Caledonia swim instructor completes her 23rd year

   Diane Carson has taught children in the Cal-Mum area to swim for more than 23 years. Using her own built in swimming pool at her Middle Road home in Caledonia, Carson says this may be her last summer as a water safety instructor.

   Caledonia-Mumford Central School doesn’t have a pool. Neither the town nor the village has a public swimming pool. Nevertheless, children from the Cal-Mum School district have enjoyed the opportunity to learn water safety and swimming skills through a summer program sponsored by Caledonia Recreation and taught by Carson.

  "I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve had parents come here to bring their kids for swimming lessons, that I taught to swim when they were kids!" remarked Carson.

   She started in the 1980’s as an assistant to Bernice Emery who was teaching swimming lessons for Caledonia Recreation at her East Avenue home. At age 36, Carson was persuaded to become a Red Cross certified lifeguard. She did that and later completed the Red Cross training to become a certified water safety instructor. For a number of years, both Emery and Carson taught swimming at their home pools for the recreation program. Averaging 14 swim classes a day and a total of about 175 kids each summer participating in the program, Carson is proud to say there has never been a serious injury.

   "We’ve had a few bee stings, a couple of cuts, but nothing that required a doctor," Carson said.

   The swim program is available to kids from the Caledonia-Mumford School district that has completed kindergarten through seventh grade. Each swimmer receives 10 half-hour lessons and has the potential to earn Red Cross certification in Levels 1 – 5, or beginners/non-swimmers up to advanced swimming and competition strokes.

   "Each year we get at least one child who wants absolutely nothing to do with the water. We let them come inside the pool gate and just sit on a chair and watch the other kids. Before you know it, they’re in the water and dunking their heads underwater," remarked Carson.

   In addition to a certified water safety instructor, each swim session must have a certified lifeguard in attendance. Elise Wilkins and Kirsten Vallone of Avon are both lifeguarding poolside at the Carson pool. Wilkins, also a certified swim instructor, says learning the backstroke is the hardest thing for kids to master.

   As if all of the regulations surrounding certification and lifeguarding weren’t enough, there are just as many mandatory procedures for the pool water itself. Carson must clean and chemically treat the pool three times every day to maintain the proper standards for public use. She must also document and report the total number of bathers who use the pool each day. In addition to all of the pool maintenance and the documentation of paper work, Carson is also responsible for scheduling all of the children who are interested in taking swim lessons.

   "Not just Caledonia Recreation, but as a community, we all owe Mrs. Carson our gratitude and sincere thanks for what she has done to teach our children water safety for so many years," commented Caledonia Recreation Director Lindsey Peet.

   Carson and Peet say the community is at a disadvantage by not having a public or school swimming pool. They say the children in the community are fortunate that someone has always come forward and offered their pool for swim instruction.

   "In other communities, the recreation departments or school adult education programs offer swim lessons all year long using the school pool facility," Peet said, adding that the Caledonia swim program is doing okay with the number of kids they are affecting, considering they can only operate in the summer months. She says the Recreation Committee is in the process right now of arranging for at least one more pool location and instructor for next summer’s swim program.