Wayne Natatorium 1

8/14/2019 Wayne Natatorium 1

1/32


2/32

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Re.ee, PTS.

~~8'''J..s s l t.3f(~.oo '2.0.00$

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5/32

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6/32

Wayne Natator ium Associat ion.

S ta tement , Apr il 10, 1897.

Receipt s s ince May 26, 1895, a re a s fol lows :-

Capital StockMor tgage LoanSwimmdng, season 1895

u 1896Skating , season 1895~96

u u 1896-97,Cash,Ticke ts a s fol lows 646 a t

66 "

Expenses as fol lows:-

1650.1150.

595360.

10'0

20qs.64.60

13.2077.80

$7300 0'

3000.'

2800.'

955.

$14p55.

LandInterest on mortgageBuildingLumber, s and, coa l &c.Johnson Co.Clothes, furniture&e.Salary paid Canizares

. ' Three champion~tmeets , d inners , fares &c.Electrical wiringElect ric l ightLaundryPrintingPump, engine, p ipeMusicPlumbingCharter, insurance &c.Taxes and water r en tIceCanoePostage

Cash on hand , j obbing , p rovi sions, andother sundri es

$2$93.270.'

3380.420.

3620.

800.82B.

390.

380.122.

200.152.

170.

75.

60.

66.

38.-

31.

30.

20.

$14;055.


7/32

J,~I'>' ,_,_

. '" .

"

,ge:port o'f Receipts. for

15th Annual ohampionshif of L L U. U. S.'

h e ld a t Way n a ~S a tu r d ay A n g us t 2 2 nd 1 89 6 . '

77

C a ~h r e oe i ve d

B l u e : t i c k e ~ s , 1 0 rt:

.........................

, , ,

........................

$51. 00

7.70

18 R e d ' ", at 2 a r t : , ..................... 5 .60

3 . w p it e : ti c ke t s, a t 2 5 rt: . . .. ~ . . '. ........................

E st im at ed n um be r o f v is it or s

7 . h a l ve s : d o a t lS! .................. 1.16

64 .21

. ~. ~'. ;.1..;. ' -..;

';'" .,

~ffiQial and press ....... 0 0.00 0 ":' 58.'

~ '.' '.' . . . . . .........................

,.

...................P ar in g o as h a du l ' s . an d m in or s .

C o u : po n s . r e d s . a n d b l u e s ,

"

."

R ol de rs - ' o f s ea so n t ic ke ts , s ay ' 0 . 0 o . 0 1 5

. \.


8/32

R ep or t o f R ec ei pt s f or

4 th A nn ua l C ha mp io ns hi p r ac es h el d a t W

S at ur da y, J un e 2 7, 1 89 6.

C a sh r e ce i '\ e d $ 6 8

S 3 b l ue t ic ke ts a t l O t $8.303 4 r ed . ! " ' G O : / ; 0 . 8 0

5 B el le 'm e " " 33~t 1. 364 h a lr ' s " 20,J; . 80

11 w h ,? l es " 40$ 4 .40---------21.98

To ta l

Vis i to r s .-- - -- --~

P ay in g c as h a du lt s

$ 9 0

160

n

Cou pons

. ., m in or s " "G r .: -

1 3 7

J f fi c ia l c a rd s

B ; s ti m at in g o n e

each card,lady 'Nitn

; . ; : ' : L ;v,~

- _ . , . , ..J t) .

106

H o ld er s o f s e a so n t ic ke ts ,& c ,s ay ?~ , . '2 . ,-,,~.

4 50


9/32

ClaUS tt~USB

laafayette, Pa.

plat ~oek Dam

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10/32

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11/32

mLADELPmA.:.EWYOBK.osroN . ".AL'tDlOBB.

u.AdtWuz (I/J LdIw, ttl

lixk Box, 1562.

COFFIN, ALTEMl!JS & Co.,Dry Goods Commission Merchants,

No. 220 CHESTNUT STREET,

Philadelphia, June 8.1895.

f

8UBJBO!: 1ISlne Natitorll.11l."

--!-il11em Wo..~~ & : . Co~, 22nd Spr;t.ngGarden, Phila.

My Dear Ur.Wood:--I have gone carefUlly over the est1mate, and as our

~ . .

"~e differ eanemat. t . ill give lOUbrienr. 81Jnply for the ke

., tuture OClllpart.D. r tr I views:

RBaBIPTS:

100 Se on !lokets,tlO.OO. t l o o o . o o 1!

200 Adm1ss1on!lCketa.$5.00. 1000.00&00Slogle Admi ...40 200.00

5.000 !loket Skating Rink.10, 500.00Receipta trQn other .(Uroea,

-100.00

paoo.OO

EXPENSES:Taxes, $15.00

--.;;"' -".-. . Inwrance, 6.00.. Water-rent, 40.00

Light, 100.00A~tend.ant8. 600.00Repaira and.Uainta1nano 400.00Laund.l71ng!owel., 150.00Oo~. 100.00Inter~8' QnOapital. ~600.00

3011 .00

-"89.00l

Ba8ing the investment upon $10,000. the figures given

would. er.Oy a profit between 12 and 13~. the item -Receipts fran


12/32

NEWYOBK.

BosToN.

ALTDlOBB.

\..IU~'~'1N, fiLl l'b;lVl U b & 00~,

D rY Goods Commission Merchants,No. 220 CHESTNUT STREET,

hIu, Atltiru, tI1JLIUw, 1#

lJJck&x~ '562.

-2 -Phztadelpha,

other Souroes- t think should be larger, and also the 200 adrnis-

sion ticket. used tor adults and children I think is small. The

___ charge I have _~adefor coal is probably excessive, ani I 1.0 riot

knowmethar you intend heating the main part with steam or not.

-Rep,ir. & Maintainance., I think $400 seems to me to be a safe

side to figure it on.I have al so put in an e.t imate on the ska t ing rink at

10 cents athissiOl1, giving the number of people as 5,000. If we

had a very..,ravorable Winter. this result weald be ver"/ small.

The nwnber of teet of space which can be used for this purpose is


13/32

J u n e e t h . 1 8 9 5 .

I".

I' Is difficult to give such an estimate as you

~k.;f,o.r ill JOurlet.t.er of the 5.th inst. Very few of the f actol's en-

t'el'ing11lto t.he computation can be kniYln with any degree of certain ..,",,:'~"~','f~:/;"':, " '" .-' . '}'~'~~n:~~v.~~ce.and.in the abeence of actua~ experienoe one person's

. guess at the results is about as good as another t s. I have, as you

afdrH.ll'l'l*n An the cenu,,/ollv

, ' ,//"~,,:

You will notice that in the expenses Ibave included

",.~m.in. ticket,s sold. so the net result he would reach prob 8bly would. > - - ~ ~ : - : : k : ~ ~ ' ,It' ' _ . 'i'.;~),."t.~."t.erialt].Jdiffer ,from mine.~ :J { ' ./f::~ ~ :~ :~ :- ':.: ~ .,":(, . . , , -

~: .Iat ~upon t'he entire capi tal,of $10000, though we do not ex-

~~~ ~~_'t./ - - -~ ; .: i

p,eet \0 'issne more than $'1,500 in which event a proportionall.y larger

.kn~. great fait-hin the financial suocess of theenterprise,but I

"...J'.,lt>P,tl,is"h;i~~. ue an estimate of the results which might prove~ J:~ ;{~ .:;~ .-:~ ~ ~ ,'-~ j~ ':... , : t . . _ , . , : : , . . , . - : ' , ' ~i::t,;:!~.l,~-:~l~~;~ >~~".ll:'therefore :prefer to have you carefully consider

, .' , , ", '- _, .:


14/32

8 $10. $1000.

a 5,. 25.0.

. , 5,. '5,00.,

.40 fOO. $155.0.

.Reoe ip t s .

10e..... ..' , ' > " " . - '~ "

. . . . ' - > :> '

~ O q7 S 1u g le

~.~ . ~.'~~'.~ - .>- - _~t~:/i':", ,: --'1f,':):t'eceipts&Expenses of th; 1':81n6 Natatorium Assn

< ! ~ oSeason tiokets

~O,~5.0,AdIliss1on' tiokets

15;.

5,

4 0 .

100.

,600.

800

15'p.

600. \. $1 '108.

over . 1\0';,

' Expenses .

!UendantB

," ';:'~:.;~ ';'1'

/'~,~~:~,,-:'!'./i':~;1:.'

,B e pa 1 ~8 & M ~ l11 ta i n an c e

~ dryl~ 'lowels'''~~-:~ '?1'~~:~'~~~-'::-,.~,


15/32

as-

',;w ~~.tf.,~i.:: .';' . , . /,' T o,.a oo om ,p da! epe rso Il. s l i e s f r i n ",i n s t ruc t i on , a t e ache r w i l l

, ~ .

.j ' ~o b ab l y" b e e n ga ge d ' a t a 'r a te o f s o m u c h p e l' P~pil, s o t h at t he

I'

s oo l 'a . t1 o nc a n i n cu r n o l o s s u ~ o: n t h is p a rt o f t h e b u si n es s; a nd t l Je

d ir eo to rs m ay c on si de r i t go od p ol ic y n ot t o o b ta in a pr of it f ro m-i ty sP t ha t a ll ow a r at e a s po ss ib le m ~y b e f ix ed f or i ns tr uc ti on

to eMourage the more general ~ ce of the ar t of swizr ,n :i , I Jg .

U nc er ta in ty a s t o t h e e xt en t a nd d u r at io n o f f r e ez in g

w ea th er m ak es i t i m po ssi bl e e ve n t o gu es s a t t he r es ul t t o b e d e-

r iv ed f ro m t he u se o f t he p oo l i n ~ in te r t im e, bu t t he s ta te ms ut o f.~.,","

e x pe n se s a l re a dy g i ve n i n cl u de . r t h in k , e v er y th i ng r e qu i re d f o r t b e

w in te r s ep so D e xc ep t t he f u~ l r eq ui re d f or f i r e i n t he w ai ti ng r oo m

i .

i~. 0 :

' * ~I

~ r have e ndeav.ored to take a very conservat ive v iew of the

Ver y t ru ly y ou rs ,

~

I

J ' Wi ll y ou b e s o go od a s to f av or m e w i th y ou r c ri ti ci sm o f t he

Wayne

Penna.

f ac e t o k ee p i t s m oo tb . F or t he s ka ti ng m ai nt ai ne d o n t h e N o r th Way ne

r es et ~o ir l as t w in te r, it w as f o u nd t ha ~ t h~ r i d ic ul ou sl y l ow r at e o f

h ad d u ri ng t he w i nt er w he n t he w e at he r p er mi ts ,a nd w he n s k at in g i s n o t

a nd t he l a bo r f or r em ov in g s no w f r o m t he i ce a nd s pr in kl in g t he s ur -

p ra ct ic ~b le ,t he e xp en se s i nc id en ta l t o t h at f e a tu re d o D o t h a v e t o b e

incurred.

3:i.. o en ts p er w ee k w as a bo ut s uf fi ci en t t o p ay t he se e xp en se s a nd p r o-

v r a e ' ~n ei pe ns iv e m us io ,s o t ha t a t a f a ir a dm is si ol 'G pr ic e o f s ay 1 0 e ts .

f or o hi ld re n a nd 8 0 c en ts f or a du lt s, s. c on si de ra bl e r ev en ue s ho ul d b e

w ho le s ub je ct a nd , a s y ou w il l s ee , h av e n ot i nc ] u de d i n t he p ro fi ts a ny -

t hi ng f ~o m t ho se s ou rc es w hi ch h av e a n e le me nt o f u n c er ta in ty.

f igures r h av e s et d ow n a nd g iv e m e y ou r o w n i mp re ss io n o f t h e s u bj ec t.

M r . F . H . T r e a t

!

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16/32


17/32

Wayne. June 21~t,la95~

. . .

A s I may not be at t ~e meeting this evening,I s en d y ou t hi s

~ . : : ;. . . ._~','; F

~emoranduJ1l at subjects fol ' .yaul ' consideration,

I sen~ t o Wa yn e t od ay b y P,R .R .p ae ka ge

'llt l Iater1&1 approved last evening by JarJohnson

' ) . s l t deliver y, t .~ dS . o r

And I l r.Bai ley.

, . , .~'

"

LU!!1 PRESERVERS.,

the s t l;.-

order autho l' iz ed . P ri ce

iessl 's Ubler & E ng li sh w er e o n Wed ne ~1 ay d i~ e~ ~e d t o se nd

Of t he se t h- ree were o rJ lc~ed today,which ' /l it h the :3a1 1 J? lc I le tt

J ar .B ai le y 3 il l r ep or t a bo ut t he se ,h e w as t o p ro cu re t he ~ f ro ~

C 1U ,b ~~ ou se l as tn ig ht ,w il l e om pl et e t he

BIlol)h. T he J 1 '1111g o by h ei gh t s er vi ce .f i)

W;l.th.the1tindas s i s tance.ot )(r.W.LScott,I have procured the 8 .smal~ kegs needed for the water line. The ~ost will be about ~1.e~ch ana

t ho y w il l g o to .Way ne ~ lt he r t hi s a ft er no on o r to uo r~ o~ m or ~l ng b y f re ig ht .

13ARRELS.

at the


18/32

Kr.Bailey was to send to th~ Wayne station tor the towels

~;(~;: ", '. :;j'

l ' l f j , ; . : . . : ~ ~ ~ ~ : ,: : : ~ : : :: : :. .: : : : , :' : 'p : : : . : : g: : : : . ~ : : : ~ dt : . ' : : , : : : :' : : d ' Y ', i?\

~~~

~~j~'{jl'~~vt'.' '.':,' ..' ,eod T..,d.y leot.~ !l!X~lI~S UD UTH ROBES., L .o.._;...-----..--..,..--

,~ Kr.'l'reat will procure prices tor these which will" donbt-

(~~l." b , ' . a v , . g ' . " , 'b., bl. ' ,'d ,t,d by tb , "t,11

~,;"~ de.~trs. Co

I went to Wanamakers and Spauldings on this business an4!

leol'l1ed t ~et:

At Wanamakers.

~.~..",. Tigh1iSJ,bave only one grade,a. very excellent quality ot worsted . in

t i : ~ ~ > ''l>~aQk.blue aJd nUte,prioe, one dOlla.l" pel' paiJ." less 10% on our order,(c,' "they 81'8pro!ably well wortb the oostb,ut are perhaps too expensive forI "

our purpose.

Bath robes-a very good quality (cotton) colors -.I"arra:n~ed absolutely

. .~nother kind quite good enou~h tor our requi~ements,price $2.50 net,

'\

fast,price three dollars less 10%. \'

110 diseoun't. These eost $2.50 in large quant:Lties anCl. they are no.uclosillg

them out. I j

. At SpauldingS.

'l!ights.-A very teir quality .0f .. Jer.s.ey 01" stQekj.lle~ ,light c.olol's,f/l.ll-

A lQwer' grade but ,too thin ~nd tl1msey,I think,at 25 cts.!,ler pail.'

less 20j disc~unt.

Bath robes.-The:lc they hav'.) in considerable variety,at $8.,3. ,5. ,2.50

all subject to disoount ot 20%. The $2.50 kind wOUld,Ibelieve;ans.~r our


19/32

~J!:=-~::Z;:=~,

T)e bath robes shown at b oth p~aoes bore the Star I Cresent

tag ~nd r.Trea\ Qou~d probably buy them ~heaper direct from the fac-

was Mr.Neff and at Spauld-

',.,P.' '~~";'g;1f!~i:il:I\'~if,:'ir""i'\;~~~fm~~e'~",~:'f~~":;;,'''~'~~'-~':"""""';

I"," '~ _ -."'".'> '.~ '... A.'.~ . ~' ~

Quoted as cost price.Can get them as l ow as $10

r . e a d . a n d

p3r dozen,eo

cc.rds should.

llr.Ji'allClu,wl1ofor

Mr.B~iley was to get

u po n l as t ~ ad na sd ey eV8nin~.

h ~v in g b ee n f ix ed ,t he

all addl'essed.

to r invitations

-!lOt. later t,ha.n t omorJ;' 0\'1 or 1Lo.Jld.a .y a. s

P ~i ca q uo te d b y M es s. Wo rd & Xendig $2.50 for

, The date tor the openinl

nVI'I'!TIONS

ho~izontal a~m of pipe.

agreed to b uy envelopas to matoh.

f)A

. ~.. , , " : 1~ : ( . n O \ 'fbe orde red . T he tora wa s agreed.: t ' t i\ '0~\ .J '~B. llowel l'$ suggest 1ol1~Iha~e 'l t l" j ,t ten to I l l' .J?h1l1el'

.' ,. .,. ,'~'',I

be g l~d.~o supply him with Invitatio ns to b e g iven such ot

t ha 1~ ~ em be l' s a s m 1g ht e ar e t o a tt en d t he o pe ni ng .

I",

I1SraUCTIOI,

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21/32

, SIGNS.

tlon and the posts for all ought then to b e set and the signs attached.

Repo~t's trom:_,t.

Xr.r rea t on Vessrs Rose , leoker1y,St~wart.

C o. an d P en nn .R .R ~C o. to e re ot o ne o n p ro pe rt y o f eac h c or po ~a -

fhe s ign boaL'ds ' o rdered o f Bat i; !l :l an 11e re to b e r ea dy a nd d c-

at P ool by this evening. The necessary permission should be had

" (,".

Xr.Johnson on " Godfrey & MoFadden

~::~~_ "', ," .N r.Bailey " "~~~,Helm. & Yost.

:;f;'~~'r


22/32


23/32

37- t J : -

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c3~ 2J 2..33

~-..s: .3~ aa.

2/.6oJ . . : I v .00

~ .4~

~~ ~

J'Q. ,7 0 . 7/. 0d. cfo. Zoo

~~ fl/f /JO ~/f. ~~.

71 /c3/ /L/. ~.r. f7 07

, !'Y .f.

7 /. J8"- :2j/ c3 Y ,2. J.

22. //. cJ/. ~ /..r. 36'. /r.

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24/32

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~ ~:7 ~4~./J'fO:c'J~ fP+ 5~ a---/. 8 7 , z ~.-.' J : e L . ~d""':' ~ 8_ IJJL.- ~a1-a.. R-.

-~I '.ho I.De . c;, OoS 10.

1 2 - I. ~..s-

2./.60 I.~o .7..r . ,"0 J: 9. ?or

---_.. _ - . ,_ . . .~ - - _ ., ,-0 ..1 .To ~ /1

0 ..30 .u; 7-5 -0

_ .... -,----~-_.-If- 1.20 .'fo /.6S K~.r o r . :2.$" .!fo .2.0 1'.>0 2..00 oS: f.70, /. .90 .:2-0 67 , }'./o-- ."'- ---_.-_ . v--- --- -

1 p- _2. /.J.S- /0. /$? /0~ 0./4> 3.030 .r: /,3'7 0

9.80 /.20 .9cJ .~o o3.


25/32


26/32


27/32

40UJ'Bday, August '1 :7,1992 The Philadelphia Inquirer M-S

Gulph Creek, was dammed at thebend of what today is Willow Avenuein Wayne. [n 1895,it cost $25 a shareto belong. In the files at the RadnorHistorical Society is a certificate is-sued to John W.Morrison, 425 Chest.nut Lane, Wayne, for eight shares onJuly 5, 1895.

The folder also has a yellowedhandbill announcing the fourth an.nual National Swimming Competi.tion at the natatorium, held at 3:30p.m. on Saturday, June 27, 1896.

Around 1902or 1903, the natatori.urn closed due to a drought. Jeanne

.LaRouche, director of Berwyn's Sur.rey Services for Seniors and a localhistory writer who lives near theonce-famous pool, said the women'sh~thhn ..... ~ ~ _. . .

Wa yn e _

"We weren't the country-club set," said one longtime resident."Wherever there was a m udhole,

that's whl}J'ewe swam and enjoyed it


28/32

new swimming holes."My father used to walk me (to the

swimming holes! back when I wasyoung," Jim Jr. said of Lea and Cath.cart Lakes, near Devon PreparatorySchool. "They were two lakes on thesame creek."

Lea's Lake Is gone, buried under ahousing development, but part of Cathcart Lake is stiIl there, Jim Jr.

said."We did more than swim there,"the son said. "We ice-skated [on Lea'sLake!. We used to sled on it. We usedto make rafts, launch them andwatch them sink."

In a melancholy voice, soundingalmost like a kid again, the youngerFalcone, added, "We caught frogsand salamanders."

Catching critters in swimmingholes Is a boyhood memory for hisfather as well.

"We'd catch snakes and snappingturtles," he said. "We'd find nests of duck eggs," he said. "We didn't havetelevision. We knew how to amuseourselves. (The swimming holel wasa hell of a way to cool orr."

off chastened."Falcone recalled similar episodes

with a farmer they called Hitler. "Hewould rea lly take our c lo thes(away!," he said. "He had an old Mod-el Aand would go through the fields.

"When we saw him coming, we'drun like hell, wade across the creek,and run into the woods with ourclothes over our heads. , .. He always

used to raid us," Falcone said.When he was older, Falcone wasoften invited as a guest to swim atColonial Village. One day he decidedto join, presenting a check to theclerk. In strong language, the clerk told him Italians were not allowed tobelong and gave him back his check.

''That's why it was necessary for usto go down into a muddy swimminghole," he said. In the mid.19SOs,Fal.cone's son, Jim Jr., joined ColonialViIlage when the rules were relaxed,but his father never would. ''Theyturned me down once, and they lostme," the elder Falcone said.

In the mid-I940s, when the familylived on Upper Gulph Road in Straf.ford. Jim Jr. and his father found

At Cathcart Lake,which used t o have waterfalls, Jim Falcone Jr"here exploring the shallows, spent time cooling off in his youth.

Martin's Dam Swim Club, which wasorganized in 1924.

Creutzburg, whose father, Harry,was born in 1895, recalled the timeher father and his friends venturedout to a farmer's pond on DarbyCreek near Brooke Road.

"IMter swimming naked! theypainted themselves with all kinds of designs In mud. ". As they were

gleefully enjoying all that, they no-ticed that all their clothes weregone," Creutzburg said. "They sawthe vanishing back of the farmerwith all their clothes."

They drew straws as to which boywould retrieve the clothes. ' 'Thefarmer kept (the boyl waiting outsidewith a lecture that he didn't want hiswife and daughter seeing naked boysin their front yard," she said, Thenhe threw the clothes, which landedin all kinds of disorder.

"Meanwhile, the boys waited, withvisions of riding through Wayne intheir birthday suits," she said. "As itwas, all of them had to creepy-crawlup and get those clothes, sort outwhich belonged to which. They rode

1/2

MILES

o

MONTGOMERYCOUNTY

MartI~n'sD = ' ( \ \ / / / / / \ ,Colonial Village/ / 1 ':. \

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q . ~.oy..'?" ~~~//O~\J' ~;Ij>v _ < l ' O'0 V (j0 / (j'l

~

~ ,J?'?~'?< ':t-~s-Creek, was dammed at thef what today is Willow Avenue

yne. In 1895,it cost $25 a shareong. In the files at the Radnorcal Society is a certificate is-o John W. Morrison, 425Chest.ne, Wayne, for eight shares on, 1895.folder also has a yellowed

ll announcing the fourth an.National Swimming Competi.t the natatorium, held at 3:30

on Saturday, June 27, 1896.und 1902or 1903, the natatori.osed due to a drought. Jeanneche, director of Berwyn's Sur.rvices for seniors and a local writer who lives near the

amous pool, said the women'suse, now a residence, still

across the street from Wayn-nterprises.ph Creek, which meandersh much of north Wayne, wasportant water source for sev.ther swimming areas.more Lake In St. Davids, called

wood Lake In 1895, was ownedancis Fenimore in the lates,said Jim Ripson of Wayne,grandson of Francis Fenimore.amily used the lake for swim.and fishing.long-ago relative planned to.

e lake as the centerpiece for aer housing development hed to build, but the deal fellh, Ripson said.was going to be a country-clubhing. I believe the bank took Itand completed the develo~ he said, The lake is now

d by Radnor Township.und 1910,Fenimore sold nearlyes of land to Charles Walton -ite where Eastern College IsThree lakes were planned fortate, according to a history of

ollege, Great House, written byBaIrd.pond, fed by springs, had beento supply water to steam en.on the railroad. It was later

ed for swimming and bor.by fieldstone walls. The small.

ody of water would be a lilyand the largest pond, fed byCreek, would become a boat.


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THE CLUBS AND SOCIETIES

Asidl.' frum thl.' nlriuus sucieties there are t\\ '1) pnrely sucial club"In \\'aYIIl' ,

/ .1 , / ; .

TilE :\.\T.-\TOIthfrum t\l"


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ce--tcL-t-Q ", o-V"'ld

b ~fo r" e..

'JnRetrospectBack in "1895 a group of Wayne

men, interested" in outdoor sports of all kinds, conceived the idea a swim-ming pool for Wayne would be justabout the proper thing. The townhad at that time an up-to-date country"club, which provided facilities for

cricket, baseball, football, etc., withbowling, pool and billiards in the club-house. But the only places to go forthose who enjoyed swimming wereEdwards' Dam (now the Mill DamClub), Martin's Dam and Fenimore'sDam (now the Walton Dam). Thesedams had plenty of good pure water,but there were no bathhouses or otherconveniences.

So-in May, 1895, a charter was ap-pli!!d for by the Wayne Natatorium"".::'lociation. "The incorporators were:t"'"'Jident, John P. Wood; vice-presi-denh Richards H. Johnson; secretary,Christopher Fallon, Esq.; treasurer,Julius A. Bailey; "T. Stewart Wood,Herman Wendell and Frederick H.Treat. A charter was granted onJune 10, 1895, by Acting Judge Wil-liam B. Waddell.

A muddy pond known as Kelley'sLake, located between what is nowWillow avenue and Aberdeen avenue,and Maple avenue"and Radnor road,was purchased and the R. H. JohnsonCompany was awarded the contractfor excavating and constructing a poolabout 500 feet long with an average

width of "about 100 feet. It ranged indepth from about eight inches to eightfeet. The water supply was fromthe creek which runs from Leaming'sWoods through North Wayne.

A fine clubhouse was built,.the firstfloor being used as a ladies' dressingroom and the second floor as livingquarters for the manager (who hap-pened to be this writer). A men'sdressing room was built midway of the pool. Boardwalks were built anda high wooden fence surrounded theproperty.

Though incomplete at the time, thepool formally was opened in July of 1895. A large crowd of amateursWimmers representing the Philaqel-phia Swimming Association, the NewYork Athletic Club, the UIiiversitY.;9f Pennsylvania and other orga~zati@,s:

;:~ present a~~ a gala .tIme, J r,

swimming" instructor'" was .~-gaged. He was Ch!lrles Holroyd,f!l-Yorkshireman with an accent so thiCk

. . , .

one could cut it. He afterwards wassucceeded by" George Kistler, a C O ;r -nishman, who also had some accent.George at that time was championmile swimmer of the world. He sub-sequently was swimming instructor~tHouston Hall, of the" University of Pennsylvania for many years andcoached several Red and Blue cha~-pionship teams.

Under the excellent training of these two men many of the youngstersand oldsters of the Main Line weretaught to swim. Among the numberthe writer recalls the Woods-Ruth,Edith, Agnes, Penman, Bob, Jimmyand Tommy; Jim, Marcus and Law-rence Heilner, Anna, Jane and HelehJohnson; the Gallagher boys-Gus,Clarence and Tony; in those days Gu,sweighed 330 pounds, but was as activeas any of the lighter weights; the Hal-lowells-Nancy, Rita, Guy and Cress-and Mrs. Hallowell and Mrs. JohnP. Wood, who were two of the bestwomen swimmers of that time;George and Adolph Gosling, Sam Gar-rigues, Waldo M. Claflin, James P.Paul, Jr., and his family, WalterYeatts, Harvey Hale, Wallace Smith,Arthur Cheyney, the Pinkertons, theWeckerlys, Chris. Fallon (who camedown early in the morning and took a dip as late as the middle of Oc-tober), the Treats-Mary, Herb andFred. The list could go on and on.

In the winter the pool was used forskating and many a carnival was held

under the bright lights with whichthe inclosure was illuminated.For several years the Natatorium

was a big success; then cametroublous times. The bicycling crazecame to its height; former patronsof the pool would take "bike" tripsover the week-end and attendancedwindled. Then there came a short-age of water. There had been a gen-eral drought during 1899, if memory"serves. The Wayne Water WorksCompany, then a local concern, soughtto augment its supply and sank anumber of artesian wells, which dried

up several large springs along thecreek which fed the pool. Afterstruggling along for several years theproperty was sold and on its sitewere built" the houses on the southside of Willow avenue.

And that .was the end of an insti-tution which today would be a bles-sing in our community.


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Documents

Wayne Natatorium 1