Pine Avenue Swimming Pool

The Pine Avenue playground once had a swimming pool prior to its being filled in and covered over.
The young girl on the right is Mayola Banks.
The man in the background on the bicycle is Alonzo "Bub" Peck.

The Pine Avenue swimming pool opened on August 12, 1933. The following newspaper article from the Cumberland Evening Times, August 13, 1933 gives the background on its opening. This article appeared recently in a local history discussion thread on the Cumberland Chat website and was posted by "Maeve":

The Pleasant Heights swimming pool and proposed park for negro citizens of Cumberland, built by them, with volunteer labor, on Pine Avenue in recent weeks, was opened with a celebration yesterday afternoon. Talks were given by City Attorney Brooke Whiting, in behalf of Mayor George Henderson, City Engineer Henry V. Schaidt, City Councilman H. W. Matheney and Randolph T Wishmyer and Sergeant Spieh of the State Police.

The speakers lauded the efforts of the workers, who in a brief time, had erected such a splendid recreational pool and extended congratulations to them for their enterprise and assured them the city government would be glad to aid them further in their plans for a public park, playground and athletic field.

The Knights of Pythias Drum Corp (colored) played several selections. There was a large attendance of negro families, their relatives and friends from nearby towns, as well as white people. The pool was filled both afternoon and evening with bathers.

Working night and, day, groups of negro men excavated and built a first-class, concrete pool, 60x25 feet with protective, fencing, bath houses, sprinklers and lights. The pool is graduated with ten foot space for children.
The vicinity around the pool has been brushed and tennis and volley ball courts are planned. The community that organized the Pine Avenue Park Association that sponsored the pool is composed of H. T. Rhodes, H. W. Snowden, ____ Darr, T. Matthews, J. Denson, Daniel Banks, J. Cook, O Sims, and ____ Fisher. Walter Snowden and Jesse O. Paige, city employees, also assisted.

The city furnished material and the committee obtained donations from white and colored people.