Record Number of 'Polar Bears' Make Plunge
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
The fourth annual event had 151 participants sign up, according to Barb Hamer, Pie Eyed Petey’s co-owner with her husband Roy. That doesn’t count the hundreds of spectators. The icy dip into Tippecanoe Lake benefits the Syracuse and North Webster food pantries.
“The weather was beautiful. And if you weren’t here, you should have been. Everyone had a good time. We raised a lot of money for charity. We had wonderful volunteers. And we are happy, happy, happy,” Hamer said after the event.
The donations will be counted starting today so the total was not available.
While the air temperature reached into the 40s Saturday, the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department and Dive Team measured the water temperature at 36 degrees at 12:40 p.m. The plunges started at 1 p.m.
Many jumpers were decked out in costume.
From Chicago, Brett Nelson was dressed as a doctor, Mike Motes was a patient and Eric Knispel did his best impression as a 1970s flamboyant cop.
“We were going to be zombies,” said Motes.
“We were here since the beginning. The pioneers!” announced Nelson.
He said their plan was to “run in and run out. Probably run out faster. Actually, it’s 47 degrees so this is a cake walk compared to past years. The first year wasn’t bad, the second or third year was the coldest.”
After the jump, Nelson said, “It was amazing. It actually was a lot warmer. I could have stayed in another two seconds.”
Warsaw’s Alyssa Ashton was taking part for the first time.
“I’ve done stupid things like this before, but not supervised,” Ashton said. “I like to do a lot of things for charity. A friend told me about it and I said OK.”
She was joined by about eight friends from work.
Also participating for the first year was Tony Siebeneck, Mentone.
“My friends talked me into it,” he said.
Having never done anything like it before, he said, “I’m going to watch people and see what everyone else does. I’m a little nervous.”
Tyler Theis, Warsaw, was one of Siebeneck’s friends also doing it for the first time.
His plan was simple: “Get in and get out as soon as possible and then into warm clothing as soon as possible,” he said.
Clay and Barry Eppley were two groups in a group who dressed up from an episode of the comedy “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”
“We’ve been planning it for months,” Clay Eppley said. “It’s kind of a big deal.”
Third-year plunger Spencer Fisk, Leesburg, said he keeps doing it annually because “it’s a good challenge.”
The warm weather made it a little too easy for him.
“This is like a normal summer day almost. I would be on a pontoon if I could. It’s an old habit at this point. I’m going to run in, get my head wet and get out,” Fisk said.
Dustin Robbins, of Cicero, and his two friends, Brian Underwood, Indianapolis, and Patrick Stevens, Franklin, have cottages on Tippecanoe. Robbins said they planned to come up here for this event since the summer.
“It seemed like a good idea,” Robbins said.
After the jump, he said, “It was great. It was super refreshing. I feel clean, which is odd. I’ll definitely do it again next year.”
Mentone Town Marshal Jim Eads took the plunge to get it checked off his “bucket list.”
“This is probably the craziest thing (I’ve done), short of being a police man and a fireman. This is probably it,” Eads said.
Corey Stauffer, Warsaw, did it for the first time because of “peer pressure,” he said. He couldn’t make it last year because he was in Indianapolis, but joined about five co-workers this year for it.
“Why not? It is a good cause,” Mike Goatle, Stauffer’s co-worker, said of why he was back for his third year.
Wearing a pumpkin for a head, Korey Green, Warsaw, was back for his fourth year.
“I’m Jack O’Lantern,” he said of his costume. “The same thing I was for Halloween. I think I will use it every year for Halloween, just decorate it differently.”
He returns every year for the event because it’s fun and for a good charity, he said.
Dressed as the pig from the Geico commercials, Sam Engle, Claypool, said he was back for a second year because of a relative.
“My crazy cousin (Phil Engle) talked me into it. It makes his third year. I enjoy donating to a good cause,” he said.
After last year’s event, Sam said his wife found the pig costume on the Internet and he wore it to a couple other events.
“I’m going to retire this year so I’m going to be doing a lot of travel in my pig suit,” he said. “If I don’t make it out of the water today, pork chops on special!”
Adam Shain, Fort Wayne, wore his “Where’s Waldo” costume, while LeighAnne Jessop and Stephanie Himes, both of Milford, wore prom dresses with two other of their friends into the water.
“We heard it was formal attire,” joked Jessop. “We just heard about it and we wanted to make it memorable.”
More than a dozen members of the Lake City Roller Dolls team showed up for the plunge. Casey “AK Rolling 7” Rinker said they just decided Monday to do it. Part of the roller team’s purpose is to help its community and charities.
After the plunge, Warsaw’s Seth Allen described the water as “freezing. I lost my breath as soon as I went into the water.”
He jumped in three times.
“Go big or go out!” Allen stated.
Malu Santos, Warsaw, did just that. She went in five times. She would have kept going, but was stopped for her own safety.
“Because I wanted to beat the guy,” she said of why she did it. “The only reason I stopped was because I was stopped. I’m competitive, so I won’t stop. Had the guy gone eight times, I would have gone nine times.”
“It was refreshing,” said Mike Wilson, Warsaw. “It was warmer than last year. The water was still cold but the air helped.”
For next year, Nelson said, “More people should dress up. People should enjoy the spirit of the thing.”[[In-content Ad]]
The fourth annual event had 151 participants sign up, according to Barb Hamer, Pie Eyed Petey’s co-owner with her husband Roy. That doesn’t count the hundreds of spectators. The icy dip into Tippecanoe Lake benefits the Syracuse and North Webster food pantries.
“The weather was beautiful. And if you weren’t here, you should have been. Everyone had a good time. We raised a lot of money for charity. We had wonderful volunteers. And we are happy, happy, happy,” Hamer said after the event.
The donations will be counted starting today so the total was not available.
While the air temperature reached into the 40s Saturday, the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department and Dive Team measured the water temperature at 36 degrees at 12:40 p.m. The plunges started at 1 p.m.
Many jumpers were decked out in costume.
From Chicago, Brett Nelson was dressed as a doctor, Mike Motes was a patient and Eric Knispel did his best impression as a 1970s flamboyant cop.
“We were going to be zombies,” said Motes.
“We were here since the beginning. The pioneers!” announced Nelson.
He said their plan was to “run in and run out. Probably run out faster. Actually, it’s 47 degrees so this is a cake walk compared to past years. The first year wasn’t bad, the second or third year was the coldest.”
After the jump, Nelson said, “It was amazing. It actually was a lot warmer. I could have stayed in another two seconds.”
Warsaw’s Alyssa Ashton was taking part for the first time.
“I’ve done stupid things like this before, but not supervised,” Ashton said. “I like to do a lot of things for charity. A friend told me about it and I said OK.”
She was joined by about eight friends from work.
Also participating for the first year was Tony Siebeneck, Mentone.
“My friends talked me into it,” he said.
Having never done anything like it before, he said, “I’m going to watch people and see what everyone else does. I’m a little nervous.”
Tyler Theis, Warsaw, was one of Siebeneck’s friends also doing it for the first time.
His plan was simple: “Get in and get out as soon as possible and then into warm clothing as soon as possible,” he said.
Clay and Barry Eppley were two groups in a group who dressed up from an episode of the comedy “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”
“We’ve been planning it for months,” Clay Eppley said. “It’s kind of a big deal.”
Third-year plunger Spencer Fisk, Leesburg, said he keeps doing it annually because “it’s a good challenge.”
The warm weather made it a little too easy for him.
“This is like a normal summer day almost. I would be on a pontoon if I could. It’s an old habit at this point. I’m going to run in, get my head wet and get out,” Fisk said.
Dustin Robbins, of Cicero, and his two friends, Brian Underwood, Indianapolis, and Patrick Stevens, Franklin, have cottages on Tippecanoe. Robbins said they planned to come up here for this event since the summer.
“It seemed like a good idea,” Robbins said.
After the jump, he said, “It was great. It was super refreshing. I feel clean, which is odd. I’ll definitely do it again next year.”
Mentone Town Marshal Jim Eads took the plunge to get it checked off his “bucket list.”
“This is probably the craziest thing (I’ve done), short of being a police man and a fireman. This is probably it,” Eads said.
Corey Stauffer, Warsaw, did it for the first time because of “peer pressure,” he said. He couldn’t make it last year because he was in Indianapolis, but joined about five co-workers this year for it.
“Why not? It is a good cause,” Mike Goatle, Stauffer’s co-worker, said of why he was back for his third year.
Wearing a pumpkin for a head, Korey Green, Warsaw, was back for his fourth year.
“I’m Jack O’Lantern,” he said of his costume. “The same thing I was for Halloween. I think I will use it every year for Halloween, just decorate it differently.”
He returns every year for the event because it’s fun and for a good charity, he said.
Dressed as the pig from the Geico commercials, Sam Engle, Claypool, said he was back for a second year because of a relative.
“My crazy cousin (Phil Engle) talked me into it. It makes his third year. I enjoy donating to a good cause,” he said.
After last year’s event, Sam said his wife found the pig costume on the Internet and he wore it to a couple other events.
“I’m going to retire this year so I’m going to be doing a lot of travel in my pig suit,” he said. “If I don’t make it out of the water today, pork chops on special!”
Adam Shain, Fort Wayne, wore his “Where’s Waldo” costume, while LeighAnne Jessop and Stephanie Himes, both of Milford, wore prom dresses with two other of their friends into the water.
“We heard it was formal attire,” joked Jessop. “We just heard about it and we wanted to make it memorable.”
More than a dozen members of the Lake City Roller Dolls team showed up for the plunge. Casey “AK Rolling 7” Rinker said they just decided Monday to do it. Part of the roller team’s purpose is to help its community and charities.
After the plunge, Warsaw’s Seth Allen described the water as “freezing. I lost my breath as soon as I went into the water.”
He jumped in three times.
“Go big or go out!” Allen stated.
Malu Santos, Warsaw, did just that. She went in five times. She would have kept going, but was stopped for her own safety.
“Because I wanted to beat the guy,” she said of why she did it. “The only reason I stopped was because I was stopped. I’m competitive, so I won’t stop. Had the guy gone eight times, I would have gone nine times.”
“It was refreshing,” said Mike Wilson, Warsaw. “It was warmer than last year. The water was still cold but the air helped.”
For next year, Nelson said, “More people should dress up. People should enjoy the spirit of the thing.”[[In-content Ad]]
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