Next stop: Cincinnati!

Not for a Reds game, although they had a homestand against the Tigers so the Queen City ran red with fans. But we weren’t there for baseball, although we’d thoroughly enjoyed The Great American Ballpark three years ago, when the home team won against the Pirates and my husband gobbled five hotdogs. 

We were there to swim at an enormous historic pool run by volunteers: Philipps Swim Club, where the motto is “It’s not just a pool, it’s a lifestyle.”

My research on Cincinnati’s recently-demolished, even larger, and slightly older Sunlite pool led me to a news article on Philipps Swim Club. At 95 years-old and measuring 125 by 25 yards and containing 550,000 gallons of water, Philipps is now the oldest and largest recirculating pool in Ohio. There, a dedicated team of members fight valiantly to avoid Sunlites’s fate, working tirelessly to care for their beloved community treasure. 

I wanted to meet these local heroes and learn from them. But how?

Day passes to strangers aren’t available so I stepped out of my introverted comfort zone. I cold-called the pool, my confident, cheerful email introduction and desire to tell this pool’s remarkable story hopefully masking my uncertainty. 

Then I waited. A couple days later, after I’d lost hope of a reply, the Club replied with a number, which I immediately called and spoke with Chris Stutzman, one of the core volunteers who keeps the pool functioning. Much to my surprise and joy, he arranged for my family’s visit! And then another informative, happy email followed from Theresa Donovan, a member and volunteer who sent historical documents and photos! 

Upon our mid-afternoon arrival, we were welcomed with open arms. Mary Donovan, a semi-retired judge (and the first woman elected to Ohio’s 2nd District Court of Appeals), recalled how Philipps almost closed in 2011, and how conversion from a private enterprise to a not-for-profit 501(c)(7) organization breathed new life into the aging facility. 

She introduced me to her brother Board President Jim Donovan, a retired physician who has taken on the pool as a patient of sorts, working tirelessly with the team of poolcare volunteers to keep its systems running. About 15-20 “heavy lifters” are perpetually on call, ready to plunge in for the frequent fixes, small and large. Plumbing, electric, concrete, paint, and innumerable upkeep chores are completed by these indefatigable individuals. In 2020, they replaced the pool’s 91 year-old “heart.” I don’t know of any other pool pump with such longevity, the result of the team’s perseverance and the forethought, knowledge, and high quality work of the original builder. 

Make that family of builders. Pool construction ran deep in the Philipps family. In 1868, near the Miami River, Charles Philipps built the first private pool in the United States. His descendents continued building pools through Ohio, and in 1911, Frank Philipps built Avondale, the first public pool in Cincinnati. After his death in 1916, his wife Louise, with the support of her brother William Munz, built and managed two more Cincinnati pools: Walnut Hills in 1926, followed by this one, then called Western Hills, in 1929. According to a 2015 Cincinnati.com editorial by then Board Member Michael Colligan, this newest pool – Philipps Swim Club – was the “crown jewel” of their Queen City pools, and it is the only one remaining of the three. 

The Philipps family owned the pool until 1970, when Miriam Philipps, daughter of Frank and Louise, passed away. Miriam loved the pool. In her later years, she’d watch the swimmers from her wheelchair on a deck now named for her. The mirrors at the desk remain, where she’d observe the happy patrons. Having no children, Miriam willed her share to Don Schmitt, who had worked at the pool since 1945. He then bought her two siblings’ shares, as they had moved to the west coast. In 1999, the Schmitts sold the property to Denise Driehaus, who later served in the Ohio House of Representatives.

FIN FACT:
In 1933, Philipps Swim Club members invented “Water Ball,” a game similar to basketball and water polo, except the goal was a board with a round hole cut in the center. Teams from pools owned by the Philipps family would compete, with local radio stations covering the weekly games! 

Philipps Swim Club was badly damaged by fire in 1939. A few years ago, volunteers discovered the original diving boards below the clubhouse, in the mechanical rooms where water – the pool’s lifeblood – courses through pipes, sand filters, and pump, and where antique tools adorn the dark space. Those boards now reside in the clubhouse, polished and repurposed as countertops! Looking closely, you can still see singe marks on one.

FIN FACT:
The large water slide was purchased from another pool in 1987, when the pool hosted a naming contest with a cash prize. A young girl won with her catchy phrase: Philly Falls.
The ladder to the small slide is original to the pool, dating from 1929! 

After my tour, it was time for a test-swim. Chris took our photo, and I then joined my daughter beside the two lap lanes with lane ropes. She’d already zipped through half of her 3,000-yard workout, looking strong and fast. I streamlined off the wall, beginning what would be a great workout, and imagining swimming on this team. 

At a table on the upper deck overlooking the expanse of blue, Philipps swim coach Molly Good had described her team’s performance with great enthusiasm and love for the sport and her 65 or so swimmers, all of whom face an unusual challenge. No diving starts. While most age group swimmers shave seconds with streamlined dives from starting blocks, Philipps kids start in the water because the lanes here are 3 feet deep, too shallow for a headfirst entry. 

Yet the proud Philipps Swim Club was undefeated at the time of our visit! 

President Jim Donovan remembered swimming for the team back in the 60s as a butterflier, and he also recalled shenanigans. “Guards would have comedy diving competitions from the roof” into the 10-foot deep end. Not advisable but definitely memorable!

In the middle of a lap, I was startled by the sudden announcement of raffle winners over the loudspeaker. Philipps Swim Club raises money in inventive ways. Raffles, sponsorships, banners, split-the-pot, t-shirt sales, concessions, and donations have kept them solvent, while movie nights, midnight swims, parties, and Bengals watch parties keep the spirit going. Members look forward to a 95th birthday celebration later this summer, hoping for a visit from Frank Philipps III, grandson of the builder! However, with only a few paid summer staff members, the club needs more money and volunteers for projects, repairs, and ongoing maintenance and upkeep. 

By March 1st, weather permitting, these volunteers begin preparing the pool for summer, many doing jobs far afield from their professions, jobs they’ve learned out of necessity. Viewing the before and after photos is shocking, so impressive is their work.

Why do they toil away on difficult, endless tasks, sweating and spending precious free time in the spring and summer, when many take vacations, or at the least, relax for a couple hours? Why not just give it up and build anew?

This club is very much alive with love, enthusiasm, community, friendship, history, and generations of shared experience. 

I felt all of the above at Philipps. From smiling adults in hats and sunglasses, sipping koozie-covered drinks in the pool, to teens hanging out and checking each other out, to children sliding with glee down “Philly Falls,” with the lifeguard tossing buckets of water on the heads of those who ask.

From the cacophony of splashes, shouts, chatter, and laughter to the memories of longtime members, the motto of Philipps Swim Club rings true; It’s more than a pool. It’s a lifestyle. 

POOL STATS:
Year built: 1929
Length: 125 yards
Width: 25 yards
Volume: 550,000 gallons
Lanes: 8 (2 with lane ropes)
Chemical: chlorine (Originally, it was saltwater!)
Day pass: Only if you are there with a member.
Snack bar: Yes.

LOCATION:
Philipps Swim Club
5245 Glenway Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45238 
USA
513-471-2280
513-325-4647 (Off-season)
philippsswimclub@gmail.com

MAILING ADDRESS:
P.O. Box 58054 
Cincinnati, OH 45258 USA

DONATIONS ARE WELCOME!
They aren’t tax-deductible but they’re very much needed! Send via Venmo to @PhilippsSwimClub

Alternatively, you can send a check to the P.O. box listed above! 
TIA, folks! 

REFERENCES AND FOR MORE INFORMATION:
https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/west-price-hill/philipps-swim-club-prepares-for-its-95th-season
https://www.fox19.com/story/14482456/phillips-swim-club-to-reopen-for-business/
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/local/community-news/2015/02/25/column-phillips-swim-club-summer-tradition/23740111/
https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/1999/05/03/daily10.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Driehaus
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-cincinnati-enquirer/39509613/
Garretson, Joseph Jr. The Cincinnati Inquirer. August 9, 1936. P. 45. Pity’s Wasted: Woman Carries on. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
Infinite thanks to the Donovan siblings (Theresa, Jim, and Mary), Chris Stutzman, and Molly Good for your hospitality, your time, and such fantastic information! Also, thank you to Skyline Chili and Graeter’s Ice Cream for serving such perfect post-swim dinners and desserts!