Newtown’s Pools Are Where Summer Begins

he droves of people that packed Newtown’s two public swimming pools this week represent two realities: school is out and summer has officially arrived.

Ask anyone at Dickinson and Treadwell pools how to beat the muggy oppressiveness that often characterizes a Newtown summer and they’ll tell you simply, “Get in the water.”

“Is there anywhere else?” laughs Hawley fourth grader Alexandra Caracciolo.

At these oases, family and friends come together.

The reassuring arms of parents help to guide the tentative strokes of their small children through the water. Siblings wrestle with and tug at each other, seeing who can splash the best or hold their breath the longest under water. Friends try to show up one another, practicing gaudy summersaults and cannonballs off of diving boards.

Fourth grader Sarah Shannon concludes that the diving area at Treadwell pool is the best place to be. “I like to do tricks,” the daredevil says.

For Katie Mayer, another local Treadwell pool enthusiast, splashing around is the best way to stay in touch with school chums. “You get to meet your friends here in the summer,” she explains. “Some people come here everyday, it’s a nice meeting spot.”

And with Newtown camps officially starting next week, there will be no shortage of eager swimmers to fill the pools during most of their hours of operation.

Having some place for their children to go and play safely is important for parents, and many say there are no better alternatives then the town’s pools. “It’s a mother’s dream,” muses Laura Speed, who prefers the grass and cool shade at Dickinson Park to the pool across town. “I can just sit and watch while they make their own fun. It brings back memories of going to the pool when I was a kid.”

For some, trips to the pools are a relatively new tradition. Ryan and Chris Staples have been making Dickinson pool their summer headquarters for the last three years. “I like to come here to cool off,” says Ryan, who gives a wry smile when asked about his favorite pool activities. Wrestling with his brother and swimming under the ropes, he says.

Marion Dalzell, in contrast, has been coming to Dickinson pool for 22 years, and feels right at home sitting on the edge of the manmade “lake” with her feet feeling the lapping water. “They’re keeping it up better than they used to,” she said of the pool’s condition over the last couple of summers. “They keep the grounds so well.”

Mrs Dalzell’s daughter, Sandy Staples, mother of Ryan and Chris, used to live in Newtown and now resides in Ridgefield. Still, she makes the trip to Dickinson. “I like [Dickinson] because you can sit and it’s a lot less crowded,” she explains. “We don’t have anything like this [in Ridgefield].”

 Few sounds represent summer better than the furious splashing of water. Although the season officially began June 20, for many Newtowners, it’s not summer until the pools are crowded, divers pierce the air, and smiles span the faces of the young and old alike.