NORWAY —

4th Annual Enid Dullea Length of Lake Swim

NORWAY — It was a healthy, happy, win-win event for the 8 swimmers who participated in the 4th Annual Enid Dullea Length of Lake Swim on Sunday, August 18th. The Swim is a fun, non-competitive 3.5 mile event to raise funds for the Lakes Association of Norway, the only local group dedicated to preserving the health and beauty of the area’s lakes. The swim honors Enid Dullea, a 1930 Norway High School graduate, who swam the length of the lake regularly while training for the 1936 Olympics.

Swimmers and kayakers were carried by boats to the start site at the north end of Pennesseewassee Lake by Jerry Ellingwood, Barbara Howard, and Bill Medd, who also was the event’s Safety Agent. The kayaks and one canoe were transported by trucks driven by Bill Howard, George Marton, Richard McSherry and Don Ware.

Each swimmer was accompanied by a kayaker for support and protection. Swimmers entered the water at 8:44 am. The temperature at the start was 67 degrees with no wind which made the swim a bit easier. The first person, Betsy McGettigan, emerged from the water at 10:11 am at the beach at Pennesseewassee Park accompanied by her kayak supporter, Linda McSherry, the daughter of Enid Dullea. The other swimmers were Tish Carr, Lee Dassler, Alice Goodwin, Bev Hendricks, Guy Pollino, Geoff (Sam) Shallard, and Hillary Ware. Other kayakers were Eliza Beghe, Sarah Carter, Brian Hendricks, Nancy Hohman, Don Ware, Pat Winsor, and members of the Pollino family. Many lake residents were on their docks cheering the swimmers on as they glided past.

Hillary Ware and Susan Jacoby, LAON’s outreach coordinator, were co-coordinators for the event. They are encouraging people to think about participating next year and suggest that if 3.5 miles seems too ambitious, to consider doing it as a relay with a partner. The Length of the Lake swim is always on the 3rd Sunday of August.

The website for the Lakes Association, www.norwaylakes.org, describes the organization’s projects and highlights what individuals can do on their own land to support their work.