From the Stevens Point Journal (WI) April 20, 2001:

From snacks to source books, teams lay in supplies for weekend contest
By Andrea Glyzewski
Journal staff

Wayne Semmerling chops up peppers and onions for a two-bean soup he's making for Trivia 32 players this weekend. His team, The Cakers, will enjoy a variety of gourmet foods

Preparations have changed since Dan Olson first played Trivia in 1975.

Back in those days, a team was in great shape if it had the Guinness Book of World Records, a few sports books borrowed from the library and maybe a stack of magazines and newspapers, Olson said.

Team CNOF now uses an eight- to 10-node ethernet network with multiple high-speed links to the Internet. Members have also taken notes throughout the year from movies, television and current events, and also have a large collection of books.

Our 3,000 books are still important, but the Internet gives us the reach we need to quickly get answers, he said. What hasn't changed is the fun of getting together with friends and having a good time.

Teams such as Olson's have prepared all year long for Trivia 32: Old Days. The 54-hour contest sponsored by 90 FM WWSP begins at 6 p.m. today. Olson and his 10-year-old son, Austin, will fly in to town from Wixom, Mich.

He has played the last few years, but I believe he is hooked now because he has been taking notes on Nickelodeon shows, and I know he will be our team expert for Nickelodeon trivia, Dan Olson said. We have a lot of kids who play on our team now, and they provide valuable help when it comes to knowing pop culture.

Other participants say they come for the fun.

Team MoonBeez members take some notes during the year and have some books to prepare, said Patty Polzin, 5148 Ranchland Circle.

We mainly go off the top of our head, Polzin said.

The team started at 392nd place in 1994 and improved to 110th place in 2000.

Polzin said between two and 30 people show up at her home on Trivia weekend.

Everybody brings food to eat so we really dont have to worry about that, she said.

Wayne Semmerling, 2808 Main St., worries about the food. His team of 36 players, the Cakers, will enjoy many different tastes at his house this weekend.

The first times we got together it was a weekend of Taco Bell and Hot N Now, but one time I grilled brats and made salsa, and everyone was ecstatic about it, Semmerling said.

Now, about 12 years later, a full-blown menu includes seafood gumbo, jambalaya, Texas chili, vegetarian stew, chicken tacos, salsa, guacamole, potato salad, hamburgers, brats, spring green salad, marinated pork tenderloin, beef tenderloin, salmon with mango chutney and grilled ostrich. The breakfast menu includes omelets, bacon, sausage, English muffins and hash browns.

This is the fourth time Semmerling will be cooking during Trivia.

I love cooking, he said. I started learning how to cook with my mom when I was little.

Preparation is key for the weekends cooking, Semmerling said.

Menu planning and the grocery list began about a week ago, and the prep work started on Sunday for the menu, he said.

Semmerling has boiled the potatoes and eggs and also prepared items for the seafood gumbo. He tackled the bulk of preparing on Wednesday. He only has a few things left to do, including boiling brats for grilling.

It can be a lot of work, but I think its worked out pretty good this year, he said.