Eugene C. Hines, Jr.
Eugene C. Hines, Jr. - On swimming and lifeguards (clip)
Eugene Hines (EH): When I was growing up in Chapel Hill, as was mentioned, we didn’t have a pool we could go to. My friends and I would go to swim in local creeks.
From the crowd: The 88 and the Catfish.EH: I liked to say that I played in the water because I didn’t know how to swim. But one day after a trip to the creek, I got sick. As it turned out there was sewage in that creek. Every summer local churches here in Chapel Hill like First Baptist, St. Joseph, and Second Baptist, chartered buses and took us kids to pools in Durham or Raleigh. On one of those trips…
Chorus from the crowd: And St. Paul’s. You can’t forget St. Pauls!
EH: And St. Paul’s. Can’t leave that out. On one of those trips my older cousin Biddy Robinson helped me to change into my swim trunks and told me to go out and get in the pool where her brother was, Redo Register. So, I went out, of course Biddy was helping other kids change their clothes so she couldn’t go out with me, but I went out and I saw Redo in the pool and I jumped in but it was over my head and I couldn’t swim. So, the lifeguard had to save me from drowning that day and it was that day that I learned the value of being a lifeguard. As was mentioned, I was a lifeguard here in probably about 1963 in the 1960s and loved every minute of it. Before this pool was built, I played baseball every day. After the pool was built, I didn’t play anymore baseball, because I wanted to come to the pool. Over the years, thanks to those chartered bus trips to Raleigh or Durham, I learned to swim. When this pool was built, I took the lifeguard course, and became a lifeguard. I am so happy that the Marian Cheek Jackson Center sponsored this event and brought all of us all together for such fond memories and fellowship. Thank you very much.
