Last summer saw a phenomenon wash over the country. Americans craved anything having to do with water. They wanted to swim in it, relax by it, walk along it, add it to their gardens with ponds and fountains and float atop it via watercraft such as kayaks, canoes and paddle boards. Rental houses at beaches, by lakes and aside rivers were in such demand that inventory was exhausted well into the fall. Pools and beaches were packed. Sales of backyard pools surged. 

Why? Everyone from trend watchers to psychologists attributed the draw of water to its ability to keep us cool, calm and collected. As we were dealing with the second summer of the pandemic, water provided the perfect escape. 

It seems that our preoccupation with water continues in 2022. But there’s trouble brewing in those waters. Swimming lessons are almost impossible to find and the ongoing lifeguard shortage is becoming more dire. 

However, there is good news – the parking lots that provide access to hiking and water trails along the Susquehanna River continue to be packed. Watercraft has become a familiar sight on Speedwell Forge Lake and along the Conestoga River, as well. Tubing is back at Sickman’s Mill. People are discovering the allure of exercising in the water at recreation centers and community pools. 

Our fascination with water is also influencing fashion and home décor this summer. The lifestyle is being called “Coastal Grandma” (or Grandmother), as it conjures up the fantasy of living the life of a woman who spends her summers by the sea. The term, which was coined by TikToker Lex Nicoleta, is controversial (ageism) and, as a result, has been the subject of debate on social media all summer.   

In the fantasy world of glossy magazines, the Coastal Grandma spends her summers in a shingled cottage by the sea. She begins her mornings by walking the dog on the beach, just as the sun begins its rise in the east. Her days are spent beachcombing, working in her garden and preparing salads made with organic ingredients. As the sun sets over the water to the west, this former Coppertone surfer girl contemplates tomorrow with a glass of wine. She’s said to be inspired by Martha Stewart, Diane Keaton and Ina Garten (among others). 

Fashion-wise, the Coastal Grandma is attired in chambray, linen, khaki, a straw hat and a classic fisherman sweater from Ireland. The color palette is simple: blue, white and beige. 

Her home reflects the coastal-chic vibes that are trending in interior design. Again, the color scheme takes its inspiration from the sea coast and includes hues of blue, aqua, green, gray, beige and crisp white. The slipcover look sets the tone for furnishings. Floors are covered with sisal rugs. Windows are hung with linen draperies. Fragrance comes courtesy of fresh flowers. Rocking chairs and vintage wicker welcome you to sit a spell on the porch. There isn’t a seashell or “Life’s Better at the Beach” throw pillow in sight. 

Yes, water has the power to transport us to other places, even if it’s to the world of make believe. 

Welcome to the Summer of Water, Part 2.

If you decide to follow the directive of the headline, you’ll find yourself late to the party. The pandemic prompted kayakers – veterans and newbies – to come out of the woodwork! After all, kayaking provides simultaneous social distancing and camaraderie, is good exercise and allows you to be lulled into a state of bliss. Add Mother Nature and it’s nirvana! 

The demand for kayaks in the spring of 2020 took outfitters by surprise and they quickly found themselves dealing with empty showrooms. “Interest simply exploded,” an outfitter told the Today show. From May 2019 to May 2020, sales of kayaks reached a record $405 million. Had it not been for supply-chain issues, it is estimated that number could have easily been eclipsed. 

The urge to get out on the water and away from reminders of the pandemic created an unprecedented demand for watercraft of all kinds. Fortunately, most outfitters had rentals on hand, but even then, they couldn’t keep up with demand. The problem persisted well into 2021 but fortunately eased somewhat with the arrival of summer 2022. 

A kayak is not the world’s shiny new toy. Kayaks have been used for hunting and transportation purposes for at least 4,000 years. Developed by the Indigenous people of the Arctic regions – namely the Yup’ik and Inuit of Alaska – kayaks were originally made from seal skin and whalebones. The word “kayak” is derived from the Greenlandic word, “qajaq,” which translates as “hunter’s boat” or “man’s boat.” The oldest surviving kayak – from Holland – dates to 1577 and is on display at the Museum Five Continents in Munich.  

Kayaking captured the imagination of the general public during the 19th century thanks to an explorer and travel/adventure writer named John MacGregor, whose books detailed his worldwide water travels in a kayak he nicknamed the “Rob Roy Canoe.” Suddenly, Europeans wanted to go kayaking and its sporting, fitness and recreational aspects were born. Clubs emerged throughout Europe. Kayaking became an Olympic sport in 1936; Hungary and Germany are kayaking powerhouses. 

With the destinations we have easy access to in this area, is it any wonder that Lancaster’s waterways have become a mecca for kayakers? While kayaking provides an escape, it’s also very beneficial from a mind-body standpoint. As a form of exercise, kayaking benefits the cardiovascular and muscular systems. Core strength also improves. As it requires 450 strokes to cover a mile, that’s a lot of paddling! However, it is said the rhythmic motions propel you into a state of zen. 

So, how do you get started? Fortunately, Lancaster/York is home to some top-notch outfitters. 

 

Shank’s Mare Outfitters, Long Level, shanksmare.com. 

 

Chiques Rock Outfitters, Columbia, chiquesrockoutfitters.net.  

 

KayakLanCo, Lancaster County, kayaklanco.com.

 

Middle Creek Kayak, Northern Lancaster County, middlecreekkayak.com.  

 

Muddy Run Park, Southern Lancaster County, muddyrunpark.com. 

 

For details about these locations, visit their websites. 

Whether they are competing, teaching, continuing their educations, coaching or vacationing, water is – and has always been – a part of these brothers’ lives. 

You never know what you’ll come across on the social media site, Nextdoor.com. One that recently stood out was an announcement posted by Bonnie Fissella relaying that her sons, Tre and Andre, would be teaching private swimming lessons in the family pool again this summer. Tre launched the service about four summers ago as a result of young swimmers asking him for help with their stroke mechanics. The next thing he knew, Tre had parents asking him to provide lessons to children who needed to learn the basics. “Then, someone asked me to take on their 18 month old,” he recalls. 

Andre, who is a first-time coach this summer – Manheim Swim Team, which is a Summer League Division 3 team with 65 members – is also joining his brother in providing swimming lessons. “I was asked a million times to get into coaching,” he explains. “I finally said yes.” Working with the youngest swim-team members prompted Andre to become interested in helping Tre with lessons.  

The two agree that learning to swim is vital. “Absolutely, 100% – it’s crucial that kids learn to swim,” Tre says. “One day you could find yourself in a situation where your life is on the line because you can’t swim.” He adds that being able to swim affects other aspects of your life – from hanging at the pool with friends as a kid to thoroughly enjoying a beach vacation as an adult. 

Andre points out that lessons are not a once-and-done endeavor but rather “a learning process – swimming is very technical,” he says. “Few kids can grasp it right away.” As for working with competitive swimmers, the two focus on helping them to break bad habits. As a result, the lessons have evolved from helping students who, according to Andre, have “nothing in the way of skills to competitive swimmers who are seeking help with the technical aspects” of the sport. 

The two maintain that private lessons are especially beneficial for younger kids, as they can provide them with one-on-one attention. Developing personal relationships with first-time students often provides them with the courage to overcome things like getting their faces wet or going underwater. While kids won’t do such things for a parent, they’ll attempt them for Tre or Andre. 

Such is the case with Lilly and Lucas Walters, who arrived at the Fissella pool with different issues to overcome. “Why do you like coming here?” I asked Lilly, who had been fearful of going underwater. “Because of Tre,” she answered. While Lucas is a pro on floating on his back and is beginning to master the mechanics of backstroke, he does not like to get his face wet. “We’re working on that,” says Tre. The brothers add that private lessons help kids to focus, as they are not being distracted by other kids or other activities taking place in the pool. 

It seems the brothers are the exception rather than the rule where taking to the water like a fish early in life is concerned. “Our mom was a swimmer,” says Tre. Their father, Victor, was also an athlete. The boys grew up around water. Their previous home had a backyard pool and one was installed almost immediately after they moved to the home they have lived in since they were in middle school. Tre remembers being a toddler – “I was still in diapers,” he notes – when his father introduced him to the deep end of the pool. “We have old movies of Dad throwing him into the deep end,” says Andre. “He loved it.”  

The two participated in the Swim America program at the Hempfield recCenter and each joined the summer swim team at Golden Meadows by the age of 6. They also began competing year-round by joining the Lancaster Aquatic Club. Both also swam competitively for Hempfield High School, each earning trips to the PIAA state championship meets. Tre, who earned three All-American awards during his high school career, will be inducted into the Hempfield Sports Hall of Fame this fall.  

When they weren’t training or competing, the brothers were lifeguards at Lancaster Country Club (Andre also guarded at Landisville Pool). They agree that lifeguarding gave them insight into identifying kids who fear water or struggle to find their comfort zones. “The giveaway was kids who always stayed by the steps or would venture away from the wall a little and make a beeline back to it,” says Andre.   

Tre and Andre continued swimming in college. Tre, who took a two-year break after high school, will be a senior at Cabrini University in Wayne. He swam his freshman year but decided to forgo swimming after that in order to focus on his studies. A public health major, he is toying with the possibility of becoming involved with his mother’s business, The Finished Line, Disappearing Ink. Tre became interested in the procedure through which tattoos are removed and is now certified. “I love doing that!” he says. “I’m good at doing it.”

Andre, who will be a senior at Susquehanna University, will swim one more year. A psychology major, he plans to pursue a master’s degree in sports psychology. Presently, he is weighing his options and is looking at programs offered by such schools as Florida State, Michigan State and Oregon State, among others. “It’s relatively new here,” he explains, noting that European universities are ahead of the curve. “Who knows, I might end up in Europe,” he adds.  

One thing they are certain of is that swimming will somehow continue to play a role in their lives, even if it is just from an exercise standpoint. “It always manages to drag you back in one way or another,” Tre says.   

For more information, call/text Tre at 717-598-5137 or Andre at 717-381-0159.     

Mindy Yocom: Water Rat 

With a degree in journalism from Shippensburg University and a career spent backstage in the theatre, how did Mindy become the assistant aquatics director at the Hempfield recCenter? 

Moving from New York to Washington Boro in the summer of 1972 may have played a role. In New York, Mindy and her sisters rode their bikes everywhere, including to the public pools in the area. But, Washington Boro was vastly different. “We were left to our own devices,” she says of her parents heading off to their new jobs that summer. “That’s when we discovered the river. Nobody told us we shouldn’t swim in that water,” she says, referencing a time when the Susquehanna’s water quality was less than pristine. “So, I guess you can say I’m more of a river rat.” The river soon proved to be alluring in another way – Mindy became an avid kayaker. 

Years later, kayaking would inspire an idea. Musical acts visiting the American Music Theatre (AMT), where Mindy worked as a lighting operator, often asked for ideas on how they could relax and unwind. Mindy proposed that she could take guests kayaking. (One group that took her up on the offer was Billy Ray Cyrus’ backup band.) The success of the venture prompted her desire to become a certified lifeguard. Mindy enrolled in classes offered by Manheim Township and dove in. “I’m the oldest in the class,” she says of being 46 years old at the time, “and I fail the swimming test!” 

Fortunately, her instructor, Katie Smith, saw something special in Mindy and offered to privately work with her in order to improve her swimming skills. So, Mindy concurrently – and successfully – learned to swim better and worked to become a certified lifeguard. “My first job was at Golden Meadows,” she recalls. “I guarded the pool when LAC [Lancaster Aquatic Club] held their morning practices there during the week. I’d leave AMT around 11 p.m. and have to be at Golden Meadows by 5 a.m.”  

The Golden Meadows stint led to other opportunities. At many pools, lifeguards are  recruited to teach water-aerobics classes and Mindy developed her own brand of classes that entail exercise mixed with storytelling. “I taught for Manheim Township for years, plus a few other places,” she says. When she became employed by Hempfield recCenter, they requested exclusivity to her time and talents. 

Mindy is a firm believer in the power of water. When she began to experience ailments associated with the physical demands of her theatre job, water workouts kept the inevitable – finding a new career – at bay. When she underwent knee-replacement in November 2018, she was back to exercising in the water by January. “You have to keep moving,” she says of battling the aging process. “Water exercise can be a lifetime endeavor,” she continues, pointing to the wide range of age groups that take the classes that are taught by herself and nine other instructors at Hempfield. 

As many have discovered, working out in the water is good for the mind and body. The simple act of floating is a mindful exercise that disconnects you from noise and stress. As for the physical aspects, Mindy notes that while water provides a cushioned environment that is kind to compromised joints, it also allows for aerobic and strength-training exercises that benefit the cardiovascular and muscular systems in our bodies. “It’s not your mother’s exercise routine anymore,” she says of the early days of water exercise, when equipment consisted of milk containers filled with water to provide resistance. 

Today, water classes utilize barbells, noodles and other devices that help to improve muscle and core strength (which lessens the chances of falling for older adults) and extend to spinning courtesy of water bikes and balancing classes that entail paddle boards. Classes also take their inspiration from Pilates, barre and the martial arts. 

The fact that swimming is a lifetime endeavor is evidenced by the fact that lanes for lap swimmers (and water runners) always seem to be at a premium. (At Hempfield, the indoor pool opens weekdays at 5 a.m. for lap swimming and people are usually waiting at the door.)    

Fortunately, Mindy had a full-time job waiting for her at Hempfield recCenter when, after 14 years, she left AMT. Her duties increased to include teaching swimming lessons, overseeing the lifeguard certification program and managing the East Petersburg Community Pool, where she teaches classes, provides swimming lessons, oversees the lifeguards and coordinates community events during the summer months. National Night Out (August 2 this year) is always a highly anticipated event at the pool, as first responders are always a part of the festivities.  

Mindy has become passionate about teaching people to swim. “Learning to swim is crucial,” she says. “It’s a life skill that everyone should learn. It breaks my heart to hear the stories that surround drownings.” Mindy shares that last summer, her lessons roster included six adults. “That’s the most adults I’ve ever taught in one year,” she shares, noting that many told her that learning to swim is an item they’ve always wanted to eliminate from their bucket lists.  

Mindy’s outside interests are also water-oriented. She continues to kayak, with the Susquehanna being her favorite local destination. She also loves to kayak in the ocean. She became an avid shell collector years ago, naming the Outer Banks as her favorite place to go shelling. This spring, she ventured a little farther south and explored the deserted islands that comprise Cape Lookout National Seashore (North Carolina) and came home with a treasure trove of shells. When storms troll the Eastern Seaboard, Mindy is known to jump in the car and head for Cape Henlopen in Delaware to search for shells. “Shelling is always best after a storm,” she says. She has turned her hobby into an enterprise she calls My Rustic Art. If you’re looking for anything made from seashells, check out her work at myrusticart.com. 

The Dilemma: Finding Lessons 

If you’re a parent seeking swimming lessons for your children, no doubt you’ve encountered the phenomenon that is sweeping America this summer … there’s no room at the pool!  

As an Aquatots (children ages 6 months-plus) session was wrapping up at Hempfield on a Saturday morning in April, the instructor announced that if parents wanted to proceed with the next session, they needed to sign up ASAP. It wasn’t some sort of come-on to guarantee a full class – the fact was, plenty of potential students were waiting in the wings for a coveted spot. 

Just like other supply-chain situations affecting life in America, the availability of swimming lessons is in dire straits due to a tsunami effect of sorts: many pools curtailed lessons over the past two years and are now dealing with a backlog of kids wanting swimming lessons. The fact that there is an on-going lifeguard shortage (lifeguards typically assist with classes) only adds to the issue. A spokesperson for a pool in Chicago told the Today show that even if they could offer lessons on a 24/7 basis, the backlog would persist. A pool manager in Greensboro, North Carolina, reported that not a day goes by that she doesn’t have to field hundreds of messages from parents seeking lessons for their children. Pools across the country are echoing that sentiment. Many are sounding the alarm that an entire generation of children will not be proficient in the water. Search lessons locally and the disclaimers “wait listed” and “sold out” appear on websites. 

With the summer season being a “washout,” what’s a parent to do? Now’s the time to start perusing the websites of rec centers with indoor pools for sessions that are offered in the fall and winter seasons.

As Mindy Yocom points out, learning to swim is a vital life skill. According to statistics compiled by the YMCA, nine out of 10 parents view swimming as an important life skill. That viewpoint may be influenced by the fact that 24% of parents report feelings of inadequacy when they are in the water and therefore they want their children to feel more confident when they go swimming. (At East Petersburg, children must pass a test that entails swimming 25 meters without stopping in order to be in the pool without a parent or guardian.) 

The statistics that point to why swimming lessons are important are sobering. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that drowning is the leading cause of death for children in the United States. On average, 11 children die from drowning each day. That’s nearly 4,000 per year. (Children ages 1-4 have the highest drowning rates, with most occurring in pools.) More alarming is the fact that another 22 children (per day) will experience non-fatal accidents involving water, with the outcomes ranging from no injuries to catastrophic impairment/disability. The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends that children begin taking swimming lessons at age 1. 

Olympic skier Bode Miller and his wife, Morgan (Beck), who is a beach-volleyball player, humanize those statistics. In 2018 their 19-month-old daughter, Emeline, drowned. Morgan and Emeline were visiting with neighbors, when Morgan suddenly noticed the toddler was no longer in the room. Somehow Emeline had slipped outside. Morgan found her in the pool. Despite receiving CPR and medical attention at a hospital, Emeline died a day later. 

Today, the Millers are advocates for Infant Swimming Resource (ISR), whose instructors  teach babies as young as 6 months techniques that enable them to help save themselves in the water. The youngest students learn how to roll over on their backs should they find themselves in trouble in the water. Older students (up to 6 years) are taught to combine rolling over with swimming in order to reach safety. The Millers’ twin sons, who were born in late 2019, began ISR lessons at 7 months of age. In this area, ISR instructors include Michelle Benko (ISR of Central PA) and Jennifer Witmer (ISR Lancaster). Instructors are also located in the Hershey and York areas. For more information, visit infantswim.com.  

The statistics are worse for minority children. Olympic gold medalist, Cullen Jones, who is the hands-on spokesperson for USA Swimming’s learn-to-swim initiative, Make a Splash, estimates that 70% of Black children cannot swim. His own near-drowning experience fuels his passion for teaching kids to swim. As a 5 year old, Jones was visiting Dorney Park in Allentown, and after coming down a water slide, became separated from his flotation device, as well as his father. He could not swim. To this day, he remembers the panic of not being able to breathe. Thirty seconds of being underwater caused him to lose consciousness. (A child can drown in as little as 20 seconds.) Lifeguards on duty provided CPR and revived him. 

Upon returning home to Texas, his parents signed him up for lessons and the rest is history – he became the second Black swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal (actually he has two, from 2008 and 2012) and was the first to set a world record. He spent part of the pandemic returning that favor, as he taught his mother to swim. His own son began taking lessons at age 2. 

The events surrounding George Floyd’s death inspired Jones to make a bigger impact with Make a Splash. With the backing of USA Swimming, Jones is taking the program into underserved inner-city neighborhoods where swimming lessons are rarely offered. 

This year, the annual Make a Splash Tour, which is sponsored by Phillips 66, featured Jones and other Olympic ambassadors, including Rowdy Gaines, Missy Franklin, Elizabeth Beisel and Nathan Adrian. Their first stop (May 9-10) took them to Philadelphia, where they worked with children at the West Philadelphia YMCA and the Salvation Army KROC Center. For more information, visit USAswimming.org/makeasplash.   

Local Year-round Sources for Swimming Lessons/Exercise Classes  

Ephrata Recreation Center, ephratarec.com 

Greater Elizabethtown Area Recreation & Community Services, getintogears.org 

Hempfield recCenter, hempfieldrec.com 

LA Fitness, lafitness.com (exercise only)

Lititz recCenter, lititzrec.com 

Manheim Township Parks & Recreation, manheimtownship.org 

Universal Athletic Club, universalathleticclub.com

YMCA of the Roses, rosesymca.org 

Staying Safe in the Water 

Even if lifeguards are present, there are things you can do to ensure a safe and enjoyable day by the water. 

1.  Put the phone or book down and keep an eye on your children. 

2.  If you lack confidence in the water, swim in close proximity to a lifeguard. 

3.  Download apps that report beach conditions. If rip tides or high surf are predicted, stay out of the water. 

4.  If you are in or on any kind of watercraft, wear a life vest. It only takes 60 seconds for an adult to drown. 

5.  If you’ve been drinking alcohol, stay out of the water. 

In the 1960s, when suburbia was expanding by leaps and bounds, members of Lions clubs saw an opportunity to serve their communities from a recreational standpoint through building and operating swimming pools. Many are now closed due to aging mechanical systems, crumbling foundations and decreasing memberships. However,  Millersville Lions Club Pool has managed to buck the trend and is not only surviving but is thriving. 

Pat Benson, who has been the club’s president for the past several years and is the pool’s treasurer, shares that Millersville is only one of two pools in Lions Club International’s District 14-D to have survived the past 50-plus years. According to the club’s website, the Millersville Lions Club received its charter in 1932. As the timing coincided with the Depression, the club’s initiatives centered on helping Millersville residents with medical expenses and needs such as heating their homes. The club also created a college scholarship fund. In the ’40s and ’50s, club members involved themselves in an expanding slate of other community-service endeavors. 

The Millersville Lions also became a driving force behind the idea of building a pool for the community. The club went to work to raise $10,000 for the project through fundraising, securing bank loans and selling $100 bonds. The pool was dedicated in 1961, which coincided with Millersville’s bicentennial celebration. After nine years, the pool became self-sustaining, as all bank notes and loans had been repaid. 

Today, with 47 members on the roster, the Millersville Lions Club continues to be a very active component of the community. “We’d love to welcome more members,” Pat says. “The more members we have, the more we can do in the community.” 

Pat says that community support – on the parts of Lions Club members, businesses and pool members – has helped the pool to thrive. “It takes a lot of work to keep this pool operating,” she says. Fundraising helps the Lions Club with the all-important maintenance and improvement projects that keep the pool and its grounds in pristine condition. One such improvement – remodeling the kiddie pool – was carried out several years ago. This year, new umbrellas greeted members. A chair lift for physically challenged swimmers was added thanks to a grant from Lions Club International. 

Pat notes that when work is needed for the pool and property, Lions Club members who have experience in plumbing, construction, electric, etc., volunteer their services. Members also volunteer to mow the lawn and take care of the landscaping. “That’s needed on an almost-daily basis,” she reports. 

This season, new picnic tables in the pavilion were unveiled – they were a service project undertaken by Millersville University’s Construction Club. The pool’s food stand is operated by members of the Millersville Lioness Club, with proceeds benefiting their service projects. A pool member and his children built a new tether-ball area for the facility. 

Banners that are displayed on the fences around the pool convey the support of businesses in the area. “It takes a village!” says Pat, who served as Millersville University’s retail operations manager before retiring. 

Dedicated employees also add to the dynamics. Manager Wendy Blake has been on the job for 20 years. Cece O’Day has coached the 130-member Sea Lions swim team (Division 2 in the Summer League) for years. 

As the summer of 2022 approached, many pool and beach goers feared they would be spending the summer watching the 1976 cult-classic movie Lifeguard (starring none other than Sam Elliott) or reruns of the original Baywatch television series instead of swimming under the watchful eye of an actual lifeguard. The American Lifeguard Association predicted that one-third of the nation’s 309,000 pools would have to remained closed due to a lack of staffing. Beaches and resorts are also dealing with staffing issues. 

Lions Club members in Millersville were admittedly anxious about the looming nationwide dearth of lifeguards that began affecting pools last summer (in many cases, earlier) and was destined to continue in the summer of 2022. The shortage is being felt in Lancaster – especially at the pool in Lancaster County Central Park, which remained closed until early July, due to a lifeguard shortage. Other pools have had to curtail hours on occasion. 

The lack of guards is attributed to the fact that certification programs had to be canceled in 2020 and 2021. Also, in the case of beaches, lifeguards were often recruited from overseas and with the curtailment of work exchanges via J-1 visas, that impacted staffing over that same period. In Philadelphia, the parks and recreation department thought outside the box and launched a recruiting effort through TikTok. One person who answered the call – Robin Borlandoe – is 70 years old and hasn’t guarded since she was 16. In Chicago, opening day for its 77 public pools and 22 beaches was pushed back first to June 25 and then to July 5, despite a punishing heat wave in mid-June. In Indianapolis, only five of its 17 pools have been able to open. In New York City, 516 guards were certified as of mid-June. That represents a 49% drop from 2021 and a 66% drop from 2016. It was hoped that the offer of free certification programs would ease the crunch. Now, as August approaches, pools fear they will have to curtail hours due to the fact that student-aged guards will be unavailable to work because of school being back in session. 

Millersville counts itself as fortunate where recruiting lifeguards is concerned. Pat notes that some Millersville guards have been on duty at the pool for as many as four summers. “We not only have our core group, but we have backups who are ready to work,” she says. Three of those guards are pictured on this month’s cover. Kari Anderson, who will be a junior at Penn Manor High School, has been swimming since she was 5. Kari not only guards (this is her second year), but she teaches swimming lessons and is a member of the pool’s Sea Lions swim team. She also swims with the Marauder Swim Club that is based at Millersville University’s aquatic center. 

Scott Moore, who swims year-round with the Five Star Swim Club (Lititz recCenter), just graduated from Lancaster Catholic High School. This is his first year at Millersville, but he has guarded at other pools, including SECA in Quarryville. “This is the best job for my schedule,” says Scott, who will be swimming for Penn State this winter and plans to major in aerospace engineering. 

Jordyn Kendig is the veteran of the three, as she has been a guard at Millersville for four summers. A graduate of Penn Manor, she is a psychology major at Shippensburg University, where she also swims for the women’s team. “I’ve been swimming forever,” she shares, explaining, “We have a pool at home.” She likes being a lifeguard, as it provides her with the opportunity to be outdoors. “I like working with the kids, too,” she says. 

Speaking of being outdoors, Kari assured me that this generation of lifeguards does not slather on the baby oil and iodine concoction that guards no doubt used when Millersville opened in 1961. “The guard room is well-stocked with sunblock and sunscreen,” she says of being conscious of the importance of skin protection. 

Pat and other Lions Club members are proud of the events they provide to pool members, as well as the community. One event that is not pool-related takes place in the spring. The Lions have been hosting their legendary Easter Egg Hunt in a community park since 1954. 

Events at the pool kick-off in late April, when the community is invited to help with a spring clean-up. “We’ve had members of the Cub Scouts and the Millersville football team help with that,” Pat remarks.  

Each June, the club reserves the first Saturday for Community Day, which is held at the pool. Anyone is welcome to attend. The price of admission is a nonperishable can of food that is then donated to the local food bank. The day is marked with games, contests, kid’s activities and raffles, including one that awards the winner with a family season pass. “People are lined up at the door for Community Day,” Pat says. 

This year’s event also reflected the effects that the pandemic and inflation have had on families. The Lions Club elected to purchase 108 40-pound boxes of food from Blessings of Hope that were made available to guests at Community Day. “Anyone was welcome to take one,” Pat notes. 

The pool also hosts three splash parties each season. Again, anyone is welcome to attend the party (admission is charged) that includes a DJ, a 50-50 raffle, food trucks and, of course, swimming. “We close at 5 to get the pool ready and people start lining up at 5:30,” Pat says. “It’s always a fun time.” 

The season officially closes the Saturday after Labor Day, when Doggie Dip sees four-legged guests take to the water. “It’s just the neatest thing to see,” Pat says of dogs braving the sliding board and diving into the pool. Again, all are welcome to participate. “We have people show up just to watch!” she says. Last year, 126 dogs took over the pool. Each of their owners paid $10 for their dog to participate, with proceeds benefiting the Lions Club’s efforts to fund the training for a service dog that will aid a person in need. “The dog’s name is Jax and we’re excited that club members will be able to follow his training and placement,” she notes of the project. Pat also adds that the official name of the event has been changed to the Mike Schaeffer Doggie Dip, which honors the Millersville Lions Club member who now serves as District 14-D’s second vice district governor. 

For more information, visit millersvillelions.org and facebook.com/lionsclubpool.