A Condensed History of the Nob Valley Swim Club
Summer, 2009
In 1958, during a social gathering of Farrington Park neighbors, the idea of a neighborhood pool was born. Charter NVSC member Marietta St. John recalls that she was among neighbors meeting in the basement rec room of a friend, when someone mentioned that he was thinking of building a pool in his yard. Then another man said that he, too, was thinking of building a pool. The friends thought that building a large pool that the neighborhood could share would be economical and a great idea, but research showed that the cost of building a neighborhood pool for this handful of neighbors was too costly. However, the idea to bring more people on board with the idea of building a community pool was raised.
These North Brunswick residents decided to organize and form a club for the purposes of swimming and recreation and open it up to the community at large. The club would be called Nob Valley Swim Club (Nob meaning North Brunswick).
Back in 1958, North Brunswick was still very rural, and many of the charter members recently recalled how the North Brunswick area still had a lot of farms. Fortunately for the founding members of the swim club, land was readily available, and Eva Gillhuly sold two tracts of land to the organizers of Nob Valley. An agreement was signed August 4, 1959 for $16,000 that had the following contingencies:1. The purchaser desires to use the land for a non-profit swim club;2. The purchaser will make proper application and get subscribers and approval for variances, licenses, etc.;3. Purchaser could cancel the contract by October 15, 1959 if the above was not achieved;4. $50 down payment was made.
Needless to say, enough subscribers were signed, and the non-profit Swim Club opened for business in 1960. The Club was advertised by brochure, and eventually had about 75 members in its first year.
Many residents in Farrington Park were new to the area, having moved from New York City or other areas. One of the first structures built besides the pools and bathhouse was the handball/paddleball court. Many of the members played in the city in their youth and after moving to New Jersey, wanted a court to continue to play handball and paddleball. Senior NVSC member Nick Sicurella recalls how the men liked to play at the handball courts so much that in the winter they shoveled snow off the courts to play. The tennis courts were built later, as was the Pavilion.
Charter members of the club describe how the club was in its first decade. In 1960, family life was very different: moms stayed home with school age children while the fathers worked in the city or elsewhere in New Jersey. Nob Valley reflected this traditional life style: The Club would be filled to capacity with children and their mothers during the day, and on the weekends, the entire family would come to the Club to relax and play. Tables and chairs were set up by the kiddie pool where the mothers would play cards – the game of Bridge was very popular.
Another popular activity was tennis. Both Mr. Sicurella and fellow senior NVSC member Anne Casey recalled that if a member didn’t reserve a court early in the week, the member would not be able to play at all on the weekend because there was always a waiting list. The pool manager, Bill “Pell” Pellagrino, doubled as a tennis instructor and taught tennis lessons for free in addition to his other duties. Pellagrino Way, the entrance to the Swim Club, is named for him because of his dedication and tenure at the Club. His daughter, Vicky, is currently one of the pool managers, and she recalls how much fun it was to be at Nob Valley as a child. One fun event that she remembered was how the Swim Team camped out on the grounds, with their parents sleeping nearby. No one got much sleep!
Mrs. Casey and Mrs. St. John mentioned that there were a lot of pool and lawn games and activities for the children, square dancing and dinners at the Pavilion as well as a Memorial Day 5K race organized by a member who was a runner. An event that everyone looked forward to was the Water Ballet, organized by a member and performed by volunteers for the membership. Children played together on the grounds while their parents socialized with each other, and everyone was relaxed because NOB Valley was - and still is - a safe environment for families.
From the 1970s through the 1980s, there were changes: The club used to be extremely crowded during the weekdays in the summers in the 1960s, but beginning in the 1970s, as more mothers went to work, the daytime attendance dropped. While Nob Valley may not have the weekday population of the 1960s, we still have plenty of mothers - and fathers - who are stay-at-home-parents hanging out at the pool where their children can play with each other. And evenings and weekends are still extremely popular with families for socializing, barbequing and having fun with each other.
Nob Valley Swim Club is marking its 49th year in 2009 as a private swim club open to all individuals, families and other towns. As one of North Brunswick’s hidden jewels and a tradition to many area families, we are a volunteer-run, family-oriented Club with a full calendar of events for the summer for children and their parents.
Nob Valley is situated on 5 acres with trees buffering the edges of the property, offering quiet, privacy and shady green lawns for children to run on and play, despite just being just off the busy Route 130 corridor. With a full calendar of family events, NOB Valley is stepping back in time to bring the simpler pleasures of life for families to enjoy. In these days of economic hardship, a family membership at NOB Valley is the ideal, inexpensive “Staycation.”
The 2009 Events Schedule features outdoor family movie nights at the Club, a star party, pasta dinner, and various other family events, children’s games, and adult events such as casino night. Besides the use of the pools, tennis, basketball and handball courts, and playgrounds, members can take advantage of club features like the Snack Shack, showers and changing areas, swimming lessons for their children during the month of July, use of the Pavilion area for parties and dining, and gas grills for cooking.
NVSC also supports the Nob Valley Swim Team, which competes around the region against other swim teams every summer. Many of our area’s most talented and competitive swimmers swim in the summer on the NVST, but it is also fun for the kids to swim against peers in friendly competition. If a child can swim, he or she is welcome to join the Swim Team, and the coaches will encourage improving breathing and strokes as well as learning to dive headfirst into the water. Many NVST parents support the Team by taking a short course and volunteering as meet officials, or by raising money by selling food at swim meets or Swim Team apparel. Our Swim Team began meeting for swim practice in late May, and swim meets are scheduled throughout the months of June and July.
An innovation to support the non-profit Swim Club’s activities was introduced in 2009 as the advertising banner program. It was started to raise awareness of the Club in the community as well to raise funds to support the Club and the Nob Valley Swim Team, and this campaign has been well received by local businesses. The banners are displayed on the perimeter of the pool area where members and guests can view them. The Nob Valley Swim Team will be hosting swim meets at NVSC and families from outside the area can take advantage of our advertisers’ locations and services after the meets are over.
As we ease into our 50th year as a community resource, Nob Valley Swim Club looks to another successful and fun season at Nob Valley Swim Club. Please feel free to come down to the Club for a tour; also feel free visit our website at www.nobvalleyswimclub.com or phone 732-297-5338.
Epilogue
During the summer or 2009 the current board and committees pushed forth an effort to raise membership numbers in the hope that we could continue the club for several more generations of families. We added to those memories of yesteryear with Movie Night, barbeques, pool and lawn games, and even (finally) a star party, while appreciating NOB Valley for what it was – an extension of our backyards shared by friends.
With a heavy heart, I now pen the last chapter in the history of NOB Valley. Due to membership decline and the current economic climate, the bonded members have voted to disband the club. We have been operating at a loss for a number of years, and it is not feasible to continue. It is regrettable that it has taken this long to notify the members, but the board has finally exhausted every reasonable option to keep the club open.
So, in what would have been its 50th year, NOB Valley Swim Club is no more. We will always have our memories of children happily running across the lawn with their towels flapping behind, of the lobster dinners, the Snack Shack, the belly flops off the diving board, and just having a good time by enjoying NOB Valley and its large extended family.
Goodbye and thank you, NOB Valley – we will miss you!
[Author’s note: This history is incomplete without your input; if you have a story to tell about the early days of Nob Valley, or even if you have a more recent story you would like to share, please contact me at here. Thank you!]