Weymouth Swimming Pool near Chandler Field

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Nothing struck fear into a young boy like the high dive tower at Blakely's. Or perhaps you preferred the water slide at Maple Plunge. But to a young man, Lake Millerton or Lost Lake was the destination. Remember the ice rink in Pinedale? Post your favorite Summer Activity here.
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CHRIS Weymouth
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Joined: Wed Feb 07, 2018 12:28 pm
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Re: Weymouth Swimming Pool near Chandler Field

Post by CHRIS Weymouth » Wed Feb 07, 2018 3:18 pm

My name is Chris Weymouth, and I’m the son of E.E. “Al” Weymouth Jr. and grandson of E.E. Weymouth Sr., the owner/builder of Weymouth’s Swimming Pool, out on Whitesbridge Rd by Chandler Air Field in Southwest Fresno.

From reading some of the comments above, it is true the pool was built in the 30’s when public pools were a new thing and didn’t have modern filteration systems. It was drained 2 or 3 times a week, scrubbed down from end to end and top to bottom, then filled up again overnight. It was highly chlorinated and tested numerous times a day to make sure the water was safe! When you consider the pool was 60’ wide by 120’long and up to 12’ deep, that was a lot of water! When you think about doing this 3 times a week, for 30+yrs, that’s a lot of water! The water flooded the park and trees around the pool and then soaked down and refilled the water table below ground! My dad said the water table was just 10-15 feet below ground at the time! They had some big pumps with two 12-14” pipes feeding the water back into the pool! This would fill up overnight and like my brother WilleO said above, that water was ice cold the next morning!

I grew up in the pool and swam there for 15 yrs and never heard of any water problems. Weymouth’s was the 1st concrete public swimming pool in town and was the place to go swimming in the early days! When my dad and Uncle Thornton were on the Fresno High Swimming/Diving team, my Gramdma Beth didn’t want the kids swimming in the irrigation canals, so talked my Grandpa into building a pool. He went down to the permit office to get a permit, and a gentlemen by the name of Al White, who had been an Olympic Diving Champion, was working there. He talked my Grandpa into building a public pool and “letting the public pay for it”. I was always amazed at how many people knew my dad, and it was just because they all grew up swimming at the pool! My whole life, I’ve also run into people, that asked if I was related to the pool, and said they used to swim there. I was always proud to say, “Yes, that was my Grandparents pool”. My Grandma Beth was like a Mom to all the kids who swam there and was named Fresno County’s Mother of the Year at one time (not sure of the year, some time in the 50’s I think).

In one of the pictures, you see some kids diving off the top level of the diving platform, and believe me that was HIGH! The diving platform had three levels, about 10’, 20’ and 30’ high, and was about 15’-20’ deep or long. You had to yell at the kids on the diving boards and slide at the end of the pool and let them know you were jumping off so you wouldn’t land on someone in the water. The pool was 60’ wide and we would shove off the back rail of the top platform and run as fast as we could and fly about 45’-50’ across the pool before we ever hit the water! Boy, that was fun! I had to work my way up to diving off the top level, and believe me, it would make your wrists sore landing hand first. It’s a good thing my parents had a station wagon, because we’d fill it up with all the neighborhood kids and go swimming all day For FREE! For some reason I was real popular around the neighborhood!

Sadly, the pool closed in the early 60’s. My grandparents continued to operate Weymouth Pest Control for several more years, then retired and moved to Southern CA. They sold the business to Dick Smith, my grandfathers long time business partner, who grew up at the pool, being a life guard. The Pest Control Company is still in operation and owned by Dick’s family and run by his son Brad. If you’re in need of a good pest control company, I highly recommend them!

I no longer live in Fresno, having moved to the Denver, CO area in 2012, to help raise my grandkids. I now also have my son, his wife and granddaughter still living in Fresno!

I’ll always remember the great times we had growing up in Fresno and remember those great times at the pool with our childhood friends!
Any questions, I’d be glad to respond!
Thanks...Chris

Lost Fresno
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Re: Weymouth Swimming Pool near Chandler Field

Post by Lost Fresno » Thu Feb 08, 2018 2:13 pm

Hello Chris and such an honor to have you share some of your memories here. I remember as a 7 year old kid, looking up at the that high dive and being horrified. The very last thing that I would of done in the world, would of been to climb up that thing. Kudos to you for your bravery sir.

About 5 years ago we suddenly got a surge of visitors to this site, all because word of mouth started to circulate that a web site was talking about all the old Fresno pools. It is a most powerful subject for all those who remember them. And what a wonderful memory and experience for all those who swam in the great long lost pools of Fresno.

Chris, if you have any personal photos to share of your family's pool, we would love to see them!

Doug Papagni

Re: Weymouth Swimming Pool near Chandler Field

Post by Doug Papagni » Sat Aug 21, 2021 10:57 am

Born and raised in Fresno on the Golden West Side! Swam at Weymouth my entire youth. Started in the kiddie pool diving for pennies then spending them on candy as soon as we could run to the snack bar 🤣. Graduated to the big pool on the other side of the wall. Always so much fun doing hand stands and having chicken fights with friends and family. Moved to the little slide then the BIG slide in the deep (12 foot) end. In my teens the low and high boards were where you could try to show off for the ladies!!! Still being out shined by my cousin Steve who would dive off the tower, I worked my way up to the top one terrifying level at a time😳. Thank god for the 12 foot deep end and the 60 foot width. Does anyone remember hanging around the deep end where the water was pumped into the pool when we splashed so much water out they had to pump more water in? I was there one day with buddies when on came the water and off went my trunks 🥴🤣. Great memories and really loved that place.

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