Over the decades, the landscape of Montrose County changed and a plaque to honor the men and women of World War II disappeared. Now, after eight years of searching, veterans will once again be memorialized at the community’s swimming pool.
It started in 1945 when several Montrose organizations including the Lions Club, V.F.W. Auxiliary and Elks Lodge decided to create a permanent board of directors that would raise funds and supervise planning and construction of a swimming pool to memorialize Montrose County service people, according to a May 9, 1945 article in the Daily Press.
  
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“Funds collected will be held in trust under supervision of the newly elected board of directors,” stated the 1945 article, “and they will not be expended for construction of the pool until the war terminates and labor and materials are made available.”
The pool was finally constructed in the mid-1950s and the Montrose Recreation District was created with the sole purpose of managing the new facility. The people of the district were in favor of the pool and passed a bond issue by a 2 to 1 margin, according to the Montrose, Colorado Centennial book.
On the pool’s opening day on June 9, 1957, more than 1,200 people showed up for the memorial dedication. The brass plaque which recognized the men and women who served in WWII was mounted on the wall of the bathhouse, according to 1957 Daily Press articles.
More than 400 paid admissions were reported; persons 12 and under paid 25 cents, while people older than 12 paid 50 cents. A 30-swim ticket was available for $7.50 and $3.75. Swimsuits could be rented for 25 to 50 cents and towels for 10 cents.
In 1987 though, a new pool was built and a contest was used to decide its name — Aquatic Center. The old pool was demolished. However, Bob Cruz, currently the district’s facility operations manager and then, part of the demolition team, knew the plaque needed to be saved.
“My dad is a WWII vet and at the time I didn’t think that it should be torn down with the rest of the building,” Cruz said.
In 2000, Duane Watford, member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans and American Legion, was searching through old newspaper articles to collect the names of fallen soldiers. He came across the pool dedication and fundraising articles and his search for the plaque began. It wasn’t until three months ago that it all came together.
Watford, like other veterans, was aggravated that the memorial pool would be no longer.
But this weekend, veterans and the community can once again view the plaque and remember their fellow neighbors who fought in WWII as the plaque will be displayed in the entrance of the Aquatic Center.
The community is invited to the special ceremony on Armed Forces Day (Saturday) where the plaque will be unveiled and the WWII veterans will once more be memorialized.
The event starts at 10 a.m.
As part of the celebration, the Aquatic Center will lower the pool entry prices, for Saturday only, back to the original 1957 prices.
Contact Kati O’Hare via e-mail at katio@montrosepress.com
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