Southgate Swim Club Information

Believe it or not, the Southgate Swim Club was founded in the early 1960's by a surfer from Santa Cruz. Many long time members know that Clarice Roberts, an original Southgate homeowner, founded the Club and served as its Board president for many years. But I wonder how many knew of her surfing background. She grew up in Santa Cruz and surfed its beaches long before the Beach Boys ever sang a note. I learned about Clarice's surfing past when I interviewed her recently about the history of the Swim Club. Here is some of what she told me. In the early 1960's, when the Southgate neighborhood was very young and still growing, Clarice, a big fan of the water, decided it should have a Swim Club. This wasn't a wild idea; clubs had already been built in Fairway Park and Castro Valley, and Clarice wanted one in Southgate. Clarice joined the Board of the Homeowners' Association and got herself elected Chair. She began pushing the idea of a Swim Club. The Association formed a committee to look into the matter, with Clarice as Chair. They began searching the area for property. A site adjacent to the Southgate Pool and Park, now the community center, was considered and rejected as not being too open and unprotected. Property at Jackson and Calaroga that had served as a sales office for the development was considered, but that site was rejected as well. The most promising site to Clarice and the committee was a piece of land at the back of the Turner Ranch, owned by Dorothy Turner Bayliss, daughter of Florence Scott Turner. (This is the family for whom Turner Court is named.) Many of you know Dorothy's son, Teddy, who rides his bike to the Club and has helped with its maintenance. Orinda Pools, the firm that had built other area pools, was enlisted to help organize the effort to get enough sponsors on board to back a loan for the purchase of the property and the construction of the pool. A sales trailer was set up in the parking lot of the Mayfair Shopping Center (now the Bridgeport condominiums). Clarice and the other committee members canvassed the neighborhood in their cars, using a loudspeaker to invite people to go see the site. The effort worked, and enough people signed on to make it possible to get loans for the $13,000 property purchase and the $44,000 in construction funds needed to build the pool. The Club was incorporated in September, 1962, and an option to purchase 1.333 acres of land was signed with Dorothy Bayliss and her husband on October 12, 1962, which Clarice remembers as a day having one of the worst storms in area history. The stormy day ended with the Club getting its option and a tree limb on the Bayliss property falling on Clarice's station wagon. Although many hurdles still awaited them, the Committee forged ahead and managed to get the pool built, soliciting memberships from people who simply had to have faith that a swimming pool would be built and they would one day be able to swim. It did indeed get built, and was finished in February, 1964, with just under 200 families as members. An opening ceremony was held poolside, with George Oakes from the Hayward City Council speaking to the crowd. The Club officially opened for business the day before Easter, in April, 1964. Clarice said that during the Club's early years, social events scheduled monthly helped forge friendships among the members and gave the Club a strong sense of community. Luaus, fashion shows, dances (one with a band on a raft in the pool!) all helped make the Club hum with social activity. There was even one event that featured a flaming diver who dove from a forklift and could be seen from the freeway. As we look ahead to the future of the Swim Club, we should appreciate the work that Clarice and others accomplished to give us the Club we still enjoy so much.