Holton pool attendance bolstered by water slides

Holton’s municipal swimming pool wrapped up its 2025 summer season as young swimmers and lifeguards prepared to go back to school, finishing with a “Summer Splash” event that pool manager Jessica Rogers said was “probably one of the busier years we’ve had” for the pool-closing event.

The Saturday, Aug. 9 event marked an end to a summer swimming season that Rogers said was good, with pool attendance bolstered by a pair of water slides that were installed in 2024 and late-season sponsorships from local businesses, despite a cooler and wetter-than-usual July.

“We were so busy in June, and then July usually tapers off,” Rogers said. “I don’t think it tapered off as hard this year, but we had more rain this summer, and we had more days that we were shut down due to rain than I think we’ve ever had in a summer. But when we were open, we were busy.”

Rain and cooler temperatures in July also made the pool water colder, which Rogers said “doesn’t bring the kids in,” but that didn’t stop young people from coming to the pool.

“The kids still come because the water’s still nice,” she said. “We are a hangout, especially during the week for those middle school kids. And it’s fun, because they have a safe place to go that they can enjoy.”

Per-day averages, according to Rogers, were around 80 in June and anywhere from 60 to 80 in July, but “not all at once,” and on weekends, anywhere from 30 to 40. It was noted that on a recent Thursday afternoon, a total of 80 people were counted at the pool.

Holton’s 385,000-gallon pool, built in the 1930s with Works Progress Administration funds and remodeled in the 1980s, also found itself in need of some repairs and upgrades prior to the start of this year’s pool season on May 24. A new sand filtration and balance tank were installed prior to the start of the season to keep things running smoothly, it was reported.

But it’s the improvements that people can see at the pool that continue to bring families in, and the two slides that were installed last year are evidence of that, with Rogers saying the slides have had a positive impact on attendance at the pool despite parents having the option to take their kids to more modern pools in the area with more features.

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