Don McAlhany and the Michigan Underwater Divers Club have a truly unique way of celebrating the New Year.

The St. Joseph man and seven other club members spent the last few minutes of 2014 and the first few minutes of 2015 underwater in Barron Lake in Niles.

McAlhany has been performing this ritual for 36 years.

“Once you start doing it, you would hate to break the string,” he said.

Joining McAlhany was Larry Steelman, of Niles; Ken Riemer, of Berrien Springs; Mary Beth and Jake Thar, of Niles; Joshua Snyder, of Ft. Wayne; Bob Sweeney, of St. Joseph; and Kevin Ailes, of Bangor.

It was Steelman’s 35th New Year’s dive.

The divers used wet suits to keep from getting too cold. They were in the water for about 15 minutes.

“It was very windy and very, very chilly to say the least,” McAlhany said.

The dive was accomplished with the assistance of Niles’ Larry Sehy, who provided his garage as a staging and dressing area. Sarah McCarthy, of Three Rivers, and Lucy Riemer, of Niles, provided surface support for the divers.

Afterward, participants gathered at the Steelman’s residence to continue celebrating the New Year.

The club also did the dive in Barron Lake last year.

McAlhany said the diving club does a lot more than the New Year’s dive. Those interested in learning more can visit the club’s website mudclub.scubaobsessed.com or the group’s Facebook page.

The club hosts meetings at 7:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at Price Hall at Andrews University.