Opp Pool Finally Open

After waiting for funding and donations to come in plus wading through years of yellow tape and paperwork, the Opp Memorial Pool and Park is finally finished.

“We had a lot of those residents that came in there and gave, you know, what to them was just as important when they gave $100,” said Opp Mayor John Bartholomew. “It was just as important when they gave $50, because they were giving their hearts and their souls to see this pool back.”

The new pool will have many features the original did not, but the main message of honoring veterans and providing a safe place for children to play will always remain the same. Mayor Bartholomew says there will be touch pad sensors, a scoreboard for swim meets, and swim stands added to the pool next week. Memorials for all branches of the military will also be added to the grounds around the pool – but on opening day, it was all about fun.

Maddie Barns is a rising fourth grader, and was the first one to jump into the new pool.

“I had everybody looking at me and it was just… I felt like a star!” she said.

But not far behind her was Myrtle Wright Floyd. Wright Floyd grew up swimming in the original memorial pool, and was five years old at the first opening ceremony.

“I grew up in Opp, and I was at this dedication in 1948,” she said. “I swam in this pool forever, my grandaddy gave me a season ticket so that I never had to pay when I came to swim.”

The pool, built 68 years ago, is bringing together many different generations. The children of today have a place to play in the heart of Opp, and the children of the past get a chance to play in the water once again.

“My main goal in getting this pool is for the children of Opp to enjoy what I enjoyed as a young girl growing up in Opp, Alabama,” added Wright Floyd.

The pool is located on Hardin Street in Opp. Admission for one day of swimming is only $1, and the pool area can be rented out for parties and events.