Friends of Legion Pool Vow to Fight for "The Happiest Place in Athens"

Those who frequent Legion Pool, or who learned to swim there, just can't believe the , just like that, with no discussion, debate or possible deviation from the campus Master Plan.

"Master plans aren't set in stone," said Sara Baker, who has been coming to Legion since she was a child. "They can be changed."

The test of the 2008 master plan says, "The outdoor swimming pool known as “Legion Pool” will be removed, but

Lake Herrick? Yes. Though documents submitted to the state indicate otherwise, officials with UGA insist that the new pool will operate under the same accessiblity arrangement as Legion does. Community residents who buy memberships in Friends of Campus Life will be able to purchase pool memberships, as will UGA faculty, staff and students.

Some believe the Lake Herrick idea a just a ruse, and that no second pool will ever be built.

For athlete Melissa Wilson, a mother of three, the location might as well be Bogart. The replacement pool will cost millions, and will have features--a bubble bench and an infinity pool--that seem to her more appropriate for a commercial water park. Repairing Legion makes better economic sense than replacing it.

"All that the people who come here want is a hole in the ground they can swim in," she said. "We don't need all that other stuff. We want Legion Pool."

Built in the mid-1930s, Legion Pool, she said, is more than just a huge, sparkling body of blue water. It's more than just a shaded pavilion and concession stand or the large dressing rooms where families shower and change for swimming.

For those whose summers begin when it opens, Legion Pool represents more than an outdoor recreational opportunity: it functions as a community. It's one of those places in Athens where town and gown meet and socialize, share recipes and gossip, pass on information about job openings and illnesses, mark the growth in the size of children, form and nurture lifelong friendships, and, occasionally, ind romantic relationships.

"Legion Pool represents a gesture of good will from the university to the community," said Tami Ramsay. Her family and she are taking a staycation this week, just to enjoy what may be the last week of Legion Pool's long, happy life.

Retired attorney Grady Thrasher III grew up swimming in Legion Pool. He frets over the university's refusal to comply with a state law which says the school must have in place a plan to manage and preserve its historic resources. UGA doesn't have such a plan, unlike Georgia Tech and the Georgia Health Sciences University in Augusta.

"I think they're just stonewalling," Thrasher said. "They want to be able to do what they want to do. Period, without regard to what the community might want."

You may also be interested in:

Athens Attorney and Athens Artist Protest Planned Demolition of Legion Pool

UGA Proposes Building Pool at Lake Herrick to Replace Legion Pool in Athens, Ga.

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UGA Documents Indicate Legion Pool Replacement to Exclude Community

Legion Pool in Athens, Ga,: Some Notes on Its History

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