Once upon a time, the YMCA was the No. 1 fitness club.
Those were the days before In-Shape, 24 Hour Fitness and Gold’s Gym.
We knew it better as the “Y.” That’s the place where I took swim lessons in the summer of my younger years and martial arts as a teenager. I was often joined by a few friends from the neighborhood.
Our parents took turns shuttling us to and from the downtown Stockton facility. On most days, we weren’t in a hurry to get home.
We hung out, played games and learned to shoot pool. Not very good on the latter – I recalled that part of the reason was the table was warped and leaned to one side.
It was there we played a version of hide-and-seek called ‘ditch,’ consisting of two groups trying to get away from the other, running through the hallways and hiding out along every nook and cranny of the three-story building.
We also had to avoid management. It was a no-no for kids to run around and make noise particularly on the upstairs floors that accommodated the dormitories.
I thought about those days during a recent interview with John Boore, who is the retired community service manager of the Manteca Senior Center. He’ll bid adieu to those at the facility located on 295 Cherry Lane at the end of December.
He was CEO from 1981 to the YMCA’s untimely closing in 1994.
The closure of the YMCA was a bleak day for anyone and everyone associated.
“It was like losing a family member,” said Jerry Soria.
The 68-year-old Stockton native was also a regular. He had been a member there for many years when it seemed as though the rug was pulled from right under him.
Carl Robinson was another regular. A standout lineman on his high school football team, he used his size to get inside the key during the pick-up basketball games, relying on a fade away and soft touch to get his points.
After the “Y” closed, Robinson and many of his fellow hoopsters continued to regularly at In-Shape. That was up until a few years ago when the local health club did away with its basketball courts.
“There aren’t too many places to play,” said Robinson, who is down to playing once a week at one of the local high schools.
Boore remembers many of these guys and others. After all, the YMCA was family.
My mom was a regular. She used to swim laps regularly with Dorothy Isaak, who also happens to be the mother of Rock musician, part-time actor, and crooner Chris Isaak.
Boore did recall Mrs. Isaak. Chances are he’d probably know my mom, too, if I pointed her out.
I wasn’t around when the Stockton YMCA closed down. However, I was still a member of the “Y’ while living and working in Fresno. I was a regular on the hardwood, playing nearly every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon in the pick-up basketball games.
My membership ended when I moved back home.
It wasn’t too long ago that I drove past my old YMCA during a visit to Fresno. I was sad to see that the downtown facility was closed and no longer in business.
I shed a tear.
What’s left of the YMCA is the Disco era song by the Village People. Sadly, that one is here to stay.
Those were the days before In-Shape, 24 Hour Fitness and Gold’s Gym.
We knew it better as the “Y.” That’s the place where I took swim lessons in the summer of my younger years and martial arts as a teenager. I was often joined by a few friends from the neighborhood.
Our parents took turns shuttling us to and from the downtown Stockton facility. On most days, we weren’t in a hurry to get home.
We hung out, played games and learned to shoot pool. Not very good on the latter – I recalled that part of the reason was the table was warped and leaned to one side.
It was there we played a version of hide-and-seek called ‘ditch,’ consisting of two groups trying to get away from the other, running through the hallways and hiding out along every nook and cranny of the three-story building.
We also had to avoid management. It was a no-no for kids to run around and make noise particularly on the upstairs floors that accommodated the dormitories.
I thought about those days during a recent interview with John Boore, who is the retired community service manager of the Manteca Senior Center. He’ll bid adieu to those at the facility located on 295 Cherry Lane at the end of December.
He was CEO from 1981 to the YMCA’s untimely closing in 1994.
The closure of the YMCA was a bleak day for anyone and everyone associated.
“It was like losing a family member,” said Jerry Soria.
The 68-year-old Stockton native was also a regular. He had been a member there for many years when it seemed as though the rug was pulled from right under him.
Carl Robinson was another regular. A standout lineman on his high school football team, he used his size to get inside the key during the pick-up basketball games, relying on a fade away and soft touch to get his points.
After the “Y” closed, Robinson and many of his fellow hoopsters continued to regularly at In-Shape. That was up until a few years ago when the local health club did away with its basketball courts.
“There aren’t too many places to play,” said Robinson, who is down to playing once a week at one of the local high schools.
Boore remembers many of these guys and others. After all, the YMCA was family.
My mom was a regular. She used to swim laps regularly with Dorothy Isaak, who also happens to be the mother of Rock musician, part-time actor, and crooner Chris Isaak.
Boore did recall Mrs. Isaak. Chances are he’d probably know my mom, too, if I pointed her out.
I wasn’t around when the Stockton YMCA closed down. However, I was still a member of the “Y’ while living and working in Fresno. I was a regular on the hardwood, playing nearly every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon in the pick-up basketball games.
My membership ended when I moved back home.
It wasn’t too long ago that I drove past my old YMCA during a visit to Fresno. I was sad to see that the downtown facility was closed and no longer in business.
I shed a tear.
What’s left of the YMCA is the Disco era song by the Village People. Sadly, that one is here to stay.
