YMCA 101

In a classic Amos and Andy show Andy asked The Kingfish where he stayed while in Chicago.  The Kingfish said that he had stayed at the "Imka Hotel."  That was a translation for "The YMCA."

The New Bedford, Massachusetts YMCA was also a "hotel," where one could get a clean room for a good night's sleep.  No amenities, but, "so what?"  

The building was erected in 1888 and was patterned after somebody's castle in England.  It had 3 stories and a basement, with lots of secret rooms and hidden passages.  The perfect place for Joe Vaughan and his buddy Casey to explore and feed their imaginations.

I worked there for four years while I attended High School.  But long before then, we kids had a great time in this marvelous building.  Let's step through the space, floor by floor, starting at the top.

Casey and I found a hidden staircase on the 3rd floor.  It led to a smooth flat space on the roof, where we would spread out big YMCA towels on hot summer days and lie, naked, contentedly, in the sun, "toasting our buns." 

One Summer, we thought we saw someone in a taller building using binoculars to check us out.  We decided to begin wearing our bathing suits to avoid arrest for indecent exposure.

Bob Hastings, the physical director, had an office on the 3rd floor, outside of which was a pool table without pockets.  I couldn't figure that out, but Casey was an expert at this game that didn't need pockets. It was called "Kelly Pool," and he would beat me at that game for hours.  He had learned how to play all kinds of pool as a "setup kid" at a local pool hall.

Nearby was one of those hidden rooms that overlooked the "upper gym."  We could squat down there and watch all the basket ball games through "peep holes."

We avoided the second floor because that was where Mr. Favor, the Director, had his office.

The first floor was a remarkable place for young kids. There was one area that contained several regulation size pool tables (you know, the ones with pockets.)   There was always a line of guys waiting their turn to play. I liked to play, but I was that strange kid, the one who would rather lose than win.

Another area contained nothing but a massive grand piano.  

Another area served as a library of action type novels, like "SHE" by H. Rider Haggard, my favorite exciting read.

An elderly gentleman smoking a Meerschaum pipe  perpetually stuck in his teeth was always lurking around, to make sure that non-members took out memberships, or were sent away.  Luckily for us kids, the membership dues were quite small.

At one end of the first floor was a little store where one could buy tobacco, soap, towels and combs at inflated prices.

In the middle were doors leading to the "lower" gym.

At the other end was a door opening to a stairs leading down to the basement.  The door was controlled by a buzzer in the capable hands of the pipe-smoking man.

After being properly "buzzed," one walked down to the basement area that contained:

A massage spa run by a blind man.

A locker room. 

A caged area that held valuables, members' workout clothing and smelly sneakers, a washing machine, a spin dryer, and a constantly playing radio. 

A battery of showers.

A swimming pool for naked guys.

A toilet area that had to be kept illuminated so that hundreds of cockroaches and water bugs did not attack the user.

As I  mentioned somewhere else, a set of stairs leading from the pool to the "lower" gym.

(That reminds me:

Peggy Kirkwood was a second cousin and an impetuous artist with great skill.  At one time when I was working at the YMCA, she talked me into having a non-romantic lunch with her on a Saturday noon-time.

I got ready to leave for our lunch and as I came out of the cage area in the locker room, I noticed that someone was peeking out from behind a big locker.  Looking closer, I saw that it was Peggy, busily sketching the naked guys getting in and out of the shower.  Peggy had never had so many "real life" models for her art work and was in proverbial "Seventh Heaven."

Apparently, she had bribed the pipe smoker with Balkan Sobrani tobacco, and he had "buzzed" her down to the locker room.

Peggy had heard that I was working at a place where there were lots of naked men and planned to see and sketch them, using a lunch-time date with me as a ploy. (oy!)

Peggy went on to a long and productive life, and died just as I was about to contact her.  I wanted to find out about other stunts she may have perpetrated during this long life,)

Somewhere in this massive building were the 20 simple rooms that made up the New Bedford YMCA Hotel.

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If you are still awake... I will be blogging YMCA 102 shortly. It will contain stories about some interesting folks I interacted with during my 4 year employment at that marvelous organization.

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