Comments on View from the Cloud: Shrinkage? We INVENTED shrinkage!

I went to Highland Park Jr High in St. Paul (1969-...

2009-12-17T23:12:11.974-06:00

I went to Highland Park Jr High in St. Paul (1969-71) and all the boys had to swim naked. It felt weird at the time, and most of us were not comfortable, but we never questioned it because the adults told us to do it. Now, as an adult, I realize how creepy it was.

I can confirm Moonshadow's comment. I was at w...

2009-12-13T08:31:54.069-06:00

I can confirm Moonshadow's comment. I was at wedding reception the other day with a group of friends and one of my buddies was discussing a Master's swimming program he had just started. He asked if I would be interested in joining them. I replied as long as I didn't have to swim naked like I did in high school. The rest of the table laughed and assumed I was joking, which I don't blame them for since I do tend to stretch the truth occasionally. I always get the same response when I have related this story over the years, so I decided to do a web search and found this post. In the late 60's we swam naked in gym class at Wichita North High School. I was a freshman in 1968 / 1969 and graduated in 1971. Not sure when this practice was discontinued. My sisters also attended North in the 60's but they were provided with swim suits in gym class. As they related they were badly worn from years of use, poorly fitted, and had faded from our school color of red to a sickly looking pink. I guess swimming naked was better than a bunch of teen boys in pink swim suits!

Here's the original post: http://www.itsjerry...

2009-11-04T10:18:18.533-06:00

Here's the original post:

http://www.itsjerrytime.com/?p=113

sornie - The only co-ed naked swimming I remember ...

2009-10-21T14:00:30.422-05:00

sornie - The only co-ed naked swimming I remember was at the lake... at night.

roger - Yes, legend tells of these dark times in history, in this land known as Middle West.

We had no pool, so we didn't have to worry abo...

2009-10-21T09:19:49.663-05:00

We had no pool, so we didn't have to worry about it.

However, I hear stories from some of my older co-workers that describe swim class, exactly like you did. They grew up and went to school in Chicago, so maybe it's a midwestern thing.

By the time I had to do gym class swimming in midd...

2009-10-20T09:54:14.685-05:00

By the time I had to do gym class swimming in middle school our school was advanced. We had co-ed gym classes in Austin, MN so guys swimming naked would have been really awkward. But probably not too bad if the girls did it too. If you knoww aht I mean.

janna - What? Are you trying to imply that 7th gra...

2009-10-20T09:01:34.300-05:00

janna - What? Are you trying to imply that 7th grade boys don't practice good personal hygiene? Oh, you are truly out of touch my friend.

heather - Yeah, I'd say. In fact this policy made such an impact on me that I'm STILL uncomfortable swimming nude in a public pool to this day. That's messed up.

elizabeth - No ifs, ands or butts about it.

absepa - I know exactly how you felt. Lining up in our bras was humiliating for me too.

michelle - Oh you kids and your modern "no swimming nude" schools. It's a wonder you learned anything at all.

rick - Yeah but at that age, who really worried about germs? Well, besides you... nevermind.

drowsey - You'd think Canada would have started indoor pools. I can't imagine you have a very long outdoor pool "season."

jd/kathy - I know, this is all very exciting for me. If only Dave realized what an impact he's had on us. Wait... that would probably come off as pathetic, wouldn't it.

I feel like I should take a screen cap -- just in ...

2009-10-20T07:43:22.641-05:00

I feel like I should take a screen cap -- just in case he pulls his comment after all this unwanted publicity.

I'm laughing at all the Dave stuff (my sister ...

2009-10-19T14:23:33.783-05:00

I'm laughing at all the Dave stuff (my sister emailed me this weekend to say "Did you see Dave commented?). It's like there has been a Lock Ness sighting or something. I agree with JD. You should feel extremely lucky to have seen Dave make an appearance here. It won't happen again for a decade, if you're even blogging that long.

OMG! I had to come running back here because I he...

2009-10-19T13:19:36.759-05:00

OMG!

I had to come running back here because I heard Junk Drawer DAVE commented! Wow! You should feel lucky, Jeff. I don't think Dave EVER comments. Not even on Kathy's blog!

I think "different" is what they used to...

2009-10-18T17:38:18.294-05:00

I think "different" is what they used to call it, lol.

I've never gone to a school where there was a pool. I've only seen schools with pools when I watched american TV. I wonder if any Canadian schools have pools? Now my mind is wandering, mostly because I'm trying not to think of your weird gym teacher.

The worst thing about Lincoln pool, was that all d...

2009-10-18T09:55:11.972-05:00

The worst thing about Lincoln pool, was that all day long each class sat on that ceramic bench and no one ever cleaned it, at least not until the end of the day. That and the fact that every single kid, as soon as he got in the freezing water, took a leak.

I keep waiting for the "gotcha" but ther...

2009-10-17T20:24:33.393-05:00

I keep waiting for the "gotcha" but there isn't one coming, is there? Wow. I think that summarizes how my school handled swimming. In the early 90s ;)

Good Lord. And I thought I was being tortured when...

2009-10-17T17:57:05.972-05:00

Good Lord. And I thought I was being tortured when I had to line up with all the other girls in our bras, while the school nurse checked our backs to see if we had scoliosis. That was just mortifying for me.

OMG! I would have dropped out of school if this w...

2009-10-17T00:52:39.090-05:00

OMG! I would have dropped out of school if this was a policy in our school. And if I was a guy. And if our school had a pool.

Wow. This post explains so much about you.

2009-10-17T00:36:28.580-05:00

Wow. This post explains so much about you.

"growing a small mushroom on barren ground...

2009-10-16T20:10:47.626-05:00
"growing a small mushroom on barren ground..."

This made me laugh out loud. :)

Freaky.
I'm a little creeped out by the whole "mandatory nude swimming" thing, both because of the extreme embarrassment it would have caused AND because of the resulting unsanitary ickiness.

I don't even want to imagine all the germs that were doing the hokey-pokey on a ceramic tile bench that had bare naked teen boy butts squashed onto it.

Though, I bet if you looked at it under a microscope, it would look a lot like Mardi Gras.

sis - They could have used a sauna in that place, ...

2009-10-16T17:33:41.844-05:00
sis - They could have used a sauna in that place, that's for sure! As it was, after our pool lesson, we used to turn all the showers onto hot and then create a giant steam bath while we curled up into little kid-cicles up against the wall trying to get warm - until coach would come through and scream at us to get out and get dressed! I'll never forget that.

jerrychicken - You're right... at some point they did stop that practice. Can you imagine someone trying to implement naked swimming today?

dave - Hey, thanks for stopping by! I'm thrilled that other people are sharing their experiences too. This is all too funny.

Hi, this is Junk Drawer Kathy's husband, Dave....

2009-10-16T16:22:46.703-05:00
Hi, this is Junk Drawer Kathy's husband, Dave. I too swam nude through high school years 67-70. That's where I first learned that all men are not created equal. Some have big feet. We also would take communal showers. This was in Allentown Pa., so it doesn't sound like just a mid-west thing.

What I want to know is at what point did the Head ...

2009-10-16T14:27:14.573-05:00
What I want to know is at what point did the Head take the swimming coach to one side and tell him "Jack, from now on I want all the boys to wear swimming costumes", the question "Why" would surely have followed, then a long pause and a fumble for the right words, "Well Jack, you see, erm, I just think its wrong, and its been wrong for so long too"

The ymca was naked for guys, too--back in the day!...

2009-10-16T11:57:15.977-05:00
The ymca was naked for guys, too--back in the day! Seemed like all of duluth mn was "naked for guys"--hhmmmm--what's that about?? AND, it is where we (well, some of us!) have multiple guns......
Maybe it comes from all the naked sauna's in this end of the country! That was (and probably still is) "all naked, all the time!" Come to Minnesota and be naked! Yikes! I have met so FEW people who should be naked--that's my experience!
sis

patkg - Too funny. I had never heard of Jackpine S...

2009-10-16T11:07:13.632-05:00
patkg - Too funny. I had never heard of Jackpine Savage so I Google it and here is what the Urban Dictionary had to say about it:

"A person decending from northern Minnesota's iron range that does all things to satisfy their instantaneous desire. They can be found wearing winter boots year round and carrying multiple guns."

I tell ya, you learn something new every day!

ve - How scandalous!

jaffer - Ahh... definitely a cultural difference there. And I imagine that's not the only one.

sandy - There you go. It'll be interesting to see how many more people confirm this too. Thanks!

jocelyn - I don't believe it's a middle school anymore but it's the same building as what is now called Lincoln Park Elementary. It used to be Lincoln Jr. High.

Well, only the guys who were secure with their guyhood speak nonchalantly about it now... if you know what I mean. *ahem*

carlae - Go ahead and set one up and then record it. I'll wait here.

idaho dad - Thanks for looking that up. I had no idea there were actual forums and everything dedicated to this. I just thought it was weird... not life-scarring!

kathy - Good job. This is the first speechless comment I've ever received.

jd - It cracks me up that you go to those places. I can't imagine that being a relaxing and enjoyable experience... and I'm comfortable with my body! But kudos to you and your hubby for letting it all hang out. :-)

mom thumb - Ouch! That would hurt.

catladylarew - I suppose if everybody showered naked together it wasn't that much of a stretch to have the boys swim naked together. I was just surprised to find out that it's really rare.

maureen - I wished our school didn't have a pool either, but mostly because it was freezing cold and I was never a very good swimmer.

moonshadow - I suppose because skinny dipping was a choice, and swimming naked at school was mandatory. I can why that was an issue for people.

grace - There you go... another one for the record books. Thanks for the comment!

theresa b - Pool or not... you couldn't pay me to go back to jr high either. Yuk!

See, stuff like this helps explain why you couldn&...

2009-10-16T10:38:12.486-05:00
See, stuff like this helps explain why you couldn't pay me enough money to make me go back and relive my school years. And I never even went to a school with a pool.

Andrew Jackson High School, Cambria Heights, Queen...

2009-10-16T10:10:31.610-05:00
Andrew Jackson High School, Cambria Heights, Queens, NY - the boys swam naked, the girls were issued ill-fitting suits. We all got ratty, thread bare towels. Thankfully only 2 semesters of swimming were mandatory.

Why do I find all the freaked out responses to be ...

2009-10-16T09:39:27.166-05:00
Why do I find all the freaked out responses to be a little weird? In Wichita KS we didn't have a pool in Jr High, but in High School the boys swam naked, or so I was told. This was in the 70s also and I'm sure it was because the school didn't want to supply swim trunks. I recall the swim suits that were supplied for us girls as not even fitting properly dry let alone wet. Skinny dipping seemed to be a common event with boys in the summer time, so why should a swimming pool be any different than a swimming hole?