‘Jeopardy!’ to plumb depths of local expert’s knowledge

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

@dustyc123

Published: 06-14-2017 11:51 AM

EASTHAMPTON — An Easthampton woman with an expertise in medieval textiles will be the latest Pioneer Valley resident to appear on “Jeopardy!”

Lisa Evans, a 1982 Smith College graduate who works at Regional Economic Models, Inc. in Amherst, will be one of the three contestants on Wednesday, June 21.

Pioneer Valley residents have recently fared well on the long-running game show. University of Massachusetts Amherst professor Joseph Bartolomeo, an English professor specializing in 18th century British literature, won more than $36,000 in January.

A long-time fan of the show, Evans attended an in-person “Jeopardy!” audition in Boston before getting a call back in February, when she was selected. Evans competed in a pre-taped show on March 7.

Evans is barred from discussing how she fared back in March, but she did tell the Gazette one tiny piece of information:

“My knowledge of medieval quilts turned out to be very helpful,” she said, laughing.

Like many Jeopardy contestants, Evans has an esoteric area of expertise: she’s in a medieval reenactment group and studies old quilts and textiles. Whether or not that knowledge helped her string together a run of wins like Bartolomeo did will be known on Wednesday.

Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.

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