That seemingly derelict car that spends the winters parked on the ice of a dugout just off highway No. 8 about 10 miles south of Kamsack is, for a third consecutive winter, the centre of much hype and enthusiasm.
That’s the 1991 Chevrolet that sinks to the bottom each year and is the centrepiece of the Togo Car Drop fundraiser.
The Togo Curling Club asks people to guess the date that the car “drops” and the person with the correct guess and the curling club shares the money on a 50-50 basis.
Each guess costs $5, said Amanda Burback, secretary of the curling club.
In 2014, the car dropped on May 8, and Sharon Langan won $815, Burback said. Last spring, the car dropped on April 17 and Kyla Mines correctly guessed the date, winning $600.
The car was donated by Roman Malashewski and was prepared for dunking by Marlin Fatteicher and Harley Fatteicher, she said.
“Every year we have the challenge of getting the car on the ice,” she said adding that in 2014, she and her husband Chad, along with Curtis and Tiffany Stone and Scott Lockhart “dug and dug and dug” to clear a path.
“Together, and with a great heave-ho, we pushed the car out onto the ice.”
In 2015, a few men and a Bombardier pulled that same car back out onto the ice, but the wheels seemed to be frozen solid, so no amount of pushing would move that car, she said. Last summer a local farmer graciously hooked onto the cable and attempted to pull the car out of the water, but the cable broke.
“We were sure the car was a loss. And then one day, driving past the car drop site, the car seemed to magically appear,” she said. “We did some digging and discovered that a very brave hero, sporting a pair of child-sized goggles, went deep-sea diving.
“He reattached the cable and, together with our local farmer, pulled the car out of the depths of the ‘ocean’.
“We are forever grateful to Clint Chernoff and Dallas Rezansoff.”
The ice on that slough this winter is every bit as thick as it was last year, Burback said.
Everyone wishing to get into the game for a possibility of winning hundreds of dollars while supporting the curling club may purchase a “guess” from any member of the curling club or may enter the contest at the Silver Threads Community Centre in Togo.
