A Life on the River

              FAMILtf HERALD, June 8, 1961
A Lifeline
on the
River
Story and photos by Ina Bruns
The Institute's first step was to plan a two-week
water safety program for the community.
4
Swimming lessons were given in the Little Red
River itself by instructress Mrs. June Powell.
" The Little Red River had claimed too many lives," says Gladys Schneider, left, of the Mary
Riley Women's Institute in Bowden, Alberta. " We decided to fight it on its own shores.
Today the river is not the threat it was for
180 pupils who participated in the program.
C ANADIAN summers may be brief as a bathing
suit that has spent a season out of mothballs,
yet despite their brevity, they take an appalling
number of drowning victims, Parents WRSsS children
swim even in supervised pools or lakes have felt the
pangs of anxiety, but in the Bowden, Alberta, district,
the swimming season has long been anticipated with
something akin to panic. Here youngsters have as a
swimming hole the turbulent Little Red . . . tributary
of the even more tempestuous Red Deer river.
Members of the Mary Riley Women's Institute, a
branch of a world- wide organization of country women,
pondered the riddle of the river as they discussed the
latest near- tragedy. A local boy lay in the hospital, suf­fering
from pneumonia after swallowing a large amount
of water. Not only had the lad come near death from
drowning, but he was also recovering from a badly
bruised torso after panic- stricken pals had pummelled
life back into his body with more strength than knowl­edge.
Since this boy had received " pool" instruction in
swimming, it was clearly evident such lessons were not
providing swimmers with the resources needed to meet
the challenge of the Little Red.
It took a fiery outburst from one of the Women's
Institute's enthusiastic members to set up a new pro­gram
to deal with the problem. Gladys Schneider can
be blunt when she is aroused:
" This W. I. was not formed for the purpose of idle
talk, tea- drinking and raising funds to buy funeral
wreaths!" she declared. " It's past time we face the fact
that we live beside a river, and children will swim in
that river regardless of how firmly they are warned
against its dangers. We've got to train them to swim
with local conditions. If we train the whole shebang
to swim in the Little Red, they can act as lifeguards
for each other."
The 21 members agreed that wholesale instruction
might prove the best solution. They had pleaded for
years for a lifeguard to be stationed at this popular
picnic spot, and when no brawny lad emerged from
government offices, the ladies raised funds and trained
a local youth to serve in this capacity. However, this
had not proven as successful as they had hoped, be­cause
the part- time lifeguard couldn't always be at
hand when help was needed. Before long his regular
work took him to a new area. Although children were
warned not to swim without adult guidance, the toll
mounted. A youngster played truant from classes and
became a victim.
Not long ago, the government decided to turn the
picturesque river's bend into a park. Four modern
kitchens were built, playground equipment was wel­comed,
and baseball diamonds graced the 125 acres of
river- laced countryside. The government put in a little
wading pool that provided safety for tiny tots, but for
the droves of people from Calgary and surrounding
areas that found a playground at the Little Red, death
awaited those who were caught in the cold current of
the river under unfavorable circumstances.
. Something had to be done and Gladys Schneider's
suggestion seemed the only solution left. It was decided
to provide lessons for anyone from six to sixty who
was willing to take them for a nominal fee of three
dollars for the two week period. It was anticipated that
M Rife? W. I.' s LSSffi to § wJB3 Safety" ftSgTarn
would include some 60 students. But when classes
opened, they were bulging with 180 prospective swim­mers
from a radius of 25 miles!
Finding an instructor for such an exhausting pro­gram
might have been difficult, but Mrs. Bud Carbett,
one of the members, had an ambitious aunt in Calgary,
Mrs. June Powell, who was an instructor at the Young
Women's Christian Association. The members offered
to pay her a token salary if she would instruct classes
at the Red Lodge Park. Mrs. Powell agreed.
Unbounded Enthusiasm
The Olds Gazette got behind the project with en­thusiasm
and offered to print entry forms free of
charge. Mrs. Leonard Schrader halted duties in the hay-field
where she was helping her husband bale hay, to
serve as secretary and Johnny- on- the- spot in setting
up classes. The W. I. members welcomed Mrs. Powell
with sunny skies and full lunch baskets. For the fol­lowing
ten days, chores were done early by eager
youngsters so the hours from 9: 45 a. m. to 4: 30 p. m.
could be spent at the river. Proud parents and hopeful
members watched from the river's banks as youngsters
went from bobbing and breathing, to breast stroke
and simple diving.
Mrs. Powell has a natural ability to instill confidence
in the most timid. In her quiet instruction of the classes,
she was quick to observe those who were fearful, and
she encouraged these youngsters to play in a safe area
of the river until their fear subsided. At the close of
classes, most of the students, including Gladys
Schneider and nine other adults, won their badges.
These students will, of course, upgrade their skill with
future lessons, but a beginning had been made. The
threat of the Little Red had been diminished if only
because young people learned from an expert that the
mark of a swimmer's skill is measured first of all by
the precautions he takes. Youngsters were amazed at
the respect June Powell had for water safety.
Lessons were constantly braced with lessons of the
hazards a swimmer must guard against. Each class
ended with some simple demonstration of how to cope
with an emergency or how to rescue a swimmer.
" If you can't assist a drowning victim without al­lowing
him to grasp hold of you, whip off your bath­ing
suit and use it as a rope," she advised. " Modesty
runs a poor second when it comes to a matter of life
and death."
I talked to Mrs. Powell over a cup of hot coffee
the W. I. members had provided when classes ended.
She admitted she had never before seen a venture in
water safety attempted on the scale the Mary Riley
W. I. was providing at Red Lodge Park, but she believed
there is urgent need of such classes across the country.
And she believes that parents can help their children
overcome the natural fear of water that prevents some
from learning to swim.