LEBANON — Joanna Graber and her three children have been swimming at Lebanon Veterans Memorial Pool since 2006. At least one was swimming there before she was even born.
“I came here on Aug. 17 in 2010 and then six hours later gave birth to her,” Graber, nodding to her daughter Samyra, who took a break from swimming to eat watermelon. “We bring snacks, the lifeguards are fantastic, and it’s only two bucks, which supports the city.”
With the lap pool clocking in at 74 degrees, the water was fine for Graber and the kids on Saturday, the final day for Veterans Memorial Pool, with patrons getting in a final swim or a final celebration before the pool closed for the season.
Milestones weren’t just for the newly 12 Samyra. Birthdays abounded.
In the pavilion, which was built this summer, Melina Walker celebrated turning 5. Her friends from school joined her to eat sandwiches and sliced apples at a party themed after the superhero “The Flash.”
“I think Flash can run faster, but I know I can swim faster,” Walker said, dipping her feet into the water, ready to give Aquaman a run for his money.
The end of he season is the end of a pleasant annual interlude for Meredith Melendy, 23, who works as a paraeductor at Canaan Elementary during the school year. But in the summer, she’s desk attendant at the city-owned pool off Route 4, just as she has been for the past seven years.
“I love this place,” Melendy said. “I’ve made a lot of good friends here. Patrons who pass through are excited to be here and see friendly faces.”
Melendy described the regular poolgoers as “a big family,” a description that was put to the test two years ago when Lebanon city officials debated whether or not to close Veterans Memorial and save the $140,000 that it usually takes to run the pool. Eighty residents signed a petition speaking out against the potential pool closure, which is one of only a few municipally run pools in the Upper Valley.
Set to close next Saturday, Hartford’s Sherman Manning Pool outlasted the Lebanon Veterans Memorial Pool by one week. In a news release, the Hartford Parks and Recreation Department said that if it weren’t for staffing issues, Sherman Manning would have stayed open longer.
But at Veterans Memorial, Pool Director Lyndsay Porreca said that even in the midst of a lifeguard shortage in the Upper Valley and a across the U.S., she’s never had a staffing issue. The average employee turnover is three to five years, and Porreca herself lifeguarded every summer since she was 15, until assuming the director role six years ago.
“I think it’s our belief system about what it means to be a teenager at work,” Porreca said of the pool’s retention rate. “But it’s not an easy job. These kids are learning swim lessons in the morning and guarding in the afternoons.”
So she’s sure to keep the fridge stocked with snacks.
Olly Russell, 15, inaugurated her first full Upper Valley summer after moving here from Minnesota by lifeguarding at the pool. She and her coworkers responded to 32 rescue situations this summer, the highest count in the last five years.
“I think it was a quantity thing,” Russell said. “It was a really warm summer and a lot of people were coming to the pool.”
Dave Kuhn, 69, moved two chairs closer to the fence that surrounds the pool grounds, trying to find some shade on a bright day. Kuhn came to the pool often this summer with his granddaughter Luna, 5. This afternoon his neighbor Gerry Gatz joined him with his own granddaughter Hazel Rancourt, 5.
“I convinced him to come down and hang out with me while we watched the girls,” Kuhn said.
Reflecting on the past six years at the pool, Porreca said her position as director has been “the greatest job ever,” adding that even though she’s leaving her position, she’ll certainly be around.
“No way I can stay away,” she said.
While Saturday was the last swim for the usual pool patrons, that wasn’t quite it for the season. Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. is set to be the traditional “Paws in the Pool,” where dogs finally have their day in the water.
“Today’s our last day for people,” Porreca made sure to clarify.
Frances Mize is a Report for America corps member. She can be reached at 603-727-3242 or fmize@vnews.com.