Some of my cold weather memories are based on living in a small city over in Wisconsin near La Crosse. Back in the era just before television, many folks in what may still be called the “coulee region” were listening to a radio station that seemed to have quite a series of contests based on weather conditions. These contests, by the way, were sponsored by the firm which then brewed Peerless Beer.

Late in the fall one year this brewery had a radio contest that asked the listening folks to send in post card entries with guesses as to when the first genuine snowflake would fall. The La Crosse weather bureau station would be the official source to determine the winter of this contest. Thus, the person who came the closest to the right time and date won the big prize of a hundred dollars.

Another contest sponsored by this brewery was a postcard event based on the time and date the temperature dipped down to 32 degrees above zero. Still another contest was based on the time and date the temperature hit the zero mark. For both contests the winners would be determined by reports from the federal weather bureau station.

Still another late winter or early spring contest for Peerless Beer sponsorship could have been for folks to guess when the Mississippi River was ice free. I’m not sure if this old brewery or anyone else had such a contest in the La Crosse area. However, there may have been a more logical version based on the date and time the first string or tow of barges went up the river to start off another shipping season. For La Crosse the best place to determine the winning entry would be based on the time and date the barges went under the river bridge between this city and Barron Island and on to La Crescent.

Now, let’s shift the focus of this wintertime contest topic to the present and maybe even the future here in Albert Lea. A local wintertime contest could be based on the longest or largest free standing icicle. After all, an icicle is nothing more than a hanging mass of ice formed by the freezing of dripping water. The sponsor of this contest would have to set up rules regarding the length or size of the frozen column of water, exactly when the competition would end, and who would be the final authority for this great event. It’s not too late for such a contest to be scheduled as a future part of local life.

Another variation for this proposed icicle event could be based on artistry. How about using colored water to spray on and decorate those hanging icicles?

Years ago I suggested the following scenario for a weather related contest gimmick to grab the public’s attention. Nothing resulted from my free suggestion. Despite this, here it is again.

The sponsor of this proposed contest has to be a store or shopping center with a large paved parking lot. Sometime during the summer or fall the sponsor should have a large red circle or the store’s logo/name painted on the pavement in the odd corner of the parking lot where all the excess snow is piled up.

Entries for this contest should be based on guesses as to the date and time when the painted circle, logo or name is fully exposed by the melting snow.

A wild factor for this contest could come with a late March or early April blizzard. About the time the big snowpile is down to exposing the painted whatever on the pavement, another snowfall would just delay the contest and add to the suspense for another week or longer.

Incidentally, the area aircraft pilots and their passengers might enjoy seeing the painted circle, logo or name on the pavement as they fly over the city during the warmer months of the year.

Ed Shannon’s column has been appearing in the Tribune every Friday since December 1984.