 10 finalist, she was asked to describe her happiest time. "The happiest thing that ever happened to me is being in this pageant today," said Adkins.