For years, Jan McDonald of Spirit Lake has been intrigued by the unique environmentally

friendly car drop fund raiser on Smith's Bay.

When the event first began, about 15 years ago, it was the idea of Joe Estes of the Spirit Lake

Sunrise Kiwanis Club. The shell of a car was placed on the ice in view of traffic over the bridge

around Winter Games time and people could guess the month, day, hour and minute that the

car would fall through the once 20-30 inch thick ice. Back then, tickets were $1.00 each, or 6

for $5.00, and Jan would buy about $30 dollars worth, distributing them to family and friends.

Over the years, her family in Massachusetts would check online on the local web cam to see if

the car was still standing. Almost all had been out to Iowa to visit over the past 40 summers. "If

I ever mentioned Winter Games they would ask, is the car on the ice yet?" It was a fun connection

for them, although 1500 miles away.

Jan, a Lakes News Shopper employee, would work on ads for the event with Dee Wermersen

of Sunrise Kiwanis. She also designed and put up posters for sales at the Dry Dock Lounge.

At one point the Red Cross partnered with the Kiwanians to benefit from the fund raiser, and

the proceeds made for a lot of happy people.

Every March, or April, spectators might line up at the bridge when the car was listing and

the plunge looked inevitable. Also when the team from Arnolds Park/Okoboji Fire & Rescue

and Bob Kirschbaum's tow truck would arrive to retrieve the car from the bottom of the lake

and check the dashboard clock to find the exact minute the car hit the water.

A few years ago the IGL Rotary Club, that also supports programs to enrich the area, was

asked to help sell tickets. To simplify sales, all 720 minutes in a clock day were sold so a person

would have 2 chances (a.m. or p.m.) to win and the cost was $10 for a specific minute.

"Nowadays I usually buy 12 tickets, always including a new acquaintance or an old friend -

just for the surprise factor of participating. It's a fun way to support our community" Jan said.

This year, Jan bought her tickets from co-worker and IGL Rotarian Peggy Gustafson.

Last Wednesday, during her noon lunch break, Jan took a picture of the car leaning into the

water and announced at work that it was near the end. She was excited to learn that some of her

tickets were close to that time and called relatives holding the 1:11 and 1:12 ticket to get them

excited as well, having no idea how close she really was.

"This is such a special promotion for our area, I'm sure there are still people who don't know

why that car sits out there abandoned, even though the details are advertised many times over

the season and posters are everywhere. It's like buying a lottery ticket and waiting to find out

the surprise. Next year will be someone else's turn to win $1,000. For me that time of 12:58 is

the lucky moment to help fund a trip to San Francisco to visit my son, Logan, who moved there

recently. Thank You, Mother Nature and Iowa Great Lakes Rotary!"