1950s were great times at Pebble Lake beach

By Tom Hintgen (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Monday, July 14, 2008

For Loren Woolson, it seems like just yesterday when he served as a lifeguard and swimming instructor during the 1950s for summer park and recreation director Oats LeGrand. He’s happy that lifeguards have returned to the beach south of Fergus Falls.

“Coming here brings back special memories,” said Woolson, a retired Fergus Falls High School teacher who worked at Pebble Lake beach from the mid 1950s to the early 1960s.

A peak in swimming classes, numbering close to 2,000 youngsters, was reached at Pebble Lake beach in the summer of 1962.

“In those days, prior to swimming pools at the middle school and YMCA, we had swimming classes at 9, 10 and 11 weekday mornings,” Woolson said. “Back then it oftentimes was a 12-hour day, from 9 in the morning until the beach closed at 9 p.m.”

His wife, Rita, would bring a sandwich to Woolson for lunch. She loved the beach as much as Loren, and later in the day would return for a swim with their three children. The entire Woolson family enjoyed many evening suppertime picnic meals at the beach near the golf course on the south side of the lake.

A half century ago, with more people than today using the Pebble Lake beach, the length of the swimming area was twice what it is today, and three times further into the lake itself.

For many years lifeguards, including Woolson, would man a row boat between the raft and diving tower. Two other lifeguards would position themselves at the west and east docks. Another lifeguard was atop the lifeguard tower on shore, all for the safety and protection of the swimmers.

“We had no fewer than four lifeguards on duty at one time, and oftentimes five — especially on weekends,” Woolson said.”

During his visit to the beach a few days ago, Woolson reminisced with one of the current lifeguards, 2008 FFHS graduate Kelly Kitzman. After her summer lifeguard duties are complete, Kitzman plans to pursue physical therapy at the University of Mary in Bismarck .

Woolson said that lifeguards and swimming instructors form a bond that lasts a lifetime.

“To this very day I’m appreciative and thankful for being a lifeguard along with many outstanding individuals,” he said.

Names that quickly came to mind for Woolson included Myron Johnson, Chuck Hyslop, Mary Rockwood, Beth Lightfoot, Dean Nelson, Mike Gary and Gayle Beecher.

“Chuck had a great sense of humor,” Woolson said. “When people grabbed their fishing poles, after swimming, Chuck would say, ‘Try frogs. We know the ropes.’ Of course, we didn’t know any more than they did about fishing lures.”

Johnson first ran the concession stand at Pebble Lake beach before becoming a lifeguard.

“Myron, despite having an illness earlier in life, was an amazing swimmer,” Woolson said. “He would dive off the raft, which was quite a ways out, and wouldn’t surface until almost onto shore. That was amazing endurance.”

Johnson also had the amazing ability to predict how many times he could skip a stone, in front of the dock and after skipping over the dock.

“Swimming pools have their places, but during the summer months nothing can beat taking a swim in a Minnesota lake,” Woolson said. “Fergus Falls has been so fortunate to have had Pebble Lake and the public beach these many years.”