And on crowded days how awful it was to have to wait in a line that stretched along the pool deck where you stood on concrete that burned the soles of your feet?
And then you had to wait on the ladder before you could take your turn?
And how some kids would lose their nerve at the top, and everyone standing on the ladder would have to climb back down to let them off?
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| Slide at the Ambridge pool "baby pool" in background Daily Citizen July 21, 1955 |
And then finally, how the speedy slide from the top to your big splash into sometimes really cold water was over in a slippy* second? And then you had to get in line again? And again. And again.
Text under the photo:
BEATING THE HEAT--The Ambridge Municipal swimming pool at Borough Park is doing a landslide business during these hot humid days as the youngsters along with many grownups take dips in order to cool off from the heat wave._____
* Pittsburgese for "slippery."
You can read more about the Ambridge pool in these posts:
Ambridge Borough Swimming Pool, Part 1
Ambridge Borough Swimming Pool, Part 2: Getting there--the trek to the pool
Ambridge Borough Swimming Pool, Part 3: The bathhouse--the girls' dressing room
Pool, Part 3: The Bathhouse -- The Boys' Dressing Room
Ambridge Borough Swimming Pool expansion: the solons' inspection
Ambridge today: Pool steps
Ambridge today: the pool bathhouse once stood here
Ambridge Borough Swimming Pool, Part 4: hot summer fun in the three pools
The happy beginning and the sad end of the Ambridge Pool with the unfortunate series of events that led to its closing and razing
jd aka john domansky
ReplyDeletegreat blog, nancy a multi all inclusive for a great pool, & a great time. i think the big pool was what they call an olympic size. in my time in boys town from 1948 jan. to 1950 june graduating, they had in a brand new field house an olympic size pool w/ 3 boards, 2 low 1 high. trampolines,a baseball diamond, popups never hit ceiling, basketball court 2 of them a wrestling arena upstairs where i wrestled 2 yrs 105 & 112 lbs class, if anyone has been in boys town they saw it, a trade school auditorium & more,
back to ambridge pool & slide, no slide in the 40s & early 50s, somewhere i read here that there was dirt or scum in the pool from the mills, no way, that pool was so clean & kept clean you could drink the water, chlorine & all, ha ha. aliquippa had a great pool up on a hill plan 11 i think, that slide was 2x as high & long, it got so boring & easy we would go backwards down it, one time i stubbed my little toe & ripped it open, nurse taped it & i went back in again.
like you say it was a fashion place to be, suits were changing & girls were daring, lay down on a towel , unhook strap for an even tan on back. ohio river rats had an even tan all over. the pool manger was ? hlista guy? rules were rules, whistle blew not a lot, u know they meant it.