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Cold water, warm hearts
Participants raise money for Blue Butterfly Fund
MIFFLINBURG -- Here's something you wouldn't want to see right before going for a swim: ice fishermen.
But the sight of a tiny fishing hut resting on the frozen surface of Halfway Lake wasn't enough to stop several people from diving into the near-freezing waters at Halfway Dam on New Year's Day.
Lest you think they were insane, it was for a good cause.
Tuesday marked the fifth annual Polar Bear Ride and Plunge, held to benefit the Blue Butterfly Fund. Approximately 20-25 people rode the 13 miles from Mifflinburg to Raymond B. Winter State Park.
Elizabeth Sterling, founder of the fund -- which provides money to families of children with cancer -- said the ride was tradition for a group of bicyclists for several years before it became a fundraising event.
Mrs. Sterling was a competitive cyclist herself before her son, Bennett, was born in 2002. The boy developed brain cancer shortly after he was born and, despite numerous treatments, died in November 2003.
His parents, Mrs. Sterling and her husband, John, formed the Blue Butterfly Fund as a way to help families in similar situations with the ancillary costs associated with caring for an ill child.
Mrs. Sterling used to take part in the ride, but found the task of organizing and participating in it to be too difficult.
"These are truly the brave souls that came out today," she said, standing by the dam along Route 192 as the chilly winter air blew around her and the rest of the small crowd that had gathered to cheer on the riders.
Prior to anyone plunging, Mr. Sterling took the temperature of the water: 34 degrees, barely high enough to keep the water from becoming ice.
Not everyone braved the water, but those who did found it a rewarding experience.
Some of them did, anyway.
"It feels good now," Jason Rippon, of Lewisburg, said after he dove headfirst into the water.
Wearing only a pair of swimming trunks and sandals, with a towel wrapped loosely around his shoulders, Mr. Rippon said the plunge was the easiest part of his day.
"(Riding up) the hill was harder than the plunge," he said. "You don't get that hyperventilating shock you think you'd get. I think because you're revved up from the ride.
"It's a good way to start the New Year."
Not everyone shared his enthusiasm. "Oh my God, it's cold," one soaking wet man exclaimed as he walked by Mr. Rippon.
A $20 minimum donation was required to participate, and riders were encouraged to find people to pledge money on their behalf.
Though the numbers were down somewhat from previous years -- due in part, Mrs. Sterling thought, to the weather and less than ideal road conditions -- they were still able to raise about $1,700.
That was much more than she expected, she said.
"It's really good, given the number of riders we had," she said.
The Sterlings have raised more than $100,000 though the Blue Butterfly Fund since it was created in 2004. More than 90 percent of the money goes directly to families in need.
"It makes me feel really good that people still remember (Bennett)," Mrs. Sterling said. "His life did have a purpose."
n E-mail comments to rscott@dailyitem.com.
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