Saturday, 1/1/1994

On the front page of the 1/2/94 paper is a picture of some folks
standing at the water's edge in swimsuits. The picture was taken by
Joan K. Lentini. The caption read: A participant in the 14th Annual
Polar Bear Swim gives his impression of a human thermometer Saturday
as he emerges from the icy waters of Lake Geroge.

A picture on page B1 is captioned as: Michelle Colegrove, 23, and
her brother Eric, 27, of Glens Falls plunge together into the cold
waters of Lake Geroge.

The story starts on page B1 and continues onto page B7.

Annual winter dip draws swimmers, landlubbers
By Pamela A. Brooks
Special to The Post-Star

Lake George - The woman in boots and a warm wooly parka hurried
toward the beach nearly bumping into the barefoot man in swim trunks.

His bare toes dnace lightly over the crusty snow. She plodded
sturdily along in the large crowd, neither took note of the other.

Seen from the hill leading to Shepard Cove on Lake George, the crowd
that gathered Saturday for the annual Polar Bear Swim was an odd
mixture of well-bundled and nearly nakeds.

The 14th annual dip into the frigid waters of Lake George went off a
few minutes after 1 pm. More than 100 swimmers cheered on by an
amused crowd of onlookers dashed resolutely into the water - and
back out again in not more than 15 seconds.

"Every nerve ending in my body is awake," said Jerry Dingos of
Saratoga Springs, toweling the cold water off his body at a furious
rate. "Ift feels great. It takes your breath away: that's why you
need to get out quick."

His companion for the adventure, Ray Caggianolli of Clifton Park,
reported remarkable sensations after his brief swim.

"I'm tingling all over. I think I feel my hair growing," he said,
wiggling and jiggling like a man possessed.

This year, the annual New Year's Day swim, organized since it's
inception by Charles "Papa Bear" Albert of Lake George, attracted a
film crew from a South Korean TV station.

Daniel Kang, producer for "World Panorama," the hourlong weekly show
on which the swim segment will air, was one of the first ones in the
water.

Holding his video camera aloft, Kang plunged into the icy lake
watersand turned to face the crowd.

With hoots and hollers the would-be swimmers accepted his unspoken
challenge and charged toward the waiting ice-cube bath. Some linked
arms while others pursued a solo path. Gyrating, jumping and
shooting straight into the air, each made his "swim" an individual
dance with the cold.

Later, shivering uncontrollably by the TV crew van, Kang said he
didn't regret having gone in the water.

"I did it for the experience," he said, "but once is plenty for me."

His two crew technicians said they had gotten nearly 40 minutes of
film on the event, and would edit the segment down to seven or eight
minutes.

"Most of the viewers in Korea will think this is really crazy,"
volunteered one of the technicians as he packed his equipment away.

In constant motion, with a bullhorn in hand, organizer Albert said
he was pleased with the trunout, but expressed disappointment that
none of the local television stations had sent film crews.

"I can't undrestand it," he said. "Channel 6, 10, and 13 - where are
they?"

None of the swimmers seemed to mind the lack of television coverage.
Each seemed focused inward, before and after the swim.

"I'm here form Siena College, reprsenting the rugby team, but they
don't know that," laughed Patrick Deloughey, 21. "I'm doing it for
free food afterwards. I'm a starving college student."

A free buffet was offered by Shepard Cove Restaurant after the swim.

Pat Smith, of Cobleskill, wearing a black and blue cross-strap
bathing suit, shivered in a hunched over position before the swim.

"I'm here for the first time," she explained. "I think once will be
an adventure, but twice would be stupid."

Not everyone would agree. Sister and brother team Michelle and Eric
Colegrove of Glens Falls have 13 years of annual winter dips between
them. Together, they somersaulted off the pier and were fully
immersed in the water for a minute or more.

"I got him into it," said Michelle, 23. "I've been doing it for 10
years. I swim more in the winter than I do in the summer."

"I'm on my third year," said Eric, 27, whose body was a startling
shade of red from head to foot. "What else is there to do in the
winter? I don't ski, I don't ski-mobiling. We swim up here every
weekend in February, during winter carnival."

Another Colegrove sibling tried winter dip thi syear for the first
time.

"They've been telling me for years to try it," said Chuck Colegrove,
30, of Glens Falls. "No matter what anybody says, the truth is it's
the worst freezing nightmare you've ever experienced."

To provide for a second photo and prove their love of the unusual
sport, the pair sailed off the pier again.

Another swimmer who got soaked was Heather Schuster, 14, of Lake
George. She said it was her first year at the event, but she would
do it again.

"It was a very head-rushing experience," she explained. "But very
cold, freezing cold."

Albert estimated the water temperature at 37 degrees. A brisk wind
brought the air temperature to a bone-chilling 10 to 12 degrees, he
said.

Carrie McKernon of Argyle, Miss Warren/Washington County hit the
water in a black bathing suit and tiarra. Accompnaying her for
support, were a gaggle of giggling teens from Argyle Central School.

The 17-year-old beauty queen said her title made the swim necessary.

"I kind of have to go in," McKernon explained. "The girl who had the
crown last year did, so I have to keep the tradition going."

McKernon appeared to go into the icy lake about waist high. Later,
one of her companions said the experience had probably "fused my
toes together."

The final count of swimmers was 99, but had risen to 105 shortly
after the event, as people completed release forms and handed them
in to receive a certificate of particpation in the winter swim.