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"North Columbus Recreation Dept. 1952." What seems to be a ceremony involving ribbons and cake. 4x5 negative from the News Photo Archive. View full size.
Noticed all four in front are holding ribbons won in the swimming contest. Also, the woman at far left appears to have a knife...for cutting the cake in the box maybe?
Having spent last week at the beach, I know two things for sure:
- We don't look nearly as healthy and alive as folks in 1952.
- Today's swimsuits aren't as attractive as what they wore then.
Just how flattering a swim cap can be.
The lovely lady on the right presenting the cake is a doppelgänger for Broadway musical star Mary Martin.
Yup, I remember these. They were called 'swim meets', and the community pools in suburbia competed against each other in racing and sometimes diving as well. I used to swim in these all the time, although I'm more of an early 60s vintage, but nothing much was different than it was in '52. By late summer, when all the races were over it was usually dark and cold by the time the team gathered up for a snack .. we usually had sliced oranges.
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