BROWN: Pool a gathering place for all ages

Published 6:23 pm Monday, July 8, 2024

The sky was as blue as the Caribbean Sea. The temperature of the water inside the pool was comparable to an iceberg, and the collection of beach towels that littered the grassy area resembled a patchwork quilt. During the summer months, the local swimming pool in Richland was the gathering place for people of all ages.

There was an aluminum sliding board for adolescents and a kiddie pool especially designed for little children. Lining the adjacent wooden benches on one end were the moms of the children and sitting on the concrete steps of the kiddie pool were the mothers of the youngest swimmers. The youngsters splashed a lot of water, so the sidewalk by the kiddie pool was always wet and slick.

There is an antiquated wooden diving board located in the deep end of the pool that was the setting for impromptu diving contests, compliments of the competitive local teenage males. The cheering section of girls were enjoying the bright sunshine while lounging on colorful beach towels there on the grassy section nearest the deep end of the pool.

The massive concrete swimming pool was located less than two blocks from

downtown Richland and operated under the supervision of the members of the American Legion Post No. 128 and the City of Richland. Since there was no filtration system, the water was drained and changed every weekend; the water was pumped from a deep aquifer and was astonishingly frigid the first days of the week.

It was possible to travel the entire perimeter of the pool by treading water and holding onto the ancient metal tubing mounted just below the water’s edge.

A long narrow block building was located near the shallow end; the

ladies changing area was on the left side and one for the gentlemen on the right, with the snack-bar and admission gate occupying the middle section of the azure-blue concrete structure. The floors of the changing rooms were covered with wooden slats for safety.

To pay admission or select a snack, patrons stood at the half-door entrance and conversed with the staff.  Sweet and salty items alike are displayed on slanted shelves, but the most popular offering was a frozen Milky Way bar, oh how good it tasted on a blistering hot day.

Often, in the late afternoon, the shrill reverberation of a whistle suspended all conversation, and the patrons pause in anticipation of an announcement by the lifeguard. Get out of the pool, he shouted loudly while swinging his arms to announce the emergency; exit the pool, immediately. Seeking cover in the dressing room area, those of us who had season tickets balanced on the wooden slats, which kept our feet out of the collected water, and waited impatiently for the summer storm to blow over.

As surely as lightning and thunder curtails the summer fun, the swift return of bright sunshine signals the return to summertime amusement there at the public swimming pool in that far-away place in southwest Georgia named Richland, my hometown.