NARROWSBURG – Get ready to place your guesses for when the now bald evergreen tree (the deer have been hungry) on Little Lake Erie will finally drop as the ice melts—all in support of Growing Older Together (GOT). 

GOT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization hosting a fundraising raffle where participants guess the day and time the tree will fall into the water. Place your guesses at got.setmore.com. Raffle Blocks are:

• 1 Block:  $5
• 2 Blocks:  $10
• 6 Blocks:  $25

You may choose to purchase one-hour blocks ($5/each) or many. You can purchase large blocks (6 consecutive for $25 — what a deal) or many small blocks & spread them out!

If no one has chosen the exact block of time, then the closest block to the time will be the winner. Should 2 purchasers have blocks equally distant from the winning time the tree hits the water (i.e., before and after), the winning amount will be split between the two people who chose those blocks of time.

And, a bonus - The River Reporter newspaper is giving Growing Older Together $15 for any new subscriptions that are purchased via got.setmore.com or through their website riverreporter.com/subscribe, choose org. fundraiser and enter code GOT for your new subscription and donation to GOT.

For many years, Narrowsburg held an annual “Ice Sweepstakes!” fundraising contest at the Big Eddy on the Delaware River. The last one Jill Behling Rue recalled was in 1992, she owned the Chatterbox Café on Main Street. Back then, the contest focused on predicting when the river ice would finally break up. In the early years, a small platform with a pole and a sign reading “Ice Sweepstakes” would sink when the ice went out, stopping the clock. In later years, a painted wooden eagle marked the moment. A rope ran from the platform of the eagle to the shore, through the basement of the Chatterbox Café (and before that, the Midtown Café), and up to a clock displayed in the café window.

The Ice Sweepstakes was a major community event. Shop owners and employees often closed their businesses and gathered on the bridge to witness the ice going out. It was a big event. Today, technology helps us keep watch on the spectacle. Watch the tree on the lake via the River Reporter Nest Cam live: www.riverreporter.com/stories/the-big-melt-countdown,243195.

Over time, continuing the tradition on the river became too complicated and less safe. In addition, until last year, the river hadn’t frozen solid for nearly eight years. It was suggested that the event move to Little Lake Erie—and the tradition is carried forward in this new way.