Page 7 - OCT2021

October 2021
NEWFOUNDLAKELIFE.COM
Page 7
Community
Swimming season is over for now, but that doesn’t mean Welsch will be doing nothing this winter. He said he will continue biking around Quabbin Reser- voir to stay in shape for the 2022 PMC, swim laps at an indoor pool, and, more importantly, begin plotting his next swimming challenges in New England’s lakes and ponds.
Residents spending Sept. 11 on Avery-Crouse Beach were excited
to greet former Marine Michael Welsch to shore after his swim from Wellington State Beach, done in memory of first responders who died in the World Trade Towers 20 years ago. Photo by Donna Rhodes.
buildings, and I just kept going thinking about what they were personally going through. I had to keep going, too.”
N.H. State Police Marine Pa- trolman John Johnson had met the pair the previous night at Wellington Beach while they were planning the swim. Hearing what they were doing and why Johnson provided them with a few safety tips, then said he would look for them the next day when the ac- tual swim got underway.
True to his word, Johnson spotted the two men as they made their way between the islands and toward Pasquaney Bay. When boats got too near, he warded them off their path and kept
them safe. He also pulled up to the beach when Welsch reached his destination to congratulate him on successfully completing his mission. “He was awesome,” Welsch exclaimed when talking about Johnson later that day. “I really appreciate all he did for us out there.”
Johnson wasn’t the only one to congratulate him, though. Nearly a dozen beachgoers learned of what Welsch and Hughes were doing and kept an eye on the water as the duo got closer to their destination. Then, just as they approached a dock where Welsch could stop to put his pros- thetic leg back on, one gentle- man commanded the “Alexa” he
brought with him that day to play the Marines’ Hymn in his honor. “If I’d known people would be waiting here for me like this, I would have picked up my speed,” Welsch joked as he walked onto the beach to shake their hands.
The welcoming crowd ap- plauded and thanked him for not only his service but for creating a meaningful tribute to the somber anniversary of 9/11. “It was a
pleasure,” said Bev and Ted Prifti told him as he, in turn, thanked them for being there at the end of his nearly four-hour swim.
A few of those gathered also asked how they could donate to any cause Welsch supports, and he referred them to the Pan-Mass Challenge, an annual bike race he participates in to raise money for the Dana-Farber Cancer In- stitute in Boston.
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