There are non-swimmers in the sunrise entourage, too, people who come to help, watch, take photos. One is Bill Stamets, a freelance writer and photographer who clears the ice off the rocks for the women and brings packets of hot chocolate. Leslie Travis, a retired teacher, and David Travis, the retired curator of photography at the Art Institute of Chicago, also come. She brings cake and muffins. He brings a heating line to toss out in case of emergency, along with hand warmers, alcohol swabs, bandages and a Coast Guard whistle. He admires the camaraderie of the three women swimmers, how they’ve created this daily moment of social life during the pandemic’s isolating time.
Column: Day after day at sunrise, 3 Chicago women are ‘swimming through’ the winter in icy Lake Michigan
