Frank blake will swim lake champlain

By Randy Holhut

Hinsdale, N.H. – Frank Blake loves to swim and he loves to help people. The Hinsdale man has raised money for several local charities and has done a lot of volunteer work. Soon he will be 50, but he is still very active.

He will show how active he still is on July 4.

He will swim across Lake Champlain to raise money for the family of a friend, Becky Patterson of St. Albans, Vt. She died on October 6, 1991 at the age of 38. She left her husband, Walter, and her 6-year-old daughter, Therese.

Patterson suffered from spina bifida, a birth defect that affects the spinal column. «She was in and out of the hospital for years», said Blake. «Her family is still trying to pay the hospital bills. She and her family were very good to me and I want to do something for them».

This will not be the first time for Blake to swim across the lake. In 1976 he swam the nine miles from Vermont to New York to help the Muscular Dystrophy association. The effort took 7 hours. On Labor Day 1989, he swam six miles around Lake Spofford to raise $ 4 000 for the Monadnock Region Human Society. To make the swim harder, he wore a 20-pound belt around his waist.

Blake met the Patterson family in 1975. «I stayed with them when I was training for the swim across the lake. They were the friendliest people I’ve ever known. And Becky was inspiring. She was active and never let her handicap get her down», Blake said.

Blake trains hard for his long swims. He rides a stationary bike. He said, «I sleep for two or three hours at night, then I get up and ride for two or three hours». He also runs around a track. In addition, he swims in the West River and at South Pond in Marlboro.

Blake does more than just swim. He is a musician who plays the saxophone, clarinet, and flute. He plays on the sidewalks in Northampton.

He doesn’t think his effort will pay all of Becky’s hospital bills, but he wanted to do what he could. «If you knew her, you’d do the same thing», he said. Editor’s note: See story in September.

(«The World», 28 April, 1994.)

2. Reading Comprehension

a. General Comprehension

Read the article and say whether these statements are true or false. Give reasons.

T/F

…….. 1. Frank Blake will be fifty and he is going to resign soon.

…….. 2. Frank Blake is going to raise money for a family with a lot of children.

…….. 3. The Patterson family badly needs money to pay the bills.

…….. 4. This will be the first time for Blake to swim across the lake.

…….. 5. Blake said that Becky had always been weal-willed and depressed.

…….. 6. To swim across the lake Frank Blake trains a lot indoors and outdoors.

…….. 7. Swimming is the only thing Frank Blake does to raise money.

c. Detailed Comprehension

Read the article another time and answer the following questions.

1. What does Frank Blake do to help the family that badly needs money?

2. Why, do you think, Frank Blake has chosen this very family?

3. What does Frank Blake do to be fit for a long swim across the lake?

4. Is swimming the only way of raising money for Frank Blake?

5. Do you think you could help people in need? How/What way?