It was 1955 - and Olney had a new pool!
As Olney celebrates a new swimming pool in 2024 - I reflect back to Olney’s new city pool in 1955. I was in the graduating class of 1955 and making plans for my future.
At one of our class reunions, one of our class members told the story of a midnight swim in the new pool…before it was actually open to the public, of course. He and several of our “finest” young men scaled the fence and took a midnight swim….It was the 50’s.
The 50’s was still an innocent age and time. Kids “made the drag” up and down main street on Saturday night in the family car. Of course there might be a stop at the No-D-Lay for a quick Coke and BBQ sandwich. There was the Saturday afternoon “shoot-emup” cowboy movie at the Olney Theater, or you might go to a more “classy” movie at the Westex in the evening. Oh yes…there was also a drive-in-movie east of town.
We had limited TV in the early 50’s. There were only two channels out of Wichita Falls which we received through tall antennas attached to the roof. We would gather around the T.V. in the evenings and watch whatever was available. Neighbors and family were all welcome to join us and enjoy the evening programs.
Sunday afternoons were sometimes spent driving around the area taking photos with our Brownie Kodak camera with the 12 exposure roll of film. It would then need to be taken to Lassater’s Studio to be developed. Life was simple in the 50’s.
Of course, there were no cell phones or computers. The family telephone was usually placed on a wall in the hall, or in the kitchen to be used sparingly. And if you needed to make a call while in town or out on the road, you had to stop at a pay phone booth to make your call.
Some class members went on to college. I went to work at the General Telephone Co. where I plugged in the lights, and said, “Number Please.”
We did all our shopping in Olney…we had everything we needed right here. It was before WM and the big discount stores. Life was good in Olney, Texas in the 1950’s.
It was 1955…and Olney had a new pool!