Jan 2, 2008 By Angie Oravec 4 min read

A record number of people rang in the new year Tuesday as they plunged into the icy waters of the Youghiogheny River as part of Connellsville’s Polar Bear Club.

With snow flurries and the air temperature hovering around 30 degrees, around 160 people – men, women and children – rushed into the chilly waters, while another 160 watched from the riverbank. Clothed in bathing suits and swimming trunks, the participants – some who took their first plunge, others, such as friends Frank Jacobyansky, Mike Parlak and Vinny Traynor, have participated in the swim since the Polar Bear Club’s 2005 start – braved the initial shock for a literally breath-taking experience.

“It’s so bitterly cold, it takes your breath away,” said Jacobyansky.

While most live in Connellsville, people from the surrounding communities of Uniontown, Scottdale, Mount Pleasant, Jeannette and Greensburg and even some out-of-staters visiting relatives participated in the frigid event.

“I’ve met some new friends doing this. It really is a lot of fun,” said Jacobyansky.

Because of the good turnout, the club will donate 200 canned food items to the city’s food bank – enough items to fill the entire back of Jacobyansky’s Chevy Suburban. This is the second year the club has asked participants to donate canned food items the day of the event.

The club has grown since its first year when about 40 people participated. “A good group of people” whose children were involved in soccer or boy scouts kicked off the idea, said Jacobyansky.

“We have a lot more kids and women this year than in years past,” said Jacobyansky. “It has become a family thing. …It really helps form a bond. It’s something you can say you’ve done.”

“We’re seeing people from all around,” noted Parlak.

While Jacobyansky, Traynor and Parlak are among the dedicated who have taken the plunge for the last four years, their wives and families have also joined in the fun.

Jacobyansky’s wife, Nancy, said 81 new people participated in the event this year. That number pushed up this year’s overall total to surpass last year’s 116 participants.

“The first year it was just people we knew within our circle of friends,” Nancy said. “It’s amazing people are coming from Greensburg and Jeannette.”

For those who want to take the plunge, it’s either Connellsville or Pittsburgh.

“Connellsville has the river,” said Nancy Jacobyansky. “People from Greensburg and surrounding communities don’t have access to a river so they come to Connellsville (versus Pittsburgh) because it’s closer.”

The Jacobyansky’s two sons, Michael, 13, and Nicholas, 10, also took the plunge.

“It was very, very cold,” said Nicholas Jacobyansky, who was in the water for about seven seconds. “You can’t breath when you get in the water, but it’s pretty fun. …Friends and family do it. It’s something that everybody does.”

And after the brave participants emerge from the cold water, a bon fire, hot chocolate or spiced cider and some dry towels await.

Nancy Jacobyansky, who went into the water up to her thighs, said participants are encouraged to practice safety – and to stick together. The New Haven Hose Fire Department waits to help – the case of hypothermia. To date, no incidents have happened, said Jacobyansky.

Traynor said though this year was probably the coldest swim taken temperature-wise, nothing tops that inaugural swim.

“Nobody new what to expect (the first year). We were new at it. It was that initial shock,” said Traynor, who stayed in the water for about 15 seconds.

“The first year we couldn’t breath,” said Frank Jacobyansky.

Parlak, retired Connellsville policeman and Connellsville Area School District’s chief of security, takes the plunge to the extreme by diving in straight underwater.

“When that water hits you, it numbs you instantly,” Parlak said. “It’s exhilarating.”

Next year, the annual event is supposed to be bigger and better. How? Planners said they cannot yet say.