Huron’s Swimming Pools
No such thing as a community pool when I was growing up in Huron. Evidently they’d had one in the forty’s next to the Fairgrounds and they built one down by the Jim River after I left, but when I was there, only Ravine Lake was available to everyone. The Country Club north of town had a pool and in my later teen years, Dad’s company bought us a membership; but during my junior high years, Ravine Lake was the place to be.
A stone building on the shore at the top of the hill provided a snack bar, shade, restroom and picnic tables. The facilities were…”rustic.” But the beach was good, or pretty good. Summers are hot in Huron and any cool in the heat was welcome. The beach was sand and fine gravel that turned to mud and muck once you got knee high into the water. The water wasn’t clear, a good day was light brown. There wasn’t much “flow” in the lake, it was sort of stagnant depending on the amount of rain we’d had. Usually during the hottest days of August some evil bacteria or fungus or seaweed would shut us down for a while. In the wintertime, the lake would freeze and we’d rip around like the wind. You always had to hope the lake was completely frozen and that the snow drifts had been plowed, but still, awesome place to skate.
A small island sits about 50 yards out into the lake and the real brave could swim out, make out on the far side, and be the envy of the smaller kids. Ravine wasn’t very luxurious but it was fun, lots of laughs, and it was WET which was important to sweaty teenagers. When I went back to Huron in 2007 there were many changes…walkways, a bridge to the island, and the stone building had been fixed up. Of course, they’d put in a community swimming pool so I don’t know if anyone actually swims there anymore. And now…I hear of the Splash Central Waterpark. I guess that might be more fun…but I don’t know, I can still hear the laughter from Ravine.
The image above is from Dumbarton Oaks in D.C. The image below is the bridge and island at Ravine Lake….way, way back in 2007.
