By Sadie Hunter
In a race against time, what seemed like a disappointment for a family turned out to be a lifelong memory.
For the Duell kids – twins Emma and Jonathan, and their older sister Lauren – this year’s White River Celebration Duck Race began as a let down after their soccer games ran long, making them miss the entire race.
The next part, however, was the one that sent them home with $1,500.
The annual race of thousands of rubber ducks from downtown’s rail bridge over the White River to the Logan Street Bridge draws hundreds to watch their ducks potentially win the grand prize.
Father Michael Duell said the family bought five ducks total, one for each family member.
“After the (soccer) game, we raced to the van, raced to downtown, parked and ran to the bridge as fast as we could,” said mother Lisa Duell. “When we got there, Emma was looking through the slats on the bridge. She didn’t see anything at first, but I noticed that big, fat, sad tears were rolling down her cheeks as she looked at the empty White River. [She] said ‘Mom, the Rubber Ducky Duck Race is my favorite day of the whole year! And we missed it! We missed it, Mom! We missed the duckies!’ She was genuinely heartbroken.”
But what the family didn’t know at the time was the winners had already been named, too. In fact, former Noblesville mayor Mary Sue Rowland, was the owner of the first duck to cross the finish line, but, as rules stated, after five minutes, new names would be called if no one came to claim the prize of $1,500.
“Then, five minutes later, with tears still on her cheeks, her duck’s number and her name was called,” Lisa said. “Her little heart will never, ever forget the year she ‘missed’ the Rubber Ducky Duck Race.”
