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Touch
of Gray - August 2003
Plantings
Frame Our Busy Swimming Pool
Plantings
Frame Our Busy Swimming Pool
"I love all that greenery. It makes it a place of beauty
as well as just a pool," comments Billie Banks, co-chair
of the Pool Committee and a daily swimmer. ""And
the water temperature is always right too,' she adds.
Yes indeed the Carolina Meadows Swimming Pool is different
from any indoor pool you may remember from your youth. Instead
of antiseptic cement block walls you see clusters of tropical
and sub-tropical shrubs and plants on all sides with terraced
plantings on the wide deck area at the far end. You cannot
miss the two sailfish mounted over the deck. When John and
Jane Johnson moved from their villa to smaller quarters in
The Fairways they donated to the Pool their two giant mounted
trophy sailfish from the Caribbean.
Looks more like a Caribbean beach than a swimming pool, commented
a recent visitor. How did this Pool Garden happen?
In 1997, two residents, Paul and Dorothy Ferster, enthusiastic
gardeners, decided to grow tropical plants around the Pool
and develop a colorful garden-like environment for pool users
and spectators alike. They began with donations from their
own plant collection and from other residents who had plants
that had outgrown their living space. The project grew and
more and more residents expressed their enthusiasm for the
improvement in atmosphere and beauty, which the garden provided.
One of the most difficult aspects of maintaining the garden
proved to be the dryness of the air over the heated pool.
An additional faucet and hose reel installed next to the door
to the ladies' locker room made it possible not only to water
the plants more efficiently, but also allowed for regular
overhead spraying of the plants, providing more humidity and
protection from spider mites and other pests.
In accepting the Residents Association President's Award in
1999 for work on the Pool Plant Garden, Dorothy said "We
believe in plants inside as well as outside because they improve
the air quality by adding oxygen and reducing air pollution,
and are a pleasure to look at. They exemplify the secret garden
in each of us - our own vision of Eden."
The houseplants in the Pool Garden require constant replenishment
and maintenance year round, now all capably handled by our
Maintenance staff. In the view of our residents the effort
is justified by the results. David Henry, our Grounds Supervisor,
has been looking at new ways to feature unusual planting arrangements
in the Pool's environs.
All year round residents and staff enjoy our Pool. It was
designed to comfortably handle groups of up to forty, holds
55,000 gallons of water and measures 60 by 25 feet. It includes
spectator seating areas as well as a ramp into the pool and
carpeting in the locker rooms. We also boast of a Jacuzzi
for which residents raised over ten thousand dollars through
a special collection. Later, as pool usage grew, two more
showers were installed in the women's locker room and grab
bars were extended for the whole length of the Pool.
Not only is the Carolina Meadows Pool different in its ambiance
but it is also a very busy place. It opens at 5:30 a.m. in
the morning and is in continuous use until 9 p.m. at night
365 days a year. Our weekly schedule of pool walking and water
exercise activities gives us many choices.
"I am most impressed by the fact that the most popular
group, the GoldenFish, is completely run and directed by resident
volunteers," comments Erin Daniel, Wellness Coordinator.
The GoldenFish meet for an hour on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
mornings and may on occasion have as many as 28 in the class.
Regular leaders are Stiles Stribling, Cynie Russell, Jackie
Robie and Barbara Walburn. Other participants stand ready
to take over and run things when needed.
Another popular though less strenuous program, called the
Aqua Ducks, meets every weekday morning for thirty minutes.
Beth Goode of our Wellness staff leads the program on Mondays
and Thursdays, attracting as many as 16 attendees, while on
the other days residents "do their own thing" with
the same exercises. Also popular on Monday and Thursday afternoons
is a special Arthritic Exercise program, run by Beth Goode.
Serious swimmers are catered to also during designated lap
swimming hours early each morning and again usually in the
late afternoons. Among our dedicated swimmers are Jim Butcher
and Doris Bowles, both of whom recently won major swimming
medals in the Chatham County Senior Games.
Many open swim periods are listed throughout the week and
the midday and evening sessions are open to staff as well
as to residents.
One of the most important rules in Carolina Meadows is that
no one should ever be alone in the Pool. To answer the need
of any resident without a swim buddy, Larry Barrus, in 1995,
started up a new Volunteer group to act as Pool Watchers.
Now a volunteer sitter is present at the pool every afternoon
and several times in the mornings as well. Pool co-chairs
Billie Banks and Lucy Cavallito are responsible for annually
recruiting 60 residents who volunteer an hour a month as Pool
Watchers.
As a result of the diversified exercise classes and the Pool
Watchers program, as well as the growing Carolina Meadows
population, pool usage has increased with the years. In September
1994 an average of 12 people used the Pool each day. A year
later the number was 32. In July 1999 usage peaked with 155
residents and 92 guests making 1,126 visits to the Pool that
month. We continue to average over a thousand pool visits
a month, with a slight drop-off in the summer months when
many residents are away. The percentage of one-third men and
two-thirds women using the pool has remained fairly constant
over the years.
It is a nice inter-generational touch for two weeks every
July when the OPC Summer Camp Meadowwood youngsters are here
and enjoy two hours in the Pool daily with their counselors.
-- Des Reilly, Resident
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