Recently I was able to thank a former English teacher for helping me develop as a person. That’s not always possible. Take Milt Snow for example. While swimming laps I see his name on a plaque when I take a break at the east end of the pool.
Milt was a major donor to Ottawa YMCA’s swimming pool, built in 1956 along with the rest of the current YMCA building. If Milt was mature and successful, as most major donors to community projects are, and was say 50 years old at the time, he would be 116 this year. Not likely. I could only imagine expressing my personal thanks to Milt Snow. So, I did.
Conversations like these are best done at a cozy diner. There we are, Milt and I, at the Hi-Way restaurant.
“You must be Milt Snow,” I say to the gentleman sitting alone in a booth. I slide in across from him, introduce myself, and shake his hand. “I could have sworn I was on time.”
“You are. I came early. What can I do for you Mr. McClure?”
“I want to thank you for giving money to the YMCA to build their swimming pool. It’s done a lot of good and brought a lot of joy to people in the Ottawa area.”
“Oh, for gosh sakes. No need to thank me. I wasn’t the only one you know.”
“I don’t imagine so, but you’re the only one with their name still on the wall.”
“Oh, that plaque. I was going to donate anonymously, but my family thought I should get some credit. They supported my idea, so I agreed to let them make my name public.”
“I’m on the Y board now. We’re breaking ground for a new YMCA building this week. There will be a whole bunch of new donors to thank, but we don’t want to forget about the old ones.”
“Do you swim Dave?”
“Gosh yes. I had a skiing accident when I was young that prevents me from running or walking for exercise. Swimming laps gives me a good workout and doesn’t stress my joints. I’ve been swimming laps in that pool since 1978.”
“Never thought of that.”
“How did your gift come about Mr. Snow?”
“A Y board member asked if I would help. I had the money, and I knew it would do some good. Heck, when I was a kid, we swam in the river. Every so often someone would drown. Besides the Pirate Puddle at OHS, Ottawa didn’t have a public indoor pool. I’ve always been glad I did it.”
“So am I Milt. Besides swimming laps, I’d give my wife a break and take my kids to family swim one night a week then stop for dessert at Oogies. Those were great times. These days the Y gives free swim lessons to grade school kids in the area. The Ottawa Dolphin Swim Team has developed hundreds of kids into great swimmers. Seniors use it for water exercise classes. It’s a busy place. It’s helped so many people in these last 66 years. Thanks again Milt, on behalf of everybody that’s benefitted.”
“You’re welcome.”
Naming rights for the new 25-yard eight lane pool scheduled to be built are still available.
- Dave McClure lives in Ottawa. He is a long-retired director of a local private agency. He is also a blogger. You can read more of Dave at Daveintheshack.blogger.com