By Jay Moore

For decades locals have been telling an Abilene tale so outlandish that I was certain it was an urban myth. Most of those who repeated the story heard it second-hand, having never seen any actual proof. I considered the far-fetched story to be no more than an exaggeration, just a preposterous legend told as a way to poke fun and overemphasize the straight-laced behavior of some among us. But a few swore it was a fact. And some of them were people I trusted. So, was it true? Could there really have been such a swimming pool!? With a fence down the middle!!? To keep Church of Christ boys and girls separate!!!?

Turns out, the legend of a pool with a sin-deflecting barrier is 100 percent true. 

I came around as a believer when none other than our venerable state representative Stan Lambert told me it was fact. And, if Stan says it is so, then it is so. Plus, he had a photo. There was such a pool…with such a fence…with a purpose apparently rooted in scripture. I was gobsmacked; couldn’t have been more surprised had Elvis walked into the room. 

Those swimming kids — including politico Lambert — were aquatically-asundered for the sake of sinlessness!! (No wonder he wants a hand in shaping public policy!)

Immediately, I had two burning questions: 1. Mixed swimming is a sin!?  and  2. Did the fence extend all the way to the bottom of the pool?  The answer to No. 1 is up for debate. It seems that coed swimming is not directly addressed in scripture; rather, it’s an implied wrongdoing affiliated with the enumerated sin of lust — which is heavily touched upon in both the Old and New Testament. The answer to No. 2 is, yes, it went clear to the bottom.

In July of 1960, the 32-acre Christian Youth Center, or CYC, opened in east Abilene. The effort was led by Bill Johnson, the education minister at College Church of Christ (University Church of Christ today). Mr. Johnson dreamed of a park where families could visit and enjoy wholesome recreation; a place where you could camp, fish, hike, bike, ride horses, take boat rides, have picnics, and swim in a pool divided by a really tall fence. The CYC was located just east of Loop 322, not too far south of Interstate 20. 

There was a five-acre lake stocked for fishing. (Created when dirt was excavated for nearby highway work)  In the middle of the lake—connected by walkways—was a football-field-sized island to camp and picnic on. Also on the grounds was an amphitheater, basketball and volleyball courts, a softball diamond, and stables for 23 horses. There was a gym, a hobby shop and kitchen facilities. If you look east while driving on 322, you can still spot the old two-story recreation building. 

You did not have to be a member of the C of C to be a member of the CYC. My friend Tommy Morris described the whole thing as “loosely a Church of Christ country club.” Everyone was welcome; however, it tended to be mainly C of C youth using the pool since teens and pre-teens of other churches preferred the optical benefits and frolicsome atmosphere afforded in a mixed bathing environment. 

The CYC swimming pool was 50’ x 75’ and, indeed, a sin-saving wooden fence cut it right down the middle and clear to the bottom. Tommy recalled that initially there were plans for two pools, his and hers, but it was a lot less expensive to run a fence down the middle of the first pool and forgo the second. Absent a good knothole, the only chance to espy the other side was to get a strong bounce off the diving board. A high catapult gave a boy a real chance of catching a brief, albeit sacrilegious, glimpse of a girl wearing a modest swimsuit.

Pull up Google Earth and zoom in just east of 322 between I-20 and East 80. You’ll find it. You can see the lake, the island, the old activity building and the pool half-filled with stagnant water. The fence is gone; probably donated to the Smithsonian.

Stan Lambert reported that his sisters worked as CYC lifeguards and they even came up with a little ditty that he remembers yet: 

“The CYC is the place for me,

Where the boys and girls swim separately!!”

In 1973, the CYC property was sold at a foreclosure auction. I’m uncertain of the current C of C swimming arrangements.