Monday, July 1, 2024
Lifeguards Reflect on Years of Working Together
Recent Shelbyville High School graduates and friends Wyatt Haacker, Daniel Vazquez and Isabella Matney are in their third summer working together at the Meridian Park Family Aquatic Center. | photo by KRISTIAAN RAWLINGS
Pythagoras, who coined the phrase “Friends share all things,” would have liked Wyatt Haacker, Isabella Matney and Daniel Vazquez. The trio have shared countless high school memories, a recent out-of-country spring break trip and the same summer job the past three years.
Matney, then 15, was hired first, four summers ago as a lifeguard at the Meridian Park Family Aquatic Center. She immediately got to work persuading Haacker and Vazquez to apply.
“I had to convince them,” Matney said Saturday, while the four of us sat outside at Just Peachy Cafe, anchoring our menus from the breeze while chimes collided in the background.
Her friends’ hesitation derived from the $250 lifeguard certification costs, with no guarantee of an available position.
But Vazquez relented, and soon Haacker, whose older sister, Adeline, gave positive reviews of her lifeguarding experiences at White Rock, also committed to the cause. By the end of their sophomore year, the trio were a united front at the pool.
For Haacker, who had previously worked in fast food with people he didn’t otherwise know, the change in atmosphere was immediately noticeable.
“Friendship makes a huge difference in the experience,” he said. “And, it’s a better job, too.” He now serves as a head guard.
The city pool has long attracted top students looking for meaningful and fun summer employment. With hundreds of children visiting the pool on any given summer day, the staff of lifeguards and concession workers stay busy.
Vazquez had a “double save” the other day, meaning he rescued two children struggling in the water.
“It can be a really serious job,” he said, “but it is mostly about customer service.”
Many children look forward to chatting with the lifeguards, and there are, of course, some who need additional guidance.
“We don’t rescue people as often as we interact with them,” Matney, now a crew leader, said. “You have to know how to be kind to everybody, treat everyone with respect, and start every day new.”
But when the pool clears and it’s staff-only time, the crew has been known to bend some of the very rules they enforce.
“Honestly, it feels great. I can see why kids want to break the rules,” Vazquez said, laughing.
In her leadership role, Matney arrives an hour before opening. The lifeguards report 30 minutes in advance and complete a set of tasks, such as preparing the pool and opening the umbrellas. When time remains, they play games together.
“I was reflecting on this the other day,” Matney said. “In what other job can you get all of your chores done and just play Foursquare?”
The pool is open daily, including July the Fourth, when the staff host a pitch-in and dress in patriotic colors.
“For a city our size to have a facility like this is huge,” Matney said. “And I love the design of our pool: the beachfront area, the slides.”
The admission fee is also a deal, Haacker said, calling it “pre-inflation pricing.”
But with college looming - Haacker is heading to Notre Dame and Matney and Vazquez to Indiana University - next year’s plans are uncertain. They’re not ruling out a return to the local pool.
After all, Vazquez said, working with your friends is a unique experience.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Matney agreed. “When we’re not all scheduled together, it’s kind of sad.”
NOTEBOOK:
HOOSIER NEWS: Duke Energy is asking state regulators to approve almost $500 million in new rate increases – which would raise the average customer’s bill by about $27 a month. Customers and advocates expressed their concerns about these rate increases in front of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and Indiana Office of the Utility Consumer Counselor on Thursday, some saying Duke’s coal plants in the state have lost millions of dollars but Duke continues to profit despite this by raising customer rates. In April, the Sierra Club said two of Duke Energy’s plants – the Edwardsport coal gasification plant and the Gibson plant – have lost revenue and remain environmental hazards. A Duke Energy spokesperson said previously the company was looking into cleaner energy options, but needed to use fossil fuels to ensure reliability in energy. (Indiana Public Media)
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This Day in Shelby County History
News around Shelbyville and the surrounding area as reported on or about this date in history. Selections are curated from the Shelby County Public Library Genealogy Department.
2014: Doug Theobald of Shelbyville finished second at a National Tractor Pulling Association event at the Shelby County Fairgrounds, pulling second in the two-wheel drive truck class.
2004: A great horned owl that had been shot down in the county, possibly by an area youth who was known to shoot animals for sport, was rescued by Phillip and Kim Gifford, who rescued various types of wildlife. They cared for the owl, but it eventually had to be euthanized due an infection in its wing.
1994: Tom Hession, 455 E. Edgewood Dr., Shelbyville, was named to succeed Mike Pence as president of the Indiana Policy Review Foundation. Pence had left the foundation to concentrate on his radio show. Hession had come to Shelbyville in 1968 as a teacher and varsity football and baseball coach. He later left teaching for a position with Central Indiana Bank.
1984: Four prehistoric skeletal remains were found at Wheeler Corp.’s gravel pit off Boggstown Road. Chester Ficklin, Mark Wolfal, Tom Wheeler, Claude Spilman Sr., Sharon Lynn and conservation officer Jeff Wells all visited to review the finds.
Shelby County Courthouse employees held a surprise pitch-in lunch for courthouse custodians Frank Burch and Tim Hirschauer.
The Bear’s Den announced plans to celebrate its 30th anniversary on July 4. Paul and Bev Means had owned the restaurant for 20 years. Bev said Bear’s Den had survived when other such drive-in businesses failed “because a lot of hours of dedication and because we’re fussy about how we serve our customers.”
An Indianapolis firm quoted county officials $4,500 to repair the courthouse elevator. Kelly Wiring, a local company, did the job, which involved replacing a switch, for $80.
1974: James Taggart Jr., of St. Paul, caught a 17-pound carp in the Flat Rock River near the Alley Lumber Company sawmill.
Six young adults and four teenagers were arrested at a Riley Village home on Tailholt Lane for possession of beer and marijuana.
1964: A driverless car rolled out of a parking lot beside the Tower medical building, crossed the first alley west of Tompkins St. and smashed into 112 W. Franklin St., the home of Mrs. Glidden. The vehicle belonged to Anna Marie Dobbs, 25, who was inside the medical building. The impact knocked out several bricks from the home’s foundation.
Several more ladies signed up for the Shelby County Fair Queen contest, including Sandra Kuhn, Joyce Winkler, Sandra Kennedy, Pam Parker, Rebecca Tucker, Kristi Meiser, Vicki Meiser, Carol Ollis, Patsy Bowman and Mary Alice Phares.
1954: A widely-publicized solar eclipse featuring 75 percent totality was marred locally by clouds.
Gen Pro, a Shelbyville industry which had started with only a few employees, had grown to employ 50 in just one year of business.
1944: Rev. Richard Rasche, 24, of Louisville, was named pastor of First Evangelical Church. (Rasche died in 1984 and is buried in Forest Hill. He married Phyllis Kuhn in 1950, and she just passed away last year.)
1934: Work began to remove the abandoned traction line on Harrison Street, between Broadway and Pennsylvanis St. The area was resurfaced with rock asphalt.
1924: A Boggstown area resident was brought to Major Hospital. The man had been slow to recover from dynamiting some stumps near Boggstown.
The Porter Mirror and Glass Company, owned and controlled by Enos Porter of Shelbyville, started construction of a mirror and glass factory in Los Angeles. The new factory would be led by William Porter, son of Enos Porter. The company had begun operations in Shelbyville 30 years prior.
1914: Edmond Parrish, 88, one of the oldest native born residents of Shelby County, died at the home of Samuel Bray, 723 South West St. Parrish had left Shelby County for California in the Gold Rush of 1849, where he remained seven years. Burial would be in the Parrish Cemetery in Shelby Township.
Shelbyville Police announced rules for July the Fourth, which included banning cannons, giant firecrackers and “serpentine rockets.” The rules would help prevent injuries, they said. “No person shall let off, fire or discharge any firecrackers, rockets, roman candles, grasshoppers, serpents, torpedoes or any other fireworks of whatsoever name or description in any street, lane, alley, sidewalk, market place or public ground or common within the city,” a police notice said. “Here’s the kill joy,” the Shelbyville Republican summarized. Mayor Schoelch said the prohibitions did not prevent people from shooting off fireworks in their own yards, “for you can burn up your own home if you like,” the paper said.
OBITUARIES
Larry Wayne Sturgis, 66, of Shelbyville, passed away Friday, June 28, 2024, at MHP Medical Center in Shelbyville. He was born March 30, 1958, in Indianapolis, the son of Elmer Sturgis and Lillian (Ausman) Perry. Larry is survived by his sisters, Ruth Hicks of Shelbyville, and Martha Sturgis of Greenwood; brother, Jeff Sturgis of Florida; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents.
Larry was formerly an auto mechanic.
Services have been entrusted to Freeman Family Funeral Homes and Crematory, 819 S. Harrison St. in Shelbyville. Online condolences may be shared with Larry’s family at www.freemanfamilyfuneralhomes.com.
Robert Michael “Mike” Harms, 80, of Shelbyville passed away Friday, June 28, 2024 at Compassus Hospice in Indianapolis. He was born November 12, 1943 in Florida to Robert D. Harms and Ariana (Eckstein) Harms.
He attended First Christian Church. Mike was an EMT/Firefighter for the City of Shelbyville, before retiring. Mike also served as a reserve police officer. He was also a manager of Hilltop Village and a school bus driver for Shelby Central Schools.
Mike always made time to be with his grandchildren and attend their activities.
He married Mary Rose (Golob) Harms on November 1, 1974, and she preceded him in death February 20, 2022. Mike is survived by his daughter, Amber (husband, Adam) Stafford, step-daughters, Jolinda (husband, Pat) Smiar, and Tantania (husband, Abe) Skinner, and; his grandchildren, Tatania Skinner, Cordell Skinner, Karen Smiar, Anthony Stafford, and Arianna Stafford, and his sister, Ginny. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, and his brothers, Gary, and Jay, and his sister, Sandy.
Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday, July 2, 2024 at Murphy-Parks Funeral Service, 703 S. Harrison Street, Shelbyville, IN 46176. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m., Wednesday, July 3, 2024 at the funeral home with Reverend Beth Crouch officiating. Burial will be in Whispering Hope Memorial Gardens and Crematory. Funeral Directors Greg Parks, Sheila Parks, Stuart Parks, and Darin Schutt are honored to serve Michael’s family. Online condolences may be shared at www.murphyparks.com.