OXFORD — A record number of hardy souls took on the pouring rain, ice and near-freezing waters of Thompson Lake on New Year’s Day for the fourth annual Crocker Family Polar Plunge.
About 30 people waded or dove into the 33.8-degree water off Canada Hill Shores Road after the iced-in public boat landing on Route 121 proved too laborious and dangerous to navigate. The group comprised property owners along the shore road, their families and friends.
Some arrived dressed only in swimsuits, while others were covered with robes, pajamas, jackets, hats and “Happy New Year” headbands.
Talkative and shivering, the group posed for a photograph before stripping down and forming a long line to wade into the open water. Some dipped, some dove and most were back on shore in less than a minute, running for towels and coverings. Bottles of whiskey and tequila were shared for an internal warm-up.
Ian Johnson of Westboro, Massachusetts, said the group went to Riverside Lodge and Sauna on Paris Hill Road in Paris to get some steam heat before returning to the lake.
Organizer and event namesake John Crocker, a retired firefighter who lives on the shore road, said he started the Polar Plunge four years ago, long after participating in the L Street Brownies Polar Plunge from about 2008 to 2015.
The L Street Brownies Polar Bear Club, based in South Boston, was organized in 1902, making it one of the oldest clubs in the country. The group of city employees is best known for its annual New Year’s Day plunge into Dorchester Bay.
Crocker’s experience with the L Street Brownies eventually led him to challenge his neighbors on the shore road.
One of his daughters, Courtney Crocker of Beverly, Massachusetts, said Wednesday she is “always supportive, never surprised” by her father’s ideas.
-Her sister, Kaity Crocker of Bridgton said: “My dad loves to get people together to do challenging things. He likes people to push it to the limit.”
Jenna Dellorusso, left, of Derry, N.H., and Cori Hamel of Nahant, Mass., share a laugh Wednesday as the warm up after diving into Thompson Lake during the fourth annual Crocker Family Polar Plunge on Canada Hill Shores Road in Oxford. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
The 2025 edition served not only as a time for the Crocker family, neighbors, relatives and friends to have some fun but it was a fundraiser for those who need help heating their homes, John Crocker said.
The first Crocker Family Polar Plunge drew nine participants, including the Crocker family, young Liam Johnson of Westboro, Massachusetts, and the son of Ian, and Liam’s uncle, Steve Hall, also of Westboro.
Hall said Wednesday he participated in Bridgton Academy’s polar plunge when he was a student there in 1980. When Crocker invited him to come to Oxford for New Year’s Day 2022, he jumped at the chance and is one of the few to have returned every year.
“This is his event,” Ian Johnson said Wednesday. “It’s our neighbors. It’s our happy place up here.”
Before inviting everyone to his cottage to get warm, enjoy pizza and receive a commemorative Crocker Family Polar Plunge T-shirt, John Crocker stood on the shore in his swimsuit and hat and advised everyone that they must wear a hat next year. He said he is keeping the reason under wraps.
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