Pool postcard: Santa Clara International Swim Centre, California

"This is one of the finest aquatic facilities in the world, consisting of three separate pools: a 50 meter racing pool, a diving and synchronised pool and an instructional pool"    Postmarked 1977.

Now called the George Haines International Swim Centre, after former US Olympic swimming coach, who started the Santa Clara Swim Club.

Pool postcard: Miami Beach Casino, Florida

"These two large Roman pools, besides being a source of pleasure for surf bathers at all times, are also the scene of winter swimming contests, where the country's champions compete. Here are also staged numerous bathing girl revues throughout the season, these attractions drawing immense crowds."

Information from Windmill World website (there's also some links to more pictures on that site)

"Carl Fisher was the leading light in developing Miami Beach into a vibrant and popular destination in the 1920s. At that time he built a casino hotel at what is now the South end of Miami Beach, with large swimming pools, known as the Roman pools. On the seaward side of the pools was a large windmill, which it's been suggested was utilized to pump seawater into the pools.
 
The windmill, regularly described as a Dutch mill (but that's just to make it clear that it was not simply a skeleton windpump, or wind engine) was a tower mill which pictures show in multiple orientations, so its clear that the cap and sails could revolve. However, I've not come across any pictures that prove that the sails were workable - most pictures show a very flat cross as shown above, which tends to suggest its major use was just as a advertisment for the casino. Some images do show a fantail atached to the cap, so its quite possible that it was a working system once, but later replacement sails may simply have been ornamental. "

Pool postcard: Bathing Casino, Palm Beach, Florida

"Here society indulges in aquatic sports and many handsome costumes are displayed". Postmarked Nov 2, 1921

This is a postcard of the bathing casino at the Breakers Hotel. The photograph at right appears on the website of Florida Memory Division of Library and Information Services . It is dated 1905.

These days it boasts five oceanside pools.

Pool postcard: Municipal swimming pool, Griffin Georgia

Postmarked August 22, 1947

I understand there is still a pool in the City Park. The attached photo is from a swim meet at City Park pool in which the Griffin Gators triumphed

Griffin Daily News report.

Pool postcard: Mineral Springs, Pekin, Illinois

The card above was posted in August 1940. I have no idea, and Google didn't reveal, if there is still a pool on the same site, but I did find the DragonLand Water Park....

Pool postcard: Fort Scott, Kansas

"Fort Scott residents enjoy unusual park facilities for a city of its size. . . Gunn City Park with its two lakes and camp site, nearby Rock Creek park and Elm Park with its 105 acres of water. . . bathing beaches, boating, and its fine fishing, tennis courts, swimming pools."  (Back of card)

I found this picture of Fort Scott pool on this wiki site. Looks like the same building is still standing.

The information attached says: "The Fort Scott Public Pool was built in the 1930s by the WPA projects of the Great Depression. The pool offers several water slides. It used to offer diving boards in the deep end of the pool but they were removed because of insurance. During the summer, the pool staff and lifeguards offer Red Cross certified swimming lessons for children as well as lessons for adults. "

Now, this raises two points I have been pondering:

1. The importance of community asset building through work projects during the Great Depression. It's how Sydney got quite a few of its ocean baths.

2. Diving boards. Most of the US photos I have been showing feature diving boards, and in fact most of the pools I frequented as a chils had them. Not so any more. Few public pools I know if still have boards. I remember diving off 1 m spring boards, and daring  to dive from the 3m boards. I was never brave enough to venture onto the 5m or 10 m platforms!

Pool postcard: Western Kentucky State Teachers College, Bowling Green, Kentucky

The back of the card reads: "Western's Swimming Pool is one of the most beautiful and modern of the entire South. Its natural setting, its competent force of instructors, and the strict health supervisionthat it undergoes have made of it one of the most prized and popular assets of the institution."

I bought this card, even though it's not a public pool, because the place name "Bowling Green" has always intrigued me.

Wikipedia says: "The choice of the name Bowling Green has not been attributed to any single source by historians. Some say at the first county commissioners' meeting in early 1798, the pioneers decided that the new town would be "called and known" by the name of Bolin Green." This name was after the Bowling Green in New York City, where patriots had pulled down a statue of King George III and used the lead to make bullets during the American Revolution. Others say the Virginian settlers may have been honoring Bowling Green, Virginia. Still others say, Robert Moore kept a "ball alley game" on his residence which guests called bowling on the green. Early records indicate that the city name was also spelled Bowlingreen and Bolin Green.

In 1967 the Everly Brothers made Number 40 on Billboard ot 100 with their song "Bowling Green", about the city.

History of the college

The college was known as the Western Kentucky State Teachers College between 1930 and 1948. The postcard was postmarked Feb 22, 1943.

1875 - founding of the privately owned Glasgow Normal School in Glasgow, Kentucky.
1884 - moved to Bowling Green, became the Southern Normal School and Business College.
1906 - the student body and building were transferred to the Western Kentucky State Normal School, when it was created by an act of the Kentucky General Assembly.
1911 - moved to its present location in 1911

1922 - the school was authorized by the state to grant four-year degrees and was renamed as Western Kentucky State Normal School and Teachers College.

1927 - merged with Ogden College, which occupied an adjacent campus.

1930 - name changed in 1930 to Western Kentucky State Teachers College.

1948 - another name change when the school became simply Western Kentucky State College.

1963 - WKSC merged with the Bowling Green College of Commerce, formerly the Bowling Green Business University.1
1966 - Western Kentucky State College became Western Kentucky University.

These days there's a pool called the Bill Powell natatorium, with 10 lanes, spingboard diving boards, a shallow area for lounging, water basket ball & aquafit courses and a outdoor sundeck area. 

Swimathon!

Bexley pool is managed by the YMCA. One of the regular lappies there had the idea pf helping raise the profile of the pool as a community asset, and garnering support for its re-development by having  a Swimathon and raising money for local causes. The YMCA has taken up the initiative and on SunMarch 11, there'll be a national Swimathon at 100 pools across Australia.

It didn't take much thinking for me to dive in to this one!

If you feel inclined to throw in some sponsorship - even just a dollar or two, you can do it on-line here:

My sponsorship page.

I've pledged to swim 1000 metres (1 km, or 20x50 m laps, or lengths, if you prefer to say that!)

Hopefully it will have the added benefit of attracting some local publicity, and help people appreciate that the pool is a hugely valuable asset to our community!