Member-only story
Swimming Social Pool #1: The swim journey began at Chicago H.S. for Agricultural Sciences
Pat came into the locker room for her Sunday morning swim at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences Community Center pool in Mt. Greenwood on 111th St. With her fading freckles, she reminded me of my mother. Unlike my mom, however, Pat has curly hair and loves to swim.
“Swimming gets me out of the house. You talk. You laugh. You get to be with others. It’s a community,” she said. “I like to swim here and Ridge Park.”
Pat was one of a half a dozen swimmers who showed up for the 9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. Senior Swim at this Chicago Park District-managed pool on a frigid winter morning, Jan. 21, 2019. My friend and Swedish Fish teammate, Ronna Feldman, and I had met at Galter LifeCenter on the corner of Foster and Francisco Avenues at 7:30 a.m. to drive down Western Ave. to 111th St., in order to jump in this pool. We did it because we are on a mission to swim in all 91 park pools and, in the process, learn something about the city and ourselves — as swimmers and Chicagoans. This was pool #1.
