By Mary Davis, Corrales Village Historian
As summer heat begins to roast Corrales, it seems appropriate to write about a cooling subject: swimming pools. Did you know that by 1958 there were at least two swimming pools in Corrales and possibly three? The possible third pool is mentioned in an article in the April 8, 1958 Albuquerque Journal titled “Boys’ Academy To Be at Corrales.†The school was to be located in an adobe residence situated on a five-acre site that included a swimming pool and a tennis court. Whether this pool was one of the two already in existence in the Village is a mystery, as is its possible location. In the article, a man named William Wilburn is named as the director; he was the first director of the Albuquerque Academy, so that institution may have begun here in Corrales.
The first pool we know of for sure was called the “Rose Pool†since it was on property owned by the Rose family in south Corrales. Located at the north end of Camino Campo, the pool was built “sometime in the early 1950s,†according to an article by Corrales architect and pool club member Van Dorn Hooker in the Summer 2007 edition of the Corrales MainStreet News. It was hand dug, with walls and the bottom covered with gunite. There were no steps, no diving board, no railings. (Gunite is a concrete blend of sand, cement, and water that is applied through a high-pressure hose.)
The pool opened on Memorial Day after a volunteer clean-up and a mid-May filling that everyone hoped would warm up a bit by the end of the month. It remained open until Labor Day and was the scene of a big July 4th party. Eventually, the swim club members built a covered shelter where Hooker writes that the adults played bridge while their children learned to swim. The pool survived for nearly 30 years until 1980 when the Rose family sold the land.
The second pool was built in 1958 by local builder Pete Smith next to his home on Old Church Road. The story from two of his children is that Pete’s wife Pat heard that the Rose pool would not allow children who were not in the Swim Club. Pat wanted the kids who lived in their neighborhood to learn how to swim and enjoy swimming. Pete, with the help of Leandro Griego and Randolf Armijo—and a horse named Ebony—dug the pool. It was lined with concrete and sloped from a four-foot shallow end to a nine-foot deep end. A rope barrier separated the shallow end from the deeper water.
Taudy Smith remembered that Pat would climb in her old Fiat and pick up some 10 to 12 local kids for a swimming session, usually held on Saturday. Pat taught many of them how to swim and also provided snacks.
George Ballentine, Pat’s son by an earlier marriage, recalled that he swam in the pool from age 6 until he was 18. When he was little he stayed in the shallow end until he learned to swim across the pool width and back. He then got a dollar (as did every child who passed the test) and was allowed to go into the deep end. There was no heater, so the water was always cold since like the Rose Pool it was filled directly from a well. His sister Taudy remembered that sometimes the kids would first take a very hot bath in the house and then jump in the pool.
 Algae would form on the pool as well as blown-in dirt and mulberries from a nearby tree, so by mid-summer, everyone helped to drain, clean, and refill it. At one point, someone (who shall be nameless!) threw a cherry bomb in the water (their use was banned in the US in 1966) and it cracked one of the sides.
As it was at the Rose pool, the Fourth of July was a big day at the Smith pool. Family and friends would go to the sand dunes to set off fireworks and upon their return, everyone jumped into the pool to wash off.
George told me that his memories of the pool were always happy and wonderful. He recalled that he modeled himself on Johnny Weissmuller in Tarzan, so he practiced holding his breath underwater and swam below the surface as long as he could. He and Stuart Findley founded a surf club and floated around standing on their boards. Taudy remembered joining with others to make waves for them by pushing the water around. George and his sister Poppy would see which of them could tread water the longest—one of the requirements was that they had to keep their hands in the air.
The Smith pool lasted until 1990 when it was partially filled and was completely bricked over four years later.
A later pool that this writer remembers—her family swam there in the 1970s— was built behind Casa Vieja. And there may have been others. More pool memories are welcome.
Information provided by Corrales Historical Society (CHS) Archives Committee.
Want to learn more? Visit CorralesHistory.org for all of the interesting things the Historical Society has to offer. New members are always welcome!
