WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (WHO) – The Scripps National Spelling Bee is celebrating a major milestone: It’s the 100th anniversary of the event.
For the past century, kids participating in the bee have captured the nation’s attention and hearts with buzz-worthy moments.
But one Iowa woman has had a front row seat to the action for decades, as well as a big responsibility when it comes to crowning the winner.
Mary Brooks is the head judge, and has been since 2005.
“My main role is listening,” Brooks said. “We have a panel of judges. We work together, but it is my voice that you hear, and it is my hand you see on that bell. The final decision comes when I either say ‘that’s correct’ or I ring the bell.”
The bell itself which lets spellers know when they have misspelled a word has a story of its own.
“There are Civil War dates engraved in it,” Brooks explained, “so we know it has a history.”
Brooks said she inherited the bell from her late mother-in-law.
“I like the way it looks,” Brooks said. “It represents history and that some things in our past do last. They do go on.”
It’s also a meaningful part to the long-standing event.
“It has become the sound of the bee,” Brooks added.
The bell, as Brooks sees it, is symbolic of her involvement, too.
“When I didn’t go in 2014 was when I forgot that the bell still needed to go,” Brooks recalled. “The bell wasn’t there and they were using the generic bell, which I have one of those downstairs, too. They don’t sound anything alike. And there were more comments. They had explained my absence, but there were really more comments about, ‘Where’s the bell?’ They didn’t realize it was my personal bell. … So the bell, I know is probably more recognizable than I am.”
It’s not hard to recognize Brooks’ loyalty to the bee: It’s seen in her home, on her clothes, and there are even bee-shaped earrings dangling from her ears.
This “queen bee” started with Scripps National Spelling Bee after graduating from high school, when her uncle James H. Wagner was the executive director.
“And he offered me to come into Washington and serve on the staff, college staff,” Brooks said. “And I just got hooked on it.”
She’s been “hooked” for than 50 years mostly because of the kids.
“It isn’t just about the spelling,” Brooks expressed. “The competition is, but it’s so much more about their vocabulary, which is part of the competition as well. And for me, any activity that allows young people to take their passion and their skills and have success is important to me.”
Brooks, a retired teacher from West Des Moines, added that the bee is more than just students memorizing the dictionary.
“I value language and words. I value literacy and reading,” Brooks said, “and spelling is all a part of that.”
It’s also about the memorable moments. One of Brooks’ favorite examples is from 2021 the comeback bee which was held after the 2020 event was canceled due to COVID.
Zaila Avant-garde, a 14-year-old from Harvey, Louisiana, was tasked with spelling the word “Murraya.”
“She said, ‘Is it related to the American comedian [Bill Murray]?’ I mean she asked that,” Brooks recalled. “And so instantly, I just got a chuckle. It had nothing to do with Murray, but she was making the connection.”
Avant-garde spelled the word correctly to win the competition.
“For that brief moment, the world turned right-side-up again. This is it. We’re back to normal. Just gives me goosebumps!” Brooks exclaimed.
The victories are always more enjoyable than the losses. In the last few years, Brooks has made the misspellings more bearable by providing words of encouragement when a speller misses a word.
“And it felt so much better than watching them stand there, hear the bell, hear the spelling, the correct spelling of the word, and then dejectedly walk off the stage,” Brooks said.
“So it started small … the bee team has labeled [them] ‘Mary’s Moments.'”
These moments allow Brooks to remind spellers of why they participate: “It is an experience that you can’t ever take away from them. And it will always serve them well in whatever direction they choose to go.”
“The symbol of the bee is so relevant because that bee flies even though it shouldn’t be able to,” Brooks added. “So, we often use that as an example with the kids. There’s nothing to stop you. Just because somebody says ‘you can’t,’ or you don’t think you can, you can!
The first bee was held in 1925, when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited other newspapers to host spelling bees and send their champions to Washington. The bee is now held just outside the nation’s capital, at a convention center on the banks of the Potomac River.
This is the 97th bee; it was canceled from 1943 to 1945 because of World War II and again in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s champion will be the 110th, because the bee ended in a two-way tie several times, and an eight-way tie in 2019.
The semifinals take place Wednesday night, and the champion will be decided Thursday night.
You can watch the two-night special on the ION television channel or learn more by visiting the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s website.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
