Volume 13 , Issue 1

NW Okie's R & R - The Good Old Days

A New Year has shown its face for 2011 as 1/1/11 rounded the corner this weekend. Will this calendar notation be lucky as four Aces are lucky in poker?

This week we shall try to jog some old memory cells of McGill's Swimming Pool that was located just off the square in downtown Alva, Woods County, Oklahoma, in the 600 block of Barnes Avenue, on the southside of the street, behind the McGill Bros. Furniture store.

In the photo on the left, above you see a group of young ladies posing with painted signs for businesses in Alva, Oklahoma of that time period. Such as: Alva Electrical Supp. Co, Marcum & Marcum, Willard Storage Battery, and J.C. Penney Department Store.

Do you recognize any of these young ladies? Was your grandmother, great-grandmother shown here? Is that the diving tower in the background?

There are families stories out there concerning McGill Bros. Swimming Pool in Alva that we should try to resurrect.

One of our family stories that I have been told several times by I do not know how many Northwest Oklahomans is the story of my dad (Gene McGill), his younger brother (Robert McGill) and a cousin (Jack Erskine) dived off nearby buildings into the swimming pool, at night and sometimes in the nude. Young girls would sneak in to gawk, gaze.

I wonder if some of these college-age girls were some of those girls that the younger McGill brothers and their cousin showed off their high, daring diving skills?

If this jogs any memories of Northwest Oklahoma, we would love to hear from you!

Happy New Year 2011 & Good Luck in all your accomplishments this new year!   |  View or Add Comments (1 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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