{"id":167370,"date":"2025-02-07T12:00:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T17:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=167370"},"modified":"2025-02-08T08:03:49","modified_gmt":"2025-02-08T13:03:49","slug":"167370","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2025\/02\/07\/167370\/","title":{"rendered":"An incomplete 50-year history of the Puddle Jump"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today, some 50 years after the first Puddle Jump, three of the event’s founders \u2014 Chris Callahan \u201978, Scott Copeland \u201978, and Lars Llorente \u201978 \u2014 returned to campus to kick off this year’s edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They walked onto the Puddle and held hands at the edge of the hole in the ice on Lake Andrews. Callahan gave a kind of blessing, a sweet summing up of the enduring power of Bates friendship: “Best buds for 50 years.” And in they went.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
“Best buds for 50 years,” said Chris Callahan \u201978 (center) as he and classmates Scott Copeland \u201978 and Lars Llorente \u201978 lept into the Puddle to kick of the 50th anniversary of the Puddle Jump on Feb. 7, 2025. (Sammy Weidenthal ’27 for Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Selected from Mirror<\/em> yearbooks, The Bates Student<\/em>, and, more recently, from the photography of Bates Communications and Marketing, here’s an incomplete history of the event that began when four first-year students, on the night of St. Patrick’s Day in 1975, performed an act of simple silliness, later famously described as “exuberance at the end of a hard winter.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Patrick’s Day, 1975<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>28 degrees<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first Puddle Jump took place on the evening of St. Patrick\u2019s Day, Monday, March, 17, 1975. While the Student<\/em> reported that the weather was \u201cextremely harsh,\u201d the daytime temperature hit a mild 44 degrees, perhaps giving a bit of spring fever to the four founders, Christopher Callahan \u201978, Scott Copeland \u201978, Lars Llorente \u201978, and Mark Stevens \u201977. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was all about \u201cexuberance at the end of a hard winter,\u201d according to Callahan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Mark Stevens \u201977, Scott Copeland \u201978, Christopher Callahan \u201978, and Lars Llorente \u201978 during the first Puddle Jump, March 17, 1975. (Chris Callahan) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

St. Patrick’s Day, 1977<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>26 degrees<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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St. Patrick’s Day, 1978<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>28 degrees <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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St. Patrick’s Day, 1980<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>40 degrees <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This photograph likely shows an emergent tradition of the Puddle Jump in the 1980s. Participants would gather in the basement of Smith South to hear a \u201cDip Master\u201d \u2014 perhaps seen here \u2014 read from the Dip Book<\/em> (which has been lost to history), which apparently had a letter from founder Scott Copeland as well as the names of Dip Masters past. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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St. Patrick’s Day, 1982<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>28 degrees <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The front page of The Bates Student<\/em> of March 19, 1982, published two days after the Puddle Jump, curiously juxtaposed a story and photo of Elie Wiesel, who spoke in the Chapel the previous Monday evening, and two photos of the Puddle Jump.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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St. Patrick’s Day, 1984<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>30 degrees<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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St. Patrick’s Day, 1987<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature:<\/strong> 25 degrees <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the 1980s, the jump has settled into a familiar format for the era. Two students, positioned on either side of the small hole, literally dunk students into the puddle. That is, no jumping, just dipping. And, by the 1980s, the event was known as the \u201cpuddle jump.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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St. Patrick’s Day, 1993<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature<\/strong>: 30 degrees with snow<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 1993, the tradition is now called an \u201cobligatory rite of passage for every true Bates student\u201d in the caption of this photo taken by Alexis Gentile Comrack ’93.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Alexis Gentile Comrack ’93 \/ Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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St. Patrick’s Day, 1994<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>24 degrees <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 18, 1994, The Bates Student<\/em> cleverly juxtaposed photographs of two Bates traditions, \u201cone academic and the other extracurricular; both are time honored.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the left was Toby White \u201994 submitting his 101-page interdisciplinary honors thesis, Quantum Conversations: Gender, Metaphor, and Privilege in Theoretical Physics<\/em>, to Joyce Caron just before the 3 p.m. deadline on March 16. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The photo at right showed a student getting dunked into Lake Andrews during the Puddle Jump the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Jan. 15, 2001<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature<\/strong>: 14 degrees <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the early 2000s, the Puddle Jump was a dual threat, offered on St. Patrick\u2019s Day as well as during Winter Carnival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bates Student<\/em> of Jan. 23, 2001, reported that \u201cseveral hardy souls braved the icy waters of Lake Andrews…as a tradition of questionable sanity, the \u2018puddle jump,\u2019 was revived on opening night of Winter Carnival.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

St. Patrick’s Day 2001<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>28 degrees <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new trend in the new decade, one that would persist into the early 2010: naked jumpers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Jan. 26, 2002<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>37 degrees <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2002, The Bates Student<\/em> downvoted the January \/ Outing Club version of the jump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tim Ayers ’04 gave a jump-by-jump report of the January jump in The Bates Student<\/em>. “The pattern that jumpers followed was pretty much the same every time,” he wrote. “First, the jumper would strip to either a bathing suit, underwear, or in some cases, just a birthday suit. They would then proceed to hop up and down and swear rather loudly as they made their way across the snow toward the hole in the ice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The brave person would then take a deep breath and leap. It is expected that the jumper will fully submerge their head before pulling themselves out using the rope dipped into the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“One jumper, much to her dismay, fell back into the water three more times before finally climbing out. The thoroughly chilled Batesie then ran to the bonfire where he or she would stand shivering, but not without a huge grin.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Christina Dove Davis ’94 \/ Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Jan. 18, 2003<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature:<\/strong> 12 degrees<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly two decades old, the Puddle Jump began to warrant historical treatment in The Bates Student<\/em>. A math-challenged story noted that the event began in the \u201clate 1970s\u201d and is now \u201cat an estimated age of 35 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the story about that year’s event, Hannah Johnson-Breimeier ’06 gave an apt answer to why students do the Puddle Jump. \u201cThere\u2019s a feeling of accomplishment,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

March 5, 2004<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>35 degrees <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a high of just 9 degrees on Jan. 25, 2004, the Puddle Jump was postponed. Then it was postponed again when the Outing Club could not secure a permit for the bonfire (too windy). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The event finally went off in March, but was sparsely attended. The Student<\/em> sounded a death knell. \u201cThe Puddle Jump used to be an anticipated event, where upwards of 100 people took a dip in the frozen puddle, with hundreds of others cheering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in fact, the Puddle Jump was just enjoying a rebirth. This photo of the 2005 event, the first digital coverage of the event by Bates Communications and Marketing, appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education<\/em> that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"First-year
Adam Dengler ’07 and Teah Muller ’07 of Guilford, Conn., take the plunge on March 5, 2004. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Jan. 21, 2006<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>40 degrees <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unseasonably warm 52-degree Puddle Jump Day on Jan. 21, 2006, made for record numbers at the Puddle Jump and one unexpected result. “Participation was high!” reported The Bates Student<\/em>. \u201cUnfortunately, so was male nudity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Puddle
Puddle jump. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Jan. 26, 2007<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>40 degrees<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While axes and ice augers were used for a number of years to create the hole, the Outing Club would ultimately turn to more powerful tools, like chain saws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"PUDDLE
(Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Jan. 18, 2008<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature:<\/strong> 40 degrees<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many years, students would gather around the hole during the Puddle Jump, and jumping into the water was a pell-mell affair. Today, students gather along the walkway, and walk out in groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Cold
(Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Jan. 23, 2009<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>18 degrees<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The 2009 Puddle Jump was one of the colder editions. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Jan. 22, 2010<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

BOC stalwart Dots Loopesko \u201910 (center) gets a hand from fellow BOCer Jeremy Porter \u201911 (left) as the Outing Club preps the jumping hole in 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>31 degrees<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Jan. 20, 2011<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>26 degrees<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The annual tradition earned some media attention off campus with a video of the Jan. 20, 2011, Puddle Jump featured in the Lewiston Sun Journal<\/em>, and an unexpected shout out from the Vietnam news portal Zing<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"WINTER,
WINTER, Puddle Jumps, Outing Club, Lake Andrews. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Jan. 17, 2012<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>33 degrees<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the 2010, costumes were a solid part of Puddle Jump tradition, with students wearing everything from duck and mermaid costumes to the flags of their country of origin as capes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Post-Puddle
(Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Jan. 18, 2013<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>15 degrees (Brrrrr!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"at
Mike Bradley\/Bates College<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Jan. 17, 2014<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: 40 degrees <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now retired, Jim Guzelian, the college’s enivornmental health and safety specialist \u2014 better known as “Safety Jim” \u2014 was a mainstay at the Puddle Jump, including helping students secure wood for the all-important bonfire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
(Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Jan. 23, 2015<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature:<\/strong> 29 degrees<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Today,
Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Feb. 12, 2016<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature:<\/strong> 17 degrees<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2016 edition of the Puddle Jump featured some pond skimming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Students
Josh Kuckens\/Bates College<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Jan. 20, 2017<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>36 degrees <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Jan. 26, 2018<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>26 degrees <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
(Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Feb. 9, 2019<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature:<\/strong> 32 degrees<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From left, founders and 1978 classmates Scott Copeland , Chris Callahan, and Lars Llorente returned for the 2019 jump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"As
(Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Jan. 31, 2020<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>38 degrees <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
(Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

January 2021<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Not held due to COVID.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Feb. 11, 2022<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Approximate temperature: <\/strong>43 degrees <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some facts from 2022:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Hole dimension: 13 feet by 13 feet<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Cutting tool: 20-inch Makita chainsaw, handled by Jack Fruechte \u201922 of Minneapolis<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Temperature: 43 degrees<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Wind direction and speed: South at 15mph<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Ice thickness: 6 inches, topped by another 6 inches of crusty snow<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    \"After
    Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    Feb. 10, 2023<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Approximate temperature: <\/strong>52 degrees<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"The
    Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    Feb. 9, 2024<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Approximate temperature:<\/strong> 38 degrees<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"The
    Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    Feb. 7, 2025<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Approximate temperature:<\/strong> 29 degrees<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Llorente, Callahan, and Copeland respond to the cheers of current Bates students, just before kicking off the 2025 edition of the long-running Puddle Jump today, Feb. 7. Well done!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A pictorial 50-year history of a one-of-a-kind college tradition, the Puddle Jump, with the bookend editions of 1975 and 2025 featuring the founders and 1978 classmates Chris Callahan, Scott Copeland, and Lars Llorente.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":167503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[223,11012],"tags":[10918],"class_list":["post-167370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-slideshow","category-student-life","tag-puddle-jump"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167370"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167370\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":167524,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167370\/revisions\/167524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}