A line of seniors thread through the turnstile every weekday morning at 11 a.m. during the summer season. They meander to the pool where lifeguard Devin Denyanovich, noodles in hand, welcomes them to the adult water aerobics class at the Lansford Pool, where the scene evolves to one similar the 1985 movie Cocoon—where a community of seniors unknowingly swims amongst alien cocoons whose powers had turned the water into a fountain of youth.

“I come crabby—but I’m not crabby when I go home,” said Annette Kirchdoerfer - a senior in the adult water aerobics class. “The water makes my body feel better. It takes the swelling away. There’s something about the water that makes me feel light-hearted. Then she dove underwater and performed a handstand.

“I love this place,” Lena Paptich said. “I’m 82 years old—pretty soon. I wear size 12 and weigh 130 lbs.

“I am grateful to God that we have this place,” she continued. “We have the aerobics, and the sun, and then we go eat at the stand and the food is excellent.”

“I’m out of shape and I need some exercise,” added Elnora Cray. “These are healing waters. It is better to exercise in the water. I have arthritis and had surgery on my shoulder.

The most senior of the group is 91-year-old William Krajcirik of Lansford. He lap swims during the adult swim time. He hardly misses a day. During the winter, he swims at the indoor pool at the Panther Valley High School.

During the adult swim hour, Bozo, as Krajcirik is known to his friends, may swim one lap or as many as four. He’s been swimming since the age of eight when he learned to swim in the warm water outlet from the Hauto Dam power plant.

While in the service, he swam in the islands of the South Pacific, sometimes diving off ships and climbing up rope ladders.

Bozo’s love for swimming inspired his wife, Masha, a former teacher and former Lansford council president for 16 years, to head up a committee to obtain grants to rebuild the pool, which was originally constructed by Lehigh Coal & Navigation miners in the 1940s. The new pool was opened in 1981.

“I love the senior swim,” added Marion Kyahoa. “It is very refreshing, very relaxing, and good for my bones. I have arthritis. I get here five or six days a week for the water aerobics. We love Devin.”

Devin is Devin Denyanovich, a lifeguard and one of the pool managers. Denyanovich, a junior at Penn State, has been coming to the Lansford Pool since she was a child.

“There aren’t many pools in Carbon County and this is one of the nicest,” she said. “We draw people from Lansford, Coaldale, Summit Hill, Nesquehoning—even from Lehighton. It’s a great thing for these towns.”

“I’m here five days a week Monday to Friday, from 11 to noon for adult water aerobics and lap swim,” said Denyanovich. “Movements in the water do not require the joint forces, that being outside the water require. It’s great for people with arthritis and patients that need rehab.”

“The body is energy,” added Lena Paptich. “If you don’t move energy, it stagnates and it dies. At the age of 82, I don’t have a pain or an ache because I move my body.”

The seniors were worried some time ago when there was talk of closing the Lansford Pool. Coaldale and Nesquehoning Boroughs who had contributed to its support, dropped out and Lansford limited its support to $5,000 a year.

But through modest use fees and a grant for $10,000 from Rep. Keith McCall’s office, the pool not only opened, but was repainted earlier this year.

After the Second World War, the Lansford Pool became the center of recreation for the Panther Valley. “When I was growing up, they had movies twice a week, dances for the kids, aquatic shows on Sunday nights with synchronized swimmers, diving events, and fireworks," said Rita Klekamp. “There was a big grandstand that filled with people who came to town for these events.”

This spring, 25 volunteers from Lansford assembled a new Ashton Hill children’s playground at the pool entrance. Upcoming events include a pool party to thank these volunteers, and a July 25 – Christmas in July party with greased watermelon races and children collecting 500 goldfish that are released in the wading pool.