September 12, 2001
Beating
the odds |
|
On August 23, 2001 the parking lot at the Ho-Chunk Nation's Executive Building was full. People came to work in cars, trucks or vans bought and paid for. One person's car was not. Tribal member Lois Lincoln Behrens made the journey from her home in Tomah, WI driving a 2002 Dodge Neon, won on the television game show The Price is Right. Lois, who works in the Nation's Education Department, won the car on a show taped May 28th and shown to the country on June 4th. |
|
Her appearance on the show was the highlight of a vacation taken with her brother Gilman Lincoln Jr. and children Daniel and Leslie Behrens. The foursome applied for tickets to the show last November, never imagining one of them would later be one of the big winners. The Price is Right is one of the most popular, longest running game shows in television history, watched by millions of people every weekday and Lois recalled "the whole thing was exciting" though she did admit to being nervous when sharing the stage with lights and cameras. For those not familiar with the show, members from the audience are selected at random to give the prices of selected items with one winner from each of the six rounds played given the chance to win more valuable prizes. Four people are selected at the start of each show to sit on "contestants row", each winner is then replaced with another person drawn at random. Those chosen at the beginning of the show have the best chance of winning (they get to play more games) but Lois made it interesting. One of the original four players selected, Lois was edged out bidding on items ranging from a karokee machine to camping equipment before submitting the winning bid on a "hall tree" during the show's second half hour, in the fifth round played. During each segment of the show one winner from "contestants row" is given the chance to win a new car and on May 28th Lois was that person. On stage with the show's host Bob Barker, she played a game that required rolling one dice on a table and using the number rolled (from 1-6) select the price of a car. Sounds simple, right? The games requires rolling the dice past a line on the table, Lois' first roll fell short. Fearing another "short shot" she then proceeded to throw the dice off the table on her second throw. As Barker was reminding those in the studio and a national television audience that the game was not that hard, Lois recalled that the word "embarrassment" did cross her mind. Fear not, on her next five rolls the dice passed the line, stayed on the table, the right choices were made and a winner was created. Though she later was unsuccessful when seeking to play the "Showcase Showdown" offering the program's grand prize, the trip home was a happy one for Lois and her family. She added that it was a week later, when she watched the show that she realized it wasn't a dream and that a new car would be coming her way. Though the model of the car was pre-determined, Lois explained that she did get to select the color and some options for the vehicle. Responsible only for the tax and license on the car, built specifically for her at a Chrysler Plant in West Oaks, CA, Lois picked up her prize in Baraboo, WI on August 22nd. |
|
