Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-08
AL FREsCo NATAToRIUMs.
Swimming Schools Of Washington Half
a Century Ago.

"'Well soon be in the country now and
can go in swimming often as we want to
and not be scared of the cops any time, Is
what 1 heard one of my grandsons re-
mark to his brother yesterday morning
at the breakfast table" said an old fellow
who was born in Washington at least
three score and ten years ago. to a Star
man. And you can imagine" he contin-
ued. how many reminders Of the old
swimming places Of the town that boys
joyful observation conjured up in my
memory.
Away back in the early sos" he con-
tinued the blue cork-blessed be the
old name-was where the novices in the
natatorial art would buffet the torrent.
I'll venture to say there Is a host of old
fellows here who remember the blue
cork 1t was a clear little pool little to
the northeast Of N'6ere the government
printing office stands, and was famous In
it's day 1t was not deep enough to drown
any one. and the big fellows had little use
for it; but for us boys in our early teens
it was sometimes little less than a para
disc.
Another great place was deep hole,
in old Rock creek. This, however was a
dangerous location. and some good swim
one evening when 1 went with two COM
panions to this place. 1t was just about
sunset. and the woods on both sides of
the creek and the gathering twilight
made the place seem rather gloomy. We
all swan across the creek to the western
bank several times-it was then as it Is
now a narrow stream--until at last one
of the crowd proposed to touch bottom,
and poor Charlie Williams. who not long
ago. when he was q colonel in the United
States Marine Corps. died a Mare Island
Cal, and was buried in this city. made
the first dive to the bottom. When he
came up he declared that something tried
to hold him down. 'Gieger' Holland, his
chum and lifelong friend, laughed at him
and said Watch me! Down he went, and
came up looking as II he had seen a
ghost under the placid water. He de-
clared that he felt a hand on his face.
This, of course, put end to our SWIM
ming that evening. The next morning
the nude body of a young man was found
floating in Rock creek just at that place.
His clothing was also found near where
we had placed our buds.
Then we had the Sycamore part of
the Potomac just south of the Monument
lot and the Point, nearer to where the
old Long bridge was The older boys had
these for swimming places. The water
was good and deep there. The Sycamore
was patronized by the city boys, and the
the swimmers. was the gathering place OF
the Island boys. You know. what is South
Washington now was the Island in those
days, that section of the city being by the
location OF the ancient and honorable
canal, of malodorous memory, entirely
surrounded by water.
And then what fun 1t was to go down
to the Four Mile Run and swim through
the arches. There was also good fishing
in those waters, and many crowd of us
who went there to fish in those bygone
days remained to swim. There were
plenty of other good swimming places as
we'll as these when 1 was kid; the
Northern branch, near Bladensburg was
one of them.
MANY places along the Eastern branch
furnished places for bathers; and then
the stag picnics of those days, when on
a warm summer day and school vaca-
lions, short as they were as compared
with the holidays of today, were on. How
can one ever forget them? Shooting bull
frogs on the banks of the stream. with
bows and arrows, and cutting off their
hind legs and broiling them for luncheon
after a swim, feature OF many OF
these little excursions.
''Who wants to go swimming In bath
house no matter how big it's area Is, II
he can swim in the open? No wonder my
grandsons want to get out in the country,
where they can be in the water all day
long and breast the ripping wave in
puris naturalibus, with no cops to modest
them Don't you agree with me, boy?'
he said to the Star man. and the reporter
confessed that he could cordially do SO.