Mark Sears has carried on his family's tradition of caring for Colman Pool in Lincoln Park, for the past 32 years. But he's considering retirement. The pool will celebrate its 75th year in 2016.
For the past 75 years the Laurence Colman Pool in Lincoln Park has been tended by a member of the Sears family.
When the pool first opened in 1941 it was Norman Sears who was tapped by Mr. Colman himself to run the pool which had been built at Point Williams at a cost of $150,000. It replaced a swimming hole that had been there for years before. The Colman family later donated the pool to the City of Seattle.
Norman and his family lived on site, in the apartment above the office as he tended to the daily maintenance and seasonal ebbs and flows of the facility. Sears had a license to operate a steam boiler before, having worked at the Alki Bathhouse when it really was a bathhouse, renting out woolen bathing suits that were laundered there. Mr. Colman liked him, and out of field of 34, Sears got the job. He did it well for decades.
When the time came for Norman to retire in 1973, his son Mark was chosen to fill his shoes. And why not? He had already had years of on the job training. He learned how to deal with a cantankerous boiler, with leaky pipes,
with the tidal flows that provide water for the pool, with all manner of events and people that made Colman Pool a local legend.
Now, after 32 years and one year shy of the pool’s 75 year diamond anniversary, retirement is on his mind. He’s not certain, but he’s leaning toward making this year his last. He too raised his own two children on site and they in keeping with family tradition have helped their father maintain and run the pool. Mark of course added an environmental twist. He often spots Killer Whales as they pass by, from his perch on the top of the pool slide and he frequently goes out in a dinghy, rowing through the waves to collect samples of what the orcas leave behind for researchers to analyze.
The job is a labor of love, and Sears has a symbiotic relationship with the entire facility, tending to the pipes and pumps, knowing each valve, each leak, and even each oak panel in the historic building’s lobby.
But it is still a job.
He’s a man in constant motion as he works to fill the 450,000 gallon Olympic size basin, spinning open a large valve that brings in the salt water from Puget Sound from three wells embedded in the beach. Moving swiftly to wrap a towel around a big pipe spraying out a spitting leak as the pressure built, he muttered jokingly, “I might have to get plumber down here.”
It has kept him here or at least kept him from doing some things he’s always wanted to do. “I’ve got a bucket list a mile long,” he said, So retirement after his own 32 years, holds attraction for him. He would like to travel the U.S.
Colman Pool is a busy place, home to swim meets, family swims, swimming lessons and water fitness. It is set to open for the season May 23 and remain open all summer until Sept. 7
In 2012 the pool underwent a significant restoration process, with new cement and rebar added to the pool shell, a new pump added, the deck resurfaced and a lot more. The pool has a bright future
And so does the historic mural in the lobby which as Sears points out, is set to be restored in time for the anniversary celebration next year. Painted by E. Trogan Norling for the pool’s grand opening it depicts various aspects of Seattle culture and healthy living that were important to the Colman’s. Field sports, sailing, the Osprey ferry that would transport people down to Camp Colman, swimming of course, music (the first four notes of the Star Spangled Banner), an industrial plant that represented the Creosote process for pilings (where the Colman’s made their money), The spire of the Plymouth Congregational Church, the clock tower of the Colman Building, and the construction of Seattle.
Help from the public is being sought to pay for the restoration of mural which has lost some of its color and impact in the last 75 years. Tax deductible donations can be made to Associated Recreation Council at 8061 Densmore Ave. N. Seattle, Wa. 98103 on online at http://donatenow.networkforgood.org/learntoswim/ (Select Colman Pool Mural Restoration). The mural will be restored in September. The following 4th of July will be celebrate the mural restoration.
For Sears his ambivalence is natural. He loves being there but 32 years is a long time in any job. “It’s a beautiful place,” he said. So don’t be surprised if you see him hang around until the pool itself is celebrated, just as his commitment to public service and the enjoyment of multiple generations should be.
