More Questions and Answers

We've had a pretty nice spring day here - although there is a chill in the air and the thermometer hasn't moved out of the 60s range (except perhaps in a spot with direct sun and no wind). The half inch or so of rain we got overnight helped things to begin to rise out of the earth, I think. It seems as if my lawn has a green tinge - but that could be wishful thinking.

I watched a crow taking a morning bath in my pond as the sun was coming up. I wondered if it was the same one I watched last fall. That one would wade into the water and splash around, and then walk onto the bank and preen, return to splash and wash some more and go up the bank to preen, repeating the process over and over perhaps four or five times before being satisfied with the results. This morning, however, this crow took only one dip, preened, and when another crow flew low overhead, quickly took off. There was probably more important things to do than enjoy a thorough washing of feathers. They are fun to watch.

Here is another question, this time from an anonymous reader:  3 minutes off!!!! thats pretty good....has anyone ever guessed the exact time or closer than 3 minutes??? this was my 1st year in the contest but not my last...i even got a few others to enter as well..

My answer: Yes, there have been several instances when people have guessed the exact date and time. There have also been multiple winners, i.e., two or more people have guessed the same date and time. When that happens, the winnings are split equally among however many winners there are. You can find a complete list of dates, times, and winners on the Joe's Pond Association website.

We thank "Anonymous" for getting in the game and for encouraging others to enter. It is a lot of fun, and anyone can win - there is no way to predict what the ice will be like or what the weather will be like, so your guess is just as good as any other - it's just a matter of chance.

I want to share with you the following exchange between our Joe's Pond Association treasurer, Jack LaGue and this year's winner, John Vincent. Jack gave him a little of the history of the game, and John;s story will now be part of the history, as well. We are always interested in knowing a little about our winners. I asked for and received permission to post the following correspondence.

From Jack LaGue:

 Congratulations on being the 2025 Joe's Pond Ice-Out winner!

 Diane shared some of your background with us and that you might even be visiting Joe's Pond in near future.  My dad, along with some of his peers were the founders of the Ice-Out contest.  The old coots could never agree on exactly when the ice went out so they conjured up the cement block on the ice with rope along the top of the ice to the clock and it just grew from there to what it is today thanks to Diane and her fellow Ice-Out Committee members.

 Attached is a Form W-9.  Please print it and fill it out and sign it and then either scan and email back to me or snail mail it to my attention at Joe's Pond Association, P.O. Box 111, West Danville, VT 05873.

 In early 2026 you should receive a 1099-MISC for your winnings.  There are no federal or state taxes withheld, so plan accordingly.

 Congratulations again

 Jack LaGue, JPA Treasurer

From John Vincent to Jack and to Diane, chairperson of the contest:

Good morning and Happy Easter to you, Diane, your families and everyone at Joe's Pond. 

Thank you and all! Here we are one day later after I was informed of winning this year's raffle and I am still super excited and without many words, still pinching myself. I grew up enjoying a similar pond in upstate NY's Adirondacks where my Grandparents had a beautiful camp which always seem to bring this challenge more to life as I have participated over the years. I can imagine the excitement you share continuing to carry forward this event, tradition created by your Father and friends. 

My Brother started the tradition of our family (my Mom- him- family friends in NY, me here in OH, my Sister in FL, Niece in TX and Nephew in CA) participating in this event when he came across it traveling through your beautiful area on business. He gifts us tickets for Christmas every year, we make our best guesses, keep watch for updates, results and hope one of us actually win but obviously never thought would actually happen. I usually make my date guesses based on previous history averages and believe the time was 8:38 when I finalized my 5 date guesses, so went with 8:38AM and 8:38PM for my 10 raffle tickets :) .

I have attached the completed W-9 and will mail hard copy immediately as well in case this is not acceptable.

It appears we might actually have a conflict joining in person with the annual Memorial Day Weekend celebration and apologize. As I spoke with everyone yesterday a trip to Joe's Pond is on our bucket list for sure and I will let you all know in advance should we be able to attend after all.

Again, I am so excited- so thankful- so appreciative- feeling blessed and certainly still in disbelief after receiving Diane's phone call yesterday.

 Thank you again, please feel free to reach out should anything else be required from me or if I can further assist in anyway. We are all already looking forward to next year's Joe's Pond Ice Out! Have a wonderful day!

 Sincerely, 

John Vincent

Congratulations to John and our thanks to his brother for distributing gift tickets to his family. I bet that is a tradition he, or someone in the family, will need to continue now that there has been a winning guess among them! We look forward to perhaps meeting the Vincent family at our spring meeting!