60 years later, neighbourhood pool remains a summer treat for Mississauga residents
Published July 29, 2022 at 1:05 pm
Watching as public pools got built in Port Credit and Oakville, a Mississauga community banded together to build a community pool even though they couldn’t get a permit.
The Fairfields Swimming Club in Clarkson started more than 60 years ago. In the summer evenings in the 1950s, neighbours would get together for backyard barbeques. The homes were new at that time and the young community was just starting to grow.
“This was pre-community centres, this was pre-everything,” says Mary Kidnew, Fairfields Swimming Club board member. “So most of the houses in the neighbourhood weren’t even built yet.”
A group of families got together and decided to build a pool for the community. They found a piece of land resident Tom Cavan offered for the community endeavour. But the township (pre-amalgamation) wouldn’t issue a building permit. However, the land still belonged to Cavan so he applied for a private pool permit and they opened in 1960. The group later successfully got approval at the Ontario Municipal Board in 1961.
The pool continues to be owned and operated by members.
The concept is unusual but there are other neighbourhood run pools in Quebec and there were two in Ontario when Fairfields opened.
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“We’re unique, absolutely a unique gem within the community,” says Kidnew. “It’s like having your own pool but you don’t have to take care of it.”
The pool operates with families buying a share at $375. If they move, they can sell the share. Each family (two adults and unmarried children) also pays $675 in annual fees to maintain the pool and pay lifeguard staff.
At first, there were 125 shares but that number has increased to 153 today. Kidnew says they have a few shares available to sell this year.
Included in the annual fee are swimming lessons for each member of the family, swim practices, and social events. The pool is open daily for adult and family swims from early June to Labour Day weekend.
Fairfields celebrated 60 years in 2020 but they weren’t able to celebrate as they hoped. The pool continued to operate during the pandemic but there were capacity restrictions. This year the pool opened on June 11 and is back to normal.
They are planning a celebration in 2025 for 65 years.
For members, the pool is a special place.
“It’s a great place for family, it’s community,” says Kidnew. “People get to spend summer with other people.”
For more information about how to become a member, visit the Fairfields Swim Club website.
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