{"id":1919,"date":"2021-03-13T14:46:40","date_gmt":"2021-03-13T20:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/?p=1919"},"modified":"2021-03-13T14:46:40","modified_gmt":"2021-03-13T20:46:40","slug":"midnight-saving-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/?p=1919","title":{"rendered":"Midnight Saving Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The town of Vail, Iowa, has a population of fewer than 500 residents.\u00a0 Nonetheless, it has a swimming pool.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a publicly-owned government pool, but a community pool ran by community activists and volunteers which has been in existence for over 50 years.<\/p>\n

In the 1960s, kids in town were getting bored and getting out of hand.\u00a0 Many of us were hitchhiking to Denison to swim in its public swimming pool.\u00a0 Or, we would sit downtown with swimming trunks and a towel and ask a person we knew, like Tracy North<\/a>, if they were going to Denison, could we catch a ride.\u00a0 We never thought about how we would get home.\u00a0 The other alternative was to walk through a corn field and a pasture to get to Tracy\u2019s Pond about a half-mile southwest of town.\u00a0 It was probably more dangerous.\u00a0 We would skinny dip in the pond while the cattle watched us upstream.\u00a0 There was a huge raft (about 30\u2019 x 15\u2019) dry-docked on one of the banks.\u00a0 We would dive in among the rusting fish hooks and protruding nails on the raft, thinking nothing of the consequences.\u00a0 But it cooled us off.<\/p>\n

Grace Lindberg, a local restaurant owner, owned a piece of property on the main block of town.\u00a0 The fire station and the American Legion Club were across the alley.\u00a0 Grace said that kids needed something to occupy their time, safely.\u00a0 An old dilapidated house sat on some property Grace owned. She donated the land to begin a movement that has continued since.<\/p>\n

The house was torn down, and the Vail Community Swimming Pool Association became a legal entity.\u00a0 Grace was its first president.<\/p>\n

A contractor from Harlan, Iowa, was selected to build the pool.\u00a0 Supposedly, it was a company that had built similar pools in the Midwest.\u00a0 The sloping hole was dug and concrete block was used to build the walls.\u00a0 Sand was layered on the bottom, and a huge plastic liner was placed into the hole, covering the sand and the concrete block.\u00a0 Ten-foot square sections of cement were poured along the outside edges of the pool, a chain link fence surrounded the pool, and a small building was erected to house the pumps, cleaning supplies, restrooms, etc.<\/p>\n

While the contractors were building the pool, many Vail children hung out and watched.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t much else to do.\u00a0 We talked with the workers, most of whom were in their early twenties.\u00a0 During construction, the workers asked us if we wanted to travel to Harlan in a school bus and swim in the owner\u2019s pool.\u00a0 It would be identical to what we would have when finished.\u00a0 After swimming in the owner\u2019s pool, we would be bused out to a farm, have a bon fire, hotdogs, marshmallows, and sleep in the hay loft of the barn before returning home the following morning.\u00a0 We would need to have our parents\u2019 permission.<\/p>\n

Just about every boy that hung around the pool, and a few more, brought a permission slip over the next few days.\u00a0 Finally, the day came when the workers finished up the activity at the pool site and we all got on the bus for what we were sure was going to be the best night of our summer.<\/p>\n

On the drive to Harlan, we were loud, rambunctious, and annoying teens and pre-teens.\u00a0 The first stop was to the owners\u2019 house, where he had a pool in his backyard, fenced off with a wooden privacy fence.\u00a0 We swam, we dived off the diving board, we threw beach balls and other pool-related toys, we had one hell of a good time.<\/p>\n

As the sun was going down, we were back on the bus heading to a farmstead.\u00a0 The farm was beautiful, manicured lawn and everything colorful was in its place.\u00a0 The workers started a huge bon fire, as promised.\u00a0 Waiting for the fire to get going, we placed our bedding in a spot in the hay loft where we intended to sleep, and we searched for and used long skinny branches to cook our hot dogs, and later, to roast our marshmallows.\u00a0 There were plenty of condiments for the hot dogs, and chocolate squares and graham crackers for the marshmallows.\u00a0 We ate until we could barely move.<\/p>\n

Then, one of the guys pulled out a guitar and asked if we wanted to sing.\u00a0 Knowing most of the kids there, I doubt anyone yelled, \u201chell, yeah!\u201d\u00a0 But there we were, singing Kumbaya and other religious-oriented songs.\u00a0 Actually, I think the only persons singing were the construction workers.<\/p>\n

The strangest thing occurred next.\u00a0 They split us into groups and selected which kids would go with each individual worker.\u00a0 The groups would go off to a remote place not far from the bon fire.\u00a0 The ratio was 3-4 boys with one counselor.\u00a0 Except for me and Honcho.\u00a0 These guys were calculating.\u00a0 They knew who would give them the most trouble, me and Honcho.\u00a0 Honcho was two years older than me.\u00a0 I may have been the second oldest of the troop.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t have one \u2018camp counselor,\u2019 we had two.<\/p>\n

They talked to us about Jesus and asked if we had ever been saved.\u00a0 I think every kid said, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d\u00a0 So, they commenced to talk to us about saving our souls and why it was important.\u00a0 These boys they recruited to have a fun night of swimming and eating were mostly little Catholic boys, most of whom were altar boys, and a few Presbyterian Sunday School students.\u00a0 This religious recruitment process was not on the public agenda prior to the trip or our parents would not have signed permission slips.<\/p>\n

I was afraid that Honcho would get pissed and tear into them.\u00a0 Honcho, who was quick and muscular, would rather fight his way out of a garment bag than pull the zipper down to get out.\u00a0 He watched my every move and mimicked what I said and did.\u00a0 \u201cAny questions?\u201d\u00a0 They asked.\u00a0 I knew that if I had a question, we would be there all night.\u00a0 I also gathered that the longer Honcho sat on the log with me more likely he was going to erupt. \u00a0\u201cNo, I think I\u2019m saved.\u201d\u00a0 I spoke.\u00a0 Honcho quickly caught on.\u00a0 \u201cMe, too!\u201d<\/p>\n

We were about to get up and move on when the one I suspected to be the leader said, \u201cI remember when I was saved, I said a prayer.\u201d\u00a0 I looked at Honcho.\u00a0 His eyes were beginning to get bigger.\u00a0 \u201cYeah,\u201d I replied.\u00a0 \u201cGood idea.\u201d\u00a0 I sat back down and yanked at Honcho\u2019s jeans.\u00a0 He sat next to me.\u00a0 He could see that I folded my hands and placed them on my chest while bowing my head.\u00a0 He followed perfectly.\u00a0 After about a minute, I raised my head (yes, Honcho did immediately and in sync with me).\u00a0 \u201cDo you feel it?\u201d\u00a0 Or some question like that, the older one asked.\u00a0 \u201cYes!\u201d\u00a0 I said jubilantly.\u00a0 \u201cYup,\u201d Honcho meekly replied.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 There was a little small talk and Honcho and I walked to the barn.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, M.T.\u201d Honcho got my attention as we were walking across the farmyard.\u00a0 \u201cDid you really pray?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yes I did.\u201d\u00a0 I looked at Honcho.\u00a0 \u201cI said \u2018God get us out of here.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Honcho busted out laughing.<\/p>\n

Once again, in the loft, we were obnoxious kids.<\/p>\n

The following morning, we were given something for breakfast.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t make any difference.\u00a0 All of us were more than willing and ready to go.<\/p>\n

The bus ride home was a somber event.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t remember that any of us shared the event with anyone else.\u00a0 I can\u2019t believe that we did because the contractors scheduled another event for those kids who couldn\u2019t make it the first time.\u00a0 None of the original group signed up for the second trip.<\/p>\n

I want to say that Jim Malloy and I were the first two in the pool.\u00a0 On the first day of the pool being filled to the top, at 11:00 pm after the bars had closed and the town was quiet, Jim and I went over the fences and dived in.\u00a0 However, that honor of being first has to go to a man who lived out west of town a few miles.\u00a0 His last name was Stone.\u00a0 He climbed the fence, just as Jim and I did, after coming out of the American Legion Club, predictably drunk, and became the first.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t much water in the pool at that time.\u00a0 Jim and I had the privilege of diving in when it was full.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t stay long.\u00a0 It was as cold as the Arctic Ocean.<\/p>\n

This essay is not intended to make fun of anyone\u2019s religion, I am just writing what I experienced with about 15-20 other boys in the early to mid-1960s.<\/p>\n

EPILOGUE:\u00a0 The Vail Community Swimming Pool Association filed for dissolution in May of 2020.\u00a0 It was more than the Pandemic that closed it down.\u00a0 It takes a lot of money, work and effort to run a nonprofit that owns a swimming pool.\u00a0 To all those families that supported Grace, thank you!\u00a0 To all the women, and a few men, who served on the Board of Directors, thank you!\u00a0 And to the late Grace Lindberg, you\u2019ll never know how much children in Vail are indebted to your vision and goodwill.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think any Vail kid was saved that night in the summer of 1964.<\/p>\n

Mr. Stone was tragically killed when his gun went off accidentally while he climbed over a fence.<\/p>\n

The Vail Swimming Pool did not keep kids in Vail from getting into trouble, but it sure did slow them down.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The town of Vail, Iowa, has a population of fewer than 500 residents.\u00a0 Nonetheless, it has a swimming pool.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a publicly-owned government pool, but a community pool ran by community activists and volunteers which has been in existence … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[608,834,835,424,589,423,836],"class_list":["post-1919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-denison","tag-grace-lindberg","tag-harlan","tag-ia","tag-jim-malloy","tag-vail","tag-vail-community-swimming-pool-assn"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1919"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1919\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1920,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1919\/revisions\/1920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}