How to successfully remove an in-ground pool? How about what NOT to do when removing an in-ground pool. Here's my story.

I grew up in a 1930's built brick colonial in the Mid Atlantic where having a backyard pool was a big deal. Every year, Memorial Day to Labor Day, our house was the hot place to be. Aside from proverbial, plastic kiddie pools and the members-only swim clubs, we were the only in-ground pool for several residential blocks. For every sweet memory I have of those lazy summer days by the pool, my Dad can claim double the amount of headaches he incurred for owning a pool that was well over fifty years old.

We called it a kidney shaped pool, made of concrete and tile with rickety equipment quietly tucked behind some prickly bushes. Every time the underground pipes sprung a leak, the elderly neighbor would call to report her basement was flooded out, AGAIN. Years went by, neighborhood kids moved away and summers were filled with camps, jobs and sleepovers. We found ourselves playing everywhere but the pool. As with all things dealing with homeownership, the pool and its operating systems began to fail and required some financial investment. Faced with thousands of dollars in repair bills, my Dad sadly decided the time had come to fill in the pool. It was also in that same year, he fell victim to a severe depression, subsequently causing my parents to split. To this day, I am not sure if his decision to remove the pool was made while he was of sound mind. I only say this because of the manner in which he went about filling in the pool.

One day, I got off the bus and found my Dad and a friend with a backhoe and dump truck digging at the earth around what used to be our beloved summer attraction. Coincidentally, the divorce was in full throttle and downsizing the household became a necessity as my parents decided to sell our house. So, instead of holding the proverbial garage sale, my dear father opted to bury well over three tons of old clothing, furniture and every day household items we no longer needed, into that kidney shaped pool of ours. I still remember my grandparents bringing an unwanted brown floral sofa and sneaking it into the growing pile of household fill. I think the only success my father had in filling in the pool that day was the idea that he wouldn't be bothered selling or donating items that represented a lifetime of memories to him. Instead, he chose to bury those memories six feet under in what used to be our pool. And he probably saved a good chunk of change on fill dirt.

Years later, I went back to that same neighborhood to reminisce and reflect upon my childhood. I happened upon the current owners working in the yard and we struck up a conversation. I was pleased to know they had fully rehabbed the house back to it's original splendor. Then the wife asked me the million dollar question :What on earth do you suppose is causing that sink hole in the side yard? We have tried for years plant flower beds there, but the earth mysteriously gets lower and lower every year. And where do you suppose the panty hose and perm rods came from? With a deep sigh I replied to her, Let me tell you about my childhood.

Learn more about this author, Mel Gaetano.
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