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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2016)
Wallowa County Chieftain Community wallowa.com January 6, 2016 A7 Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain Last one in is a rotten egg! The countdown helps, as does holding hands with your neighbor so that you’re in this foolishness together, but several plungers just couldn’t make themselves go until they’d seen that people came out alive. The “rotten eggs” went in after the initial plunge and redeemed themselves. The COOL crowd The courageous and the ‘crazy’ converge for chilling start to new year By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain The shortest social event of the year took place at 10 a.m. Jan. 1, 2016 on the north end of Wallowa Lake. Hand in hand, a group of self-pro- claimed “crazy people” counted down from 10 and made their rush into the freez- ing waters of the lake for the 9th annual Polar Bear Plunge. It’s over in a blink; the event takes about 10 minutes from the time folks drive in and strip off until they bun- dle up and drive away. But in that blink of time, participants leave the dregs of old unful- ¿OOHGUHVROXWLRQVZRUULHVDQG griefs — and attachments to wayward projects — out in the lake. All left behind. Participants come out of that water beaming; refreshed and new. “It’s Wallowa County’s YHUVLRQRIWKH¿UHZDON´VDLG Karl Doss, 44, of Enterprise. “I do it because I can,” said 70-year-old Ralph Swinehart Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain The crowd mills in restless anticipation of the 10 a.m. start. The event is “unplanned” other than the start time, so no count was taken of either participants or crowd, but it was a healthy crowd — only a fraction of it is pictured here. of Enterprise. “Last year I was in the hospital with pneumo- nia. But I did it twice one year ZKHQDIULHQGFDPH¿YHPLQ utes late and I volunteered to do it again with him.” “It’s stupid!” said Mike Ribich, 53, of Enterprise, with a grin. “Here I am being stu- pid.” Lauren Dodson, 28, of Portland called it “A little bit of crazy.” Nobody is disputing that. The polar plunge seems to be the moment when one realiz- es it’s never too late to “take the plunge” and be the kind of stupid they could be (without a second thought) in their 20s. It is, in fact, an exercise that re- juvenates: Polar plungers often are over age 50 and into their STILL RUNNING OUT TO FETCH THE PAPER? 70s, and that short trip down the boat ramp appears to strip years off guys and gals alike. We can only estimate the number of people who were stupid with Mike or “a little bit of crazy” with Lauren. There are no entry forms, nobody counts the attendance. Nothing LV RI¿FLDOO\ RUJDQL]HG H[FHSW the time and place. What is known about this year’s plunge is that the air temperature was around zero degrees and the lake was not iced over — making the lake warmer than the air. Veteran Fleece Lined Leggings Restocked! $12 each, One size fits most Last chance this season! Open Daily 10 am – 5 pm 6 months $26.00 1year * $40.00 1year, online $40.00 Subscribe Today! 541-426-4567 • wallowa.com * $40.00 is the in county price, $57.00 for out of county subscribers. plunger Rodd Ambroson vol- unteered to take the tempera- ture of the lake and waded out D IHZ IHHW DQG SXW KLV ¿QJHUV in. The dogs that had accompa- nied their owners to the event stopped on the boat ramp and refused to put even a toe in the water. “Yep, it’s cold.” Ambroson said. 7KH ¿UVW ³RUJDQL]HG´ plunge was made by Rich Wandschneider, Rodd Ambro- son, Beth Gibans, Jim Shelley and Mary B Fort. Mary says she’s now “smarter than that,” and stays home and reads about the event in The Chief- tain. But Rich, Rodd and Beth are no smarter than they were in 2007 and continue to demonstrate more guts than brains — along with dozens of other folks. Old Fashioned Values Sales & Services 541-426-2100 311 West Main St., Enterprise FEATURED INVENTORY 2012 Chevrolet Equinox LTZ $21,500 Stock # 10408 • 56,949 MI. • AWD, A/C, PW, PS 2000 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 CALL FOR PRICE Stock # 10331B • 187,714 MI. • 4WD, A/C, PW, PS 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 Hvy Duty $24,885 Stock # 10402 • 96,225 MI. • 4WD, A/C, PW, PS 2011 Chrysler 300C $23,999 Stock # 10207 • 27,721 MI. • RWD, Sporty Handling 2007 Dodge Nitro SXT $10,987 Stock # 10350E • 68,984 MI. • AWD, A/C, PW, PS 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 ST $12,985 Stock # 10353 • 79,039 MI. • 4WD, A/C, PS The Wallowa County Chieftain Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain Amy Roseberry, 25, of Austin, Texas and her mother Leila Barlow. 55, of Joseph are ready for the new year after completing the 1016 Polar Plunge. “I just got my AARP Card,” Leitla said. “I’m celebrating that.” Uptown Clothing & Accessories in Downtown Joseph 12 S. 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