The natural springs from the hills above fed the creek. Ab was told it would be wise to build a mud pond above the dam that would catch all the dirt as it came down. Clear water would run into a pond – clear as crystal. By 1930 the family opened Power Dam; George and Herb were in charge of the gate. To begin, the charge was 5 cents per person and 5 cents per car. At its peak in 1985, the rate reached $2.50 for adults and $2 per child. The pool’s success was owed to its proximity to Utica for children who could bike or walk there. When temperatures in the city rose, families would pack a picnic and their swimsuits, and spend the day where it was cooler. Ab was warned by the health department to put enough chlorine in to kill the bacteria. He built a bathhouse to meet regulations, and then a dance hall in 1939. That structure was an old horse barn from the Hughes Ice Company. “He brought it up here and took the slate shingles off one by one and they are on this house today,” Stella recalled in an interview. City slickers joined the area’s farmers and came a-stompin’ and dancin’ on Saturday nights to the square dances! The dance hall closed in 1954. The concession stand had flop-open wooden doors to make sales windows where you could buy ice cream, potato chips, candy, and soda. One hundred picnic tables, some with charcoal grills, were available or you could lie on your own blanket on the grass under the maple tree shade. There were seven lifeguards; efficient and well-trained young men. One day there were more than 4,000 who paid admission to enter Power Dam. Herb recalls: “my brother and I closed the gate and wouldn’t let anyone else in—it was so crowded! At the end of the day, my father handed us a big roll of money. He had been letting cars in through the golf range parking lot!!!” Power Dam was the only privately owned swimming hole around that also had diving boards. There were three. Abdoo made the structure out of streetcar rails; they were tearing up the tracks [in Utica] and giving them
Power Dam also had its own diving team; Joan Zegibe Astafan was a star. Pictured here is George and Joe Mishalanie and Tony Skane, members of the team [circa 1942] [courtesy of H. Zegibe]
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