Shannon's Trivia Winner: McNeal's cannonball soaks the competition at pool party
By Tom Peterson with background and photos from John Foley and Bob Thouvenel
The Dalles, Ore., July 7, 2024 — This week’s trivia winner jacknifed a perfect answer bringing a big splash as we sought the answer to where the abandoned swimming pool is located in the current The Dalles High School.
The question was wildly popular on Facebook as answers poured out like kids through a water slide.
Answers considered were submitted to CCCNews via email, and we had dozens.
So we wrote those numbers in Sharpie on dive rings and threw them in the pool. Lucky number 12 was brought to the surface, making Jillian McNeal our winner for the week.
This week’s winner Jillian McNeal
“The pool is located under the custodian area and used for storage,” she told us.
Ice cream always tastes better when you win it, Jillian. Here’s to you. Shannon’s Ice Cream 318 E. Fourth Street, scooping the dream daily from noon to 9 p.m. It’s across the street from the Civic Auditorium. Look for the boneshaker out front. Offering non-dairy and sugar free options. And homemade goodness that can beat any heat.
Other correct responders had many additional details.
“ I attended TDHS from Sept. of 1969 to May of 1972, said T. Wood. “The pool was very mysterious at the time but if you lucked out and got to see the remains, you won. Down in the very basement of the building, close to the choir room and band room, voila! There was the old pool, all cemented in. Rumor had it somebody drowned by diving in and breaking their neck. Who knows?!?!”
We found no information supporting any death at the pool. However, if somebody has documentation to the contrary we are open to taking a deep dive on that as well.
“The Dalles High School swimming pool was actually in the previous building that burned down in 1940 and the present school was built over it,” Diana Compton wrote. “It wasn't used very long because in those days they didn't have the chemicals to keep it clean. It is presently in the area of the furnace room and custodian area and is used for storage.”
Good points Diana. Thanks for sending that triple gainer of an answer.
Others who jumped in the pool correctly were:
Compton, Wood, Amy Kimball, Bob Rhoades, Bruce Harris, Anne Huteson, Suzanne, Angela Phillips, Jill Pearson, Billy Brost, Bob Rhoades, Louis Gonzalez, Ellie Arceo, Leslie Wilson, Randy and Susan Stewart, Patty Rolen, and Jody Cochenour.
The pool was originally built at The Dalles High School in 1918 and survived the fire at the school in February 1940. Above is a photo of the school before it burned.
Bobbing for Details
“This is a picture of The Dalles High School Swimming Pool, I think it was added on sometime after 1918, use as a pool ended when the high school burned down on Feb. 6, 1940,” said John Foley.
“The pool was located in the south part of the building close to Kurtz Gym. Kurtz Gym was dedicated in the fall of 1939 and survived the fire because of its art deco design and mostly concrete construction. After the fire the students were scattered around town in different venues, some churches to continue their education.”
TDHS Running Coach Bob Thouvenel said that the rumors of the pool’s location were rampant ever since as many believed it to be under the Kurtz Gym Floor. Bob suggested the question for the trivia during a conversation at the Rocket Run.
Some even remembered the gym floor opening up during a school dance, exposing dancers to a fall into the pool. This did happen, but it was in a movie - It’s a Wonderful Life starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed in 1946.
Fire of 1940
John Foley provided this scan, documenting the fire of the high school in 1940. Click on image to enlarge it.
Here is what the high school looked like before it burned. The pool was located to the far left in the picture above.
Construction of a new high school was put on a fast track and started in the fall of 1940. The new school was built over the top of the old pool, and it is now under the custodian’s utility room and used for storage. A door was cut out on the north side of the pool going under the auditorium this area is also used for storage. Below is a picture taken in the fall of 1940 showing just a glimpse of the new high school construction just north of Kurtz Gym, Foley said.
Kurtz Gym while the current high School was under construction.
New School Dedicated after locals quickly pass $300,000 bond in wake of fire
Dedication of New High School from Principal H.H. Cloninger. Click image above to enlarge it.
Bob Rhoades also gave us this epic answer:
“This one was a tougher one, but I think I got it. The abandoned pool at The Dalles is located under the custodian’s utility room and is now used for storage. The “new” The Dalles High School replaced the 1918 school that burned in 1939 and the project was completed in 1941. The pool was a leftover from the old building.
Oh, and Paul Anthony Menegat was Principal of The Dalles High School from 1937-1941, so he should have been Principal when the new building was dedicated in 1941. An interesting side note here is that he went on to become a professor at Oregon State College (now OSU) and Superintendent of Schools in Spain from July 1955 until after 1957. In fact, he mentions that TDHS burned in 1939 in a dissertation that he wrote in 1953 on the history of trade and industrial education in Oregon. Even though some articles I found puts the fire in 1940, I am going with what Dr. Menegat says, since he was there. Dr. Menegat passed away in 1976 at the age of 75 in Forest Grove, Oregon.”
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