Wednesday, June 17, 2020
Southpoint Sun - 19
Kinsmen and Kinettes spearheaded community pool project By C. Scott Holland If not for the local Kinsmen and Kinette Clubs, countless local citizens would not have enjoyed themselves quite as much in the dreaded summer heat waves of the years between 1960 and 1985. It all began with their commitment to building and providing a better way of life for their respective community. By the late 1950s, the local Kinsmen Club dreamed of providing Leamington and Mersea Township with a public swimming pool. It would become a place for children and adults to learn how to swim and have fun while cooling off. The entire plan was almost scuttled in February 1960 because of the availability of land for the project. Compared to today, it was a petty issue at the time, but Leamington’s council of the day and the Leamington Agricultural Society were locked in a dispute over land at the fairgrounds. Meanwhile, the Kinsmen Club started looking at the original estimate of $100,000 and by April, pool planning chair Dave Hibbard stated that five construction companies had been selected to place bids. The pool would be 75 by 42 feet, surrounded by a 20-foot wide apron, and would feature enclosed change rooms and showers. The cost of the project was whittled down to $31,000. By June of 1960, council and the Agricultural Society had come to terms on seven acres of land just to the north of
the arena. In exchange for the property, council paid $7,537. Several other Kinsmen and Kinettes were highly involved in the project, including presidents Dr. Bill Pritchard (Kinsmen) and Pearl Munce (Kinettes) who helped spearhead the project and Owen Spettigue who was in charge of the pool operating committee. The actual project started in early August. The pool was completed in a matter of weeks and was able to open for what little was left of that summer. The change rooms with washrooms and showers would be ready the following year. Its official opening was Friday Sept. 2, 1960, and that Labour Day weekend allowed swimming all four days. Its first hours of operation were 10 a.m. to noon, 1 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Users were told that since there were no change rooms, they would have to arrive in their swimming suits. Ultimately, with the addition of the entrance and change rooms, it was a fine facility. The pool remained a summer fixture for children until 1985 when the indoor pool opened at the newly-built F.T. Sherk Aquatic and Fitness Centre on Sherk Street, later known as the Leamington Kinsmen Recreation Complex. The pool was eventually filled in, but for the thousands of people who used it or took swimming lessons, it was the place to go on a sweltering summer day or night.
At the annual Kinsmen Pool Swimming Show on July 26, 1981, some of the babies needed a helping hand ‘diving’ off the board. Here, pool staffer Kim Hicks encourages one youngster into the waiting hands of Cathy McGirr. Photo from Scott Holland collection
1948 Chevy with same owner since 1982
THE OLD CAR DETECTIVE
s d i K Missing Gym
Bill Sherk Richard Brimblecombe of Drayton, Ontario, was born in 1945 and learned to drive a tractor on the family farm. He drove his dad’s 1950 Pontiac to pass his driver’s test in 1961. When Dad traded in his ’50 Pontiac for a ’58 Pontiac, Richard traded his 4-H calf for the ’50 Pontiac. Now fast forward to the early 1980s. By that time Richard and Linda had been married for 15 years and Richard had a good friend who operated Port Perry Auto Wreckers where a 1948 Chevy convertible had arrived from Texas. Richard drove to Port Perry and bought the convertible. The odometer showed just over 27,000 miles and the car had been repainted maroon around 1971. The original colour was green. The overhead valve six cylinder engine with 216 cubic inches and 90 horsepower had a vacuum-powered manual gearshift on the steering column. The car needed some work and Richard was ably assisted by Blaine Jenkins, who worked for GM in Michigan and owned the #1 ’48 Chev convertible in the world. It was the Pace Car at the Indy 500 in an anniversary year. That car provided Richard with many patterns to restore his own car. Hampton Motor Coach installed a new interior and a new convertible top while retaining the original small glass rear window. Richard
Richard Brimblecombe’s 1948 Chevrolet convertible.
to a Camaro rear end. The drivehad the car finished by 1986. About seven years ago, Richard shaft was shortened by Harman decided to turn his all-original in Kitchener. The automatic trans1948 Chevrolet convertible into a mission has a Lockhart single-stick resto-rod by keeping the outside shift that looks original. Since then, the car has travelled completely stock while bringing the mechanical features up to mod- 15,000 miles trouble-free including a recent 9000 mile-trip to Newern day standards. The original six cylinder engine foundland covering five-and-awith 216.5 cubic inches came out half weeks. I’m always looking for stories. Email and was replaced by a 350 Chevy V8 engine that had been sitting billtsherk@sympatico.ca. in Richard’s garage. It is now rebuilt and in the car. The entire original drive Air & Sea Inc. train was sold (formerly UTI) to a man who is restoring a 1947 Chevrolet • Customs Brokerage • Air/Ocean/Truck Freight • coupe. • Contract Logistics • A friend built a 4-speed automatic for Richard’s ’48 and matched it
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