Nenana Ice Classic
The
Nenana Ice Classic administration provides yearly short-term employment
for nearly 100 locals. Alaskans wager thousands of dollars yearly on the
day and time of the break up of the Tanana River. The prize is worth it
- $300,000 in 1998, and that is only the main contest - minute pools
abound, too.
Large grooves are cut into the
frozen Tanana River ice about 300 feet from shore. Volunteers lends
their muscles to pull on ropes to stand a wooden tripod upright. Holes
are drilled in the ice, allowing water to seep upwards, filling in the
grooves to freeze the tripod in place.
A watchtower erected next to the
tripod holds the official clock of the most recent breakup, and provides
a "photo opportunity" for visitors while they wait for the ice to move.
Once the ice has thawed to the
point where walking on it is no longer safe, a wire is attached from the
watchtower on shore to the top of the tripod, and rigged up to a clock
mechanism so that the clock will be stopped when the tripod moves 100
feet. Watchmen monitor from the time the clock is activated until the
ice has gone out. A siren will alert the townspeople to the tripod's
first movement.
When the tripod trips the clock,
spring has officially arrived, and Interior Alaska's rivers are once
more navigable. And someone is a lot richer (or, as in most cases, a
group of people are richer. Eleven individuals and pools shared $300,000
in 1998)!
Collectible Pins
Nenana has created a frenzy
among collectors. If you're a pin collector, you definitely know what
we're talking about. Nenana Ice Classic Pins are becoming very with
collectors, and remain very much in demand. Below we have listed as much
as know regarding the year of the events and what pins were released for
each one. If the date is in yellow, we have the pin here for sale. If
the pin is listed in white, it is informational only.
Date |
Pin |
Lapel, Ceramic, Silver, Pewter |
1917 |
Idea Conceived |
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1986 |
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1987 |
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1988 |
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1989 |
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1990 |
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1991 |
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1992 |
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1993 |
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1994 |
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1995 |
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1996 |
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1997 |
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1998 |
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1999 |
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2000 |
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2001 |
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2002 |
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2003 |
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2004 |
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2005 |
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2006 |
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2007 |
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2008 |
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