That year co-owners Tom Zynda and Bill Patty were drinking beers with friends and watching ESPN, which showed highlights of a polar plunge in Russia.
Amused, patron Steve Hutchison said, "We need to do that.”
A week or so later they did. Saturday, Hutchison displayed a tattered and yellowed "Charter Member” card as proof, adding proudly, "There aren’t many of these around.”
These days a live band plays at the tavern on the day of the jump, and hundreds line the creek to witness the spectacle.
Two years ago, the crowd watched organizers break through sheets of ice before the jump.
They also come to see people like Charley Wright, a.k.a. "Santa.”
Wright — a charter member — traditionally leads the plunge.
He does so wearing a Santa hat, red T-shirt, red shorts, and suspenders while sporting a long, white beard.
"It was wonderful,” said Wright, wringing his soaked T-shirt and waving to strangers.
"That’s what it’s all about in Medicine Park — people having fun.”
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