Childhood Bliss in Prince Albert's Historic Downtown

The following remembrance was written by Historical Society Member and volunteer Kerry Hubel. Her remembrance is from the early 1960’s.

One of my early memories of early downtown Prince Albert involved regular days at the Memorial Swimming Pool in the summer.

Many of us didn’t go to the lakes, so going to the pool was great! And the price was right….only 10 cents admission! On a summer afternoon, kids (including my sisters and I) from all over Prince Albert, walked to the pool. We’d line up outside the doors waiting to be admitted; then we’d rush in to enjoy hot showers (the pre-swim ritual), then the pool with its sparkling blue water, and what seemed like hundreds of laughing kids! I remember what fun it was to leap into the water trying to find that one spot where you wouldn’t land on someone’s head.

Of course after we’d enjoyed fun at the pool for several hours, we’d be very hungry, so as we left to walk home, if we had enough money, we’d stop in at Gunnar’s Deli and Take-out on 13th Street (next to the McLeod’s store) for an order of hot french fries with vinegar.

If we didn’t have quite enough money for fries, we’d walk a half block more to the corner of Central Avenue in front of Kresge’s, where the Popcorn Man and his popcorn wagon were waiting. A bag of his popcorn was almost as good and he always had his coffee pot which was full of hot butter, ready to pour on top.

Stocked up with food, we continued home; bathing suits still on, still wet… eating and talking; recalling all the fun we’d had that day, making plans for the next trip downtown to the pool!”

For those of you who don’t know where these downtown attractions were, the Memorial Swimming Pool was on the south side of the Margo Fournier Center, where the parking lot is. Gunnar’s Deli and Take-out became  the Red Apple Store.

Kresge’s was where Bocian Jewelers is.