WARWICK — After a little more than three months on ice, Duncan, the concrete “Moore-ish Terrier” statue, took his plunge into Moore’s Pond on Sunday, marking the symbolic change in seasons.
Dressed in a scarf, Duncan was placed on Moore’s Pond at the end of January for the Moore’s Pond Beach Committee’s annual Ice Out Contest, in which residents guess when the ice will melt and Duncan will be “dunked in” the pond.
“Last year was April 1, I thought that was early then,” said Jim McRae, a member of the Moore’s Pond Beach Committee. “One year, the pond was fully frozen over until April vacation.”
Betsy Alkins, who guessed Sunday, March 15, at 1:30 p.m., won “associated bragging rights” and the prize of two tickets to the Moore’s Pond Beach Committee Lasagna Dinner — pending it is not canceled due to coronavirus concerns, McRae said.
“Duncan took a look around and decided to refocus the attention of the culture from viral concerns back to climate change by diving under the remaining cheesy ice two and a half weeks earlier than last year,” he noted.
According to McRae, there were 42 guesses for when Duncan would sink, ranging from March 2 to April 13. March 30 had the most guesses, with five on the same day. March 28 at 1:09 p.m. was the median guess, with 21 bets placed earlier, and 21 later.
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-930-4579.