| Swimming pool talk gets Hammerhaid worked up |
By: MIKE WEST, Managing Editor
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Posted: Sunday, January 24, 2010 5:42 am
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Talk about renovating the pools at Old Fort Park got Hammerhaid thinking about the days back before there was a formal swimming hole for each side of town.
“Heck, back when I was a kid the only pool in town was at Central High School. That’s where I took my swimming lessons,” he said.
“I will never forget the time my baby brother decided he was gonna jump off the diving board. He was younger than 5 and had no fear even after the lifeguard had to grab him and pull him out. He was still excited and wanted to jump in please my Mom, who about had a heart attack over the incident,” Hammerhaid said.
Maybe we should mention the fact that H-haid’s baby brother turned 50 years old this week?
Yup, the pool at old Central outdated the one at Oaklands Park and Holloway School.
Now all three of them are long gone.
First things first ... Central High School????
Yup, back in the day, Central Middle was a high school and one of the largest in Tennessee.
But before that, the campus on East Main Street was home to Tennessee College for Women. To the best of Hammerhaid’s knowledge, the outdoor pool dated back to the college days. Or at least, it looked that old at the time.
During the summer, the Red Cross taught swimming classes there before the pool opened for the day.
About the time, ol Hammerhaid learned to (pardon the expression) swim the city of Murfreesboro opened the brand new “huge” pool at Oaklands Park, the new city park associated with the restoration of Oaklands Historic House.
Not too far away, the city also opened a pool near Holloway High School. That was in last period of “separate but not so equal days” before integration.
Frankly, nothing was equal in those days. At their best, all black schools were substandard. While that began to turn around in the 1950s, all black schools in Rutherford County were lacking in facilities, programs .... you name it.
The Oakland pool was for white kids, while the Holloway pool was for black youngsters. Even back then, young Hammerhaid thought such laws were crazy. Besides, they looked like they were having a lot more fun at Holloway. Or at least that’s what Hammerhaid thought every time the family drove past Holloway.
Eventually, all three pools were closed with the city opening the new pools at SportsCom in 1987.
“Dang, it seems just like yesterday,” H-haid said while counting out 22 years on his paws.
At the time, the indoor pool and the huge outdoor pool at SportsCom seemed like a dream come true.
Now they’re pretty old and worn and ready for a rehab.
That rehab is going to cost taxpayers somewhere around $3.4 million. Ouch! That woulda bought a pool for every corner back in the day.
But besides making both pools more energy efficient, the plan calls for some modernizations too like a “sprayground,” water slides and a climbing wall. In fact, a “sprayground” sounds about like Hammerhaid’s speed.
SportsCom has got to compete with the more modern pools at Holloway and pardon the expression, the YMCA.
But still....
And whatever happened to the plans for a wave pool at Barfield-Crescent Park?
Swept away with high construction costs of the last decade, no doubt. But still, the changes at SportsCom will meet a very real need. The facility is more popular than ever and serves a major crowd year round. It seems to be under heavy use both day and night just like all of Murfreesboro’s public parks.
Durn progress … There seems to be a need for a still growing community.
T-t-t-t-that’s r-r-r-r-r-right. |
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