In and Around the Waters of the River Edge Swim Club

The year was 1961 – Maris and Mantle led the Yanks; “The Alvin Show”, “The Dick Van Dyke Show”, and “Hazel” were top programs on television; “Breakfast at Tiffany’s was a box office success in the movies, and the music of The Beach Boys and Andy Williams’ “Moon River” were top selling 45’s.

It was also the year that the River Edge Swim Club first opened. This summer marks the 50th anniversary of the Swim Club.

Today the pool is a fixture in the community – so much so that it at times appears taken for granted by some. But it was not always that way.

According to our Borough’s History, during the years 1956 to 1956, “considerable pressure was applied to the Mayor and Council to open a municipal swimming pool”.

When the Borough refused to do so, a group of citizens leased the present site and opened the River Edge Swim Club.

That site was home of a sewage treatment plant, originally constructed in 1919. The plant was dismantled in 1960 when the Borough joined Stage II of the Bergen County sewage treatment system, thus opening up the parcel of land.

When the pool opened it was a big deal.

For a long time, locals had swam and played in the river. But that changed after the damning of the river in Oradell to build the Oradell Reservoir in the early years of the 20^th century, and ended for good after a flow of sewage from Fort Merritt (at the Cresskill Circle) became a regular occurrence during World War I.

For three decades thereafter, backyard pools and local swimming holes were prevalent in lieu of the river, places like the Oritani (at the site of Home Depot in Hackensack), the Old Mill and Arcola in Paramus.  So, the opening of a modern state of the art pool for the community was a big change.

The establishment of the pool was yet another accomplishment of that post World War II generation who had a vision for the community and backed up its vision with hard work to make things happen. Their names are memorialized at the pool – families like Boyle, Beese, Seldin, Griffith and Zurfleich  - folks now gone but still remembered for having truly made a difference.

River Edge was not alone. The R.E.S.C. was opened as part of a wave of swim club and community building by that generation locally. Oradell, New Milford, and Bogota all share similar architectural looks which is not surprising as they all opened at about the same time.

At the pool itself, it was an era when many more folks stayed home over weekends, so the pool was busy, especially on Sundays. Some came to swim. Many came just to be with friends and neighbors in a cool place as many homes had not yet added air conditioning.

 A common image of that era was that of adult swim where almost all were standing – not swimming in the pool. Women all wore bathing caps, while the kids might have been occupied playing tetherball or shuffleboard.

Another of the Sunday highlights was the volleyball games. In fact, for some years there was a pool league and the games could be quite competitive. They went on for most of the afternoon. Adults played and young kids watched.

On internet bulletin boards and in conversations around town, old-timers and River Edge ex-pats recall the likes of Coach Little, Water ballet, swim team, 50 mile swimmers, and first pool manager Howard Bollerman (Dad of present and longtime pool manager Bob Bollerman).

Others still remember Adult Nights (Adult beverages too), a diving team, and July 4, 1976 – when a bicentennial spectacular was staged in the pool (American flags stretching across the pool).

Multiple generations have learned how to swim there. Little ones have been challenged to share toys at the kiddie pool.  Lessons of responsibility have been taught there (through Coach Little and the dedicated Swim Team coaches that followed), and many have landed their first jobs there (in the office or as lifeguards).

Romances have been spawned there. It has been the scene of community parenting at its best – we all cared about each other and each other’s children.

It’s a place that has mattered to many at one time or another.

In fact, in the mid-1970’s demand for membership was so great, and the waiting list was so long that another group organized the Old Bridge Swim Club. This group rented land just to the north of River Edge Road, and was planning to build their own pool complex. Of course, this never happened, and the borough continues to maintain the site as its mulch pile.

These days, as a milestone anniversary is celebrated, the Swim Club looks ahead to a mixed future. The grounds and the pool continue to sparkle. But tough economic times and changing tastes challenge the pool. Accordingly, efforts are being made to integrate the best of the past 50 years with the new realities of the 21^st century. There is a new “Friends of the Swim Club” to talk about how to be member and community friendly, and looks are being given at the roles of a food service, internet and activities at the Club.

But first, there is this year’s celebration. To mark 50 years, the Swim Club is staging an open house and celebration. The date is June 11 (June 12 rain date). There will be 50^th anniversary barbecue and to mark the occasion.

Anyone who is not a pool member may visit for the day and join in the BBQ festivities.  Open house is from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturday (or rain date Sunday).

An effort is being made to call back one time life guards and others who once had a connection to the pool. Old and new will gather to look at old photos, share stories about the place.

They’ll also be able to get a glimpse of pool history by looking at the swim record holders’ board posted near the ping pong tables. It’s a board filled with names reading as reminders of the past and families who mattered – names such as Moreland, Friedlander, Osterlof, Smith, Wynne, Kirk, Danczuk, Rice, Donohue, Owens, Fryzinski, Deirlein, Breda, Ang, Conlon and McGovern.

 And, a few that day just might end up toasting the pool’s 50 years, and just what the place has meant to them.

For information about the pool and its 50^th anniversary celebration, go to http://www.reswimclub.org or call (201) 262-6422

 Note: Special acknowledgment and thanks go to the River Edge Swim Club business office, and especially Jim Kenny for his assistance in securing archival photos, and citation is made to Muskrat Anchor and Plow, The Story of River Edge (Arno Press, 1976), which provided source material for this piece.