By GARY DEMUTH

Salina Journal

It was a war of the words, and neither contestant was about to give an i-n-c-h.

For nearly 30 minutes, retired Salina schoolteachers Freeda Steyer and Bernice Kearns flung words back and forth, including the word "fling," until Kearns finally tripped up.

The word was "wrought," and substituting an "a" for an "o" earned Kearns a second-place finish in the 10th annual Saline County Senior Spelling Bee, which took place Friday at the Salina Senior Center, 245 N. Ninth.

Steyer spelled "wrought" correctly, then was given a final word, "tomahawk." Her accurate spelling of that word gave her the victory.

"It's nice to know that I can still spell after all these years," said Steyer, 63, a retired kindergarten and first-grade teacher who taught at the former Franklin Elementary School in Salina. "There were a lot of excellent spellers here today."

The annual spelling bee was open to any Saline County resident 50 years or older. Nearly half of the 10 contestants were first-timers, including Salinan Colleen Jewell, who took third place.

"I got the bronze!" Jewell announced cheerfully.

Tom Mulhern, director of the Saline County Commission on Aging, facilitated the spelling bee. He began by pronouncing 50 words that constituted the written portion of the contest.

The top 10 contestants who spelled words correctly on the written exam, he said, would be selected for the oral portion.

"By my count, your chances are good," Mulhern said to the nine women and one man.

The Saline County Spelling Bee was co-sponsored by the Salina Senior Center, Smoky Hill Rehabilitation Center, independent living facility Drury Place, and Salina Parks and Recreation 50-Plus program.

Joel Thummel of Smoky Hill Rehabilitation Center and Drury Place said spelling bees provide a great social and intellectual activity for area seniors.

"It gets them out of the house, and it gets them thinking," he said.

Thummel said he was a little disappointed at this year's small turnout of contestants and hoped to double the number of participants next year.

Not participating in this year's contest was Salinan Dorothy Reed, who has won the Saline County Spelling Bee the past three years. By contest rules, three-time winners must step down after their third victory.

So this year, Reed was invited to be a judge, along with Salinans Jacque Connor and Carolyn Peterson.

"I like being a judge, but I also love competing," said Reed, 83. "Anyway, I'll be in the state one."

Reed was referring to the Kansas State Senior Spelling Bee, a statewide event scheduled for Oct. 3 at the Bicentennial Center.

Salinan Lawrence Wetter was the single male contestant at the Saline County contest this year. He is a veteran of this spelling bee, having taken first place twice previously.

"I always considered myself to be a good speller," said Wetter, 74.

This year he wasn't quite so fortunate. Embarrassingly for him, Wetter misspelled the word "embarrassment" by leaving out an "s."

"It's two 's's,' Lawrence," Mulhern told him.

"That's what I meant," said Wetter with a laugh.

Later, Wetter was philosophical about his mistake.

"There's always words you have trouble with every time," he said. "When you have to visualize words in your head, it's always harder to see if they're wrong."

nReporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405 or by e-mail at gdemuth@salina.com.

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