Cancer society's polar plungers pack Lake Milton today

LAKE MILTON

There was overflow parking all over the town by early Saturday afternoon.

The American Legion’s lot on North River Road was full, so the fire station was next. Cars were filing in there, and people were waiting along the road for the next shuttle bus to take them to the Harry Meshel Picnic Grounds at Lake Milton.

Among them were Sean Reed and Bryan Brunson of Akron.

They are two perfectly normal people. What they were about to do, however, was not normal at all.

They were going to jump into the frigid lake. So were hundreds of other people.

Why? If you ever saw news reports of people climbing out of freezing water in the middle of winter after a “polar-bear plunge,” you may have asked yourself that question.

For Reed, the answer is a serious one. “I got a lot of family members as fighters, and my wife is involved — she works for the American Cancer Society,” he said.

This polar-bear plunge, called Brr! For the Cure, raises money for Cancer Society events — and this year, its fifth, the money is earmarked only for Relay for Life teams.

Read more about the event in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.