United Way offers reward for finding disappearing ducks
Monday, July 6th, 2009
They’ve “Flown the Coop” again!
Fowl play is suspected in the disappearance of five rubber duckies from the United Way of Cape May County’s food pantry, on Thursday, July 2. United Way officials are hoping that Gazette readers will help to locate the missing ducks in time for the annual Rubber Ducky Regatta at Mariner’s Landing Water Park on Sunday, Aug. 9.
The ducks, who have been busy preparing for the upcoming regatta, took a break from their rigorous training schedule on Thursday to help volunteers stock shelves at the First Call for Help Pantry, 230 East Maple Ave, Wildwood.
They were discovered missing by United Way President, Beverly Trapp, who looked for them around Noon and realized they had “flown the coop”.
Five Rubber Ducks have "Flown the Coop". Can you help United Way President, Beverly Trapp, find them in time for the Rubber Duck Regatta, Aug. 9?
“I was panicked,” Trapp said. “The Rubber Ducky Regatta is our biggest fundraiser, and the work the duckies do on race day helps us to do the work we do in the community all year long. Each ducky is very special to us.”
In fact, this is not the first time ducks have taken flight just weeks before the race,
United Way Executive Director Suzanne Nardi explained. “There’s a lot of pressure on these cute little guys to do their best. Occasionally, they just chicken out,” she said.
In past years, they’ve escaped to soak in the local sights at area businesses, and luckily Gazette readers have helped to find them before they’ve flown south for the winter or fallen prey to gangs of sinister seagulls.
“We believe it is fowl play,” Nardi said. “But while we are down about their disappearance, we are very hopeful they’ll be found.”
Mysteriously, a note and pictures containing clues to one duck’s whereabouts was delivered to United Way headquarters over the weekend, and Nardi is hoping Gazette readers will again come to the rescue.
Study the note and pictures to see if you know where the duck is nesting. If you recognize the duck’s hideout, submit it to flewthecoop@uwcmc.org, by 1 p.m., Saturday, July 11. Please include your name, hometown and a phone number where you can be reached. Local businesses, including Morey’s Piers, the Boardwalk Tram Car, and Robinson’s and Tony’s Produce, in Villas, have pitched in with prizes, and one lucky duck will be randomly selected each week to receive a reward package. The winner’s name will be published in the Gazette the following week.
My, oh my! The pie’s bigger than I, here at my new hideaway heaven. Black bottom is my all-time favorite.
I don’t mind working hard to earn my keep here at this Wildwood institution, since the food is so fresh, so good and all made from scratch. In fact, me and my new friend Earl and his family start baking at the crack the dawn, and dinner at 4:30 comes fast.
I love Meatloaf Mondays, and though the turkey dinner is a big crowd-pleaser, it makes me just a bit nervous that I too could end up on a plate. It’s not likely though. After all, they’ve been serving up quality and consistency here since 1925, and Rubber Duck L’Orange has yet to be on the menu.
Wildwood’s oldest restaurant is just a few blocks from United Way’s Wildwood office as the crow flies, and lots of rubber duckies have found homes here over the years. Find me if you can.
- Waitress Duck
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