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Blogs by Maureen Kuntz
Our Town Pool 7/7/2023 5:48:17 AM
Our town pool made our summers! My childhood has many fond memories of summers growing up in our small town. Our home didn’t have air-conditioning so summers were brutal at times with the heat and humidity of central Pennsylvania. There was not a lot of relief but for our town swimming pool. Not swimming hole, swimming pool. I have nothing against those who couldn’t afford or access a public pool by any means. But my siblings and I were blessed with the opportunity to have family season tickets for several years.
As with a lot of places in a small town, we could easily walk to our pool.
As you get closer to the building that served as a check-in, shower house/ bathroom, and snack shop, you notice two distinct sounds and smells.
Chlorine and suntan oil were the prevailing smells coming from the pool area. Then, there was the sound of the jukebox and the sound of the splashing and of course, the diving board.
Our town pool was 9 feet at the deep end and then gradually lowered to 3 feet at the shallow end. A white braided rope separated 4 feet from the deep end of the pool, which spanned the whole width of the pool. Whether this was considered an Olympic size pool or not, I don't know. We came to cool off, play, and have fun.
Little children too small for the big pool could cool off in the kiddie pool.
Although, many parents would have water wings and toy inner tubes to pull them around in, the big pool.
Such games as chicken, having an underwater “tea party, and swimming underwater between a friend’s legs were just a few fun things to do. Once in a while, the people who worked there would hold a night swim. Lights that resembled car headlights would be turned on so you could see everything. Good times! And such fun!
During one of our summers, my parents made some of us take swimming lessons at our pool. Learning to swim was a double-edged sword. First, it was always at about 9 a.m. which wasn’t a terrible time but the water was not exactly inviting. Second, with my severe lack of confidence, I was terrified to mess up in front of people, especially the teacher. However, I wanted to learn to swim so I stuck with it. Except, I failed miserably when I tried to dive and I gave up on it.
It's been said that with privilege comes responsibility. Whoever said that was correct. So just as we were given the privilege of the opportunity to go to the pool as often as we were, we had to obey the rules while there. If I disobeyed I had to be banned to one of the three concrete benches. I did spend time on the bench at least once that I remember.
Our town pool was one of my favorite places from my childhood. Maybe your
childhood was similar. What is it about your childhood that is so memorable you actually remember sounds and smells?
