First Posted: 3/26/2015
BLUFFTON — It came without the fanfare of the regional spelling bee recently held at Lima Central Catholic High School. It came without the three-and-a-half-hour marathon. But the participants had just as much fun.
The Bluffton Public Library held its first adult spelling bee Thursday. Dave Essinger, an English professor at the University of Findlay, emerged victorious by spelling the word “barracuda” for the championship. He secured the chamionship in a matter of 44 minutes.
Essinger was well-prepared for the event, given his job and his past. As a junior high student, he advanced twice in regional spelling bees.
“I used to be pretty good at it in junior high,” Essinger said.
Essinger said he didn’t have any problems with a single word but credited that to getting the right words. He said he likely would have had problems with some of the words other contestants received, such as abridgement or lullaby.
“I think I might have wanted to put an ‘e’ on the end of lullaby,” Essinger said.
Essinger said he is also copy editor for the literary journal on the Findlay campus, which he said helped him prepare for the event.
He did have competition, including another professor and a copy editor.
The event was held as a fundraiser, with the United Way collecting half of the entry fees and the other half going to the winner. While the event was with less fanfare than the national event, the words were just as difficult. Some of the words included “impetuous,” “archetype” and “kaleidoscope.”
Lauren Canaday, an employee at the library and organizer of the event, said the library will likely host another adult spelling bee in the future.
“It was a lot of fund and for a good cause,” Canaday said. “We would like to get it established as a tradition at the library.”
Anyone donating more than $2 with their entry fee was also given one chance to use any resource in the library to check a spelling. Gail Clingerman used her chance successfully on the word “frivolous,” and she finished second place. Paula Scott finished third in the event.
