Brownies Take a Winter Swim
On this day in 1904, the L Street Brownies held their first New Year's Day swim in Boston Harbor. Every year since then, a crowd of swimmers and an even larger crowd of onlookers has shown up to watch men—and since the 1980's, women—begin the year with a swim in the icy waters of Dorchester Bay. Keeping up a tradition introduced by European immigrants fond of cold water dips, the most dedicated L Street Brownies repeat this ritual every day of the year. Named for the beach where the club meets and for the nut-brown skin color many of the members develop from daily exposure to the sun, the L Street Brownies is the second oldest cold-water swimming club in the country.
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