W
hile Door County is widely known as a summertime vacation mecca, it does have its undeniable wintertime charms. Visitors from around the Great Lakes and the country visit the peninsula during the offseason for cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, ice fishing…and especially the Jacksonport Polar Bear Plunge. Held on New Year’s Day, the plunge draws hundreds into frigid Lake Michigan. Yes, hundreds. The Jacksonport Polar Bear Club’s annual event has drawn such attention in recent years that a Hollywood production team chose to use the plunge as the climax for the independent film “Feed the Fish.” The majority of the movie was shot in Door County during the winter of 2009. Written and directed by Green Bay native Michael Matzdorff and executive-produced by fellow Wisconsinite and Emmy award-winning actor Tony Shalhoub, the film is a love letter to Door County, particularly during the months in which it becomes the Great White North. And yes, viewers will experience the Polar Bear Plunge vicariously. Not only will Door County residents and former visitors delight in seeing familiar faces and businesses— such as the Skyway Drive-In and Ellison Bay’s beloved Viking Grill—throughout the movie, they’ll also recognize Jacksonport Polar Bear Club founder J.R. Jarosh leading the charge into Lake Michigan, clad in his signature tuxedo. 46 LAKELANDBOATING.COM J U N E 2 011
Jarosh founded the club in 1986, when he was just 14 years old.“ I wondered how many months of the year I could go into the lake,” he recalled. “I’d done October, and I thought December sounded fun. So I did it, and it wasn’t too bad!” For the next two years, Jarosh swam alone. In 1989, he added two swimmers—his brother Jon, director of communications and public relations for the Door County Visitors Bureau, and Heidi Hodges, a reporter and photographer with the Door County Advocate. And so the Jacksonport Polar Bear Club was born. It’s grown a bit. In recent years, the club has drawn more than 800 people to its New Year’s Day plunge, and it remains one of the largest of its kind in the country. “I think it’s because we have a lot of open water, so we can get everyone in,” Jarosh said. “We’ve also stayed organized; we do the countdown, and the fire department is on hand to keep everyone safe.” The Jacksonport Polar Bear Club is now in its 26th season, and Jarosh said he’s enjoying himself as much as ever. “We’re keeping it fun,” he concluded. “We keep encouraging group participation, encouraging costumes. And we’ll see where the future takes us.” To learn more about the Jacksonport Polar Bear Club, visit doorbell.net/pbc/. For information about “Feed the Fish,” visit feedthefishmovie.com. — H.S.