Pool Hoppin'

With no internet, no cable TV and not a ton of disposable income, kids growing up in the 70’s often had to make their own fun. In my town, oftentimes, it was either hanging out at the Mall or “cruising” High Street in an Orange AMC Hornet station wagon. Which could get boring after an hour or two. So, when it came to fun, us 70’s kids had to get creative. And at the top of the “make your own fun” list there was something we called “pool hoppin’”.

Pool hoppin’, basically, involved hoppin’ into a (swimming) pool that wasn’t yours’. Late at night. Usually In your neighborhood. It made for a refreshing break on a humid Summer night. And it added an element of danger to an otherwise blah Summer. Mostly, due to the “pool that wasn’t yours’” factor. Pool hoppin’ was a win/win. A potentially dangerous cool off on a hot night. With a side of excitement, if you got away with it.

I had heard stories from older kids. I am not sure how much truth there was in those stories. Their tales usually involved three elements; late night trespassing in a neighbors’ backyard, a brief swim in their pool and the inevitable discovery by the pool owner/narrow escape. That’s the part that intrigued me the most; the narrow escape.

As a teen, I was a pretty fearless kid. Nothing excited me more than taking a risk. Whether it was taking quarters from roadside vegetable stands, buying beer underage or prank calling my own high school teachers, if there was a risk, I was in.

As the summer of ’79 was drawing to a close, I decided I wanted to try pool hoppin’ for myself. My friends Jim & Chris were immediately in. My brother Mike needed some prodding, but eventually came around. Unfortunately, our neighborhood wasn’t chock full of swimming pools. And the one pool that was the best target was owned by a family of hunters. Who owned shotguns. I was a risk taker. But not THAT much of a risk taker.

So, we settled on a pool a little bigger. The nearby community pool, Countryside Swim Club in East Coventry township. My brother & I had been members at Countryside in our junior high days & were familiar with the layout.  It was located away from any residential neighborhoods and it closed at 8pm. There was the matter of the six-foot-high chain link fence that we would have to scale to get in. And the parking lot was well lit, so we couldn’t park in the parking lot. Cars in the lot after hours would certainly draw scrutiny. Still, there was NO chance of getting shot at. At least none that we could think of at that time. It was decided. We would hop at Countryside.

Saturdays in August are hot and humid in PA. This Saturday in August of 1979 was no different. As day turned into night, the excitement began to build. Our plan was simple. Once it was dark, which was at about 8:30pm in August, we’d park our car (a bright yellow VW Rabbit) in a residential neighborhood, roughly about a half mile from the pool. We’d hoof it from there to the pool, traversing a few streets, crossing a grassy field & arriving at the chain link fence behind the pool at 2100 hours. Our watches were synchronized. We thought we were Special Forces. It was time. Everybody into the pool…

The adventure began smoothly. We parked on a quiet side street within walking distance of the pool. We didn’t notice anyone noticing us. And no one came outside to see why this strange car was parking on their street. We began the walk to Countryside…   

 We arrived at the back of the pool property after about a 20-minute walk. There wasn’t much talk during the walk. We were all excited. And a bit nervous. After all, we were kinda breaking the law. The pool was deserted & there were no cars in the parking lot, when we arrived. The cool water was shimmering in the moonlight. The mission was a GO.

Mike and Jim were the first two to scale the fence behind the pool and they didn’t waste time getting into the pool. Being the slowest in the fence scaling department, I was bringing up the rear. Being the most apprehensive, Chris was right there with me. The two of us stood side by side, gripping the fence. Ready to climb. As we began our first ascent, headlights appeared on the road running past the front entrance of the pool. We waited for the car to pass. It did & we both breathed a sigh of relief. The same thing happened as we began our second attempt. We stopped & watched. The car passed. The blue waters of Countryside beckoned. Would our third attempt be the charm???

In a word, NO. For a third time, a set of headlights appeared. This time, the headlights seemed bigger. And much brighter. We waited and watched. When the headlights turned into the parking lot with a second set right behind and red rooftop lights started flashing, our worst fears were confirmed. Cops! We hadn’t worried too much about the police, because at that time, East Coventry had only one policeman. Known to many by his last name, “Foose”, Chief Robert Foose might have been a lone wolf lawman in EC but he did seem to have a knack for being where the trouble was happening. And I speak from personal experience on that.

Our options were simple; stay & get busted. Or run. Without a moment’s hesitation, we ran. Fast. If a college recruiter had been there that night with a stopwatch, I might have had a scholarship offer. I was flying. We were able to escape across the field leading away from Countryside before the two police cruisers made it around to the fence behind the pool. Mike & Jim weren’t so lucky. Blissfully unaware in the deep end while we sprinted away, they were dripping wet and nabbed when the police shined their flashlights into the pool grounds.

Once we were safely off the grounds & a distance away, we pondered our next move. Do we sneak back & see what is happening with our captured comrades? Do we go back to the car? Or do we wait. We decided to go back to the car. It took us about another ten minutes to get back to the street where the car was parked. We walked mostly in silence, wondering what was happening with law enforcement and our mates. With text messaging about 25 years into the future, we had no way to communicate. And no idea what was going on back at the pool. 

What was going on back at the pool was that Jim & Mike were in police custody. Apparently, there had been some prior break ins at the pool & the police were watching. Information that would have been helpful to us. The EC police force of one was there, along with some backup from neighboring North Coventry. Reportedly, one of the NC officers had even drawn his weapon as Chris & I were fleeing the scene. Fortunately, someone told him not to shoot. So much for no guns to be worried about at Countryside. 

When we arrived back at the car, everything appeared to be as we had left it. Dark and quiet. That changed when I put the key in to unlock the door. Bright lights blazed from all angles. Momentarily blinded, my first thought was; ‘this can’t be good’. I just stood there. Dumbfounded. A young policeman that I did not recognize came up to me & told me that a neighbor had called about a “suspicious” car being parked on her street. I just nodded. Chris & I were placed into the back of yet another squad car for the short ride back to the pool.

Arriving back at Countryside, we were reunited with our crew of two. The pool owner was present & he was actually more relieved than angry. Turns out the high dive was an accident waiting to happen. And he was relieved none of us had used it. Calls were made to parents. Parents who were out of town & didn’t end up hearing this story for many years. Afterwards, Mike confirmed the “don’t shoot” advice of one officer to another. We’ll never know for sure if a weapon was actually drawn, but it does add that element of danger to our tale. Had this all happened today, we might not be looking back and laughing. It’s a good thing we grew up in a simpler less threatening time.

Today, the former site of Countryside is nothing more than an overgrown field. The only surviving remnant of the onetime summertime place to be in East Coventry is rusting portions of the chain link fence that I never did scale. We’re all older now. Moved away, with families of our own. We don’t scale fences anymore. And we try to stay on the right side of law enforcement. But we’ll always have the memory of the night when we didn’t.