By Meg Peters
Review Co-Editor
Some long-time Lake Orion residents will remember seeing an old car out on Lake Orion in the middle of winter.
They may remember purchasing 50 cent or $1 tickets, and placing their bets when the oldie would finally sink through as temperatures rose.
Come March or April, all eyes would turn to the lake until she finally sank.
Gutted of chemicals, and chained to the shoreline, Buckhorn Service would tow it back to land.
The tradition first started with the Lake Orion JayCees. A chipper group of 30 to 40 members ages 18 to 36, the JayCees put on the show as an effort to raise money for their charity work and leadership development programs.
The contest ended in 1981 or 1982 partially due to environmental concerns, member Ron Hines recalled, who served at one time as vice president.
‘Mostly everybody in town bought a ticket,? Hines remembered, who still lives in Lake Orion. ‘They weren’t expensive. It was about how many tickets you could sell.?
Now, a different organization is reviving the old tradition.
The tell-tale, cut-out jeep atop their post these past weeks may have already given them away.
It’s the Lake Orion American Legion Post 233, and they invite the community to join in their first annual 2016 Lake Orion Jeep-Thru-Ice Challenge 50/50 Sweepstakes.
The winner will earn 50 percent of the proceeds by guessing the exact time, or closest time, the jeep breaks through Lake Orion.
Tickets can be purchased at the American Legion Post 233, 164 S. Broadway, or online at JeepSink.com. Tickets can be printed directly from the website, and must be mailed to the Legion and postmarked by March 15. All entrants must specify the exact date and time, a.m. or p.m., the jeep will plunder, and include the $5 donation with their ticket.
Online ticket sales have a minimum requirement of two tickets, and must be purchased before midnight of March 15.
Members of Post 233 will slide the wooden replica of the Army Jeep onto the bay by Pelton’s Point as soon as the weather permits to get the contest started. Keep a lookout.
Post Commander John Ranville said even long time Lake Orion people who no longer live in the area can participate. Once cameras are set up, the jeep will be broadcast live on JeepSink.com for all to view.
‘It could be a big project for us year after year, and it will only get better and better,? Ranville said, who also sits on the village council. ‘I have a Lake Orion friend in Bolivia, and I’m sure he will be buying his ticket.?
For more information, contest rules and regulations, visit JeepSink.com, or call the American Legion Post 233 at 248-693-2782.