Considering what a glorious, sun-splashed day it was, the adjectives being thrown around Monday were decidedly downcast.
One man described it as “depressing.” A lifeguard said it was “a bummer.” And one little girl scrunched up her nose at the mere thought of it.
Sunbathers, swimmers and lifeguards could be forgiven their melancholy, though; beaches and pools in the city and throughout the area closed for the year Monday, on Labor Day, the symbolic end of summer.
“We’re all looking at each other here and saying, `Where did the summer go?’ ” said Joe Pecorara, manager of the Chicago Park District’s 31 beaches and 90 swimming pools.
Throughout the suburbs the mantra was the same. From the Adler Park Swimming Pool in Libertyville to the Aqua Center in Park Forest and the Lions Park Pool in Clarendon Hills: All closed their gates Monday evening for the final time in 1997.
“It’s depressing,” said Gary Larson, who drove to Chicago from LaGrange with his family to enjoy one final day at North Avenue Beach. “I hate to think about it.”
As Larson paused to take off his shoes before hitting the beach, his two sons, ages 8 and 9, were already kicking up sand in a mad sprint to the water.
“They probably don’t know the difference. I knew they’d be doing that regardless,” he said. “But I recommend we shift the whole calendar to get a few more weeks of this.”
Beth Marder, who was at North Avenue with twin 2-year-old daughters, was “very sad” the beach was closing but said she may return in ensuing weeks with or without the presence of lifeguards.
“How can you be here with kids and keep them out of the water?” she said, as daughter Stephanie squirmed to be freed from her arms to run onto the beach. “The beaches should be open longer.”
But that would be difficult at beaches and pools where most lifeguards are high school and college students, who head back to school after Labor Day.
For many among the 1,000 lifeguards in the city, Monday meant hanging up the whistle and swimming trunks for backpacks and books. Alex Garza, 17, is a junior at Mt. Carmel High School, where he started school last week.
“This is it for the summer. It’s kind of a bummer,” Garza said.
Garza worked at the Humboldt Park beach the last two summers. He said he enjoyed working outdoors but was also motivated by the money: Park District lifeguards make nearly $9 an hour.
Guards at Humboldt Park may have an even more interesting assignment than their lakefront counterparts. They break up the occasional gang fight, chase raccoons and geese from the water, help track down lost children and hold sway over frequent baptismal rites. And–oh yeah–they keep a trained eye on the swimmers, as well.
“I think it’s the best job for a teenager,” said lifeguard Andrew Germanovich, 18. “You can work out and get a suntan while on the job.”
Germanovich started his freshman year at the University of Illinois-Chicago last week, where he plans to major in pre-medicine. It sounded like his mind would be at the beach for some time, though.
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“The days just go by so fast. It’s so much fun you don’t notice until the summer’s over,” he said.
Not all lifeguards are students. Jim Aldworth, 26, stood watch at North Avenue Beach, where he hopes his lifeguard work kept him in good enough shape to qualify to become a Chicago firefighter this year.
He said he will miss the work but knows there will always be a beach and a summer.
“Lifeguard for life. That’s a motto we have,” he said.”