To answer the two most frequently asked questions of me this week (Was it cold? Are you nuts?): Yes! and Yes!

But I’ll take the plunge again next year in the frigid waters of Passamaquoddy Bay when Washington County Community College has its fifth annual Polar Bear Dip because it’s for a wonderful cause – the Ronald McDonald House in Bangor.

Thanks to the hundreds of people who participated and pledged support to us crazy folks who took the plunge, the Ronald McDonald House will be receiving about $35,000 from WCCC on Feb. 10! Think about that for a minute. That’s a large chunk of change coming (mostly) out of Washington County where statistics show incomes are not the highest.

As of Thursday, money collected totaled $33,369.75 and was still coming in, according to John Miller, director of public affairs at WCCC. Some of that, $1,100, came from a party the evening of the dip at La Sardina Loca in Eastport where the place was sold out.

Based on previous years’ experience, the college expects additional donations will push the grand total to $35,000, which is $10,000 more than their goal!

A week ago Friday (Jan. 23) I made the pilgrimage to the Fish Pier next to Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Indian Reservation to join more than 200 others in WCCC’s Fourth Annual Polar Bear Dip. I hooked up with fellow Bangor Daily News scribes John Holyoke and Diana Graettinger to take the big plunge. I was happy to have company from the newspaper, since last year I was its lone representative. That was year three of the dip.

Five years ago students at the college, acting on a whim, decided to do something really nutty to break up the long, cold winter. Dares turned into action when several of them jumped into chilly November waters at Shackford Head State Park in Eastport. The idea of sponsoring a local polar dip in January was born.

But just taking a plunge in January’s frigidity wasn’t enough. The students decided to raise money for a worthy cause and agreed that Ronald McDonald House certainly would qualify. The first polar dip took shape. There were 33 dippers that first time four years ago at Gleason Cove. They raised around $1,500. The next year, 72 dippers raised some $6,000.

Last year the numbers of dippers and spectators ballooned, so the location was moved from Gleason Cove to the Fish Pier (lots more parking space). Some 110 dippers raised $18,000. Students were ecstatic at the turnout and support they received. So this year they raised their expectations for donations for this event to $25,000. You can just imagine how happy they are to have collected close to $35,000!

Miller (a.k.a. Mr. Button after this, his first polar dip) told me there were 22 students from foreign countries who took the plunge. Countries represented included Mexico, Bahamas, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Holland, Canada, and France. They came from New Brunswick Community College and Southern Maine Community College. The southern Maine students were chauffeured by first-time dipper Deborah Andrews, wife of Rep. Tom Andrews.

Members of the student senate are already planning the 5th Annual Polar Bear Dip. It’s theme is Cinco de Mayo, so be thinking sombreros and Mexico. The holiday, which is on the anniversary of the 1862 defeat of Napoleon III’s French forces at the Battle of Puebla, is celebrated with sporting events, dancing, Mariachi bands, picnics, and beauty contests.

After taking the plunge and getting warmed by one of the three bonfires on the beach, I had a chance to chat with Tess Ftorek, WCTC’s student support councilor and student senate advisor. She has been at the center of this event since its inception and once again she said she was overwhelmed by the community support and turnout. A few days later she was still on a high. “I am simply overwhelmed and amazed at what people will do and what people will give from their hearts to help others.

“It was great, so wonderful to see young and old, students and employees laughing and talking, and all about the wonderful cause that they helped contribute to. I am on cloud nine and so very proud to be affiliated with such a terrific college community and a much larger community who put all things aside,” she added.

She also pointed out the help the Polar Dip gets from the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Pleasant Point Police Department, Sipayik Ambulance Service, Pleasant Point Health Center and the Tribal Government that supply “critical support services” for the dip. “The polar Bear Dip would not happen without the support of our family and friends at Pleasant Point,” Ftorek said.

What most of us living close to Bangor don’t realize is how important the Ronald McDonald House is to folks living miles away who have to cope with sick family members receiving treatment at Eastern Maine Medical Center. The House that Love Built is their home away from home in times of family crisis, therefore they dig deep when it comes to lending their financial support. It really is heartwarming to hear that such a large pot of change was dredged up and will go to such a worthy cause.

Officially, the check passing will be Feb. 10 at the Calais campus of WCCC on Route 1 at 11:30 a.m. in the assembly room of the main building. As a token of appreciation to those who participated, McDonald’s will be handing out certificates for Big Macs.

There is still time, by the way, to make a contribution to this year’s fund, and Ftorek told me there are still T-shirts and embroidered micro fleece vests available for sale to help the cause. Give her a call at 853-2518 or write to her at Washington County Community College, 1 College Drive, Calais, ME 04619 if you’re interested.

And don’t forget to mark your calendar for next January (I’ll let you know the date) so you can join me and a few hundred others in making the icy plunge for charity. It may seem like a nutty time of year to go swimming, but as WCCC’s Dean Dave Sousa said last year when I asked him what he thought before taking his first plunge: “I’ve been in this water in the summer. I can’t imagine it’s much different now!”

Indeed, it’s really only 20 or so degrees cooler!

This from the mailbag: After I wrote about Whiskey Jack last week, and fed the Canada jays from my hand, Donnie Perkins of Blue Hill wrote to tell me about his trips to hunting camp in Blue Hill. The camp is remote, on a ridge overlooking a meadow.

Perkins said he’s always put out sunflower seeds and bread to feed the birds. This year, he said, he put out a pan of leftovers and it wasn’t long before blue jays, chickadees, and sparrows showed up for the feast. “One nice afternoon I went out on the deck with a couple of pieces of bread, sat down at the picnic table and within half an hour had four Canada jays landing on my arms and hands feeding on all the bread they could possibly carry at once. The blue jays, not having the nerve, were some upset and quite happy when I went back inside.”

Perkins also expressed some concern that Holyoke, who had told readers he was going to take the polar plunge, had something more seriously wrong with him than a “broken blubber-o-meter!” Actually, he was a champ, and came close to taking a second plunge just so he could get the ice out of his hair!

See you next year, Donnie, at Pleasant Point. Come on down, the water’s fine!

Jeff Strout can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.