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Remembering Old River  hotos of summertime at Old River still bring back fond memories for many of us who grew up in the Dayton area. Back then those lucky kids who had a parent who worked for National Cash Register pretty well had their summer fun assured. Those of us who didn't curried the favor of friends who did so we too could be among the thousands beating the heat in the two-acre swimming pool or canoeing through the peaceful waters of the 1.5-mile lagoon. Old River was the vision of Colonel Edward Deeds, president and board chairman, who began his career under the tutelage of NCR founder John H. Patterson. Deeds had assisted Patterson in acquiring the farms and other parcels of land that became Hills & Dales Park, and he took to heart his mentor's philosophy on the importance of employee recreation. Deeds resigned from NCR in 1915, and Patterson donated Hills & Dales to the city in 1918. After Deeds rejoined NCR as Chairman in 1931, he decided that NCR employees should have another park where they could go with their families to relax and enjoy the out-of-doors. The Depression years of the 1930s were hardly an ideal time to embark on the construction of an elaborate employee recreation facility, and doubtless many of his colleagues must have wondered if his age wasn't catching up to him. But the Colonel, a unique combination of visionary and pragmatist, took advantage of a tricky union negotiation to find the funds needed to carry out his grand scheme. Deeds offered to build a recreation park if the employees would settle for a few cents less on the hour. They agreed, and Deeds proceeded to make good on his promise. Because they contributed so much to its funding, many employees over the years would refer to Old River as “Bonus Park.” In 1937, Deeds brought in the bulldozers. Swampland was drained, the low areas filled and seeded, and the old river bed combined with new excavation to make a lagoon. Very quickly, under the direction of Olmsted Brothers, world-famous landscape architects who designed New York's Central Park, the debris-littered acreage in NCR's backyard was transformed into one of the nation's model industrial recreation parks. Its scenic beauty was also designed to enhance Patterson Boulevard, which by 1938 was being improved as an impressive southern gateway to the city. Because the park was built partially on the former bed of the Miami River, Deeds named it “Old River.” It opened to NCR employees and their families on June 3, 1939. The large, round swimming pool with its tall center tower had a capacity of 1.5 million gallons of water and was used by as many as 6,000 bathers per day. The construction of the bathhouse continued a longtime NCR tradition, dating back to Patterson's day, of being able to complete a building almost overnight. The company took great pride in the fact that the bathhouse was put under roof in only eleven and a half working days and was completed in thirty-six and one-half working days. The pool was fed with warm water from the NCR Powerhouse. Water from the pool then flowed into the lagoon. Rustic Adirondack shelters and open fireplaces dotted the twenty-two acres of picnic groves. A baseball field with seven diamonds, shuffleboard courts, volleyball, archery, and badminton and tennis courts provided additional opportunities for recreation. The Tot Lot children's playground featured a wading pool, swings, slides and sandboxes. Parents could leave their small children in this fenced-in area under the supervision of attendants and pursue their own pleasures. Later, miniature golf was added. Motion pictures played two nights a week, and NCR's band of young people played on Sunday evenings and holidays. Excellent meals (according to one retiree they had superb fried shrimp) were served cafeteria style in the large picnic shelter every weekend. The years when corporations could afford to build and operate such large recreation facilities are gone now. But those of us who were fortunate enough to spend time there still have great memories of what was once one of the best company recreational facilities in the world. Old River Photo Gallery 1 Old River Photo Gallery 2 BACK TO TOP |
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Hawthorn
Hill, Orville Wright's home from 1914 - 1948.