Writing Wednesday: The Suburban Pool

This past week, I visited my home town of Wilmington, Delaware. No summer visit is complete without a trip to the various suburban swimming pools where I played, swam, and worked each summer. As my brother and I visited various swim clubs (with my nephews in tow!), I was struck by how little they have changed and how they represent little time capsules of mid-century suburban culture that have persisted into the 21st century. This got me thinking about the potential for a little archaeological project focused on the outdoor suburban swimming pool. My sample would be the pools of northern Wilmington where I not only grew up, but where I have some good contacts still. To be clear, this would be a kind of “me-search,” but one that would allow me to blend my own experiences with my interest in mid-century America and the way that the material remains of social institutions shaped our normative perceptions of life. The pools in north Wilmington were largely built between 1955 and 1960 and…