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The Omaha Sunday Bee Magazine Page
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Running Through Snow and
Ice to the Bath House
After the Arctic Dip.
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T ft recent banquet at Brighton
Beach a ruddy faced man
with glowing eyes and a
"haven't-a-care-in the world" smile,
arose and toasted "the newest and
finest of sports."
"Here's to midwinter bathing," he
said, with glass aloft "The Icy
plunge that drives out the devils of
nervousness and drives In the little
angels of cheerfulness; that makes
women beautiful and keeps men
young; that straightens bent backs
and twisted tempers. The greatest
blessing we can wish to our friends
is that they may become midwinter
bathers."
Dr. Theodore Slqueland was the
speaker. At his right sat former
Police Deputy Dougherty, of New
York.
"Mr. Dougherty," the speaker con
tinued, beaming on his confrere, "Is
individual in bathing, as in all other
matters. Not content with one dip
in the congealing flood, he takes
two. He strides the beach as majes
tically as Alexander strode the shore
of Asia Minor, and after warming up
sufficiently, he plunges into said
flood and swims from a given point
in front of the Tarkway Baths to
the foot of Ocean Parkway, ft dis
tance of 300 yards. Landing, be re
peats the majestic stride back to the
given point in front of the bath
house, swings his arms with a dignity
that resembles that of an eagle mak
ing ready his wings for flight, dashes
again into the water and swims once
more the 300 yards. Then he strides
back to the bathhouse, removes his
.dripping garments, dresses beside a
roaring fire, and motors back to
town for dinner. He owes his com
manding brain and compelling health
to & weekly plunge into the Atlantic
Ocean, with the water at ft tempera
ture of 25 to 30 degrees above zero
and the circumambient air anywhere
from 45 degrees above to 2 below
rero."
At which the eighteen "Beach
Nuts" and their friends applauded
President Slqueland, and the guest of who make weekly pilgrimages to the
honor. seashore to swim in the chilling
Among the palms, turning their ad- brine. There is fraternity in these
miring gaze upon the speakers,' sat bands, in all save the hour of their
a score of handsome, smartly attired wintry bathing,
women, the wives, mothers and sis- The oldest of the organizations,
ters of the men of Polsr aquatic in- consisting of twenty-five members,
stincts. named themselves the Polar Bears,
'Really, Theodore has become ft and, headed by Harry Oelrichs and
much handsomer man since he began the dozen pretty and sturdy women
his Winter dips," said one of these, who compose the flock of Snow Birds,
"My George is not only handsomer, led by Miss Alda Cordes. think It
but his temper has improved. Home more convenient and salubrious to
has been ft pleasanter place this bathe in the afternoon. On any Sun
Winter." day afternoon at 2:30 these thirty-
"My brother's earning capacity has seven may be seen issuing from the
increased. The company has pro- Parkway Baths, which the midwinter
moted him three times in one year," bathers have taken over, at Brighton
proudly attested a charming little Beach, In ordinary Summer bathing
Brooklyn maid In blue velvet. costumes. For an hour or two they
Which attests at least the en- gambol on the beach, the shivering
thuslasms of the bands of men and spectators on the board walk being
women from Brooklyn and New York edified by the spectacle of ft bearded
Photo by Ue$$n$otin.
A Group of "Polar Bear" and "Snow Birds" Playinf with the Medicine Ball in the Shore Ice
on Brighton Beach, New York.
Heroic Health Gaining Methods
Intrepid Men and Women
Who Plunge in the Ocean
Even with the
Thermometer at Zero
and Swim Races
with Cakes of Ice
of they
Sturdy Women Winter
Bathers Warming
Up on One of
New York'
Beaches by Playinf
Leap Frog
Before Plunging Inte
the Frigid Waves.
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Winter Bathing Certainly Seems to Make for Strength as This Photograph, Taken
at the Coney Island (New York) Beach When the Thermometer Marked
5 Degrees Above Zero, Shows.
"Polar Bear" playing leap frog, and
ft "Snow Bird" bowling over ft "Polar
Bear" with a snowball as large as her
head.
The Arctic Club, made up of ten
male adventurers In the ocean waves,
chose noon as the most auspicious
hour for the chilling process. Mr.
Walter Cushlng leads his company
of ten knickerbockered valiants into
the surf at noon, he deeming that the
most auspicious hour.
Eighteen residents of Brooklyn
preferring an earlier plunge, so that
they might doze over the Sunday
papers at home, or walk or motor in
the afternoon, have arranged the
day's programme with "Parkway
Baths at 10" as the chief item.
In methods as in fraternity, the
bathers agree. It is their custom to
warm up by playing medicine ball,
leap frog or by races on ths beach
for from one to two hours, before
their dip. When the blood is bound
ing through their veins with suffi
cient velocity to afford resistance to
the cold and shock, they dive into the
water. There are no half way meas
ures in the plunge, no timid wadlngs,
no cries of "Ouch!" For the mid
winter bathers know that he who
hesitates Is In great danger, while he
who plunges is in all probability
safe. Most of the bathers are satis
fled with the dip of a moment, and,
laughing and shouting, run straight
back to the baths, where they clothe
themselves, and whence they issue in
an apparent state of abundant vital
itr There are exceptions to this re
gimen, as, for IntrUnce, In the case of
former Deputy Dougherty, who in
variably makes his two dashes of
700 yards each. The example of two
Intrepid bathers, Louis Frank and
Martin F. Healy, who paid a week
day visit to the beach and dared the
water when the temperature of the
air was 2 below zero, Is being dis
cussed. Would any Beach Nut, or
Polar Bear, or Snow Bird, or mem-,
ber of the Arctic Club have dared?
If the 2 below zero day bad fallen
on a Sunday, the consensus of
opinion is that they would have
dared.
"But why?" some essentially prac
tical person may Inquire.
The writer of this article so In
quired. Mrs. Herbert Crowell, one
of the "Snow Birds" and wife of a
"Polar Bear" replied: "To have a
good time. We bathe as some peo
ple dance, because we enjoy it."
Dr. Slqueland smilingly gives the
information: "The midwinter plunge
out of doors Is better than the cold
plunge In your bathroom, for the
reason that all sports are better out
of doors than Indoors. The principle
Involved is the same. The value of
the cold plunge is in the shock It
gives to the blood veasels, so stimu
lating the circulation of the blood.
"Few take the cold plunge or
fthower In their bathrooms without
the advice and consent of their phy
sician. All persons who take ft
weekly midwinter plunge In the
ocean would do well to be thus safe
guarded by professional advice. At
least the outdoor-in-Wlnter bathing
habit should be gradually formed.
All the members of our various icy
organizations were accustomed to
surf bathing in the Summer, ftfid
jlmply continued their dips as the
weather grew colder. The human
body has marvelous adaptability. It
slowly inures itself to the new con
ditions of the increasing cold. That
roan or woman who rashly began
midwinter bathing would court pneu
monia, and deserve his or her fate."
On April 17, at the Hotel Im
perial In Brooklyn, the Arctlo Club,
another of the quartette of organiza
tions that chartered the Parkway
D.Uhs for the Winter, will hold Its
annual banquet. At that time will
be reported the number of dips taken
during the Winter months, despite
hindrances of Ice and snow. The
number, by present indications, will
reach considerably more than one
thousand.
Danger in Cleaning Your Teeth with Paper
o
(Vmrlirht. llllll. tI th btr Cumptn.
NE of the most dangerous little
tricks that men and women
do Is to take a bit of paper.
torn from an envelope or newspaper,
and try to run it between the teeth
to remove some little particle of food
that the tongue feels. If you want to
be sure of trouble with your gums
continue this practise, and sooner or
latej" rather sooner than later you
will secure ft splendid case of infec
tion of the gums that will send you
Grttt BTlUii Biftiti fce.rrre
to the dentist in a hurry, and may
cause more than one sleepless night.
The bit of paper used In this way,
introduced edge-wine between the
teeth, Is worse than any toothpick,
or other Instrument, for many rea
sons. In the first place the sharp
edge of the paper Is most apt to
make a cut in the gum, and in so
doing it Is almost sure to carry into
the circulation at least some of the
nany germs clinging to It. Again,
the chemicals used in the making of
paper are far from edible, but In ad
dition to these the newspaper may
have picked up a variety o germs
from those who have handled it or
from the dust that has blows upon
It while exposed for sale.
The flap of the envelope, which Is
so "handy" a bit to use tor the teeth,
may have touched the lips of some
one with tonsllltls. or even with
tuberculosis.