The following account of the 1975 National Finals is from the Pen. Florida District BQ Coordinator,Tim McDaniel. Notice his mentioning of Charlotte Beyer (formerly McNaul). Charlotte is active in Bible Quiz today coaching an excellent team from Iowa.
I meant to write BuzzOfferings or NYD about my memories of the ‘75 national finals…but then again, mine is the memory of a then-12 year old. The ‘75 National Finals was the first time I had ever seen Bible Quiz. It was the Book of Acts, and I was forever impressed by what I saw–young people who knew an amazing amount of Scripture, and who could quote it at top speed. My interest happened to be in the team from New Sharon, Iowa.
New Sharon was (and probably still is) a town of about 1000, located about 60 miles southeast of Des Moines. The local A/G averaged about 200 in attendance, and had a quiz team anchored by Charlotte McNaul. Charlotte was a senior in high school in 1975. Her mother said she got up EARLY morning. (I think it was about 5 am) She would spend hours memorizing Acts. By the end of the quiz year, she had memorized the entire book. But she also had school to attend (she did very well as I remember) and she worked,too. (She was married the following Thanksgiving to Russell Beyer.) She lived on a farm outside of town. Charlotte was the anchor. She WAS the team for most of the year. However, as the year went on, she started receiving more and more support from Rose DeBoef.
Rose was also a farmgirl. She was the next-to-last of…a bunch of kids. (I don’t remember the number, but I think it was nine.) Rose was also a senior. She would go on to Trinity College in the Dakotas. But in 1975, Rose was really starting to show her ability as a quizzer. She also had memorized a great amount of Acts. The other members of the team, Phil DeBoef, Beth Henderson, and Charylee Martin, played less important roles through most of the year. However, Phil, Rose’s younger brother, showed promise.
According to the team, the most difficult quizzing of the entire year took place in their own district. New Sharon, Cedar Rapids, Newton…several teams battled for district supremacy. Iowa probably could have sent three solid teams to Regionals, but, of course, this was 1975, and only one team advanced at each level. New Sharon won District Finals, and the team started talking to Phil about his important role. If they were to win at Regionals, Phil would have to improve. And he did. And they did.
Then, another obstacle appeared. The church’s pastor, (I’m embarrassed to admit that I can’t remember his name), who was also the coach of the team, resigned to accept the pastorate at another church. The team’s assistant coach would have to step in. He was another of the DeBoef kids, older brother Arvin. And so, they went to Nationals.
That’s about the time that I came to know the team. In August, the church got a new pastor, my dad, Fred McDaniel. Our family traveled to General Council and the National Bible Quiz Finals that year, and I got to root for my new Iowa friends. They were phenomenal. Not only did they know alot, they did that cool flip-thing with their hand to activate the buzz pad. (Back in ‘75, hands on the buzzers was illegal.) They didn’t lose. 7-0. In fact, they hadn’t lost all year. Not once. Not in Invitationals, not in District, not in Regionals, not at Nationals. Perfect. The team returned to New Sharon as heroes, with a motorcade welcome and everything.
I was hooked. The next month was my first month to be eligible for Bible Quiz and I signed up. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. Charlotte and Rose were gone, but Arvin was back and Phil was the captain and anchor for us as we went all the way to Regionals. Me? I never was much good as a quizzer, even though I participated in all six years that I was eligible. But that ‘75 team had inspired me. To me, they were the best team I ever saw. And whenever I think about them, they still inspire me. Well, anyway, that’s my memory. Some of the details might be out of sequence, but it’s the best I remember.
Tim is the Pen. Florida District BQ Coordinator