It’s been a long time ago now it seems when our family of six got in our car and took what felt like was a long drive to the Green River in Polk County. It was in that river where my sisters and I actually learned to swim, due to the techniques taught to us by Daddy.
The Green River was not a secret place, but there were very few people there on hot summer Sunday afternoons when we went for a delightful time of swimming and playing on a white sandy beach.
After arriving on the property of the Green River, we’d walk a short distance through, what I remember, was a grove of trees. Once through the trees, the view of that river opened a new world for us. My sister said it was “like paradise.” We walked down a path onto the beach area and then the beautiful flowing river water in colors of greens and blues was right before us. Magic.
There was even a rock for diving in one area and in another there was plenty of wading and just playing in the cool shallow waters. Picnics were enjoyed on the beach.
Daddy would take a perfect dive from the rock and try to coax us to do the same or to at least jump as he waited to catch us. I wasn’t brave enough back then to jump off the rock, but I loved paddling around those who were diving. I wasn’t afraid to “go under” but I couldn’t muster up enough courage for rock plunging.
One of my sisters said she remembers trying to get up enough nerve “to jump off that rock.”
Mama never learned, but she loved watching her four girls swim. For her rivers, lakes and the ocean were for peace, quiet, respite and a place to catch lots of fish. She was always with us, but not so much as in the deep “end.”
Later in life, she’d call me at the news office to tell me she was taking a break from gardening and was going fishing. I’d calmly remind her not to get too close to the edge and fall in the lake.
The Green River was a little slice of heaven.
Several times, I’ve tried unsuccessfully to find that same swimming hole where I have so many memories of our immediate family, the Crawfords, Gordons and friends.
We stopped going there as a family when we were teenagers, not sure exactly why, but never forgot the place we all loved so dearly. Every time I’m in that area, I plug deep into my memory channel.
While camping in the Great Smoky Mountains at Smokemont, we were introduced to the Oconaluftee River where we’d also swim on cool afternoons. We loved that often ice-cold river, too.
If we weren’t swimming in rivers while camping or spending Sunday afternoons at the river, we’d venture over to the Forest City or Rutherfordton municipal swimming pools where we honed our swimming skills, but only on Fridays. My niece Abi refers to that kind of day as “a free day.”
A free summer day for my sisters and I was when there was no school, no household chores, no tomato peeling, green bean breaking or corn to shuck and no house cleaning. It was our free day for swimming with friends.
Our State magazine, North Carolina’s finest, shared a story of swimming holes across the state in its latest edition.
The Quarry at Carrigan Farms in Mooresville, the Sunburst Swimming Hole in Canton; The Sandy Refuge, RiverPark at Cooleemee Falls, Slip’n Slide in Brevard; Safe Shores in Elizabethtown and the Local Park Pool, Hickory were all described to readers.
I wish they’d heard of the Green River, but it was just one of those hidden gems of our part of the state.
Where’s your favorite swimming hole? If you can’t find it, look back through the years of memories as I’ve been doing.
The smell of that Green River, the beautiful trees surrounding it and the “diving rock” that was not for the faint of heart, are memories of a simpler time growing up.
Happy swimming.
Jean Gordon is an award-winning journalist, spending nearly 49 years writing for two newspapers in Rutherford County. Contact her via email: gordonjean211@gmailcom
