Verdugo Pool

   It was the summer of 1955, and the coolest thing we kids did was go to the Verdugo Pool. Not once or twice, but what seemed like every day for the entire summer.
   Now you have to keep in mind that 50 years ago, a backyard swimming pool was a rarity that only the “rich folks” could afford. On my block, over on Kenwood Street, there was only one house with a pool. It was owned by a young couple who didn’t have any children. I think my friends and I got invited to swim maybe once or twice. So aside from those great inflatable wadding pools in our front yards, we had to go to the pool at Verdugo Park to actually swim.
Every weekday morning around 9:30 a.m., the neighborhood kids would gather over at Nancy Stevenson’s house on Maple Street. We would all pile into her mom’s 1953 Chevrolet for the ride to the park. Nancy, her younger sister, Sue, and little brother Butch, usually went along with Tommy Grabar and a few other kids. Back in the days before seat belts, you could get a lot more kids into the backseat of a car than you can today. The pool opened at 10 a.m. so we wanted to be the first ones in line.
   Now it was really a big deal to be the first one into the pool. The water was glassy smooth when no one had been in the pool. So having the privilege of being the first one in was really special. To help in this endeavor, we would generally wear our swim suits, and carry a change of clothes wrapped in our towels. Once we paid our 35 cents to get in, we would walk fast (running wasn’t allowed at the pool) into the dressing room with the nylon mesh bags they gave us to put our clothes in. We’d quickly check them in, pinning the metal tag to our trunks. Then it was off to the showers They had a rule (didn’t matter how clean you might be) that you had to take a shower before going into the pool The water was cold, and we all hated it. Then the made dash out to the pool. WALK! If you ran, the lifeguards would make you go back and walk.
   Most of us were going into the 5 th grade at Henry M. Mingay Elementary School. Other than we all liked Nancy Stevenson, we boys weren’t quite interested in girls yet. It was a time of innocence and fun. It was the summer most of us learned how to swim really well. At Verdugo, you had to pass the “Deep Water Test” before you could go beyond the rope that separated the shallow and deep ends of the pool. You had to swim across the pool --- and back! It doesn’t seem like much now, but it was a big deal back then. I passed the test, which allowed me to also use the diving boards. The low boards, at about 3 or 4 feet above the water were scary enough, but there was the high dive. I think it must have been a hundred feet high --- or so it seemed at the time. Eventually, we all managed to be brave enough to try it.
     The morning swimming session ended at 12 noon. We were usually tired out by then anyway. Often, if we had enough money left over, we would stop and buy some chips or popcorn at the pool snack bar. We’d change into our dry clothes and wrap our swim suits in our towels so we wouldn’t get the seats wet in Mrs. Stevenson’s car. Sometimes we would even come back at 1 p.m. for the afternoon session, which was always crowded with kids. The evening session was where families came. But none were quite as special as those morning swim sessions. You just can’t beat being the first one to jump into the pool.

--- Stan

Questions or Comments email Stan at Burbank History.Com