Mother, Daughter Swim Lake in Support of Hospice

By TERESA WINCHESTER
ITHACA

Joann Curtis of Morris is a retired postmaster, having spent her last six years in that position in West Oneonta. Her daughter, Michele Farwell, who lives in the Town of Butternuts, has fashioned historic reproductions at Adelphi Paper Hangings for the last 24 years. Farwell has also served on the Town of Butternuts Town Board and the Otsego County Board of Representatives.

On Sunday, August 10, this mother-daughter duo dove purposefully into the waters of Cayuga Lake, swimming 1.2 miles from the starting point on one side of the lake to the Ithaca Yacht Club on the other side. Curtis and Farwell were among some 300 participants in the 21st annual “Women Swimmin’ for Hospicare and Palliative Care Services of Tompkins County,” a fundraiser for women ages 18 and over.

Both women chose to take on the challenge because they believe strongly in the mission of the Ithaca-based Hospicare in particular and hospice care in general.

“I know many people who hospice care has helped through difficult times,” Curtis said.

Farwell agreed, and added, “Hospice gives people peace of mind. It eases the last days of living with their loved ones. We’ve both seen the direct benefit that hospice provides.”

Why support hospice by swimming across a lake?

“We’re both a little crazy,” Curtis laughed. “The swim is a worthy carrot out there to get us motivated.”

Farwell heard about Women Swimmin’ from a friend living in Ithaca.

“The idea of 300 women in the water, swimming in the lake, sounded like fun,” she said.

Curtis regularly swims three or four times a week at the Oneonta Family YMCA and Farwell swims at the pool at Cooperstown’s Clark Sports Center every other day. Curtis, who has been swimming since age 5, fondly recalls the “great municipal pool” in her hometown of Bainbridge.

Although both women are lifelong swimmers, open water swimming is a first for them. To prepare for Sunday’s event, they swam in both Otsego and Gilbert lakes. They also had to build up stamina.

“The first month, I thought it was great that I could do 10 laps. Today, I’m up to 40 laps,” Curtis said.

“I always knew I could do it physically,” said Farwell, who on March 30 swam 53 laps for her 53rd birthday.

“I was more apprehensive about open water swimming. The water comes in your mouth. You can see the bottom, then you can’t see the bottom,” she said.

Curtis and Farwell thought the event was “very well organized, with safety being a priority.” The swimmers were organized by “pods,” of which there were approximately 30. Each pod contained subgroups, or “waves.”

Curtis and Farwell were in the fifth wave of the 13th pod. The first wave took off at 7:10 a.m. Farwell and Curtis jumped in around 8:30 a.m., finishing up around 9:45 a.m., Curtis said. The swimmers were accompanied by a flotilla of 100 kayaks, both guiding and protecting them.

Heavy rains from Hurricane Debby nearly caused cancellation of the event, and the storm did have an impact on the lake’s conditions.

“The water was choppier than expected and there was a certain amount of debris in it, but it was very doable, and enjoyable,” Farwell stated the day after the swim.

“It feels like an accomplishment. I’m happy to have done it,” she said.

On Monday, Curtis’ excitement could still be felt when contacted by phone.

“The swim was great. Michele stayed about 15 feet ahead of me and I kept watching her. It felt great getting out of the water. We were met with great big towels right away and people were cheering. I had a sense of empowerment, being with so many other women,” Curtis said.

After the swim, breakfast was waiting for them on the lawn of the Ithaca Yacht Club, where a band was playing and recognitions were given for various levels of fundraising.

“It was quite festive,” Curtis said.

For her fundraising efforts, Farwell appealed through both e-mail and Facebook, providing the website for Women Swimmin’. Together, mother and daughter raised $3,266.71, exceeding their original goals of $500.00 each by a combined 306 percent. The overall event took in close to $640,000.00, well surpassing its stated goal of $500,000.00.

Curtis and Farwell are grateful for the donations made to them for the swim and want people to know that donations may still be made at the Women Swimmin’ website, https://secure.qgiv.com/event/womenswimmin/. They also encouraged donations to hospices of individual choice. Hospice care for this area is Helios Care, formerly known as Catskill Area Hospice and Palliative Care, headquartered in Oneonta. It may be accessed at www.helioscare.org or on Facebook by searching Helios Care.

Both women are up for a repeat performance.

“I’m going to do it for as long as I can. I’d love to have people think they can do it regardless of their age,” said Curtis, who turned 75 in January of this year.

Farwell would like for the 2025 swim to include her daughter Maya, 20, who is studying written arts at Bard College.

“We want a three-generation swim,” Farwell said.