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A 12-by-8-foot hole in the middle of Occom Pond doesn't appear out of
nowhere. It's thanks to many staff members at Dartmouth that students are able
to jump in the water on a 16-degree afternoon for the traditional Polar Bear
Swim.
"The ice was thick, about 14 inches. We needed a 32-inch bar for the
chain saw to get through it," says Matt Perry, one of four Facilities, Operations and Management
(FO&M) grounds members who prepared for the event. While Perry used the
chainsaw, Scott Melendy was responsible for pulling out the 20-30 pound blocks
of ice with a pair of hand tongs. "The blocks are buoyant in the water, so
fortunately they're not as heavy as they look," Melendy says.
Perry and fellow grounds member Tom LaCroix have been at the College over 15
years, and all four have helped prepare for the Polar Bear Swim for at least
the past four years. Peter Vandenhengel says that their combined experience
makes the event run efficiently. "Everything from the life jackets, the
towels, the sawhorses, the ramps, even the carpet leading up to the hole, we
all know where it goes, how it works," he says. "This year went just
like clockwork," adds Perry.
Of course, it's not all work. "Watching the people, seeing their
expressions when they first come out of the water, it's a lot of fun,"
says Perry. "And some of the costumes are really unique." He says
they saw a couple dive in together dressed in fishnet stockings. "We all
have a blast," says Vandenhengel. "It's a great part of working at
Dartmouth." Vandenhengel notes that on more than one occasion the grounds
members have joined in the fun and jumped in the water themselves.
From cutting the hole in the ice to helping hardy souls out of the water,
FO&M grounds members make Winter Carnival's Polar Bear Swim possible.
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From left: Matt Perry, Merritt Jenkins '10, Scott Melendy, Tom LaCroix, and
Peter Vandenhengel. (All photos by Steven J. Smith)
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After the students jumped in, LaCroix helped them climb up the ladder out of
the ice-cold water. He casually mentioned to one of the last swimmers, John
Charles Turner '04, that if he went in four more times, he would break the
record set earlier in the afternoon for consecutive jumps. "Really?"
responded Turner, who is currently a graduate student at Thayer School of Engineering. He
then proceeded to jump in four more times to break the day's record. Almost 200
students participated in the event this year, says Amy Newcomb, assistant
director of the Collis
Center and student activities.
At the end of the event, after the four-member crew packed everything up,
the student co-chair of the Polar Bear Swim, Merritt Jenkins '10, realized that
he had forgotten to jump in the water. "Hey guys, can we set back up for
one more?" asked Randy Brown, events coordinator for conferences and special events, who
also helped organize the day. Soon enough, LaCroix was congratulating Jenkins
on his jump. "How'd that feel?" he asked.
By STEVEN J. SMITH
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