Connellsville Polar Bears take New Year’s Day plunge
Amanda Steen | Herald-Standard
In this file photo, participants race through the Youghiogheny River during the Connellsville Polar Bear Plunge at Yough River Park on New Year’s Day 2015.
Amanda Steen | Herald-Standard
In this photo, Nancy Jacobyansky, center, dashes through the Youghiogheny River during the Connellsville Polar Bear Plunge at Yough River Park on New Year’s Day 2015.
Editor’s note: This story is part of our monthly Club Hub series highlighting the community service and social clubs operating in the Herald-Standard readership area.
The rule for joining the Connellsville Polar Bears is simple.
“Basically, once you put a foot in the water, you’re a member of the club,” said Nancy Jacobyansky.
The Polar Bears meet just once a year at Youghiogheny River Park in Connellsville on January 1 where members take an annual dip in the Youghiogheny River.
It’s the — br-r-r-r — cold temperatures that make the event.
“It’s unbearably cold. You can’t imagine until you experience it,” said Frank Jacobyansky. “The first year I thought I was going to have a heart attack. It’s a complete shock to your system. But once you come out, you’re glad you did it.”
Michael Parlak, said, “My family and I don’t go out on New Year’s Eve. We were looking for something to do to mark New Year’s. It’s cold and it’s silly. We enjoy the camaraderie of the people — people come from all over. It’s a good time.”
The club started 12 years ago on a whim when a group of friends decided it would be fun to jump in the river when it was cold. They spread the word. That first year, 46 people took the plunge. Last New Year’s Day, it’s estimated 550 participated — not everybody signs in. More come to watch.
“After the third year, we could tell this was going to grow,” said Nancy Jacobyansky.
Organizers, including the Jacobyanskys, Michael and Karen Parlak and Bruce Jaynes, begin work about 9 a.m. New Year’s Day, putting up signs, moving tables, starting a bonfire and then signing people in.
John Hamman sets up music while Connellsville Area School District teachers pass out hot chocolate. New Haven Hose Volunteer Fire Department shows up every year with a truck and warming tent. Fayette EMS is on site. The auxiliary police direct traffic.
By 10 a.m., new and old club members are beginning to arrive with maybe one in 20 dressing in costume.
“The costumes are fun, and it adds to the charm of the occasion,” remarked Frank Jacobyansky.
Organizers pass out forms for club T-shirts, which are usually distributed in March.
At 10:45 a.m., club members gather for a group photo and then prepare for the plunge. Members are advised to wear old shoes and keep them on as they enter the water. Jaynes said one year the water was frozen and they had to knock a hole in the ice.
“Every year, I’m the first one in and I tell a corny joke,” said Frank Jacobyansky. “It’s freezing and there’s a mad rush into the water. Some people just go in to cover their ankles. Some people go in 20 feet, and then there’s a mad rush to get out and get your clothes on.”
Some people go home immediately after the plunge while others stay and hang around the fire.
While the Connellsville Polar Bears collect no dues and charge no fee for the activity, they began inviting people in their third year to bring non-perishable food items to donate to charity. Connellsville Area Community Ministries shows up each year to collect the food.
“It’s a great help to us because we’re coming off our busiest time of year when we give out a lot of food. It helps us restock our food pantry,” said Chip Rowan, executive director of Connellsville Area Community Ministries, which has the largest food pantry in Fayette County, serving 450 families each month.
Rowan remarked, “People don’t bring one can. They bring a box or a case. The people are wonderful — they’re very generous.”
That charitable aspect impressed Darren Miller, a motivational speaker and marathon swimmer, who participated in the 2015 plunge with fellow endurance swimmer Alli DeFrancesco, who has also swam the English Channel. The couple were married in September by the Rev. Robert Lubic, pastor of Connellsville’s Roman Catholic parishes.
Miller, who has accomplished the Ocean’s Seven Challenge, a group of seven long-distance swims scattered across the globe: the North Channel, the Cook Strait, the Molokai Channel, the English Channel, the Catalina Channel, the Tsugaru Strait and the Strait of Gibraltar, is a Westmoreland County native now living in Beaver County. Both Miller and his wife are advocates for charity.
“It was really great to see so many people come out to support the local community and charity. It was a great way to be part of something small but, in turn, something so big,” said Miller. “It was a perfect experience. I loved meeting all those people.”
Miller, who has participated in winter swimming in Finland, noted he hates being cold, too, but said of the plunge, “It’s about experiencing things that take you out of your comfort zone.”
Keeping in touch through a Facebook page, the Polar Bears look forward to the next New Year’s Day and always welcome new members.
Jaynes said of the plunge, “It makes me feel like I’ve got a new charge to the new year.”