NORTHAMPTON — With snow and ice covering the ground and the temperature hovering at a balmy 37 degrees, the weather on Wednesday afternoon did not provide the most enticing conditions for a swim. But in a New Year’s Day event, about 20 people plunged into the icy water at Musante Beach in Leeds.
As WHMP radio host Bob Flaherty announced over a loudspeaker before the plunge: “Welcome all you nutcases.”
The American Friends of the Palestinian House of Friendship organized the Polar Plunge as a fundraiser for the nonprofit, which serves Palestinian youth in the West Bank through initiatives including after-school programs and summer camp.
After a countdown, swimmers ran into the water, hollering and fist-pumping, with many of them leaving the swimming hole dripping and smiling.
“It’s a jolt to the system. It’s a way to start the new year with a splash,” said Elizabeth Jarvis after her dip. She is also supportive of the fundraising cause and credited the plunge with a cleansing effect. “It’s a consciousness changer … It’s purifying,” she said.
Wednesday’s plunge, its second year, raised more than $3,000 for The Palestinian House of Friendship, according to Lois Barber, a member of the advisory board. For about a decade, the American Friends group has been raising money for the organization, Barber said, and the Northampton organizers plan to hold another plunge in 2021.
“Next year, we’ll go even bigger,” she said.
Minutes before the plunge began, Adam Novitt wore orange board shorts and a flannel shirt. “It seemed like a brave thing to do,” he said of the event, “a fun way to start the new year.”
Nick Criscuolo and Mark Lies were at the beach to do the plunge and film for a project they are working on.
“We’re doing a promo piece for our comedy website,” said Lies, who before the dip was wearing a long blonde wig, sunglasses, a leopard-print fleece robe and wool socks pulled halfway off his feet, leaving him partially barefoot in the snow. Criscuolo wore a shaggy brown wig and a long gray peacoat that only partially covered his bare legs. The duo plans to release their comedy website this spring.
Just hours before the event, Cassie Tragert of Northampton decided on a whim that she would participate. When accomplice Adam Power mentioned it over breakfast to her, “I thought it was a joke,” she said on the beach, wearing snow boots and wrapped in a towel. It went better than Power expected it to, although “I’m shivering a little,” he admitted.
Juliana Merullo, who felt “reborn” after the plunge, said the water was not as cold as she expected. “I think I was numb by the time I got in,” she said.
She and her dad, Roland Merullo, raised money and did the event together. “It seemed like a good way to start the new year,” her father said. “It’s nice to do something for someone else.”
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com.