While I find it hard to believe, 2012 marks the 8th year of Goshen's version of a winter classic.
THE RULES - come closest to guessing the exact day and time that a 69-pound concrete block falls through the ice (without going over) and you’ll win half of all the proceeds.
The block sits on a wooden pallet that holds a flag. The flag is simply a marker that shows where the block is when it gets completely covered in snow. The block is connected by a rope to an electric clock. The clock is plugged into an outlet in the gatehouse on the dam holding back Hammond Pond. Once the block falls through the ice or the ice floe moves away from the dam, the tension on the cord will pull the plug out of the wall socket and stop the clock. It’s that straightforward.
This year’s fundraiser will benefit Chesterfield's 250th Anniversary Community Fireworks display. The fireworks are the culmination of a weeklong celebration of Chesterfield's incorporation into the Commonwealth and will be shot off from the Cummington Fairgrounds on Saturday, July 7th. For those of you who would prefer to make a donation straight to the cause, you should know that 100% of those funds will go directly to the community fireworks fund.
Regular updates will be posted here. Additional tickets can also be downloaded from this site using the link above. Participants that include an e-mail address on their ticket stub will be added to a private e-mail distribution list that is used to provide periodic updates and snapshots of the block. The current list includes several hundred addresses of people who are regularly entertained by these updates. The sooner your tickets are returned, the sooner you can become part of that exclusive group.
The deadline for ticket submissions is Sunday, April 1st. If you recall from last year, the deadline was moved up a few weeks due to the effects that climate change is having on our contest. Tickets received after that date (unless they were postmarked on or before 4/1) will be returned. This date is weather dependant and might be made irrelevant if the block falls through the ice before then.
Here are some statistics from the past 7 year’s of Meltdown events to consider as you make your selections:
· The most popular dates were 4/1 (409), 4/10 (417), 4/4 (400), 4/2 and 4/12 (396) and 4/15 (376).
· The ratio of morning to afternoon picks was 25% and 75% respectively.
· 81% of all guesses were for dates between April 1st and April 21st (hint, hint).
· 33% of all guesses have been for times between 2PM and 4PM in spite of the fact that the block has only gone down once over the past 7 years in that timeframe. Remember, the winner is the person who is the closest to the exact time the clock stops without going over.
· Daylight savings time starts on Sunday, March 11th. Keep that in mind when making your selection.
· The official end of the previous contests were as follows:
o
2011 – April 14th at 12:44PM
o
2010 – April 2nd at 11:52AM
o 2009 – April 5th at 11:02AM
o 2008 – April 16th at 3:04PM
o 2007 – April 21st at 12:00 Noon
o 2006 – April 1st at 8:18 PM
o 2005 – April 12th at 4:47 PM
· Other significant dates to consider are as follows:
o 4/13 at 1:05PM – First pitch on Opening Day at Yankee Stadium in New York
o 4/13 at 2:05PM – First pitch on Opening Day at Fenway Park in Boston, a park that has been around since 1912.
o 4/15 at 2:45AM – Day and time the Titanic sank in 1912
As always…THINK SPRING!
Bob Labrie
Hammond Acres Association
(For more information - e-mail - bslabrie@msn.com, phone – 413-268-7110)
Mail ticket stubs to P.O. Box 923, Williamsburg, MA 01096-0923
Please make checks payable to “HAMMOND ACRES CLUB”
