Rating:

0.0 (0 votes)

STEVENSVILLE - The town swimming pool opened Monday, just as it has for nearly 60 years. But seven months ago, the community thought the pool might not see another summer.

In November, the Stevensville City Council announced it didn't have the money to make necessary repairs. The pool needed a new liner, new paint and a lot of fixing up.

"As soon as you hear the pool wasn't opening, it was like the phones were ringing and everyone was like, ‘Well, we've gotta get the pool open,'" Stevensville pool manager Isaac Hunter said.

"Every little local business did fundraisers," Stevensville mom Tracy Montague said. "And it was really good to see the community pull together like that and pull together for the pool."

All those fundraisers added up and Monday the pool was ready for the line of anxious swimmers out front.

"I like the ooh's and ahh's when they came in," Montague said. "'Ooh look at the pool.' ‘The water's so clean and sparkling.'"

Now the pool is open for its 59th summer, and while it has a new liner, it has plenty of old memories.

"We've took swimming lessons for years in this pool," Stevensville resident Cathy Anderson said. "And now my children are."

Now that it's open, there's no telling how many more generations will do their first kicks and dives in the Stevensville pool.