Cold everything, warm hearts
SPARTA Off-season bathers gathered on the shore of Lake Mohawk in Sparta Sunday to raise money for special needs campers. Organized by the Sparta Elks, The Chilling for our Children winter swim raised nearly $10,000 for Camp Moore, a camp for special needs children. Children can go to camp free of charge, said exalted ruler of Sparts Elks Lodge Anthony Alfonso of Ogdensburg. As a hint toward the low temperatures awaiting the charity bathers, Alfonso decorated his swim attire with ice cube trays. Beforehand, the plungers gathered pledges toward their swim in the lake. There are no regulations, said Alfonso. You go in, you get wet whatever you like to get wet and that is considered a plunge. The father-son team of Cris and Brandon Kalaskey of Lafayette thought their swimming in the unheated family pool in October might acclimate them for this mid-February plunge. The idea to participate in the event was Cris idea and had no trouble convincing his son to join him. He is just as silly as I am, said Cris of his son. Not shivering or looking blue after the dip, Cris described the swim as Very nice. I thought it would be colder, it might even hurt, but it didnt. He attributed his relative comfort to a physiological reaction. It must have been the adrenaline rush. Bathers, and their supporters, were invited to post plunge meal with live entertainment supplied by Reno, a Sparta based band.