It was a pool party the likes of which the North Shore had never seen.

It took place the night the grand Mahon Park outdoor swimming pool was opened on June 29, 1949 – coming up 60 years ago now – during the first of the four days for the traditional Kinsmen Carnival and July 1st celebrations at the venerable recreation grounds.

North Van City mayor Frank Goldsworthy and his council were there.

Kinsman Carnival queen-elect, Jean Emberley, and her maids of honour, Betty Thirlwell and Mickey Dombrowski, were on display.

Jimmy Sinclair – who had been re-elected in the riding of Coast-Capilano only two days earlier, midway through his 1940-57 reign as member of parliament; and whose daughter Margaret, the future Mrs. Pierre Trudeau, was not yet a year old – was there.

Front and centre at the party were the “Boss” and the mermaid.

Byron Johnson, nicknamed “Boss” during his political career which included five years as B.C. premier (1947-52), had just claimed victory in the provincial election two weeks before. He was there to address the crowd.

The mermaid on hand was 18-year-old Kay McNamee, North Van’s own 1948 London Olympics swimmer who would later break national 200- and 400-yards freestyle records and compete in the 1950 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in New Zealand and the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

To today’s youth and young parents who are familiar with the amenities of more than half-a-dozen large public and private indoor swimming pools now found across the North Shore, it may seem strange to learn of the huge fanfare created when Mahon’s outdoor pool was opened. But it was a recreational jewel back then.

The Vancouver Sun ran a photo the next day of a beaming Goldsworthy watching Johnson and McNamee – also grinning broadly – shaking hands. The caption was titled “Premier Meets Mermaid.”

The North Shore Press printed an editorial, in its July 1 issue, praising the Kinsmen Club for their efforts in getting the pool built.

“They are to be warmly thanked,” it exclaimed, “but no words can express the gratitude of North Vancouver as well as did the excited cheers of the youngsters who swarmed around the pool opening… It was built for them and well they know it.”

In an un-bylined front-page story, quite possibly written by editor Herb Morden, The Press detailed the historic event with unbridled enthusiasm.

“North Vancouver Kinsmen, bathing beauties, hardy swimmers of both sexes and more than 2000 citizens thumbed their noses at the weatherman Wednesday night and, despite threatening clouds, splattering rain and chilly air, the opening of North Vancouver’s $42,000 swimming pool was carried through on schedule with British Columbia’s top man, Premier Byron “Boss” Johnson, officiating.

“Kay McNamee, North Vancouver’s Olympic aquatic star, was the first to plunge into the pool after Premier Johnson cut the ribbons.

“It was a gay scene in a beautiful setting. Not even lack of sunshine could take away the beauty of towering evergreens contrasting harmoniously with the lighter green of limpid water in the pool. The bright uniforms of North Vancouver Schools Band, picturesque bathing girls added to the color.

“Source of gratification to the Kinsmen, was the large number of youngsters out for the opening, for the kids knew this was their pool and the enthusiasm was unbounded.

“Premier Johnson and his wife enjoyed it from first to last as did everyone else and even the swimmers, after the shock of the first plunge, lost that look of apprehension.”

Miss McNamee, who was graduating from North Van High the very week the pool opened, is now married to Ron Neale and lives in Penticton.

I tracked her down on her cellphone at the lake there the other day to find out what she remembers about that memorable pool party. Without hesitation, she vividly recalls her icy dip in the pool.

“Oh goodness,” she exclaims, bringing the recollection of that moment instantly from the recesses of her memory. “I dove off the high [three-metre] diving board into the coldest water I ever experienced. I had ribbons attached to the back of my bathing suit. I knew I had to dive in and it took my breath away. And I had to swim all the way to the other end.”

When she located the photo of herself diving into the water (above), she found she’d penned on the back: “Opening of N. Van Pool. I dove into 54-degree water. Yes I did. I couldn’t breathe.”

She doesn’t recall her brief meeting with Premier Johnson, explaining by noting, “Diving into the ice-cold water was enough memory that everything else fades in comparison.”

The Mahon Park Pool, whose heyday even included the hosting of the 1951 Canadian swimming championships, has itself faded away. It was filled in and roofed to become for a time, beginning in 1988, the site of the North Shore’s horseshoe-pitching club. The old dressing rooms are now occasionally used for various meetings. A concrete archway at the south end – etched with “Mahon Pool” – has survived.

A metal dedication plaque, imbedded in a rock and pictured above, remains.

Current North Van City mayor Darrell Mussatto remembers swimming in the pool as a kid. He’d like to see something productive done with the area.

Just don’t mess with the memories.

This is episode 338 from Len Corben’s treasure chest of stories – the great events and the quirky – that bring to life the North Shore’s rich sports history.