Donations & Pledges
So Where Did You Learn to Swim?
- by Dawn Wickum
Many of you would have to answer the above question by saying, “The Pool”! But how many of you know the story behind the pool? In an effort to unite the past with the present, we discovered some amazing similarities. Let’s take a look.
(Below clockwise
from top: Betty Burgess Wolery, Judy Burgess
Sargent, Dick Hunnewell, Dave Hunnewell, center - Phil Aaberg this photo
is from the early 1950's
)
In 1954, many kids were swimming in the Great Northern Reservoir north of town or going to the Shelby municipal pool. Generally speaking, the town felt the cost of a pool to be prohibitive. The following year, there was a change in that philosophy. In 1955, the PTA voted in favor of a swimming pool. It is interesting to note that our own Dr. Richard Buker was President of the board at that turning point meeting. Fundraising kicks off. The pool “office” was set up in the Liberty County Courthouse Commissioners room. A part-time typist and clerk were hired to take care of preliminary work. In 1956, groundbreaking begins and construction commences. They still had a ways to go to realize all funding necessary for the project. The pool was complete in June 57, that is, except for the filtering system. State Law would not allow the opening of the pool until this was in place. Fundraising efforts became more important than ever. The overall report gave a bright picture of the future of the Liberty County Swimming Pool and it was evident that lots of work had been done to make the project a reality. Their 1957 words, “A dream (has) come true….let’s go swimming.”
Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately for the fundraising efforts, it was a hot, droughty, record high temperature summer. The thought of a refreshing swim, and the unopened pool sitting teasingly in front of them, prompted the final funding dollars to pour in. In July of 1958, the pool finally opened for swimming. The pool was considered one of the best pools of its size in the state. It was big enough to host swim meets. It sported a shallow end for novice and beginning swimmers, a deep end to accommodate both a low dive and a high dive and included a 20X20 foot wading pool to cater to the tots. The community couldn’t have been prouder.
But,
how did they accomplish this feat?
The fundraising fundamentals of this
mid-1950s project are interesting to reminisce over. The producers
sponsored a “Load of Wheat Club” whereby they would haul in a load of
grain to the elevator and sell it in the name of the pool project. The
Wheat Club was their primary fundraising activity. The merchants, not
to be out done, sponsored the “Merchants Club”. Various merchants would
offer select sales items where the profit of selling the item would
be donated
(washtubs: Idella Walden Hunnewell, Sylvia
to the pool. The groups in town hosted
Schafer Kafka, Inez Schafer Burgess,
Charles
many a dinner and breakfast….the VFW Schafer: photo from 1920's)
even hosted an Easter Morning Pancake
Feed that was well attended by community members. There were donkey softball games, the Rotary raffled a brand new top of the line speed boat, community members attended countless dances and my personal favorite…..Lady wrestling events were held at the school! Good times!
The Headlines of 50 years ago bear a striking resemblance to the events/issues and names of today. Events and issues such as.....A Special School bond for $90,000, Street/Curb, Sewer, Light and Water Projects added 10 mills to the ballot, the Gagnon Addition had water issues, the County had an important Road Levy and gravel project, a new X-Ray Unit was purchased for the Hospital, Eisenhower was trying to pass a new farm bill that had something called the “Conservation Reserve Program” (CRP), the number of farms in the county was diminishing and it was estimated that at the rate of decline, there would only be 47 farms left in the Liberty County (incidentally, today there are 501 farms), Jim Sargent marries a school teacher....a wonderful girl, there was a General Obligation Bond affected in the amount of $80,000 to support the Hospital, Chester was thinking about piping water from Tiber to Chester but the top legal indebtedness limit of Chester would not permit enough taxation to pay the interest on the dollars needed....dollars in the amount of $500,000. The parallels between yesterday and today give me goose bumps.
Upon
completion of the pool project, the capstone news touted that “A new
recreation comes to Chester with the completion of the much talked
about, long awaited, swimming pool. It is with pride that the people of
this area can tell how the pool was built completely by public
subscription. No taxes were levied for the construction, about
$55,000”. Well Done!
I’m sure there are those who would argue that $55,000 wasn’t much. Just be sure to keep your perspective; know that a Ford car cost $2,000, it took $0.03 to mail a letter and gas was only $0.23 per gallon. The efforts of 50 years yesterday are not lost ….Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you….you touched the lives of not only our children, but carried the community 50 years into the future. I’ll bet they had no idea the pool would last as long as it has.
That was
then ...This is now. The Pool serves a variety of educational
opportunities; Infant and Preschool Aquatic Program, 7 Lesson Levels
ranging from Water Exploration to Advanced
Skills/Rescues/Diving/Health/Fitness, Junior Life Saving, Life Saving,
Water Safety Instruction, Lifeguard certification, Lap Swimming, Water
Aerobics, CJI PE Classes, Swim Team and all important Free Swimming.
Free swim provides the critical opportunity for kids to practice the
skills taught during their lessons.
I imagine at this point you may be wondering if today’s pool is doing all this, WHY do we need a new one? To name a few, the concrete is crumbling, the fiberglass is flaking, the lights are lifeless (and a safety hazard), and the plumbing is in pieces. There are two reasons we are lucky enough to still have a pool after 50 years....the arduous volunteer efforts of pool manager (County Attorney), Hugh Brown and LOTS of Duct Tape!
Fifty years ago, they faced adversity yet made their dream a reality. Today we seem to be facing similar challenges. Is there a pool in the future of Liberty County? Only the results of the upcoming pledge drive will tell. We are at a crossroads. The HLP&RF sincerely request your financial assistance in making today’s dream a reality tomorrow. Let’s go Swimming!
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