Many years ago, the Lions Club pool was a major attraction for regional residents around Portage la Prairie. It's since been replaced with a housing development near the roundabout on the north side of the Crescent Lake, at the corner of Royal and Crescent Road East. Retiring chair of the Portage Heritage Advisory Committee James Kostuchuk says the pool resulted from a tragic incident.
"It came out of the drowning of two children before the pool was built," explains Kostuchuk. "Children would go swim in the river. Two kids went to the river and didn't come back by dark like they were supposed to. And then a search parties were sent out and the brother and sister drowned."
Kostuchuk says residents presumed one of the children got into trouble and the other likely remained to help rescue the other. He adds the community was so hurt by this that they decided to build the Lions Pool so that no child would ever have to risk their life to go for a swim on a hot summer day again.
He says this information was placed on one of the signs on the island that they've recently renewed. Kostuchuk says it was just after World War 2, in the 50s when the fundraising for the pool started. Kostuchuk adds much of history involves some very emotional events.
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