We are all about water. We are born in it. Both the earth and us humans have similar percentages.
We never stray far from it.
In our early days it was a trip that started with baths, to lakes, to rivers, and oceans.
Who
couldn't enjoy the world of water. It seems that there are a lot of
pictures of babies in bath tubs. Not everyone is born near water. The
rest of us had to find ways of improvising. Old metal wash tubs were
popular as a temporary relief on a hot day. I know, I spent some time in
a few.
Corning
had the Chemung River flowing through
it. It was not what most would call a swimming river. Although people
could fish the fast little stream. It was years before we would enjoy
the real deal.
Here
we were newly moved to the city of Chicago. Mom and Dad covered that
1st summer by building a pool for us. It was a square double stack of
railroad ties. It had a liner made of heavy roofing paper with a
sculpted bed of sand. Then they had a roofer friend come by and put
several coats of hot tar on it. It was a shiny as polished coal.
We enjoyed those next few summers. We learned not to burn our butts on a hot day. The cold water hose was our friend.
A view of 312 West 61st Place April 2012
http://showmystreet.com/#0ovjmm_-1g6a7j_j8y_1-1
We
moved to 6828 South Racine about 1954. A West Englewood neighborhood
near giant city parks. The closest swimming pool was at Sherman Park. It
was packed at all times. The folks then started taking us to Rainbow
Beach and the Indiana Sand Dunes. Lake Michigan in our back yard. It was
the ocean to us. We loved the Dunes but it was along trip with a car
full of kids then.
After a year of this Dad decided to use the vacant lot next to our two flat to construct a pool.
A
private pool in a middle class neighborhood was as rare as gets. They
didn't exist. So..like Tom Sawyer recruiting help to paint that fence,
Pops enlisted many neighbors, friends and others to build a swimming
hole. Right here on Racine Avenue! Under the shade of the giant
cottonwoods that filled the sky.
They
marked out a 20 X 60 foot rectangle and set out to dig it all by
hand.The loose fill was
carried to the front of the yard by the older boys. I can still
remember my brother Rich moving wheel barrow after wheel barrel full. At
that time a lot of the lots were lower than the street.
Once
again he used those giant creosote soaked railroad ties for the
sidewall structures. The south side was crisscrossed with railroad
tracks. Ties were easy to acquire. The pool was 8 foot deep at one end
and 2 feet at the other. That 1st year they lined it with that tar paper
hot tar covering. It had a concrete bottom. At the deep end they
constructed a drain system. It consisted of two 55 gallon drums, welded
end to end. They were sunk into the ground next to the pool and attached
to the floor drain. They dropped a submersible sump pump into it and
ran a line to
our local catch basin. It worked slick.
Filling the pool took days. It required that many of our neighbors ran their hoses too. That 1st summer was a blast.
They
fenced the yard and installed gates. The neighbors were beginning to
notice. All those that helped got to swim anytime. In the daytime the
kids ruled. At night...it was grownup time.
Mary Jane and friends
They
had worked out a system where
if you wanted your kid to swim in the pool, you had to put in time at
poolside. There were always multiple Moms or Dad's there. Yet we still
would get a line of little faces at the front fence watching us. Hey,
have your Dad make a pool!
There
were a few times that people would sneak into the pool at night. How
tempting to cool off in a neighbors pond.They did get lights and put "No
Trespass" signs at the front and rear gate.
Mom had our neighbor and friend Jack Mostert paint up a sign to hang on the side of the building.
It read - BEWARE OF HUMANS
As
time went by they replaced the side walls with sprayed gunnite
concrete. It was painted a lovely shade of blue. They made diving board
from a fir plank. They used an old auto leaf spring under it. It worked
great. All the cops knew us. Pops gave them a night to swim every
summer. Firemen came too. One even gave us a fire hose and wrench so the
men could tap into the hydrant in front of the house. They weren't
supposed to but they did it anyway. They gave us a break because they
knew it was a better place for kids to play in this changing city.
The
adults would party at night. The whole neighborhood was there. Spirits
flowed and spirits soared. Live music, singing, and food...food....food.
The kids were at the parties but they were out of the pool by 8:00 PM
sharp! By 10:: PM it was closing time. The morning whistle blew at
9:00 AM. The best part about the morning was seeing the kids lined up on
the sides of the pool. Dozens of little eyes scanning the bottom of the
pool. We were looking for the coins that the adults threw in every
night at closing time.
Our
local priest from St.Brendan's came down to bless the pool. He
got to swim in it too. He was a funny guy. He said it was the 1st time
he was swimming in 50,000 gallons of holy water. That it was!
A view of 6828 South Racine in April of 2012
http://showmystreet.com/#0ov9os_-1g6qge_j6f_18
You can see the remains of a concrete slab in the aerial view.
Ron Olejnik Paul Simonian Ray Pace
Dennis and Chuck
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