To Bee or Not to Bee Wins the Bee
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The Beebops, the Spell Chicks, The Library Trust-Bees and seventeen other teams competed in the first annual Friends of the Scarsdale Library Adult and Teen Spelling Bee on January 28th in the Scarsdale High School Auditorium.
The Bee was held to benefit the technology upgrade in the community room of the Scarsdale Library. Enough funds were raised to install hard wired-internet access and wifi in the Scott Room, plus some additional items. Ed Coleman (radio voice of the Mets) was the humorous emcee of the event, and the panel of judges included New York State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, Mayor
The Bee competition started with a first round of eliminations. There were three people per team, and each group of teams in the first round was titled Swarms A, B, C, and D. The winning team from each swarm then competed in the finals. The first word of the Bee, Lightning, didn't stump one team, but as the Bee progressed more challenging words knocked teams out. Words that slipped up many teams included carburetor, potpourri, and auxiliary. Proving even more challenging were tricky words like vichyssoise, and pismire. There were also a few comedic words thrown in including nincompoop, which definitely had the audience laughing.
The Bee champions were "To Bee or Not to Bee,” comprised of Bill Roberts, Columbia freshman Zohaib Chida, and Pam Margand. Each member of the winning team received a Kindle, donated by Prudential Centennial Realty. Zohaib’s father Junaid Chida was on a rival team (the Colonials).
The first runner-up team was the Spell Chicks: Library Director Beth Bermel, Head Reference Librarian Jennifer Friedman, and Library Business Manager Roberta Stein-Ham.
The Trigens team (which made the final round) was composed of Randy Guggenheimer, Jr, his son Randy Guggenheimer III, and his grandson, Scarsdale High School senior Brian Guggenheimer.
The oldest participant was Esther Sloan, age 81. She was on the Hip to Be Square team (which made the final round) with Lucas Meyer and Ian Wilson.
The Wanna Bee team was Yale freshman Marcus Moretti and his uncles Dan Moretti and Jon Unger. The Wanna Bees received a special “Nick of Time” award since Marcus was unable to get a cab to the train station, had to take a later train, and arrived at the bee just in time to go on stage.
Incoming Mayor Miriam Flisser and her husband Harvey sponsored one of the teen teams (Spellcasters, aka "Teem" Miriam).
If you would like to donate send checks payable to “Friends of the Scarsdale Library” to “Scott Room Fundraiser, Friends Treasurer, 54 Olmsted Road, Scarsdale NY 10583.” Funds were raised from sponsors, the $150 team entry fee, the $5 admissions fee, food and raffle sales, and individual donors.
Event sponsors
Platinum Level $2,500: Anonymous
Diamond Level $1,000
- Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP
- Brad and Phyllis Perkins
- Sara and Richard Werder
Gold Level $500
- Coldwell Banker
- Country Bank
- Houlihan Lawrence
- Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s international Realty
- Scarsdale Improvement Corporation
- Sylvan Learning Center
Pictured at Top: All of the Spelling Bee Finalists
Photos and Text by Sunny Feinstein
Cuban-American Author to Speak at Scarsdale Library
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What was it like to be a child in revolutionary Cuba? Or to be an 11-year old orphan in America in the early 1960s? On February 1, National Book Award Winner and Yale Professor Carlos Eire will speak about these experiences in the Scarsdale Library Scott Room. The event begins at 7:30 PM and is open to the public.
Professor Eire, Riggs Professor of History at Yale, is known for his scholarly work on the religious and intellectual history of the West. He won the National Book Award for his first memoir about his Cuban-American experience Waiting for Snow in Havana. His most recent work, Learning to Die in Miami, is a continuation of that story.
To read more about Riggs Professor of History and Religious Studies Carlos Eire, please go to www.yale.edu/history/faculty/eire.html .
For more details, go to www.yalewestchester.org and click the “Events” tab or contact Rich Fabbro at 914-391-3707 or email him at rmfab@aol.com. Attendees are requested to register in advance.
Scarsdale Swarms to Support the Library
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On Friday, January 28th at 7:30pm, Scarsdalians of all ages will swarm to the Scarsdale High School auditorium to join in an evening of old-fashioned fun at the Friends of the Scarsdale Library’s first annual Adult and Teen Spelling Bee. Twenty teams have signed up to compete. Admission is only $5 per person. Audience members will be entertained with music, refreshments, word and trivia games, raffles and prizes. The Friends may even pick a Spelling Bee team from the audience! Each member of the winning team will receive a Kindle, donated by Prudential Centennial Realty. Sports broadcaster and radio voice of the Mets Ed Coleman will serve as emcee.
Raffle prizes include a 64 GB iPod Touch; a college advising consultation with experts from Collegistics worth $500; a free Kaplan Test Prep course or $500 towards Kaplan tutoring; a $200 gift certificate from Pondfield Trip Service; five classes at SoulCycle; a signed Red Sox shirt; and a basket of Burt’s Bees products. Mayor Carolyn Stevens will provide home-baked cookies and serve as a judge.
The Friends are very grateful for the generous support received from the Spelling Bee’s sponsors, including Paul, Hastings, Janofsky and Walker; Coldwell Banker; Country Bank; Houlihan Lawrence; Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty; Scarsdale Improvement Corporation; Brad and Phyllis Perkins; and Sara and Rick Werder.
Proceeds from the Bee will be used to help fund a much-needed technology upgrade for the Library’s community room. So come on out and join your friends and neighbors for an exciting evening at the Bee!
For more information (including a list of teams), visit the Scarsdale Spelling Bee page on Facebook by going to the website www.scarsdalelibrary.org/friends , and clicking on the Facebook link.
Free Music Downloads Offered From Scarsdale Library
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Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen, Miles Davis and Johnny Cash are now at the Scarsdale Public Library. Well, not in person, but Scarsdale cardholders can now download songs of their favorite artists for free in a new service offered by the Library.
Freegal, a music downloading service, provides access to Sony Music’s selection of over 500,000 songs. This service will allow the Scarsdale Public Library to expand the size and diversity of its music offerings past its collection of CDs.
A cardholder can download three Sony music tracks in the MP3 format each week at no cost. The link to the service can be found on the homepage of the Library at www.scarsdalelibrary.org .
“We have been waiting a long time for a service like this that delivers great music, compatibility with many devices, and simplicity of use,” said Sara Werder, president of the Scarsdale Public Library Board of Trustees. “The Library is dedicated to evolving to provide new services to the community as technology changes.”
Sony Music Entertainment is a global music company with a roster of current artists that includes a broad array of both artists and international superstars.
“The service offers an incredibly wide range of music, and we think it will be extremely popular,” said Elizabeth Bermel, Director of the Scarsdale Public Library. “From classical to rock, from jazz and country to obscure bands– there’s something for everyone.”
For additional information, contact the Scarsdale Public Library at (914) 722-1300.
Philip Wallace to Speak at Scarsdale Library
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Phillip V.G. Wallace, author of Chasing the Cobra and Call of the Sea, will give a presentation at the Scarsdale Public Library on January 19th at 8:00pm in the Scott Room.
In the early 19th century, the U.S. experienced ongoing conflicts with the Barbary pirates of North Africa. After officially obtaining independence from England with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, the U.S. was left unprotected without the Royal Navy, and pirates captured many merchant ships. This forced the U.S. to start a Navy.
Wallace will discuss his novel, Chasing the Cobra, which is a story set during this period of conflict. Though based on fact, the novel includes romance amidst sea battles against pitiless pirates. Wallace’s presentation will include slides of artwork done on the topic.
Wallace’s film The Majesty of America received a CINE Golden Eagle Award for excellence and represented the U.S. in international competition. Another film, American Catholic Diary, was viewed by Pope John Paul on his visit to the U.S.
Wallace was an executive at two major advertising agencies. He painted the covers for both of his novels, and is a former president of the Scarsdale Art Association. He currently resides in Scarsdale, where he and his late wife Ann raised four children.
For more information contact the library at (914)-722-1300.
