Research for this article
was done by Irene Lemaster whose grandfather, Ernest Fletcher, was very
instrumental in the creation of the Meade City Park and built Meade’s first
swimming pool. We are certain Irene spent many hours in that first pool as a kid
and isn’t it ironic that her husband, Leroy, should be mayor of Meade now as the
latest renovations are done to the present facility? Thanks, Irene, for your
excellent research and the loan of priceless photos depicting the fun side of
our “Hometown History!”
In the
Meade Globe-News,
July 1, 2024 issue, Frank Fhur, the editor, ran a story about the Meade
Commercial Club and its current project, a camping ground for autos located a
half mile east of Meade. The proposed park was located in a shady grove on the
Fred Stalder farm. Four acres were leased by the city and the project was
underway.
At this time Highway 54 was
routed much differently than it is today. The road made a 90 degree turn north
on what is now North State Street (the intersection at Taylor’s and the Circle O
Motel) and was then very much at the edge of town running north to the county
road then curving eastward and eventually joining the current route at the north
end of the big “s” curve east of town. The highway was re-routed in the early
1950’s to its present form.
Highway 160 wasn’t created
until the early 1930’s, so the new city park would have been several blocks “off
the beaten path” at the time.
The Meade State Lake was
not developed until 1925, and there wouldn’t have been a “proper” place to camp
for quite some distance. In those days of unpaved highways an auto trip would
not have been the high speed comfort it is today. Undoubtedly, a shady grove of
cottonwood trees with cool artesian well water would have looked pretty good to
a weary traveler!
An Artesian Well is Added.
The auto camping ground east of town is
destined to become one of the most frequented and popular places anywhere near
Meade. One of the most pressing needs of the campground was water. Now it is
there in abundance and in the shape of one of the nicest artesian wells in the
valley. The flow is three gallons per minute. The water is clear and cold and
was struck at a depth of 125 feet. The flow was reduced to half-inch pipe and
forms one of the most perfect drinking fountains and is certainly a most
valuable acquisition to the grounds. The constant rustle of the big cottonwoods
that produce a welcome shade along with the other attractions being added is
giving Meade a much longed-for-park. The place is certainly attractive and is
not only an excellent advertisement for our city and county but an every-day
source of pleasure. The tract consists of five acres, most of which is covered
with large trees. Everyone who visits the place is charmed by its natural
attractions and it is being given wide publicity and ere long will be one of the
well-know turn-in places in the southwest.
Log Rolling at City Park.
Ernie Fletcher, the
daddy of the city park, for it was Ernest who first started the ball, is
enthusiastic over the way things have been going for the past six weeks. Since
then the band stand has been moved to the park, two additional fine artesian
wells have been brought in with a splendid water supply, a large number of shade
trees have been planted, some grading of driveways has been done and
considerable other work on the grounds. Now comes the crowning job, and that is
the 50 x 100 foot swimming pool. It is estimated that it will take 400 sacks of
cement and 100 loads of sand to build this reservoir. It will be built gradually
sloping and when filled the depth of the water will be from two feet to six
feet. The depression on the east side will be sued and the excavation will be
easy. Mr. Fletcher is planning to have an old-time log-rolling with a free for
all dinner and build the big swimming pool in one day; he says it can be done
after the forms are all laid. We believe our people are a unit in the park
improvement program and that they will rally to the aid of Mr. Fletcher. “It was
estimated to take $1,500 to construct the pool.
The people of Meade
responded. Donations started pouring in immediately and the name of contributors
were listed each week in the Meade
Globe-News. Jake
Cornelson, who lived twenty miles south-east of town was the first farmer to
offer sand hauling services. Jake brought a four-horse team and hauled sand for
two days. Soon wheat harvest temporarily interrupted the sand hauling and other
work donated by area farmers, but by June 30 the forms for the walls were up and
the concrete was being poured for the new swimming pool.
In the meantime another
addition to the park was the construction of a shelter to house a register for
tourists to sign. The Globe
reported: “Mr. A.O.
Rosenberry comes in for the credit of the idea, and the making and placing of
the box, while to Mr. H. Lelewyn Jones goes credit for the register which is
sufficiently large to take care of several years. Since the completion of the
road due west of Meade and the opening of the auto park, there has been a
noticeable increase in the number of tourists passing this way…” In order to
inform the growing number of tourists about Meade County, information was soon
added to the register, articles about the artesian wells, the old salt well, the
Country Club and Big Springs Ranch, the silica industry and more. Pictures were
also placed there to help educate the traveler about our region. The names of
1,932 tourists were recorded in the register between the first of July, 1921,
and the first of January, 1922.
Fourteen well-constructed
park benches were donated to the park that summer. Members of the Arena Club
presented six and the following named business firms, one each: F.W. Fick, W.F.
Casteen & Co., Braden Grocery Co., A.M. McCay, E.C .Lepper, Meade State Bank,
First National Bank and Meade Globe-News.
All these projects paled,
however, in comparison to the construction of the swimming pool. In the
Meade Globe-News
July 14, edition; “It is estimated that the pool will hold 200,000 gallons and
that the artesian wells will fill this reservoir in about three days. This big
stream of water will be continually running into the pool and will keep the
water constantly fresh and pure. To temper the water a large stream will run in
a trough around the wall of the pool. We are safe in saying that Meade will have
a swimming pool that is unequaled anywhere in the state. And it is free for
everybody.” On July 21, it was reported that the water had been turned into the
swimming pool. Master Emery Ellis claimed the honor of having the first plunge.”
By the end of the summer
electric lights had been added to the park and in the spring of 1922, two bath
houses were added to the swimming pool. The park started to experience growing
pains as the season progressed, one Sunday in June it was estimated that from
300 to 500 cars had crowded into the camp ground and parking had become a real
problem on Sundays when people came from all over the area to enjoy Meade’s park
and pool. A special election was held on June 27, and the result was that the
City of Meade took over the operation of the park.
The artesian well as a means
of filling the swimming pool was abandoned in 1923, in favor of more efficient
pumped water as sanitation regulations dictated the pool be emptied on a regular
basis. All through the summer of 1923, the park and pool grew in popularity. The
Globe
reported in the August 15 edition, “A record crowd visited the Meade Park and
swimming pool just last Sunday. By actual count 320 cars were parked at one
time, and it is estimated that fully 2,000 people were on the grounds. The
swimming pool was filled all hours of the day, and the shade of the big trees
was an ideal place to spend the day. The big attraction was the Minneola Band,
which paid the park a visit that day. Their music was exceptionally fine, and
the concerts were well received by the large crowd present. The Minneola Band is
one of the finest musical organizations in this part of the state, and their
services have been secured for the big Meade County Fair, August 20-30
inclusive. About fifty cars from Minneola accompanied their band. Bucklin,
Ashland, Fowler, Englewood, Forgan, Liberal, Plains, Montezuma, many other
near-by towns as well as points in Colorado were represented in Meade that day.”
It wasn’t long before the
city park and swimming pool were no longer “news” to the editor or the
Meade Globe
and we kind of lost track of its progress through the late 1920’s. In 1933, Dr.
O.H. Simpson of Dodge City donated a cement statue of a steer head to the Meade
City Park. The stone walls and shelter house
would have been erected in the late 1930’s as W.P.A. (Works Progress
Administration) or C.W.A. (Civil Works Administration) projects, but we could
not obtain exact details of their construction. (UPDATE: 20012, We have learned
that the rock used in the construction of the shelter house
and rock walls at the park were obtained from the railroad.
A large railroad water well was deconstructed and the rock,
which was shipped to Meade originally from points east, was
used to build them. This explains why that rock is so much
darker in color than the other rock used in W.P.A. projects
in town such as the Dalton Gang Hideout and the old MHS
grandstands.)
The swimming pool served the
community well until 1956, at which time it was closed by the Kansas State Board
of Health. Ernie Fletcher and the men who built the old pool provided
thirty-five years of fun and summer refreshment to the community of Meade.
Meade voters went to the
polls on December 11, 1956, and voted to build a new modern pool. The city
purchased ground just to the west of the city park, and in February, 1957,
construction started, this time to the tune of $70,000. That winter gave us one
of the worst blizzards in recent history, but the pool was finished in time for
the 1957 swimming season.
Last fall the city approved
a bond issue to help pay for a major renovation project to our now,
thirty-six-year-old pool. Work progressed through the winter while Mother Nature
once again dumped record snow fall upon us. The pool was given a major overhaul,
transforming it into three sections including a baby pool, and an intermediate
pool. The bath houses were completely replaced and a new sun shade constructed
on the west side. If history repeats itself, we should be set for about another
thirty-five years!
By the way, that first pool,
constructed back in 1922, has recently been resurrected as a basketball court
by the city and the Meade Recreation Commission. Ernie, your legend lives on in
your old hometown!
Note on cement statue of steer: In June, 1933,
a concrete foundation was built in the city park on which was mounted a steer
head created and presented to the city by Dr. O.H. Simpson of Dodge City. The
statue was an exact replica of the range steer so plentiful in this area during
the days of the big cattle drives. The work was done in cement and provided
quite a conversation piece to the park for many years. We are not sure when it
disappeared, but the concrete base still stands just south of the north shelter
house in the park. Although long gone, that statue will always be a fond memory
of the kids of the 1930’s through the 1960’s who climbed on it and hung from
it’s horns.
