Totally kid approved: Dupont Splash Pad launch a hit

Students from Northwest Elementary were invited to test out the new Splash Pad.

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Ribbon is cut by Mayor Gatsas with some help from Northwest Elementary School students. Photo/Carol Robidoux

MANCHESTER, NH – Tuesday’s launch of the Dupont Splash Pad went off without a hitch. Sure, it took longer than originally expected, but in the end, City Parks & Recreation Director Don Pinard couldn’t be happier with the outcome. He spoke briefly to those who gathered at the former city swimming pool on Mason Street, now transformed into a mini-water park.  Students from Northwest Elementary School were invited to participate as the first official splashers.

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Northwest Elementary students enjoying the Splash Pad. Photo/Jeffrey Hastings

As Ward 12 Alderman Keith Hirschmann welcomed everyone to the launch, he gave a shout out to Irene Gill Fradette, who told him that she had a photograph of herself when the pool first opened, in the mid-1930s.

“I was about 5 years old,” said Fradette, who also said her mother didn’t allow her to go to the pool unsupervised very often.

“I wish I’d been able to come more, but she was so strict,” Fradette said. “But my own six children grew up here. They would be here every afternoon in the summer,” she said.

Both Irene and her husband, George, said they view the splash pad as a wonderful use for the old Dupont Pool.

“It had gotten to the point where not many kids were coming anymore. I think this will attract a lot of kids,” Irene said.

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Irene and George Fradette, both 86, frequented the Dupont Pool when it first opened in the 1930s. Photo/Carol Robidoux

The couple met when they were 13 – not at the pool, but at St. John the Baptist school. George would have liked to spend time with Irene at the pool, but her mother’s rules wouldn’t allow for it.

“There were a lot of pretty girls at the pool, but none as pretty has her. It was love at first sight for me –not for her, but she eventually came around,” said George, who was a Manchester firefighter before leaving to become the State Deputy Fire Marshal. “Not for her, but she came around.”

The Fradettes will celebrate their 68th wedding anniversary on June 10, and expect to spend time at the splash pad over the summer.

“I’m looking forward to bringing my grandchildren and great-grandchildren,” Irene Fradette said. Because they spend the winter months in Florida, George Fradette said he has seen a lot of similar water parks in the south, and believes the city made a good decision, to update the pool into a splash pad.

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Don “Pep” Pinard with his granddaughter McAllister Caswell, 5. Photo/Jeffrey Hastings

Pinard said the splash pad will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., during regular summer hours, and the rules are the same as they are for city pools – kids under 13 must be accompanied by an adult. But one advantage is that, because there’s no need for a lifeguard, hours can be more flexible. Right now Parks & Rec plans to open the splash pad on weekends until school’s out. The official plan will be announced via the Parks & Rec Facebook page as soon as it’s ironed out.

“We’re looking to take people away from Livingston Pool, which has similar features but gets too crowded,” Pinard said. “This can be a great alternative.”

The Splash Pad launch is one of many items on Parks & Recreation’s summer to-do list, Pinard said. Next on the list is installing new track and turf at West High School, and continued work on the rail trail, and downtown connector.

Eventually, a major overhaul of Hunt Pool will be on his list, with a goal of incorporating a splash pad while retaining the swimming pool, and refurbishing the recreation center.

Registration for the city’s summer Sun in the Fun program is set for the first week of July, and Pinard predicts it’s going to be a great summer for kids in the city.

Pinard’s granddaughter, McAllister Caswell, 5, will be one of them. She was drenched and wrapped in a beach towel when she ran over to Pinard to report on how much fun she’d been having. She was on the VIP list, thanks to her “Pep,” and rated the attraction, “great!” When pressed, she said her favorite feature is the “mushroom spray,” because she can hide underneath the dome of water and not get wet, if she doesn’t want to.

“It took us a little longer than expected, but as you can see, it’s a hit,” said Pinard, of the completed project, holding his granddaughter as he watched the children running and splashing in the sun. “Nobody’s happier than me to be here today to see this up and running.”


Below:  Watch the bucket drop in eight frames

About this Author

Carol Robidoux

PublisherManchester Ink Link

Longtime NH journalist and publisher of ManchesterInkLink.com. Loves R&B, German beer, and the Queen City!