REMEMBER:
The Dipping Pool
ll sorvod a double* purpose*
tty WENDEIX PEELE
rhe dipping hole was a place of
righteous endeavor on many occa¬
sions. It was the scene of riotous action
also at times.
Located just west of the Tice Com¬
munity Cemetery in Martin County’s
Griffins Township, the dipping hole
was at one time seeable from the road.
Now. it is almost totally hidden by
small trees and undergrowth. A small
building that was vitally associated
with it for many years can still be seen
from the highway as just a shell, more
or less, of what it used to be.
In the summertime, the dipping hole
was actually the old swimming hole for
the boys in the community. That is.
when it was not being used for another
purpose. It was deep enough to swim
in and shallow enough to wade in. and
so, could accommodate lads of all
ages. But not the girls, who just never
got the chapcc to learn how to swim.
Later on in life, it they got in water
over their heads, they had two options.
They could cither stay put and drown,
if rescue was not possible, or they
could start w alking or craw ling toward
shore, hoping to get their heads above
water in lime to save their lives.
As might have been expected, the
boys took to the water au naturel. One
reason foi that was the fact that swim
suits were a bit unknown in those days,
back in what might have been called
the "sticks." And they could always
hang low m the water if they heard a
mule and cart, or horse and buggy, or
early model auto approaching along
the road Their security was not with¬
out limitations, however. Sometimes
lady pedestrians would walk by. and
quite often when that happened, some
of the boys would have to scramble for
cover.
Snakes and Chiggers
There were certain hazards asso¬
ciated with the dipping hole outings.
Green snakes were startling sights; but
water moccasins were downright ter¬
rifying. The Lord looked after the
boys, though, for not a one was ever
bitten. But He spared them not from
chiggers. better known locally as red
bugs. No matter where the boys put
their clothes, piled in heaps on the
ground, or neatly hung on tree limbs,
the little six-headed devils found bed¬
ding in them quickly and in large quan¬
tities. The result was that the boys had
to do a lot of scratching to pay for their
aquatic pleasures.
The small building, earlier men¬
tioned. was never used by the beach
club boys. It was used by adults when
joy and not levity was the prevailing
mood. It was the type of joy that one
thinks about when the words "born
again" arc said or read. The building
housed dressing rooms for the use of
ministers and converts at the time of
baptismal services.
Perhaps fifty years have gone by
since the dipping hole was last used as
a baptistry. Prior to its abandonment
as a place of immersion, it had served
the Smithwick Creek Primitive Baptist
Church for as much as a century or
more. It is quite likely that it was used
by other churches also.
Old Time Religion
The baptismal ritual was evidence of
great faith and dedication at times. Re¬
ports arc that quite a few times in the
dead of winter, ice had to be broken by
the officiating pastor as he led candi¬
dates into the water. Neither preacher
nor members had waterproof clothing
to protect themselves from the chilled
waters. There w as no comfort awaiting
them back in the dressing rooms
either, for they were unhealed, and
they had to change back into dry cloth¬
ing in air temperatures that may have
been many degrees below the freezing
point.
It was certainly much better in warm
weather, but even summertime bap-
ti/ings at the dipping hole were not
always trouble free. The mosquitoes
were out in great swarms at times, and
there was other insect trouble to cope
with including the chigger itch. Then,
there were the ever present lizards that
could scare the daylights out of the
ladies, and even shake up the men a
bit.
The people who were baptised in the
dipping hole had the old time religion,
and what was good enough for them
might be better than a lot of people get
today. When the boys of the commu¬
nity used it as the old swimming hole,
they got real fun out of it. Much more,
perhaps, than a similar group might get
today in splashing around an ornate,
tiled and heated indoor pool.
The Bully Ducked
One Saturday, many summers ago.
their farm work for the week behind
them, the boys headed for the dipping
hole for an afternoon of well earned
recreation. In a very short time, they
were all in the water, whooping and
hollering and having a general good
time. One was missing at first, the
braggart and bully of the neigh¬
borhood. The pleasure of his absence
was too good to last, however. Soon,
even above the racket that they were
making, the boys already in the swim
heard the loud voice that signalled the
8oyi at the Dipping Pool never used the wnoll
dressing room. That wo* for the uie of ministers ond
convert* at baptismal services.
approaching of bully boy. Then, he
made his appearance, riding a bicycle!
He was headed downhill on the dirt
road with all the speed that he could
coax from the machine that was obvi¬
ously right brand-new . At the bottom
of the hill, he sw ung the handle bars in
a direction that aimed the bike straight
toward the water.
"Watch me stop it," he yelled to his
captive audience. “It’ll stop on a
dime."
Suddenly his mouth stretched open
in horror. The brakes were not work¬
ing.
And. in a split second, the bicycle
and rider landed lickcty-split in the
very middle and deepest part of:
The dipping hole!
TMi STATB. August 1980
