Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 223, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 September 1910 — DIPPER IS POPULAR [ARTICLE]

DIPPER IS POPULAR

Bathing Parties on Private Beaches in Chicago. * ■ - - ■ 4, ' Nsvsr Before In Its Recortled History Has Lake Figured so extensively as Social Factor as This Summer. E| Chicago.—You are not really in the pwim this summer unless you have attended a bathing party, says the a statement Is tact, not facetious, lever in Its recorded history has Michigan figured so extensively social factor as this summer. The talnlng possibilities on the lake >y the lake have been appreciated i many years, but “parties" In the have attained a popularity this (summer that swamps the record of (Other years. Every resident of the (north shore whose dwelling Is within short walking distance of the wsker plays host two or three times a Veek. These water parties rejoice In various names; beginners generally call (them “aquatic agonies,” while hard j«ned entertainers speak of them sb (“delightful dips,” and the participants as "dippers.” “Refreshing refrigeration” is a compromise that Is easily ottered with chattering teeth. 1 North shore dwellers no longer tell their more centrally located friends (to "come out where It Is cool,” but Issue paradoxical invitations to [“come out and get In.” A beach Party may include any number of guests, an even number not being necessary, as many persons look odd any way when arrayed In a bathing suit. I The guests come provided with one bathing suit and many forebodings, (while host and hostess supply dressing rooms In the!* "home and a line of optimistic conversation relative to jthe probable warmth of the water. Those who get cold feet before entering the water are told with much emphasis that Lake Michigan in Its bed Is much warmer than in a tub. The more oompletely equipped i households are supplied with a number of long and engulfing garments In which the members of the party Wrap themselves for the dash from house to water. Some of the groups that wander lakew&rd through Edgejyater and the north shore suburbs these summer nights are striking If

not picturesque In appearance. Slippers slap along and bath robes blow In the night breeze; generally the host's orders are to "leave eyeglasses, puffs and dignity In the room, or you'll lose 'em.” Eyeglasses may be recovered. Once on the beach no time Is lost In getting into the water—and not Infrequently in getting out aagln. What constitutes “cold” water Is a question on which beginners and old-timers never win agree, but as more and more water parties are given, and the number of beginners Is consequently reduced, the opinion Is gaining that any water temperature above 613 is “fine;” it Is sometimes difficult to convince a chattering beginner, however, that the water is much above 82. The duration of a water party depends largely on the plumpness of the majority of the guests. Persons of rotund build can remain for an hour or more, and still feel far from frozen, while those toward whom na-

tore has been more niggardly in the matter of fat feel like a dish of ice cream after five minutes in the Water parties are a matter of temperature, not temperament On a hot night however, nothing can be more refreshing than a plunge—and very often a scream—in the i<»ke And the delightful glow of warmth tnat follows once the guest Is in street clothes again la worth all the doubt and prefatory shivering. The final feature of the parties Is the “bit to eat" supplied, sometimes on the shore around a big bonfire of driftwood—lf the policeman doesn't threaten the entire party with arrest and make them smother the embers In the sand—ana sometimes In the h-me of host and hostess And what appetites! Liquids and solids are consumed with the avidity of castaways who have been adrift without food and water for a week, and North side grocers are growing rich satisappetites of the “dippers.”