WILLOW CREEK — With the calendar turning toward late spring, all eyes are fixed on the surface of Homan’s Pond, where the annual Ice-Out competition enters its critical phase.
Town Clerk Margaret Hollis reported Tuesday that entry forms are arriving at a brisk pace, with over 140 submissions already logged in the blue-ruled Ice-Out ledger — a figure on par with last year’s record-setting turnout.
“People are feeling optimistic,” Hollis said from her office in the town hall annex. “We’ve had entries from as far away as San Diego, which I believe is a new distance record. A Mr. Gerald Phelps, formerly of Willow Creek, now residing in California — he entered by mail.”
The Ice-Out, now in its 99th year, invites participants to predict the exact date and minute when the ice on Homan’s Pond will fully clear from a marked buoy anchored at the pond’s center. The entry fee remains five dollars, unchanged since 1987, and the winner receives the accumulated pot along with the hand-painted Ice-Out Cup plaque.
Amos Homan, the all-time champion with four career wins (1996, 2002, 2011, 2018), has submitted his prediction but declined to reveal his methods.
“The knees are telling me it’s going to be later than most people think,” Homan said with a wry smile. “But that’s all I’m saying. I don’t want to tip my hand.”
This year’s competition carries a note of historical significance — the 100th Ice-Out will take place in 2027, and the town is already planning a centennial celebration. The potluck and award ceremony will be held, as always, at the Willow Creek Community Hall on Town Meeting Day.
Entries will be accepted until Hollis declares the pond officially clear, which she does by binocular observation from her back porch — a glass of tea in hand, a tape measure ready for the final check.