Thu Sep 02 2010
by Tim Troglen
Reporter
Hudson -- Thanks to a rock, a local resident will be heading to Wyoming in June to compete in a national competition.
Faith Bye of Hudson successfully spelled "breccia," a type of sedimentary rock, to finish first in the fifth annual Northeast Ohio Senior Adult Spelling Bee at Laurel Lake Retirement Community April 26.
"I was probably the most surprised -- more than anyone else," she said. "I did not go intending that I would win. I entered for the fun of it."
As the champion, Bye, 70, wins a two-day trip for two to Cheyenne, Wyo., where she will compete in the AARP National Senior Spelling Bee June 20.
The two-year resident of Laurel Lake said this was her second attempt at the bee, entering last year but not getting past the written round.
Bye said she'd always considered herself a good speller until she joined "Verbomaniacs," which is a spelling challenge group at the facility. She has become an even better speller since.
Laurel Lake program and activities manager Susan Busko, coach of the Verbomaniacs, was not surprised with Bye's victory.
"She's been really studying," Busko said. "Her focus has been really intense in the last month."
Bye credited the group with helping her win, adding she typed up a list of words used by the group as a study guide.
The champ also credited tips given by the spelling bee's creator, Paula Hartman-Stein, a clinical psychologist specializing in aging and the founder of the Center for Healthy Aging in Kent.
Bye said the tips were about the principles of various Greek, Latin and Spanish words.
"And my partial knowledge of Italian, Spanish and French came in handy," Bye said.
Finishing second and third were Grace Rymer and Gerry Jones, respectively.
The 22 contestants competed in an opening written round, with Rymer winning an award for spelling 20 of 21 words correctly.
The next round was a double-elimination oral contest, with contestants getting eliminated after misspelling two words.
As the contest entered the seventh round, Bye and Rymer had both missed one word.
Rymer then misspelled "reboise," and Bye correctly spelled "breccia."
The judges were Katherine Blackbird, a creative writing and poetry instructor from Kent State University; state Rep. Kathleen Chandler; Hudson Hub-Times Editor Bill Hammerstrom; Terry Harsney, the 2007 winner of the Ohio Senior Spelling Bee; Audrey Kraynak, instructor of human development and family studies adult development and well-being program at Kent State University; and Mark Weber, director of libraries and media services at KSU.
The event was sponsored by Laurel Lake, Summa Health System and The Center for Healthy Aging.
E-mail: ttroglen@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3146
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