Whereas on Martha’s Winery, I attended Hyatt’s occasion honoring 80 years of one of many island’s most storied traditions: the Polar Bears.
Shaped in 1946 by a bunch of African American seasonal residents who wished to train collectively within the water, the Polar Bears have offered 80 years of bodily health and fellowship at Inkwell Seashore in Oak Bluffs, the primary desegregated seashore on Martha’s Winery. The group started when the 2 Black O’Brien sisters purchased a cottage and ran it as a mattress and breakfast; 9 Black company who had come to the Winery to work turned the primary Polar Bears. Each summer time since, from July 4 via Labor Day, members collect each morning at 7:30 to train, swim, and have enjoyable within the water.
On the celebration, I related with Malik Yoba, Hyatt’s Tyronne Stoudemire, and extra, honoring the train, meditation, prayer, and play that outline the custom. Longtime group chief Caroline Hunter, pictured beneath, has been taking the plunge for practically 30 years and stays certainly one of its most beloved figures.
The gathering was a reminder of what this custom represents: pleasure, resilience, and a legacy that continues to convey folks collectively, 80 years sturdy.
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📸 R3yan
