Jump on in 115 polar dippers in Pleasant Poit raise more than $10,000 for the Ronald McDonald House

Linda Howe, who described herself Friday as a 54-year-old going on 18, took the plunge at the eighth annual Polar Bear Dip in Pleasant Point because she knows what it means to live at the Ronald McDonald House in Bangor.

The polar dip is held each year by Washington County Community College to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House.

Howe was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 and lived at the facility for 26 nights last year while undergoing chemotherapy.

“At $8 a night, and that was with meals, so it didn’t cost me very much [to stay there]. So for me it was very personal this year. There were other families from Washington County [there]. I was with preemie babies,” she said. “The support of that center is just huge to all of us.”

The Down East Federal Credit Union public relations spokeswoman said this was her fourth time participating in the WCCC plunge. She was unable to dip last year, she said, because she was undergoing treatment. Howe, along with her co-workers at the Baileyville branch, raised more than $1,000.

Tess Ftorek, the queen of the WCCC polar dip, was there dressed in a wild coat and an even wilder hat. Eight years ago, students at the college and Ftorek held the first dip, raising $1,600. Although she is retired from the college, Ftorek participates every year.

This year, about 115 dippers raised more than $10,000, but money is still coming in. Last year, 170 freezing-cold swimmers raised $14,000.

Again this year, a large number of groups participated along with the credit union women and WCCC students, including Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Calais Regional Hospital, Northern Maine Community College and Calais High School.

“Three gentlemen came down from Bangor,” Ftorek said. “This is their third year. One of them raised $1,800. They’d read about it in the paper and just said, ‘You know what? This is a great cause; let’s come down and let’s help them out and do it.'”

This was Fran Tracy’s first year to participate. “I’m scared,” the WCCC director of student life said with a grin. “My toes are cold right now.”

And it was cold – the air temperature hovered around 25 degrees Fahrenheit, while the water was about 30 degrees.

Admitting they were just a “wee bit” crazy, 21 students from Calais High School dressed in bathing suits and shorts rushed off a yellow school bus en masse. They were excited.

“I think I am [crazy],” Meghan Murphy, 15, of Calais said, her teeth chattering. She and Audrie Alley, 16, were wrapped up tightly in a blanket. They had not yet made the run to the water.

Katie Lutz, 18, said this was her first plunge. “Technically I am president of our Jobs for Maine’s Graduate program so I was kind of forced into doing it,” she said with a laugh. The students were all from Calais.

WCCC President Bill Cassidy was there, but wasn’t ready to swim. “Like a good athlete who is on top of their game you know when to retire and become a coach and today I am a coach,” Cassidy said with a grin. Cassidy said he was proud of the students and staff who put the dip together.

“This is just a wonderful community event,” he said.

After the plunge, Alley, who was cuddled up next to a stove in the changing tent, summarized what all the dippers were feeling.

“I can’t feel my feet,” she said, wiggling her toes near the fire.