Indoor Swimming at Trenholm Park, Trenholm Park: 1980s 7 comments
Well, it's getting close to swimming time again -- the days are warming up, and the worst of the pollen will be over in a month or so. Of course, if this were 1975, it would already be swimming time at Trenholm Park.
That's right, when the pool at Trenholm Park first opened, it was totally enclosed, heated, and open year-round. In fact, I can remember swimming in that pool when there was snow on the ground. It also had the scariest high-dive board in town, and it was something of a dare to go up and off of that thing. I never would actually dive off it -- I would just cannon-ball into the 12ft section (one of the deepest around as well -- enough to make your ears really hurt).
I can guess what happened to the high-dive: insurance, but I really have no idea what happened to the enclosure. I just recall coming back to town one day, driving by and going hey, wait a minute!. If I had to guess, I would suspect some Richland County funding issue.
The last time I swam there was 1996, when I was recovering from a car-wreck, and wanted somewhere I could walk without really putting any weight on my leg. The entrance building at the front of the pool with the changing rooms and showers seemed unchanged from the 70s, so I suspect that the shell over the pool itself was always structurally separate. And despite the absence of the diving board, and a lifeguard regime that seemed a good deal more, um, authoritarian than I recalled -- the kids still seemed to be having a great time.
7 Responses to 'Indoor Swimming at Trenholm Park, Trenholm Park: 1980s'
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Russell Schwartz
11 May 09 at 12:30 pm
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Wow, I remember going here with Forest Lake Summer Camp all the time. I think I actually took swimming lessons here as well once and the lady was a serious "B"! Was the top removable at one point? I feel like I remember it being blue and halfway down at some point. Maybe they were taking it down for good, who knows, I was probably 8 years old...
Anyone remember the old skate shop that was right around this area, The Brown Moose? Any listings on that? That place was like sacred ground to us back in the day, haha!
steve
3 Jun 09 at 10:03 am
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I took swim lessons there as a kid in the 80's and remember the pool being outdoors. However, I do remember that scary high dive! I also remember being tickled by a handwritten sign they had that said "OOL. Notice, there is no P in our pool! Please keep it that way!"
michael
18 Aug 09 at 2:51 pm
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I got pushed backwards in this pool in 1984 or 1985 and ripped the skin under my chin completely off. 16 stitches on a 5 or 6 year old. Was definitely outside at that point. High Dive was there though
chris
5 Oct 10 at 8:54 am
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I used to take swimming lessons there in the mid 70's. I almost drowned and my dad jumped the chain link fence to try and save me. lol It had a blue or green cover on it at the time. The front still looks the same today.
Tim
12 Jan 11 at 9:43 pm
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I was totally shocked the first time I saw this without the enclosure - it's hard to remember, was it kind of a huge Quonset-like framework? Or more square than that? I too swam with the RCSA for a while out there, as well as taking classes and just going swimming. It looks really naked without the top!
Blaine
26 Aug 11 at 3:55 pm
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As an 8-year-old in the mid-1970s, I had taken summer swimming lessons to buck up my skills. We were told on the last day in the last five minutes that we could go up on the high dive.
Worst decision of my life to that point.
Once I got up there, it felt like I was on Mount Everest. I paced slowly back and forth on the ladder. I decided I wanted to come down. Worst decision…
I fell from one step below the top step on the high dive ladder onto the concrete below.
I laid there until EMS came. My father asked the EMTs to turn on lights and sirens. They wouldn’t.
Got 17 stitches in my lip and chin, chipped a tooth, and four days later, my dad discovered I was doing left-handed card tricks during my recovery. My wrist was broken—they didn’t discover that at the hospital. Ate baby food for two weeks.
Other than that, I loved the Trenholm Park Pool and years later, engaged in a little “immersion therapy” before I knew what that was and dove off the high dive. Several times.
Thanks for the memories.
Daniel
31 Jan 24 at 9:22 pm
I worked there as a lifeguard, and, before that, swam there as part of the RCSA team (Richland County Swim Association). The enclosure was nice in the winter. The pool had huge radiant heaters hanging from the rafters to ward off the cold. The enclosure was really nothing more than a garage. In fact, the side that faced the little leage fields had large garage doors that we opened in the summer. If you were on the lifguard stand, you could follow the progress of the game on the nearest field. Not that you wouldn't be paying attention to the water. I "rescued" three swimmers over my 3 summers.
Not sure why the enclosure was taken down, but the number of paying customers was small in the cool months. The cost of maintenance, and heat, was high.
Enjoy your site. We lived off Rockbridge Road on Sandwood. So, much of what you chronicle was part of our weekly routine. Thanks....