Think Happy Thoughts at Club Marinole

Dear members, I was hired as Asst. Mgr. the first summer of operation in 1960. Al Warne, a Kettering elementary school principal was hired as manager. He didn’t know anything about running a pool but was hired because of his age. Nobody liked him. I was a 20 year old soph. at Ohio State and a life guard trained at Kettering Pool by owner, Stuart Snyder, a truly great man. Stuart and his wife, Rita, live in Centerville. Eddie Doerr, a local resident, was hired as a life guard. We were all Fairmont grads. Eddie was in gymnastics, diving and biking and attended Indiana Univ. Bill Smith and I were on Fairmont’s undefeated football teams in 1958 and ’59 and we both ran track at Fairmont and Ohio State. Bill won a Big 10 championship in the 330 hurdles in 1965 and was 3rd in the 1967 National AAU decathlon championships. Bill was an exceptional athlete. I ran the 200 and 400 at Ohio State and Paul Warfield was a teammate of ours. I once did a 1000 push ups on wooden benches in front of the club. I did 50 at a time, 20 sets in all. Part of my Summer workout routine for track. Mr. Warne wasn’t around much so I got a chance to run the pool the way I learned from Mr. Snyder. Safety was always the number one priority-both in the water and around the concrete apron. Our guards either paid attention to the rules or they were fired! Running was always a problem so we would clear the pool and take a rest period if things got out of hand. I can honestly say discipline was never an issue. Once in awhile when the pool cleared out due to bad weather or cold, I would call 4-5 of my Fairmont buddies and we would have the pool all to ourselves-water balloon fights! Some of the younger kids would hang around and watch. They loved it! Eddie taught me a few dives off the 3 meter board and he could walk all around the pool on his hands. He was a good athlete and later got involved with the Little 500 bike race in Indy. I have many other fond memories of Club Marinole, too numerous to mention here. One thing stands out though. The members and guests were all super to work with. We all got along!

I grew up at Marinole and absolutely loved it. I was on the swim team and made friends with some girls who are still my good friends today. I was up at the pool almost every day growing up. I then became a lifeguard and still loved going to the pool. I had the best job in the world. As lifeguards we would all go to the swim meets and get the little ones pumped up with cheers and hang out afterward. I moved out of the neighborhood for college and post college. I was dying to get back to Marinole and talked my husband into buying a house in the neighborhood. It was one of the best investments ever. We now get to watch our 2 kids enjoy the pool as much as I did as a kid.

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In a newspaper article from 2014 Nancy is interviewed about her childhood: Q. What are some of your early memories of growing up in Kettering? A. Oakview Elementary; St. Charles Borromeo; Barnes Jr High and Fairmont (West) — I loved school and made many friends. Very involved with gymnastics, marching band, orchestra, theater, speech. Lots of signs early on that foreshadowed my career. Friendly’s Ice Cream: my first job. Loved it. Loved the ice cream better. I waited on Jim Bennett, Pres/Gen Manger of WING Radio at the time and he sold me on idea of working at WING the next summer — one of the best decisions I ever made. WING Radio kick-started my career by doing a bit with drive time deejay Ken Warren. Also was introduced to Daws Butler, voice of Yogi Bear, through a contact at WING. Another great decision. I remember being very active with the Kettering Parks and Rec. Loved arts and crafts. Loved my neighborhood and I was surrounded by lots of playmates. Good times. Club Marinole was a godsend to my parents as we rode our bikes up Ackerman to spend the entire summer swimming and playing in the pool.