As I swam my laps, I mentally wrote this letter a dozen times. Let me preface my thoughts with acknowledgment of the city’s effort to keep the pool open a little longer this summer, past Aug. 8. Thank you.
I grew up in Alliance and by fifth grade lived across the street on Niobrara from our city swimming pool. To say I “lived at the pool” in the summer is an understatement. It was like having my own pool when my parents bought our season tickets. Jean Thomas was a family friend, my Sunday School teacher and swim teacher. She established a Lap Swimming Board where swimmers would check in each day, trying to swim 10 miles in a summer. I did it all, swim team, synchronized swimming, lap goals and taught swimming lessons. I loved night swim until 8:45 p.m. in the ‘60s, I have swam in all three pools in Alliance and love our current facility the best.
I have continued to invest my time in the city pool, faithfully buying season tickets for myself and family. Our boys competed on the swim teams and were life guards albeit in Hemingford. That is another story. I cannot remember a summer when we lived here that I did not swim. There were truly very few.
Now at age 74, we are traveling more in the summers so my dedication to the pool has been interrupted somewhat. However I still swim every day that I can. Every fall while I was teaching, the swim days dwindled every year. When I heard the pool would close Aug. 8, I was enraged, sad and frustrated. I decided that I could not just rant; I have to try to be part of the solution. I totally understand that with school starting so early, the staff has to be “off duty.” There must be some solutions.
These are some suggestions. Surely there are some people in our community who might consider working the last three weeks of August, after school, and for adult swimmers on a modified schedule. Could we not advertise for such a position for a short term manager? Perhaps a few guards, if advertised accordingly, would be willing to work weekends and after school hours at the end of summer. Perhaps there might be monetary incentive for these guards. Perhaps I and others would even take training to certify as a guard. Could the front desk be manned by adult volunteers? I know there are all sorts of “hassles” with adding to the payroll and maintaining the cleaning of the bathhouses, but the family “hall way” might need to be the only one open.
I am raising these questions, knowing the pool doesn’t break even. I would never raise prices for children, but adults, yes. The “adult” swim time is really a bargain. I would pay more for that privilege. I know it is used to capacity in July. I can’t urge the city council enough to visit these possibilities next spring.
KUDOS to the staff this summer. The pool was run efficiently and clean. Our guards were well trained and responsible. I have swam in pools everywhere and not one is as well designed as ours. The zero entry is an incredible feature. It is a travesty that we do not maximize the use of this facility.
Submitted by Mary K. Schadwinkel
Alliance