Cherry Hill swim clubs and decades of resilience: 'Not just a pool; it is a community of pools.'

The Old Orchard Swim Club membership volunteer who called the Rueppel family in Cherry Hill almost 60 years ago had no idea he would alter the scope of the family's history.

"I would not be interested in a swim club, but my wife loves to swim," Janice Rueppel recalls her husband, Bob Rueppel, telling the caller.

Although Bob did not know how to swim at the time, the man sold the family a membership to the swim club and a $200 membership bond.

Years later, after learning how to swim, watching his children and some of his grandchildren swim at Old Orchard and at the high school and college level, co-organizing a major swimming event held in the township and recently having had lunch with some of the swim club members he first met some 50 or more years ago, he reflected: "We would jump at the chance to do it again. I will not say just Janice loved the swim club, because I loved it, too."

This was the tale of how the Rueppel family became involved in Cherry Hill swim clubs.

Many other swim club families have their own story of how or why they joined their swim club. It may have been because of a flyer someone put up at a school, a family tradition, a relative who saw social media about the club, or someone unintentionally drove past one, since some are tucked so far back in their respective neighborhoods that one might miss them.

Cherry Hill swim clubs opened in the late 1950s and 1960s, around the time Cherry Hill Mall opened its doors for the first time and the municipality officially dropped the name Delaware Township. Population more than tripled to 31,522 between 1950 and 1960 and then doubled to 64,395 by 1970 (it was estimated at 77,317 for 2023).

Over the years, Cherry Hill has changed, and the post-World War II suburban boom is long over. In recent years, more and more apartment complexes have risen in town, and they have their own swimming pools.

Some swim destinations are popular, but they are not neighborhood gathering spots. In Cherry Hill, the Katz Jewish Community Center has a large outdoor pool open from May to September and an indoor one open year-round.

Changes in suburban areas around 70and73 where growth was fueled by the families with Baby Boom children have forced some swim clubs to shut down.

Kingston Estates Swim Club in Cherry Hill unsuccessfully fought dwindling membership and rising costs and closed forever in September 2020. The Township later purchased the property from the bank for open space.

But leaders at other swim clubs in Cherry Hill say they remain financially solvent through membership fees and events. 

And the clubs continue to make memories for what in some cases are four generations of Cherry Hill residents.

"You could say I was a Philly kid for nine months and a Jersey boy for three months (in the) summer," Joe Fitzgerald, the current swim coach at Downs Farms Swim Club, recalled his summer days at Pomona Swim Club in Riverton.

Downs Farms hosted a square dance poolside in the 1970s, according to the meeting minutes from about that time that the swim club's board president, Aaron Boucher, shared with a 70and73.com reporter. Old Orchard, according to the Rueppels, used to host bonfires and sleepovers.

Today, Old Orchard hosts, among other things, boat races with many boats made from scratch. Other swim clubs such as Woodcrest host ice cream socials and Flicker and Float — people watch a movie while inside the pool or poolside. Others, like Wexford Leas hold trivia nights and casino nights. Some hold pasta parties and many encourage birthday parties and other milestone events to be celebrated on the grounds.

Club swim teams, which, besides keeping membership relatively steady, provide a great source of pride and supply a loyal group of parent volunteers. Many swim club swim team members also participate in the sport at their high school or at private aquatic centers and some go on to compete in college, board presidents told 70and73.com.

Through the years, the swim clubs have added amenities to enhance the member experiences, like the beach umbrellas and walkways at Willowdale, the recently installed pickleball court at Wexford Leas or the newly updated bathrooms at Woodcrest.

Paul Preihs, board president of Haddontowne, noted: "We have all these grills, we have this great cabana, we have the tables, and we have a kitchenette."

Some swim club representatives said their membership peaked long ago and now fluctuates by a couple dozen families each year. Among the swim club representatives contacted — Barclay Farm, Downs Farms, Haddontowne, Old Orchard, Wexford Leas, Willowdale and Woodcrest — family membership totals between 125 and 350.

"There were not a lot of things for kids to do in the summer (years ago) as right now," Olga Shorokhova, board president at Old Orchard, speculated in an interview as a potential reason for membership declines.

"They can do scouts, they can do camp… there are so many choices for the kids," Shorokhova said. She is also one of many swim club parents whose children also swim for their high school team while the swim club pools are closed from Labor Day to Memorial Day.

Homebuilding in the largest municipality in South Jersey also has slowed significantly in recent years as buildable Cherry Hill land has been developed. Homebuilding peaked in the 1960s with 8,046 homes built and reached a low in the first decade of the 2000s with 1,170 homes built, according to a 2020 demographic study for Cherry Hill Public Schools.

Each swim club is a nonprofit organization and does not receive any funding through the township budget, according to the Township. Thus, some swim club representatives said that, besides hosting events that often serve as fundraisers, some swim clubs seek grants to supplement their operations.

Bill Goldin, board president at Barclay Farm, explained how his swim club turned the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown into an opportunity. "We opened (our) camp up to nonmembers," Goldin said. "We had a nonmember price and a member price…and we went from 20 to 85 kids that first year in camp. So that brought in additional revenue."

Township-wide swim club events, such as the annual Cherry Bowl championships, also can add to revenue. This year's event resembled a mini-version of the Olympics, with hundreds of cheering fans and dedicated athletes and records being broken. Cherry Bowl programs sold for $10, far from the 25 cents Bob Rueppel said it cost when the Cherry Bowl was still was new in the 1960s.

The Cherry Bowl is not the only large-scale event involving the swim clubs. Rueppel helped establish the swim club's first Mini-Meet in 1969, an event that continues to be held annually. By one estimate in The Philadelphia Inquirer, "the event has provided at least 13,000 children aged 9 years and younger with their first experience in competitive swimming. In 2009, the event was renamed the "Bob Rueppel Mini-Meet."

Swim club representatives interviewed said their swim clubs are financially solvent and are ready for, as Woodcrest board member Brandon Litwin put it: "the next unfun expense."

Besides events, some swim club representatives attributed part of their solvency to charging companies to place an advertising sign in the swim club. All said they have members who perform much of the club upkeep or help pick up the tab for others to do so.

"We did new siding (and) we painted everything," Stephanie Felix-Johnson, board president at Wexford Leas, gave as one example. "We have a lot of members volunteer to clean up the pool, power wash the pool and deck… or plant flowers. It is a team effort."

None of the swim club leaders said they compete for members.

"We had to close the pool for a couple of days just to get some stuff fixed (and) Woodcrest (and) Charleston opened their doors to our members," said Ray Cawley, board president of Willowdale, which will host Cherry Bowl in 2025. "This is not just a pool; it is a community of pools," he said.

Cherry Hill Mayor David Fleisher, whose home swim club growing up was Fox Hollow and now is Wexford Leas, added: "I can attest first-hand how meaningful our neighborhood swim clubs are to families throughout Cherry Hill."

"I enjoy seeing these kids enjoy themselves and having fun and building memories," Cawley said. "I did not have this opportunity to build these type of memories, and I want these kids and my kids to have those type of memories."