Polar Plunge’s 25th anniversary sees large turnout despite safety concern over ice shelves
For a quarter of a century, Ogden Dunes resident Elsie Anderson has built up her New Year’s Day polar plunge as a fun and unique way for locals, their families, out of state travelers and passersby who happened to stumble onto the oddity, to kick off another rotation around the sun, and create fond, or at least long-lasting memories of the Indiana Dunes.
January 2021 was the first time the event had to be canceled due to COVID-19 — with a smaller event held as a precaution to kick off 2022 — so a return to normalcy brought an increase in interest this year as dozens of participants willingly ran into the cold water of Lake Michigan in celebration.
What is usually a smaller event for the area brought in many participants and even more onlookers, “this is the biggest year ever,” Anderson said.
Unfortunately not everything could go smoothly, as a deep freeze the previous week left residual ice along the shore, which posed a safety hazard. There were concerns no one would be able to go into the lake, but the Ogden Dunes fire department came up with a solution.
A hose plugged into a nearby fire hydrant was snaked over to the beach and showered, slightly warmer water, onto plunge participants.
The hazards caused by the ice were not a first for Anderson who, for previous plunges, had to improvise, “once we went sledding and one year we took a hike,” she said.
Matt Hradek, a volunteer firefighter, was the sole representative of the fire department to run through the showering water.
“This shocked my system into 2023,” he said. “Hopefully this year is better than the last.”
“It was a good compromise, and thank goodness for the fire department to make the offer,” said Val Deckard, a polar plunge regular and resident of Bloomington, Indiana.
Not everyone present had participated in the plunge before. Munster residents Craig Talbot and Mo Alam drove up to participate after learning about the tradition.
“It felt easier to do than the expectation once you’re out there,” Talbot said.
Talbot and Alam were among the last that day to run into the water.
“It’s something you prove to yourself that you can do,” Alam said. “Hopefully, there won’t be shelf ice next time.”
