For nearly a decade, Montgomery had a beach on the bank of the Susquehanna River. Built in 1963, the long, sandy stretch of shore provided summer fun for town residents.

The beach was located at the edge of Montgomery Park, just beyond where the soccer fields are currently situated.

The plans for the project were reported in an article in the Grit entitled, “Montgomery Nixes Handouts for Beach: Group Organizes to Raise Funds For Building River Bathing Area.” The paper reported that a beach and a picnic area were being planned by a new committee called the Montgomery Area Recreation Corporation. The leaders of the organization were: President – Rich Thomas, Vice President – Harold Bilker, Secretary – Carl Chamberlain, Treasurer – Shirley Schneck, and assistant secretary and treasurer – Delores Haskins. There were ten additional members of the board of directors, but their names weren’t listed. The group planned to establish the project without using any federal grant money. The article stated, “According to their leader, Rich Thomas . . . his group plans to develop the riverside beach with local money, as a matter of personal and community pride” (Grit, January 20, 1963).

The article went on to give some specifics about the measurements of the beach. “It will be 300 feet wide, and extend about 75 feet out into the water to a depth of about five feet. The shore part of the beach will be about fifty feet deep.”

The Montgomery Area Historical Society’s Adam Room Museum has a beach fundraising sheet and a Q & A flier that gave some insight into the project. The fundraising sheet asked that every household make a donation between one and five dollars per week ($9.97 and $49.85 in today’s money), and place it in an envelope over a ten-week period.

The Q & A sheet said that a beach would be a better option for the town instead of a pool, because the beach would cost $15,000 ($149,563.24 today), but a pool would cost $70,000 ($697,961.76 today). It also stated that a large pool could only accommodate 250 people at a time, but the beach could have 1,000 people at a time.

Montgomery previously had a pool that opened in 1937. It was built by the Works Progress Administration. It was closed in the early 1950s and filled in to create the Little League area that is now called River Field. (The Luminary, July 25, 2018).

The Q & A sheet also said that the river water was tested, and the bacteria counts tested at 140, up to 1,000 was considered safe. It also gave a budget breakdown, giving the costs of every penny of the $15,000 they hoped to raise. The single biggest cost was $6,500 for the excavation of the riverbed ($64,810.74 today). Besides the building costs, some other costs included a bathhouse, lifeguard stands, a boat for the lifeguard, picnic facilities, and floats and safety ropes.

The sheet also said the beach would have lifeguards and swimming instructors on duty every day from 1 pm to 8 pm.

Watsontown resident Sue Thomas grew up in Montgomery, and she was the daughter of Rich Thomas, who served as the president of the Montgomery Area Recreation Corporation. “It was wonderful for the town,” she recalled of the beach.

Sue remembers watching as the beach was built. Heavy equipment dredged the river area, and sand was brought in.

The exact date the beach opened wasn’t recorded, but the planned opening date was July 1, 1963, according to the Q & A sheet.

Once the beach opened, it was a hit. The beach was free admission and lots of people went there. Montgomery resident Cynthia Bryan grew up on Wagner Avenue, and she said that she and other neighborhood kids went to the beach every day. She recalled that while people of all ages went, it was a lot of kids from about third grade and up.

The water was roped off for safety, so swimmers weren’t just going into the open river. The swimming area was sectioned off into two long rows. The first part of the water was very shallow for smaller children. Past the first rope the water was deeper and intended for better swimmers. It featured a large blue slide, according to Montgomery resident Glenda Heasley.

A floating wooden diving platform was set up in the water that was large enough to have a couple of people on it, Sue remembered.

Safety was a big priority at the beach, and Sue said that rules were posted for water safety. There were always lifeguards on duty, as well.

Cynthia said that there was a rope buoy that people could swim out to, but part of the area that swimmers had to cross to get there was in water that was too deep to touch bottom. Each swimmer who wanted to go out there had to prove to the lifeguard that they could swim before they were allowed to go.

In addition to the beach and the roped-off swimming area, there was a picnic area and a concession stand. At that time there was a grandstand in Montgomery Park. Sue remembers that it faced Second Street, and the changing rooms were built into the back of it. The concession stand was built into the end of the grandstand facing the beach.

Sue’s first job was working the concession stand. She said, “I was young eager, and earning money for school clothes.” The concession stand sold candy, chips, popsicles, and fountain soda. She always sold a lot snacks, but there wasn’t a cash register. There was only a cash box, and she had to do all of the math in her head. It was a fun experience for her, and she said that she enjoyed getting to see people.

When she wasn’t working, she enjoyed splashing in the water and building sandcastles with friends.

The beach brought a lot of summertime fun for residents for nearly a decade. Unfortunately, it came to an end as a result of the 1972 flood.

Montgomery Beach was one of six local beaches that were ordered to be closed temporarily in the aftermath of the flood. Before the beaches were allowed to be reopened, the bacteria levels in the water had to test within specific guidelines, and after the water was deemed safe, bathhouses that had been flooded had to be disinfected. Once the conditions were met, each beach would have to pass an inspection to be reopened. (Grit, July 2, 1972).

Montgomery sustained severe damage from the flood. The grandstand was destroyed and wasn’t rebuilt. The beach never reopened. But the good times that it provided have been fondly remembered by Montgomery residents ever since.