by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Using gold-plated shovels, about a dozen officials broke ground Sept. 9 for a new swimming quarry pool at Quarry Park and Nature Preserve in Waite Park.
The new swim quarry, the second one, is located in Quarry #11. This one, starting next summer, will be more family-friendly as there are no high rocks for diving and a gradual slope leading into the water. The quarry is also smaller and shallower than the other one, only 50 feet deep maximum compared to 100 feet deep.
Swimmers, however, will need to be experienced as there will be no lifeguard on duty at the new swimming quarry as there is none at the current swimming quarry.
Amenities at the new swim quarry, which is about one-half acre in area, are a swimming dock and a picnic shelter. That work will be done this fall. The quarry will be open for swimming next June.
A second swim quarry has always been in the Quarry Park master plan since its inception at a public park.
The cost for developing the facility is $151,000, and all of the cost is covered by money from outside sources, including a $136,000 Department of Natural Resources Legacy grant and a $15,500 donation from Bernick’s Pepsi in Waite Park. Jason Bernick, who presented the check at the groundbreaking, spoke with nostalgia about how he used to swim in the Waite Park quarries when he was a boy.
Swimming is the most popular activity in Quarry Park, among the many things to do there, such as rock climbing and bird-watching.
Mark Sakry, former Stearns County commissioner, read a selection from a book just written about the St. Cloud area. Many people who grew up in the area will often mention swimming at the quarries as one of their most fondly recalled memories, he said.
Others who attended the groundbreaking included Pete Theismann, Stearns County Parks Department director; park board members Ken Mergen, Dave Bechtold and John Olmscheid; Waite Park City Administrator Shaunna Johnson; Ben Anderson, operations coordinator for Stearns County Parks Department; Joe Kulzer, maintenance coordinator for the parks; and Mark Sakry of Sartell, Stearns County commissioner and member of the park board.
photo by Dennis Dalman
Officials prepare to fling shovelsful of dirt next to the new planned swimming quarry Sept. 9 at Stearns County Quarry Park and Nature Preserve in Waite Park. From left to right are Joe Kulzer, Stearns County Parks maintenance coordinator; Dave Bechtold, park board member; two unidentified men; Mark Bromenschenkel, member of Stearns County Park Board and a county commissioner from Sartell; Ken Mergen, park board member; Shaunna Johnson, Waite Park city administrator; Mark Sakry, former Stearns County commissioner; Jason Bernick, local businessman and park donor; Pete Theismann, director of the Stearns County Park Department; John Olmscheid, park board member; and Ben Anderson, operations manager for the park department.
photo by Dennis Dalman
Four officials shoot the breeze after a groundbreaking for a new swim pool Sept. 9 at Quarry Park and Nature Preserve in Waite Park. From left to right are Dave Bechtold, Stearns County Park Board member; Joe Kulzer, park maintenance coordinator; Mark Sakry, former Stearns County commissioner; and Ben Anderson, parks department coordinator.
photo by Dennis Dalman
This placid spring-fed quarry will be the new family swim pool next June, thanks to a state Legacy grant and a donation from Bernick’s Pepsi.