Nothing like a cool plunge in a lake on New Year’s Day

CRAIG BEACH — The air temperature hovered around 24 degrees, the water temperature was near freezing and snowflakes swirled through the air.

But none of that stopped roughly 30 people from donning bathing suits and plunging into Lake Milton on Friday.

The Polar Bear Plunge at Craig Beach in Lake Milton State Park was sponsored by Grandview Tavern in Milton Township and O’Donold’s Irish Pub and Grill in Austintown.

The annual event’s just for fun, said Mike Reinhart, owner of the Grandview. He sponsored the event for five years.

He skipped last year, Reinhart noted, thinking the fun had run its course. Demand for the event proved him wrong. So he combined efforts with O’Donold’s to draw a bigger crowd.

And it worked: This year’s plunge attracted about 10 more participants than usual, he said.

A crowd watched as participants slid out of jeans and pulled off coats and t-shirts. Some even kicked off their shoes.

Read more in Saturday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com