High School Takes Honors in the 2nd Annual Portsmouth History School Trivia Contest
The Portsmouth Historical Society held their Second Annual Portsmouth History School Trivia Contest for students last Thursday, March 22, 2018, at Gulfstream Bar and Grille at Melville. Four student teams – three from Portsmouth High School and one from Portsmouth Middle School – attempted to answer trivia questions about Portsmouth’s history prepared by Society President and Town Historian, Jim Garman. He also was the judge and grader for the contest. Portsmouth High School teacher Joe Cassady acted as MC for the evening’s contest and Gary Gump, a member of the Historical Society Board, kept score.
Portsmouth High School’s Tim Ryan and Portsmouth Middle School’s Francesca Faria helped to organize the event and support their teams. The middle school’s team, “We Showed Up,” was comprised of Riley Borden, Lani Camera, Abbie Dutra, and Anna Conheeny. They were also cheered on by Joao Arruda, the Middle School’s Principal.
The host of the evening, Reada Evans, is one the owners of Gulfstream and kept the contestants supplied with water and sodas during the two hour long event. Her continued hospitality (she also hosted this event last year) was appreciated by all, including some of the contestants’ parents, who were cheering for their student while they sampled some of Gulfstream’s excellent cuisine.
The trivia contest consisted of five rounds of five questions each, with each round scored separately. At the end of the evening, one team was declared to be the winner by virtue of their point total. The 1st place team, “The Founders,“ was from the high school and included Madison Lambert, Ruthie Wood, Wyatt Corey, and Nathan Minese. The winning school will be able to display the Portsmouth Historical Society School Trivia Contest trophy, a plaque with the winning team’s names inscribed, for the rest of the year. The winning team was also invited to compete again in the Adult Trivia Contest to be held at The Valley Inn on April 11, 2018.
Last year, the winning team came from the middle school and a part of last year’s winning team, “Tumbleweeds 2.0,” comprised of Anastasia Wheeler, Daisy Fernandez, and Brandon Joaquin, returned to represent the high school this year, and came in a strong 2nd place.
Another high school team, “The Fathers,” which included Matt Velzis, Michael Rossi, Annabelle Gibson, and Bella Cowell, finished in a close 3rd place.
At the end of the evening, Jim Garman presented the winning team with a framed copy of the Portsmouth Compact of 1638. Organizer and Society Vice President, Doug Smith, thought the evening was a great success. “Any time you can get our school kids to focus on our local history is a real accomplishment. We appreciate the support of our school liaisons and Gulfstream Grille, and hope that we can encourage more teams to join us next year.”
