Into the Woods

Some months ago, friends from the Democratic Party mentioned an adult spelling bee here in Stokes that occurs each spring. It’s a fundraiser for the East Stokes Outreach Ministry, which provides food, household items, and other kinds of assistance for needy families. “Count me in!” I told her. Teams of four adults compete for the title of county spelling bee champs.

Last night, our team, “The Grimoires,” won the championship. Members of the team were Steve and Olivia Shelton (both retired music teachers here), and Ken and I.

It’s little events like this that help make rural living so much fun. There are many such fundraising events each year — music festivals, suppers, raffles (dinner included) and even a New Year’s Day dip in a lake at the top of Hanging Rock State Park.

As a child, my spelling bee record was pretty good, so it was great fun to do it again as an adult. All four of us got trophies. Here’s the word list:

abscess
barrette
cemetery
deductible
embarrass
facade
graffiti
harass
inevitable
judgmental
knead
lieutenant
massacre
miscellaneous
necessary
odious
paraffin
aficionado
belligerence
camouflage
decaffeinate
effervescent
facsimile
hemorrhage