We hadn’t lived on Ooltewah Ringgold Road very long, maybe a year, when Mama and Daddy decided to have an in-ground pool installed. Of course, we kids had no idea this was even something they were thinking about; Mama and Daddy NEVER discussed private, grown-up subjects around us kids. Thinking back now, and knowing Mama, and knowing me, Mama probably hated going to public pools as much as I did as a parent. Walking in through the crowd of people. Feeling fatter than ever looking around at all the moms who somehow managed to stay slim after having children. Being forced by convention to be sociable. Trying to keep up with all four of your brown and blond kids in a pool full of wet blond and brown heads. It was exhausting! And not fun. And probably not how Mama wanted to spend her summer days.
I remember this must have been our second summer in Ooltewah because there was one summer we joined the Turner Pool on Shallowford Road. I vaguely remember going a few times. I was eight when we moved to Ooltewah, and have a pretty good memory, especially of things that were significant. Turner Pool must have not made much of an impact on me. Of course, as shy as I was, I probably hated every single minute of being at a public swimming pool. That pool and the tennis courts were there for a long time; eventually the YMCA bought the property when they built the East Brainerd branch. They bought the pool, but not the tennis courts. The tennis team at Grace Academy used those courts for practice for a long time; Matthew played a few matches on them in middle school. Eventually, they were absorbed into the area development. Drive down Shallowford Road now and you would never know that in the sixties and seventies there was a popular ‘club’ there with tennis courts and a busy swimming pool.
Anyway, back to the backyard swimming pool. The first we kids know about anything was when, one evening after supper, a man showed up to talk to Mama and Daddy. Now, we knew the unspoken rules of the house: don’t impose when adults are talking, don’t go in a room when adults are meeting, don’t act like you even know anyone else is there. Now, I have to say that having people come to the house was a rare occurrence. Betty and Earl Brown came over regularly to visit and work in the garden they shared with us; and church people came over sometimes because back then Mama and Daddy were still very involved with St. Paul United Methodist Church and us moving to a big country property enabled them to have church people come for social events and all. Daddy painted a gigantic green 4-square court on the driveway just for that purpose. He didn’t know that 4-square was more challenging in the squares were small and not big. But we had a lot of games on that 4-square court over the years. Keith and I were pretty competitive; of course, he played 4-square just like he did ping pong: hit the ball as hard as you can to the most difficult place for your opponent to be able to reach – for the win.
Me, Valerie and Keith were prepared and trying to become “invisible” in the den while Mama and Daddy met with the visitor in the living room. I, for one, was planning to employ my usual trick of pretending to ignore adult conversation while I listened intently and learned what was going on. Mama used to say I was the only person she knew who could “read a book, watch a TV show, and listen to a whispered conversation taking place in the next room”. You learn a lot that way. This salesman, though, had no idea of the ‘rules of the house’. He saw us kids and probably thought he could use us to influence our parents so he invited us to “come on in” to the living room! We did not know what to do! So, we sidled into the living room and sat against the wall. The meeting had already been going on long enough that we had figured out it was about a swimming pool. He turned to us and said, “Wouldn’t you kids like to have a pool in the backyard?” Of course, we said yes! Enthusiastically.
I remember being uncomfortable but this sales guy was good. He worked at making us feel like we should be a part of this decision. Uh, not in our house! Decisions were not made by kids. Children were not consulted before decisions were made. When Mom and Dad bought the house in Ooltewah the first we knew about it was when they drove us out to the house/property on a Saturday. That’s when they told us we would be moving. We had no idea they were even thinking about moving!
The man finished his sales pitch and left. I guess they signed papers and gave him a check for a down payment. I don’t remember. What I do remember is after he left we got CHEWED OUT! It probably wasn’t as intense as my memory makes it. Mama and Daddy told us in no uncertain terms that we were NEVER to do anything like that again! We were not part of the decision and we were not supposed to assume because some stranger invited us and asked us that we had anything to say about the decision. What I don’t remember is them telling what we should have said when the man (an adult guest in our home) invited us to come into the living room to take part in the discussion. That would have been helpful.
Not too long after that night, some people showed up to put in the pool. I remember it was not a traditional work crew but more like a few couples and their children. It was summer and Mama was probably working in the mornings but I doubt she left during the day while those people were there. I remember we (Keith and I) wanted to go play with the kids that came. We had lived in a neighborhood with other kids our whole lives up to that point and were used to having other kids to play with. Keith had a whole crew of guys he ran around with in the neighborhood; and I followed them around in their adventures. We moved to Ooltewah and there was no neighborhood, no other kids. So, we were probably excited at the opportunity to play with someone new. Mama put a stop to those ideas immediately! “I don’t want to see you outside while those people are here!” She said. “Those kids have something and I don’t want you catching it!” The kids of the work crew couples were obviously dirty and had some kind of weird rash on their legs and feet and maybe arms, I don’t remember. I do remember watching out the den window while they played in our yard, on our swing set, while we were stuck in the house!
I don’t know how long it took for them to put in the pool. It did not have a concrete skirt around it. Daddy and Mama planted sod around the pool after it was installed. I’m sure it was cheaper. Remember, the house in East Brainerd had not sold and they were paying two house payments so money was probably tight. They did have a diving board installed at one end. Oh the fun we had in that pool! Keith and I (poor Jenni; she was too young to join in without an adult or Valerie)! Every afternoon during the summer we would wait anxiously for Mama to get home so we could get in the pool. Races, splash contests, flips, float races, Marco Polo; we played and splashed and had fun. On weekends Daddy would sometimes get in the pool with us. He was sooo funny when he got in the pool. First, he would sit on the edge and splash water on his arms while he screamed “whoooeeee!” “Whooeee” over and over until he finally got in the water! I’m sure now that the show was mostly for us but it just added to good memories for me.
Now, the pool is gone. Filled in with dirt. Grass will soon grow over the ground and it will be like it was before. But my memories of the swimming pool and the fun we had will remain with me.
