Beware of Humans

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.