The FNCA Polar Bear Club
The Polar Bear Club motto:
"Refreshing and Invigorating!"

 

Polar Bear Club statistics
Make your own FNCA Polar Bear plushie!

 

© Ian Woofenden 2010
  The FNCA Polar Bear Club sign on the side of
the Tool Shed was made by Louise Dole
"Mom Woof" Woofenden
sometime in the
1990s.
First, a little history: Most campers from the 1960s and 1970s remember a daily morning dip before breakfast. Some campers from the 1940s and 1950s have vivid memories of seeing Mrs. Foster (mother of Rev. Ted Foster) going down to the river for a brisk swim every morning at 6:00. Other old-timers remember campers swimming before breakfast as far back as the 1930s. However, the earliest known record of what became known as Polar Bear Swim is in 1928, the year we bought the first 12 acres of the Assembly grounds. Over the years, enough joined in that it has became a daily camp tradition that continues to this day.

Each morning at the rising bell, the FNCA Polar Bear Club gets together for a pre-breakfast dip in the refreshing and invigorating waters of the Saco River.

Everyone gathers at the top of the path to the river awaiting the arrival of our leader who greets the group with a hearty, "Good morning, Polar Bears!", to which the group responds with a mighty, "Good morning, Papa Bear!"

© Jesse White 2011Someone checks the Polar Bear thermometer by our official FNCA Polar Bear Club sign on the side of the Tool Shed next to where we gather, and then we head down the path to the river for our morning swim.

There are only two rules:
1. You have to go in willingly.
2. You have to swim at least one stroke.

© Trevor 2018
This painting by Nancy S. Hinson was  
 made in 2018. It hangs in a place of    
honor above the Polar Bear Club PBQ   
chalkboard in the Dining Hall.              
The first one in is the "Icebreaker"! After that, one by one or in clusters, everyone enters the water in their own style. While most people swim across and wait on the other side for the rest of the group to join them, a few are either in too much of a rush or are not quite that intrepid and climb down the ladder, let go for the required one stroke, and quickly climb right back up out again! This maneuver is known as "a Beki", named for its originator Beki Greenwood.

As swimmers dive, jump, or climb into the water, Papa Bear stands on the bank and keeps a loud count of the number of Polar Bears who have gone in so far. Finally, Papa Bear himself dives in, swims across and, joining the others, announces the final number from the shallows on the other side.

Next we all sing a rousing rendition of the "Polar Bear Song" together before swimming back across, where we all grab our towels and head back up the path for a quick hot shower and/or a pause to warm up in front of the fireplace in the Main Building before getting dressed for breakfast.

© Emily Woofenden 2016
Our official FNCA Polar Bear Club
PBQ chalkboard, which hangs in
the Dining Hall, was made by
Ross Woofenden in 2016.
The morning ritual officially ends during announcements at breakfast when Papa Bear announces the day's Polar Bear Quotient as he enters it on the official Polar Bear chalk board to either oohs and ahhs or moans and groans depending on if the PBQ is low (good) or high (bad).

What is the Polar Bear Quotient, you might ask? Well let me tell you: It was created by the Rev. Dr. George F. Dole in 1989 as a method (to quote the Polar Bear official records book) "to numerically evaluate the influence of temperature on the number of Polar Bears on a particular morning. ...You take the air temperature at the rising bell, subtract 32 to get the number of degrees above freezing, and then simply divide by the number of Polar Bears to get the day's PBQ."

The Polar Bear Club has been meeting every day during camp since at least the 1940s (probably earlier), but we've only been keeping records since that wonderful Wednesday of first week in 1989 when Rev. Dr. Dole had his PBQ brainstorm. The official Polar Bear Club records book, which is maintained by Papa Bear, contains yearly records from 1989-present of:
1. the daily temperature at the rising bell,
2. the number of Polar Bears each day,
3. the daily PBQ,
4. the signatures of the year's Polar Bears.
There are a few figures and some signatures missing from the four earliest years of record keeping; the rest of the years all have complete data and (presumably) signatures.


 

FNCA Polar Bear Club
Statistics

These statistics are all kept in the official Polar Bear Club book which was obtained in 1993 for that purpose and is maintained by Papa Bear.

1989
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
  2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2018 2029      

day temp. # PBQ

1989

Sunday 49°    
Monday 56°    
Tuesday 57°    
Wednesday 49° 4 4.3
Thursday 56° 4 6.0
Friday 57° 2 12.5
Saturday 60° 4 7.0
Sunday 66° 8 4.3
Monday 69° 11 3.4
Tuesday 65° 8 4.1
Wednesday 70° 12 3.2
Thursday 57° 6 4.2
Friday 54° 4 5.5
Saturday 54° 4 5.5
Sunday 63° 4 7.8
  high °: 70° high #: 12 high PBQ: 12.5
  low °: 49° low #:   2 low PBQ: 3.2
1989 avgs: avg °: 58.8° avg. #: 4.7 avg. PBQ: 4.52
day

temp.

# PBQ

 

1990

Sunday 64° 2 16.0
Monday 73° 15 2.7
Tuesday 64° 7 4.6
Wednesday 66° 3 11.3
Thursday 67° 4 8.8
Friday 66° 4 8.5
Saturday n/a 3 n/a
Sunday n/a n/a n/a
Monday 61° 8 3.6
Tuesday 66° 7 4.8
Wednesday 58° 6 5.3
Thursday 66° 6 5.7
Friday 62° 6 5.0
Saturday 64° 8 4.8
Sunday n/a n/a n/a
  high °: 73° high #: 15 high PBQ: 16.0
  low °: 58° low #: 2 low PBQ: 2.7
1990 avgs: avg °: 64.8° avg #: 6.4 avg PBQ: 6.6

 

1991
day temp. # PBQ
Sunday n/a n/a 3.6
Monday 61° 6 4.8
Tuesday 62° 11 2.7
Wednesday 56° 11 2.2
Thursday 60° 9 3.1
Friday 62° 4 7.5
Saturday 62° 3 10.0
Sunday 61° 5 5.8
Monday 58° 10 2.6
Tuesday 62° 13 2.3
Wednesday n/a n/a 4.7
Thursday 66° 6 4.9
Friday 65° 9 3.7
Saturday 64° 8 4.0
Sunday n/a n/a n/a
  high °: 66° high #: 13 high PBQ: 10.0
  low °: 56° low #: 3 low PBQ: 2.2
1991 avgs: avg °: 61.6° avg #: 7.9

avg PBQ: 4.4

 

1992

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 60° 4 7.0
Monday 62° 8 3.8
Tuesday 65° 8 4.1
Wednesday 58° 9 2.4
Thursday 52° 10 2.0
Friday 62° 16 1.9
Saturday 60° 11 2.6
Sunday 60° 6 4.7
Monday 62° 5 6.0
Tuesday 65° 5 6.6
Wednesday 62° 3 10.0
Thursday 54° 3 7.3
Friday 49° 6 2.8
Saturday 58° 3 8.7
Sunday 59° 5 5.4
  high °:65° high #: 16 high PBQ:
  low °:49° low #: 3 low PBQ:
1992 avgs: avg °: 55.1 avg #: 6.8 avg PBQ: 5.0

 

1993

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 62° 10 3.0
Monday 59° 13 2.0
Tuesday 62° 11 2.7
Wednesday 59° 11 2.5
Thursday 62° 9 3.3
Friday 63° 10 3.1
Saturday 61° 5 5.8
Sunday 62° 4 7.5
Monday 61° 4 7.3
Tuesday 63° 3 10.3
Wednesday 65° 3 11.0
Thursday 63° 5 6.2
Friday 64° 6 5.3
Saturday 63° 7 4.4
Sunday 50° 6 3.0
  high °:65° high #: 13 high PBQ: 11.0
  low °: 50° low #: 3 low PBQ: 2.0
1993 avgs: avg °: 61.3° avg #: 7.1 avg PBQ: 5.2

 

1994

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 52° 7 2.8
Monday 55° 11 2.1
Tuesday 56° 14 1.7
Wednesday 66° 12 2.8
Thursday 52° 8 2.5
Friday 55° 5 4.6
Saturday 60° 9 3.1
Sunday 70° 13 2.9
Monday 54° 25 0.88
Tuesday 55° 7 3.3
Wednesday 52° 5 4.0
Thursday 64° 4 8.0
Friday 64° 6 5.3
Saturday 64° 6 5.3
Sunday 67° 14 2.5
  high °: 70° high #: 25 high PBQ: 8.0
  low °: 52° low #: 4 low PBQ: 0.88
1994 avgs: avg °: 59.1° avg #: 9.0 avg PBQ: 3.5

1994 NOTE: Monday of second week, the Polar Bear Club set an all-time high of 25 Polar Bears and and all-time low PBQ of 0.88. (Both these records were broken in the successful record-breaking attempt Friday of first week in 1998.)

 

1995

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 63° 11 2.8
Monday 51° 11 1.7
Tuesday 54° 10 2.2
Wednesday 59° 16 1.68
Thursday 60° 14 2.0
Friday 61° 10 2.9
Saturday 66° 14 2.4
Sunday 62° 13 2.3
Monday 61° 14 2.1
Tuesday 67° 18 1.9
Wednesday 65° 16 2.0
Thursday 62° 13 2.3
Friday 66° 17 2.0
Saturday 54° 12 1.8
Sunday 51° 11 1.7
  high °: 67° high #: 18 high PBQ: 2.9
  low °: 51° low #: 10 low PBQ: 1.7
1995 avgs: avg °: 60.1° avg #: 13.3 avg PBQ: 2.1

 

1996

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 61° 8 3.6
Monday 61° 12 2.4
Tuesday 63° 16 1.9
Wednesday 64° 19 1.7
Thursday 66° 14 2.4
Friday 71° 21 1.9
Saturday 61° 15 1.9
Sunday 52° 12 1.7
Monday 53° 11 1.9
Tuesday 60° 12 2.3
Wednesday 55° 7 3.3
Thursday 52° 5 4.0
Friday 62° 8 3.8
Saturday 63° 7 4.4
Sunday 57° 16 1.6
  high °: 71° high #: 21 high PBQ: 4.4
  low °: 52° low #: 5 low PBQ: 1.6
1996 avgs: avg °: 60.1° avg #: 12.2 avg PBQ: 2.6

 

1997

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 56° 10 3.3
Monday 60° 18 1.6
Tuesday 57° 19 1.3
Wednesday 58° 19 1.4
Thursday 50° 15 1.2
Friday 54° 16 1.4
Saturday 64° 20 1.6
Sunday 66° 11 3.0
Monday 65° 12 2.8
Tuesday 59° 15 1.8
Wednesday 58° 10 2.6
Thursday 58° 13 2.0
Friday 56° 21 1.1
Saturday 64° 14 2.3
Sunday 74° 28 1.5
  high °: 74° high #: 28 high PBQ: 3.0
  low °: 50° low #: 10 low PBQ: 1.1
1997 avgs: avg °: 60.5° avg #: 16.1 avg PBQ: 1.93

1997 NOTES:
1. Special Guest Papa Bear middle Saturday:
Jon Kozar.
2. Special Guest Mama Bear middle Sunday:
Min-Heui Chen

1998

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 57° 17 1.5
Monday 59° 18 1.5
Tuesday 59° 19 1.4
Wednesday 62° 20 1.5
Thursday 61° 21 1.4
Friday 68° 41 0.87
Saturday 65° 22 1.5
Sunday 67° 20 1.8
Monday 70° 22 3.2
Tuesday 71° 12 3.3
Wednesday 67° 14 2.5
Thursday 52° 15 1.3
Friday 54° 13 1.7
Saturday 63° 13 2.4
Sunday 68° 16 2.3
  high °: 71° high #: 41 high PBQ: 3.3
  low °: 57° low #: 12 low PBQ: 0.87
1998 avgs: avg °: 62.9° avg #: 18.2 avg PBQ: 1.9

1998 NOTE: Friday of first week, the Polar Bear Club set an all-time high record of 41 Polar Bears and an all-time low PBQ of 0.87, just barely beating out Monday of second week in 1994's PBQ of 0.88!

"On the Way to the New Polar Bear Record!"
(How many are there so far?)

© Nancy F. Little 1998

 

1999

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 60° 14 2.0
Monday 56° 12 2.0
Tuesday 54° 16 1.4
Wednesday 59° 12 2.3
Thursday 63° 13 2.4
Friday 59° 16 1.7
Saturday 72° 15 2.7
Sunday 62° 16 1.9
Monday 58° 21 1.2
Tuesday 64° 17 1.9
Wednesday 63° 12 2.6
Thursday 54° 11 2.0
Friday 55° 10 2.3
Saturday 60° 11 2.5
Sunday 59° 5 5.4
  high °: 72° high #: 21 high PBQ: 5.4
  low °: 54° low #: 5 low PBQ: 1.2
1999 avgs: avg °: 59.9° avg #: 13.4 avg PBQ: 2.3

1999 NOTE: Special Guest Mama Bear on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday of second week:
Myrrh Woofenden

2000

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 60° 18 1.6
Monday 62° 21 1.4
Tuesday 68° 26 1.4
Wednesday 65° 23 1.4
Thursday 68° 20 1.8
Friday 60° 25 1.1
Saturday 65° 25 1.3
Sunday 62° 16 1.9
Monday 64° 16 2.0
Tuesday 65° 17 1.9
Wednesday 65° 17 1.9
Thursday 61° 14 2.1
Friday 50° 18 1.0
Saturday 60° 25 1.1
Sunday 57° 20 1.3
  high °: 68° high #: 26 high PBQ: 2.1
  low °: 50° low #: 14 low PBQ: 1.0
2000 avgs: avg °: 62.1 avg #: 16.2 avg PBQ: 1.5

 

2001

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 69° 21 1.8
Monday 68° 19 1.9
Tuesday 74° 30 1.4
Wednesday 70° 25 1.5
Thursday 76° 22 2.0
Friday 76° 20 2.2
Saturday 64° 18 1.8
Sunday 61° 20 1.5
Monday 68° 18 2.0
Tuesday 60° 18 1.6
Wednesday 59° 15 1.8
Thursday 59° 15 1.8
Friday 72° 20 2.0
Saturday 68° 15 2.4
Sunday 65° 17 1.9
  high °: 76° high #: 30 high PBQ: 2.4
  low °: 59° low #: 17 low PBQ: 1.4
2001 avgs: avg °: 67.3° avg #: 19.5 avg PBQ: 1.8

 

2002

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 65° 12 2.5
Monday 72° 27 1.5
Tuesday 62° 23 1.3
Wednesday 59° 19 1.4
Thursday 58° 20 1.3
Friday 54° 18 1.2
Saturday 62° 21 1.4
Sunday 60° 14 2.0
Monday 66° 21 1.6
Tuesday 68.5° 20 1.8
Wednesday 70° 19 2.0
Thursday 75° 19 2.3
Friday 78° 21 2.2
Saturday 74° 20 2.1
Sunday 64° 15 2.1
  high °: 78° high #: 27 high PBQ: 2.5
  low °: 54° low #: 12 low PBQ: 1.2
2002 avgs: avg °: 65.8° avg #: 19.3 avg PBQ: 1.8

 

2003

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 69° 15 2.5
Monday 70° 20 1.9
Tuesday 73° 24 1.7
Wednesday 72° 16 2.5
Thursday 65° X X
Friday 70° 18 2.1
Saturday 70° 19 2.0
Sunday 73° 11 3.7
Monday 72° 10 4.0
Tuesday 71° 9 4.3
Wednesday 70° 12 3.2
Thursday 68° 12 3.0
Friday 62° 17 1.8
Saturday 67° 15 2.3
Sunday 63° 17 1.8
  high °: 73° high #: 24 high PBQ: 4.0
  low °: 62° low #: 9 low PBQ: 1.7
2003 avgs: avg °: 69.0° avg #: 15.4 avg PBQ: 2.1

2003 NOTES: A Polar Bear Club FIRST happened opening Sunday: We fished a message in a bottle floating by out of the river. Papa Bear wrote a letter to the sender, inviting her to join us... and she did! She and her mother showed up for Polar Bear Swim one morning second week! We invited them to stay for breakfast and they got a huge, rousing round of applause from the entire camp during morning announcements!
Another Polar Bear Club FIRST happened Thursday of first week: For safety reasons due to extremely high and extremely swift water, the camp director cancelled Polar Bear Swim for the only time in recorded FNCA Polar Bear Club history!

 

2004

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 74° 17 2.5
Monday 66° 18 1.9
Tuesday 65° 11 3.0
Wednesday 66° 18 1.9
Thursday 61° 20 1.5
Friday 52° 13 1.5
Saturday 58° 15 1.7
Sunday 58° 15 1.7
Monday 57° 15 1.7
Tuesday 60° 17 1.6
Wednesday 69° 19 1.9
Thursday 70° 22 1.7
Friday 70° 22 1.7
Saturday 68° 16 2.3
Sunday 63° 9 3.4
  high °: 74° high #: 22 high PBQ: 3.4
  low °: 52° low #: 9 low PBQ: 1.5
2004 avgs: avg °: 63.8° avg #: 16.5 avg PBQ: 2.0

2004 NOTE: A Polar Bear Club FIRST: On Thursday of first week, a moose crossed the river down at the bend while we were singing the Polar Bear song!

 

2005

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 59° 14 1.9
Monday 61° 20 1.5
Tuesday 66° 16 2.1
Wednesday 70° 19 2.0
Thursday 70° 18 2.1
Friday 66° 22 1.5
Saturday 68° 18 2.0
Sunday 70° 17 2.2
Monday 65° 19 1.7
Tuesday 63° 17 1.8
Wednesday 61° 17 1.7
Thursday 51° 12 1.6
Friday 51° 10 1.9
Saturday 63° 13 2.4
Sunday 66° 9 3.7
  high °: 70° high #: 22 high PBQ: 3.7
  low °: 51° low #: 9 low PBQ: 1.5
2005 avgs: avg °: 63.3° avg #: 16.1 avg PBQ: 2.0

2005 NOTE: A Polar Bear Club FIRST: On Wednesday of first week, we were joined by a snapping turtle that swam through the swimming area in the middle of Polar Bear Swim!

2006

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 58° 14 1.9
Monday 68° 14 2.6
Tuesday 66° 16 2.1
Wednesday 55° 14 1.9
Thursday 60° 14 2.0
Friday 53° 21 1.0
Saturday 51° 14 1.4
Sunday 51° 12 1.6
Monday 54° 11 2.0
Tuesday 69° 16 2.3
Wednesday 61° 15 1.9
Thursday 60° 16 1.8
Friday 60° 20 1.4
Saturday 67° 17 2.0
Sunday 68° 16 2.3
  high °: 68° high #: 21 high PBQ: 2.6
  low °: 51° low #: 11 low PBQ: 1.4
2006 avgs: avg °: 55.5° avg #: 15.0 avg PBQ: 1.9

 

2007

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 58° 14 1.9
Monday 57° 13 1.9
Tuesday 63° 17 1.8
Wednesday 68° 10 3.6
Thursday 60° 15 1.9
Friday 58° 12 2.2
Saturday 57° 16 1.6
Sunday 62° 13 2.3
Monday 69° 19 1.9
Tuesday 55° 14 1.6
Wednesday 57° 12 2.1
Thursday 58° 15 1.7
Friday 63° 11 2.8
Saturday 59° 16 1.7
Sunday 53° 14 1.5
  high °: 69° high #: 19 high PBQ: 3.6
  low °: 53° low #: 10 low PBQ: 1.5
2007 avgs: avg °: 59.8° avg #: 14.0 avg PBQ: 2.0

 

2008

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 66° 10 3.4
Monday 61° 8 3.6
Tuesday 61° 8 3.6
Wednesday 61° 8 3.6
Thursday 60° 7 4.0
Friday 60° 9 3.1
Saturday 60° 9 3.1
Sunday 60° 18 1.6
Monday 60° 12 2.3
Tuesday 60° 11 2.5
Wednesday 58° 6 4.3
Thursday 59° 9 3.0
Friday 59° 8 3.4
Saturday 62° 9 3.3
Sunday 59° 9 3.0
  high °: 66° high #: 18 high PBQ: 4.3
  low °: 58° low #: 6 low PBQ: 1.6
2008 avgs: avg °: 60.4° avg #: 9.4 avg PBQ: 3.2

 

2009

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 65° 8 4.1
Monday 65° 6 5.5
Tuesday 58° 9 2.8
Wednesday 68° 11 3.3
Thursday 59° 10 2.7
Friday 58° 10 2.6
Saturday 54° 10 2.2
Sunday 57° 16 1.6
Monday 64° 15 2.1
Tuesday 70° 11 3.5
Wednesday 68° 17 2.1
Thursday 65° 12 2.8
Friday 60° 15 1.9
Saturday 65° 27 1.2
Sunday 68° 21 1.7
  high °: 70° high #: 27 high PBQ: 5.5
  low °: 54° low #: 6 low PBQ: 1.2
2009 avgs: avg °: 63.1° avg #: 13.2 avg PBQ: 2.7

 

2010

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 58° 13 2.0
Monday 58° 10 2.6
Tuesday 63° 10 3.1
Wednesday 68° 10 3.6
Thursday 70° 11 3.5
Friday 68° 12 3.0
Saturday 50° 10 1.8
Sunday 49° 13 1.3
Monday 67° 19 1.8
Tuesday 64° 21 1.5
Wednesday 58° 23 1.1
Thursday 57° 21 1.2
Friday 58° 21 1.2
Saturday 54° 20 1.1
Sunday 55° 16 1.4
  high °: 70° high #: 23 high PBQ: 3.6
  low °: 49° low #: 10 low PBQ: 1.1
2010 avgs: avg °: 59.8° avg #: 15.3 avg PBQ: 2.0

 

2011

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 62° 10 3.0
Monday 62° 12 2.5
Tuesday 66° 15 2.3
Wednesday 59° 18 1.5
Thursday 61° 16 1.8
Friday 67° 17 2.1
Saturday 65° 20 1.7
Sunday 70° 18 2.1
Monday 71° 22 1.8
Tuesday 63° 24 1.3
Wednesday 62° 18 1.7
Thursday 64° 21 1.5
Friday 59° 14 1.9
Saturday 60° 16 1.8
Sunday 63° 11 2.8
  high °: 71° high #: 24 high PBQ: 3.0
  low °: 59° low #: 10 low PBQ: 1.3
2011 avgs: avg °: 63.6° avg #: 16.8 avg PBQ: 1.9

 

2012

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 67° 13 2.7
Monday 69° 13 2.8
Tuesday 57° 12 2.1
Wednesday 61° 13 2.2
Thursday 64° 11 2.9
Friday 66° 11 3.1
Saturday 66° 15 2.3
Sunday 70° 13 2.9
Monday 63° 15 2.1
Tuesday 18 1.8
Wednesday 67° 12 2.9
Thursday 64° 10 3.2
Friday 59° 10 2.3
Saturday 63° 12 2.6
Sunday 54° 7 3.1
  high °: 70° high #: 18 high PBQ: 3.1
  low °: 54° low #: 7 low PBQ: 1.8
2012 avgs: avg °: 59° avg #: 12.3 avg PBQ: 2.6

 

2013

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 60° 8 3.5
Monday 59° 7 3.9
Tuesday 54° 7 3.1
Wednesday 53° 8 2.6
Thursday 62° 7 4.3
Friday 68° 9 4.0
Saturday 62° 8 3.8
Sunday 52° 10 2.0
Monday 56° 7 3.2
Tuesday 59° 12 2.3
Wednesday 62° 12 2.5
Thursday 54° 11 2.0
Friday 52° 9 2.2
Saturday 55° 13 1.8
Sunday 52° 8 2.5
  high °: 68° high #: 13 high PBQ: 4.3
  low °: 52° low #: 7 low PBQ: 1.8
2013 avgs: avg °: 57.3° avg #: 8.4 avg PBQ: 2.9

 

2014

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 58° 3 8.7
Monday 64° 7 4.6
Tuesday 62° 7 6.3
Wednesday 65° 10 3.3
Thursday 59° 11 2.5
Friday 56° 13 1.9
Saturday 59° 13 2.1
Sunday 60° 13 2.2
Monday 59.5° 14 2.0
Tuesday 63° 11 2.8
Wednesday 67° 8 4.4
Thursday 59° 6 4.5
Friday 53° 8 2.6
Saturday 57° 10 2.5
Sunday 58° 9 2.9
  high °: 67° high #:14 high PBQ: 8.7
  low °: 53° low #: 3 low PBQ: 1.9
2014 avgs: avg °: 60.0 avg #: 9.5 avg PBQ 3.6

 

2015

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 61° 6 4.8
Monday 61° 12 2.4
Tuesday 63° 9 3.4
Wednesday 59° 9 4.0
Thursday 61° 9 3.2
Friday 55° 8 2.9
Saturday 57° 12 2.1
Sunday 61° 12 2.4
Monday 61° 24 2.1
Tuesday 67° 15 2.3
Wednesday 64° 13 2.5
Thursday 59° 9 3.0
Friday 58° 10 2.6
Saturday 66° 15 2.3
Sunday 67° 7 5.0
  high °: 67° high #:13 high PBQ: 5.0
  low °: 55° low #: 6 low PBQ: 2.1
2015 avgs: avg °: 61.3° avg #: 11.3 avg PBQ: 2.9

 

2016

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 62° 11 2.9
Monday 63° 14 2.2
Tuesday 61° 13 2.2
Wednesday 59° 6 4.5
Thursday 62° 7 4.3
Friday 62° 10 3.0
Saturday 73° 11 3.7
Sunday 64° 13 2.5
Monday 59° 11 2.5
Tuesday 56° 14 1.7
Wednesday 59° 10 2.7
Thursday 65° 13 2.5
Friday 73° 13 3.2
Saturday 65° 14 2.4
Sunday 65° 6 5.5
  high °: 73° high #: 14 high PBQ: 5.5
  low °:  56° low #: 6 low PBQ: 1.7
2016 avgs: avg °: 63.2° avg #: 11.1 avg PBQ: 3.1

 

2017

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 52° 10 2.0
Monday 58° 12 2.2
Tuesday 63° 18 1.7
Wednesday 60° 17 1.6
Thursday 65° 14 2.4
Friday 64° 17 1.9
Saturday 65° 14 2.4
Sunday 58° 10 2.6
Monday 55° 10 2.6
Tuesday 62° 11 2.7
Wednesday 56° 10 2.4
Thursday 61° 9 3.2
Friday 64° 11 2.9
Saturday 65° 10 3.3
Sunday 64° 10 3.2
  high °: 65° high #: 18 high PBQ: 3.3
  low °: 52° low #: 9 low PBQ: 1.6
2017 avgs: avg °: 61° avg #: 11 avg PBQ: 2.5

 

2018

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 64° 8 4.0
Monday 67° 8 4.4
Tuesday 73° 8 5.1
Wednesday 69° 19 1.9
Thursday 72° 14 2.9
Friday 68° 21 1.7
Saturday 56° 14 1.7
Sunday 64° 20 1.6
Monday 64° 22 1.5
Tuesday 68° 10 3.6
Wednesday 68° 10 3.6
Thursday 69° 11 3.4
Friday 56° 12 2.0
Saturday 70° 9 4.2
Sunday 55° 5 4.6
  high °: 73° high #: 22 high PBQ: 4.6 
  low °: 55° low #: 5 low PBQ: 1.5
2018 avgs: avg °: 66° avg #: 13 avg PBQ: 3.1

 

2019

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 65° 8 4.1
Monday 54° 20 1.1
Tuesday 56° 16 1.5
Wednesday 68° 20 1.8
Thursday 68° 14 2.6
Friday 64° 28 1.1
Saturday 59° 17 1.6
Sunday 61° 13 2.2
Monday 65° 12 2.8
Tuesday 68° 12 3.0
Wednesday 61° 11 2.6
Thursday 60° 9 3.1
Friday 62° 7 4.3
Saturday 65° 12 2.8
Sunday 65° 6 5.5
  high °: 68° high #: 28 high PBQ: 5.5
  low °: 54° low #: 6 low PBQ: 1.1
2019 avgs: avg °: 63° avg #: avg PBQ: 3.0

 

v2021
[vFNCA 2020 was virtual,
hence no Polar Bear Club]

 

2021

day temp. # PBQ
Sunday 60° 7  4.0
Monday 60° 8  3.5
Tuesday 58° 10 12.6
Wednesday 60° 11  2.5
Thursday 63° 15  2.1
Friday 63° 15  2.1
Saturday 63° 10  3.1
Sunday 68° 4  9.0
Monday 69° 4  9.3
Tuesday 68° 4  9.0
Wednesday 70° 4  7.6
Thursday 73° 4 10.3
Friday 75° 6  7.2
Saturday 72° 6  7.2
Sunday °56 2 12.0
  high °: 75° high #: 15 high PBQ: 12.6
  low °: 56° low #: 2 low PBQ: 2.1
2021 avgs: avg °: 65° avg #: 7 avg PBQ: 6.8

 

 

2022

day temp # of p.b.'s PBQ
Sunday 60° 2 14.0
Monday 68° 7 5.1
Tuesday 68° 9 4.0
Wednesday 68° 12 3.0
Thursday 68° 6 6.2
Friday 71° 6 6.5
Saturday 69° 7 5.3
Sunday 76° 9 4.9
Monday 71° 10 3.9
Tuesday 68° 8 4.5
Wednesday 63° 8 3.9
Thursday 62° 6 5.0
Friday 61° 12 2.4
Saturday 55° 8 2.9
Sunday 63° n/a n/a
  high °:76° high #: 12 high PBQ: 14.0
  low °: 55° low #: 2 low PBQ: 2.4
2022 avgs avg °: 66° avg #: 8 avg PBQ: 5.1

 

Make Your Own
FNCA Polar Bear Plushie

© Nancy F. Little 1998The FNCA Polar Bear plushie was created by Louise Dole "Mom Woof" Woofenden in the 1990s. They were made of white fuzzy material, and were a big hit on the Sales Table that year, completely selling out within a few days. She made more the next year, and those very quickly all sold out, too.

© Louise Dole Woofenden 1998
The pattern above is a scan of Mom Woof's original pattern. Due to the maximum size photo we can put on the website, it is a bit smaller than the actual size — which is 7" tall — so enlargen it to that size if you want to match the originals.
To make your own:
1. Find some white fuzzy material.
2. Cut two identical pieces of the pattern adding about 3/8" for the seam.
3. Embroider the face on one with black thread or embroidery floss.
4. Place the two pieces together with the fuzzy sides facing each other and sew them up leaving an inch or so unsewn on the side of one leg.
5. Turn it all right side out through that hole in the leg.
6. Stuff lavishly.
7. Carefully handsew the stuffing hole closed.
NOTE: If you decide to include the tag that's on the leg in the pattern, it's just a piece of wide bias binding or heavy white material folded in half and written on with a black marker. It goes in the stuffing hole in the leg when you sew it up.
Now you get to enjoy your new FNCA Polar Bear!
 
84 Main St, Fryeburg, ME 04037 (map)