The Clock Is Ticking...
Melting Ice Will Yield Prize at Mackinaw City
By Paul Gingras

Greg Harwick of Mackinaw City stands beside the ice tower in front of the Mackinaw City Village Hall Wednesday, February 6. When enough ice melts, a device he constructed will trigger a timer inside the village hall to stop, deciding the winner of the First Annual Ice Tower Classic.

An "Ice Tower Classic" contest in Mackinaw City will award a prize to the person who most accurately gauges the spring ice melt in the village this year, and will raise funds for the Historic Village project. The Mackinaw Area Historical Society launched the contest Wednesday, February 6, to raise money for renovating buildings this summer that it expects to receive for the Historic Village, one mile west of town.

An electronic device was embedded at the base of the frozen ice fountain in front of the village hall at about 2 p.m. As spring approaches and ice melts, the device will signal a timer inside village hall to stop. The person who has guessed the closest date and time when the timer stops will win a cash prize.

The device embedded in the ice tower is a mercury switch sealed in a plastic tube.

Greg Harwick of Mackinaw City gathered and assembled the parts for the device.

"This is our trial year," he cautioned, "but it should work. It should do the job."

The prize is $1,100, and growing, said Bill Marvin, vice president of the Historical Society. To get the project started, seed money was included in this year's prize. Next year, it will be a 50/50 contest, with proceeds split between the winner and the Historical Society.

The Historical Society has placed posters promoting the project at businesses in six communities. Envelopes with application forms printed on them are sold where posters are displayed. For $5, participants may submit up to two guesses in containers at the sites. Cooperation with the project has been outstanding, Mr. Marvin said. "More businesses are signing on all the time."

Containers have been filling since January 18. The group would like to sell at least 400 envelopes.

The fundraiser is modeled on an Alaskan fundraiser. The Ice Classic's Alaskan counterpart triggers a huge siren, which would not be appropriate in the middle of the Mackinaw City, Mr. Marvin said, but the Historical society is considering placing a light atop the village hall that would blink when the timer stops.

Jerry Prior, Mackinaw City resident and Historical Society board member, visited Nenana, Alaska, and brought the idea home.

The Nenana Ice Classic and has been going on for 84 years. It includes a device on a wooden stand placed on the Tenana River in winter. When the river thaws enough to make the stand move a certain distance, it triggers a siren. The time and date are recorded, deciding the contest winners. Last year, $303,272 was split between 22 winners, according to the Nenana Ice Classic Association, a nonprofit corporation.

Gazing at the ice tower in front of village hall, Mr. Roth said, "I had gone by this so many times and thought, 'Wouldn't it be interesting to have a contest based on when it melts?'"

"We hope it will grow, provide funds for the Historical Society, and be a lot of fun for everybody," he said of the contest.

The Historic Village project is growing quickly, Mr. Marvin said. There have been events at the village's renovated Pest House, an old infirmary, and its newest addition, the Freedom School, a oneroom schoolhouse. The Society also holds 1800s-style baseball games at the site.

Now, the organization has received offers of more historic buildings than it can take on at once. Members are evaluating potential structures to add to the village this summer.

"We are faced with a nice dilemma," Mr. Marvin said. The group has gone from seeking buildings to having many buildings

offered to it. The Society is considering taking

on two rough-hewn buildings dating to the late 1800s, a Victorian structure, and a sawmill. If the group accepts the sawmill, it will construct a building around it, Mr. Marvin said.

The Historical Society plans to offer the Ice Tower Classic every year in addition to other fundraisers. Funds received will be used for building renovations and to pay operating costs, which are low, Mr. Marvin said.

In 10 to 20 years, the group hopes to have a village complete with buildings associated with railroads, logging, tourism, fishing, and other representations of the period from 1880 to 1917, which represents a tremendous time of change, he said.

To get a contest envelope, contact Ray Roth at (231) 436-5572, or Bill Marvin at 436-4006.