The YMCA

For 4 or 5 years I worked in (and worked out) the New Bedford, Massachusetts YMCA. At that time, it was truly a "Young Men(s)" organization, not the family-oriented gym club it has become. (Not that there is anything wrong with that.) I loved my job at the YMCA.. I watched people's valuables, gave them their gym clothes and smelly sneakers, sold them combs (unofficially), showed men how to curl the famous 65 pound dumbbell, watched over the kids swimming in the pool (even saved one of them from drowning), and made lots of friends.

While I did my jobs, I always had a weight in my hand, doing curls and presses. I was in pretty good shape then .. BB (before belly).. in fact, there actually are pictures of me flexing some muscles (believe it or not). When I went into the service during the Korean War, I had planned to take my job back when I came home (at that time, employers were told to return jobs to returning servicemen.) However, when I came home, an older man was doing my job (parts of it) and I did not want to take it away from him. Anyway, I had decided to go to college then anyway, and would have only worked at the old job for a few months.

The YMCA was located in an old (c:1888) red brick building. It had 4 floors of gyms and classrooms and offices and a great cockroach-infested basement where the weight-lifting, swimming pool, showers, locker rooms areas were. But it also had secret passages. My friend, Casey and I found some of them and used to traverse them from time to time... that was lots of fun. It was a marvelous building.

Years later, when I lived in Maryland, someone wrote me that the old building had been torn down and a new facility built a few blocks away. I realized that they would need a new Y someday, but I had hoped that they would keep the wonderful old building. (It has been replaced by an ugly parking lot!)

The next time I visited New Bedford, I hurried to the new Y. I wanted to see the new facility. Also, a friend of mine was now the physical director and I wanted to talk over old times with him. When I got to the front desk, a lady said: "What do you want?" in what I thought was a rather snippy manner. But, I told her very politely that I had worked at the old Y for several years and wondered if I could take a tour of the new facility. She said: "No. You will have to pay for a membership." It was downhill from there. So, I never did get to see the place.

I was back in New Bedford for some funerals recently and learned that one of my relatives is now a manager at the Y. So, maybe someday I'll be able to visit.

Spirit, mind and body. That is (or was) the motto for the YMCA. I lived it for several years until I went into the service and got a little corrupted in the body part. However, in bringing up my children, I tried to instill the concept in them. They turned out to be amazing, thoughtful, and tolerant people, so I think that what I learned at the Y lives on.