Donations & Pledges
From the Liberty Hospital & Nursing Home
On
arriving to Liberty County 52 years ago the undersigned was amazed and
appalled by how few people could swim. A majority of the children
graduating from high school had never learned how to swim (a requirement
for graduation in many high schools in some parts of the country).
Building a swimming pool and starting a swimming program was felt to be a
very important community improvement project. On reviewing the local
records it was learned that in the 10 years before building our present
swimming pool there had been 20 deaths by drowning in this county, mostly
children in farm ponds and in flooding streams. Virtually all these deaths
could have been avoided had the individuals involved been able to swim. In
the ten years following the completion of the present pool there were no
drowning deaths in this county.
The
few drownings that have occurred in the last few years have for the most
part involved out of county individuals. Not one has involved a person who
has learned to swim in the local swimming pool program.
Not
only is swimming a wonderful exercise, and an enjoyable activity, it is
essential in saving lives. The present swimming pool has served the
community well, but it is rapidly becoming unrepairable and worn out. The
present efforts to build a new and better pool is a most commendable
activity. No one is born knowing how to swim, and the best way to learn to
swim is in a safe and controlled environment.
Richard S. Buker, Jr., M.D.
Liberty County Health Officer
The letters of support have been reproduced with permission from the authors. These letters have been included in various "grants" the HLP&RF are pursuing. If you would like to offer a letter or note of support to be printed here or to be used in a grant proposal....PLEASE CONTACT THE BOARD.....we would appreciate hearing from you.
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Problems
Deterioration
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