Neighborhood history: Northridge Swim Club - over 50 years of operation

The Northridge Swim Club is a private, outdoor neighborhood pool, with membership open to all. The pool opens around the middle of June and closes when school starts. Contact by email for more information.

By Liz Mills, for the 2009 50th Anniversary

In July of 2009, the Northridge Swim Club celebrated 50 years of operation with a community party. 

Northridge, the community, began in the 1950’s as a planned neighborhood with covenants. No tall fences, no boats parked in yards and no long term building projects. There was a community association which held dances, had Halloween and Christmas parties and a neighborhood Easter egg hunt complete with a golden egg. 

When I-5 was built, it took out a block of 201st Street and houses between 202nd and 201st Streets. 

Two houses were moved to 6th Place NE. I-5 also cut off the 200th Street short cut to 15th NE. That had been the easiest way to the meat market and other shopping in North City. 

Technically, 201st is the dividing line between Northridge and Lago Vista. For many years, you could see the dividing line down the middle of the street as Northridge had been paved before the gravel side of Lago Vista and the street bases were different. 

By 1958, a foundation for a house had been dug at the site of the Northridge pool but no house had been built. Some of the original homeowners, led by Bud Dick and Fran Lingenfelter, had safety concerns about the hole and wanted a place for their children to play. So an idea was born and plans were laid for a pool. The three lots were purchased for a total of $2000, interest free for 10 months, from Arthur Drake. The Northridge Swimming Club was formed. It was a stock held corporation and the original 15 investors each bought shares at $225 per share to total the estimated $10,000 needed for the pool. The final cost of the pool was about $13,500. By opening day there were 25 members from 8th Avenue, 5 from 6th Avenue, and 9 from 7th Avenue, making the total membership 39. 

In February of 1959 work on the pool began. Contractors were hired to pour the pool and do the plumbing work. Construction volunteers from the neighborhood donated their labor for the rest of the work. As it turned out, three old Lake City High School friends were all Northridge neighbors and led the volunteer crews. Marlyn Kottsick was an electrician and had a dozer and backhoe. George Wisman and Al Sleister poured the deck, built the pump house and fence. The main crew consisted of Bud Dick, Fran Lingenfelter, George Rowland, Jack Carr, Loren Gritten, Gil Riddell, Roger Watts and Warren Noyes. By Memorial Day the pool was open. 

The first Board president was Bud Dick. From the beginning the mission has included providing swimming lessons and being a fun family place to relax and enjoy a summer at the pool. In the early years, there was a swim team that competed in the community pool league. We, also, had synchronized swim lessons for the girls. For most of the years, the noon hour was an adult swim time. Many of the women of the neighborhood made friends as they swam. Willadean Watts Higbee was a faithful supporter and member of the group as well as Louann Wisman and Doris Fullerton and MaryLynn Rowland. 

Of the original stockholders, three still live in the neighborhood (in 2009): Lee Haisler, Louann Wisman (George Wisman died in 2009), Doris Fullerton and MaryLynn Rowland. 

By the 1980’s the pool was in a sink or swim position financially with limited income and rising costs to maintain the pool equipment. The stockholders made a decision to swim and sold one of the lots the corporation owned. Mark and Julie Bugai now own the house built on the lot. This allowed the pool as a community asset to survive. But somehow in the economic struggle to survive the corporation renewal was overlooked and lapsed. 

By the time the lapse was discovered a new non-profit corporation needed to be formed. Northridge Swim Club was born, as we now know it. From that time to now, the Boards have worked to honor the heritage and maintain the pool for future use. Our current Board president is Wes Brandon. In the last 20 years, the pool has been relined, new pumps bought, the deck expanded, the fence and the pump house rebuilt. Increased membership and dues have helped finance these improvements but volunteer work is still key. The current wall and fence work was led by DeWayne Higbee and Brian Elliott. Their main crew of volunteers consisted of Wes Brandon, Patrick Ducey, Fred Oltman, Darrell Higbee and Ken Foote.