5/11/2006
Pat Baker During the hot summer of 1854, William Miller's children waded and swam in Indian Creek, along with little Native American children. One of our first settlers, Miller lived at Glen Farm, at the mouth of Indian Creek near Gotch Park. It would be 99 years before Humboldt opened its first swimming pool in 1953. With our new Humboldt Family Aquatic Center opening in May, let us reflect on where folks cooled off during the summers of yesteryear before we had a pool. One of our earliest pioneers, Mary Jane (Mrs. Byron) Parsons, came to Humboldt in 1865 and settled on the west bank of the Des Moines River, a mile south of Gotch Park. She remembered: "I always liked to go into the river when it was hot, and a neighbor lady liked to go in, too. The river was right close by, just over the bank and we would often take a swim. There was a little island in the middle of the river and we would wade over to that, and we fixed up a little room to change our clothes in by cutting out some of the willows and leaving enough brush and trees standing to enclose the room. There we would change our clothes and no one would see us. "Mrs. Cook was full of fun, and would take hold of my foot. The water was shallow enough so I could lie on my back and I would twirl around, put my hands on the bottom so I could hold myself up, and then I would kick water on her. Byron and I used to go in the river together, too. He could swim well, but I could not swim very much. When Mrs. Cook and I would go in we always went where it was shallow and we could touch bottom. "When William was a little chap, I tried to keep him away from the river, but when Byron would take George across the river in a boat to go to school, William followed them down to the river. I worried all the time for fear he would fall in the river and drown. So one morning I stripped him and dunked him and he never went near the river again." In our pioneer days, the water was cleaner and clearer and the streams were deeper than they are now. Through the years agriculture-released soil and silt deposits settled in the river. Pollution from sewage systems and farm animals made the waters unsafe for swimming. But, back in the "good old days" there were plenty of good places to swim, albeit without lifeguards, and many did drown. The East and West Forks of the Des Moines River are fed by many creeks. Lotts Creek, Trulner Creek, Bloody Run, and Beaver Creek flow into the East Fork. Indian Creek in Corinth Township flows into the West Fork from a lake in Sections 13 and 24 in Weaver Township. Dick Naeve recounted that he did not swim often, but Indian Creek was nearby and when the water got high, they could find a place deep enough to splash around in. Indian Spring is a unique place in Sec. 21, Corinth Township. Prairie Creek in Vernon Township feeds into the Boone River. Many lakes appearing on early maps, like Owl Lake in Lake Township, have now been drained. There must be good stories out there about cooling off in these creeks and lakes, or of swimming parties taking place during hot summers long ago at Lizard Lake near Gilmore City. Nathalie Schulze enjoyed a safe place on her farm in Wacousta Township. It was in a clear pool of water at the end of a tile line. There was swimming north of Livermore in the East Fork. Some children waded in the water near the Foster Bridge and below what was later known as the Ski Lodge. Downstream, there was swimming above the dam at Dakota City. Ralph Schulze and his brother, Royal, along with Art Ropte, swam at the sandy beach in Dakota City Park. The sheriff chased away swimmers from the deep hole south of the Corn Belt dam, a very treacherous spot. Young people found swimming holes in gravel pits, sand pits and quarries, all dangerous. Unfortunately, it usually took an accident to provide a written record of the activities. The death of Walter Lau in the gravel pit north of Lu Verne was one death that made the headlines in the newspapers during the summer of 1930. Boys swam in the West Fork of the Des Moines River near McKnight's Point. The Rutland Dam provided a great place for swimming and boating. Russell Campbell told of cabins built on the West Fork, between Rutland and Humboldt, during the late 20's and early 30's: "Peter Jensen and his son, Harvey, built what was later called Shipman's cabins on the north side of the river. These consisted of three cabins, plus a kitchen unit. Just east of those cabins, around a bend in the river, a nice cabin was built in the late 30's by a Dr. Huffman. "Just south of that cabin, which is just north of Myer's Island, is where a boy named Eddie drowned in deep water. The boy's body was recovered by Myron Whipple's father. "Judson Haynes drowned north of Berkhimer Bridge in 1915." This was in the Oxbow portion of the river. "His body was recovered by Ralph Bellows." At Lake Nokomis, above the dam in Humboldt, "in the early 1900's the Metzner twin girls both drowned during a severe storm. The girls were in separate boats with their boyfriends who could swim, but couldn't save the two girls." Photos of the river taken by Frank Bicknell in 1903 show an island above the dam that Bicknell labeled "The Ledges" (see photo). We now call it Scout Island. On it stands a tall tree, from which a large hay rope was hung. It had a knot on the end to facilitate jumping into the deep water. (See photo of the tree taken by Dr. Dean Harmon.) Many generations of Humboldt boys dove into those waters. Al Blanchard remembers the hole was 20-25 feet deep. Gordon Van Gronigan, Clark A. Lane, Jr., and others can tell stories about swimming at Scout Island, skinny dipping. The rope is no longer there, and the water is not that deep, in case you were thinking of trying it now. In the early 1900's three cabins were built on the west bank of Lake Nokomis by the Russell, Penney and Stearns families. We're not sure how much swimming took place there, but the Stearns family had a paddle-wheel boat that took folks on tours of the river. (See photo of boat.) Beginning in 1930 cottages were built near the Humboldt Country Club by the T.G. White, Clark A. Lane, Sr., H.E. Passig, Elmer Lindhart, Gib Ruse, Clem Garfield, and Don Pierson families. On the east side of Lake Nokomis, near the Ice House (now Silbaugh property), was a deep hole suitable for diving purposes. Branches from a large tree sprawled over the water and a platform was built on them to accommodate divers. On the tree hung a large hay rope, with a knot on the end, from which to swing. We have a photo of this tree taken in 1935. Blanche (Jensen) Kuehnast recalled in the 1963 De Groote History of the City of Humboldt, "in summer, older kids went swimming above the dam and slyly utilized Dunn's boat houses for diving boards when "Old Pete" had gone downtown. Into the fairgrounds deep hole, Clark Lane, Sr. and Dick Munson led old gentle "Chuck" so the smaller boys could climb upon his broad back and dive." The July 11, 1930, Humboldt Republican reported: "Tuesday morning Mayor Mary H.S. Johnston invited eight boys to a little party in her office to talk to them on the sins of little boys going swimming without wearing suits. It seems that all along the river, wherever there is a good swimming hole, the youngsters have been trying to avoid the heat and have been going under the idea that bathing suits are excess. In most of the cases they did it unthinkingly. At any rate, someone put in a complaint and thus the party. "Mrs. Johnston merely talked to the boys, explaining to them that they were breaking a law, and asking them to please wear suits in the future. Four years ago she entertained a similar bunch of boys on the same charge, and after a warning there were no further complaints. She believes that this will be sufficient this time also." In 1930, a survey by the Iowa State Health Department disclosed the fact that water in the Des Moines River, throughout its course, was absolutely filthy and unfit for swimming. They speculated that in time all cities of Iowa would be forced to quit dumping sewage in the rivers of the state and establish municipal sewage plants. In talking to Mayor Johnston, "anyone who went swimming in the river was certainly taking his life in his hands." Some local youths were able to get a ride to swimming pools in other towns. Pocahontas, Eagle Grove, Algona, and Fort Dodge had pools. There was a news story in our paper about Nina Hart, daughter of Clyde Hart, who suffered a head cut while swimming at the Expo Pool in Fort Dodge in July 1930. With health concerns about polluted water in the river, added to deaths from drowning in gravel pits, the move to construct a swimming pool of our own was underway. Next: A Wading Pool in Taft's Park. |
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The Humboldt
Independent • Official paper of Humboldt County
Telephone: (515)
332-2514 |
