Pittsburgh’s South Side Sally

One of my best friends, Noreen would have us come over.  Her mom and dad had a small rectangle pool in their back yard.  We were about 5 or 6 at that time.   We would love to get wet and stay cool.  We also used the hose tied to a close line to run through.  This was of course another way to beat the heat.  So… cool.

Summer’s here and that brings back memories of the pool at 22nd Street Ormsby Pool.  The rec center and pool are there now but look different.  The pool configuration has changed.  Back in my good old young days that pool was just a rectangle shape.  The deep end had a diving board,  the low water started about 3 feet.

One could see the dusty street.  No one could take towels out.  We were restricted to time for girls, time for boys, then they had family time and adult time swims in the evening.  We’d line up in mass, back then no one except the Arcade Theatre had air conditioning.   Pool Time was a premium.   We started going down to the pool when we were about 6 or 7 years old.   Several of us would walk down together.  Things were seemingly different then.  For the most part, they were safer.  Girls had to wear bathing caps.  What a pain to remember them.  If you wanted to swim, you had to have one.  Well, I really didn’t swim as much as doggy paddle.  Noreen was trying to teach me to swim, she could swim underwater.  Boy did I admire that.  She also like to stay out and lay in the sun.   I always got sun burnt.  I think I did this to be with my friends.

Another place our families went to often was a place called “Mineral Beach” .   Can’t quite remember where it was located, but did I love piling up in the car with suits, towels, grills and food for a day at the beach:  Ken, me, Mom, Dad and Rose in our car.  Jimmy, Noreen and her parents in their car.

The local swimming pool at Ormsby near the 22nd Street bridge …. I remember walking down to the pool at times barefooted…the street was hot, we had our swim suits on so when we got to the pool we could shower and jump into the water.  There were scheduled times for kids, adults and families.  They also taught swimming.  I remember when I was about 6 years old, I tried to take swimming lessons and the life guard teaching the class pushed my head under water.  I stopped taking the lessons and was upset.  Good thing my friend Noreen helped me get use to the water again, going under water blowing bubbles and such stuff.  It must have worked, in high school I did learn how to swim better, mostly basic strokes.

Eventually I even became a life guard for the city pool program and taught swimming at the YMCA.  At times I even guarded swimmers at the very same pool, Ormby.

One summer I guarded  mostly at Schenley Oval Pool and Pymuting Lake for the city camping program. This was a part time paid guard-counselor position.  One day a week we went on a boat excursion to 9 mile Island, we waded off the island. We did some neat stuff like toured the Nationality Rooms at Pitt.  Alternating weeks we were stationed in Schenley Park with girls 8-12.  The following week we went to Pymunting Lake with girls 13-17.   This locations alternated with boys one week and girls the next .  Girl counselors with girls and boys with boys.  There were strange adventures, we worked hard and had lots of fun.  That summer I was able to save money.  I came home on Saturday mornings and left again on  Monday mornings.  I kept my stuff in a army green duffel bag.