"All summer, everyone came up here and lay in the sun and carried on," recalls Mary Ann Epps McCullough, who, along with other lifeguards in the 1940s, "would swim to the dam and back every day."
July 4 brought Aquatic Day festivities with races and a diving clown. Spectators cheered as lifeguards stood on boats, using bamboo poles to knock each other into the water. One year, 4th of July attendance totaled 1,400 people.
All of this occurred in what was originally simply "Reservoir 2." In fact, down near the boat dock, a coal-powered pump once sent water from here to Greenville's homes.
Just as fashions have changed so have park regulations. Originally, this was a white-only facility. The park system even closed briefly rather than integrate. Then, in the early 1960s, "whites would leave at 1 p.m. Blacks would arrive after 2 p.m." (quote from Ed Miller, Jr.).
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