There was a time I never thought I would be saying this. But here goes. I'm a big fan of the TV game show Jeopardy!  If I can't watch at 7:30, I have it recorded. So you can imagine my excitement when I found out that a local Jeopardy! competition is being presented live by the Jefferson Educational Society. I arrive at the Jefferson and take a seat in the audience.

This edition of Jeopardy! is being conducted by four members of the Erie Civil War Roundtable. They had a successful round of Jeopardy! at one of their meetings late last year and decided to bring the event to a bigger crowd at the Jefferson Educational Society. All the categories for this game are based on the Civil War. Just like the real Jeopardy! on TV, this game will not only be fun but it will be educational.

"Education is the big thing,” says Rick Tome, who is serving as emcee. “Ultimately, that's what we want. We want people that come in and when they do leave, we want them to have a great time but we want them to come out more knowledgeable that when they came in."

Three teams are competing for the Civil War Jeopardy! championship. As a Jeopardy! lover, I'm really having fun watching these teams compete. I surprisingly find out that one of the teams, Marti and Jim Sawyer, are not big Jeopardy! fans.

"We're familiar with Jeopardy! But we're really here to test our skills at Civil War. So, we're really Civil War buffs,” says Marti.

At the end of Single Jeopardy!, The team of John and Robert Mingey have a big lead. I find out another interesting fact. John Mingey was a contestant on the real TV version of Jeopardy! hosted by Alex Trebec in 2011. Since we have a break, let's interview this contestant! I ask John if the round of Single Jeopardy! at the Jefferson Educational Society brought back memories of his day on the big Jeopardy! stage.

“Yes. It really did,” he answers. “Hitting the buzzer and trying to remember to phrase it in the form of a question. It absolutely brought back memories."

It's time for Double Jeopardy! I love one particular category. It's called “Last Words.” Final Jeopardy! comes and goes, concluding with a close game won by.... a solo contestant, retired attorney Bruce Barrett, of Meadville. Wow! What a night! Maybe next year I might try my hand at Civil War Jeopardy!

Some contestants on the television version of Jeopardy! have won millions of dollars. Bruce, the winner of the Jefferson Society game, won a $100 dollar gift certificate. Just a reminder, Jeopardy!, hosted by Ken Jennings, can be seen on WSEE-TV every weeknight at 7:30.