New Castle News
Saturday (Feb. 14) was the coldest day of the year.
Wind chills hit more than 20 degrees below zero. Several inches of snow fell. It was a typically ugly winter day in western Pennsylvania.
So what would possess more than 70 people of all ages and from throughout the area to jump into the lake at Moraine State Park?
It was the fifth annual Lawrence County Habitat for Humanity Douse for a House Polar Plunge.
“It is amazing how many people are willing to come out on a day like this and do this,” said Linda Mielke, a Habitat board member and part of the Polar Plunge committee.
Some plungers were in costumes, others in bikinis and shorts. There was an Uncle Sam, at least two Elsas from “Frozen,” a chef, polar bears, and a host of others. Prizes were awarded for best individual costume and best team costumes.
For some, it was a repeat plunge; for others, it was their first time.
Team Pockets, a group of men in cutoff shorts, returned for its second plunge this year. The friends from Grove City said the shorts were shorter, but the money they raised for the event was more.
First-time plunger Holly Pallerino came from New Castle to take the leap.
“This is on my bucket list,” the nurse from DCI said. She admitted she was a little nervous, “Especially when it is so cold my phone has frozen!”
The top fundraising team was Highland Presbyterian Church, while the highest individual fundraiser was also the plunge’s oldest participant.
Eighty-year-old Tom Walker made his fourth Polar Plunge. He said he does this because it is such a good cause.
“I am not good with a hammer and nail.” Walker said, “This is my way of contributing to a great organization.”
Polar Plunge
2015
Tom Walker made his fourth Polar Plunge
