Rosedale Beach Club celebrating 90th anniversary all summer

It's been more than 45 years since Bob Ford began his decade-long stint as manager at the Rosedale Beach Club.

The retired Penn Hills High School teacher and his wife, Philomena, managed the pool starting in 1969, working in what Ford describes as the “nicest job I ever had in my life.”

He estimated that the pool served about 500 families during that time period.

“There were some wonderful days,” Ford said. “You could swim, sunbathe, play tennis, basketball or volleyball.”

The 4-acre beach club was founded after four men started Suburban Enterprises Co. in 1926: H.H. Martindale, P.R. Marshall, John E. O'Neal and W. Gernert. The facility was known initially as Rosedale Gardens. Later, it became known as a beach club because the pool was surrounded by sand.

It was marketed as a suburban escape where blue-collar and white-collar workers could intermingle and spend their summer days at the “beach.”

The private, nonprofit club begins celebrating its 90th anniversary over Memorial Day weekend. Along with his family, Ford, 78, has kept up with the goings-on at the facility, where he also served as a coach, for more than half of its existence.

“Our two children grew up with all their lifelong friends there,” said Ford. “Kids from my day (as a manager/coach) are parents now.”

Todd Bowser, president of the Rosedale Beach Club board, has been a member since 1998.

He said all three of his children grew up on the Rosedale Rockets swim team, and his oldest daughter is on the Penn Hills swim team.

“(The pool) is a great social place for people like us, working class. It's a nice place to get away and a great place to spend summer,” Bowser said.

Despite the pool being in the community for 90 years, Bowser said, he is surprised at how many people have told him they didn't know it existed.

“It's a hidden gem,” he said.

Ford credited waning participation by children to the simple fact that today, there are so many summer activity options.

“It's a different era,” Ford said.

Memorial Day weekend will have kickoff events at the pool ranging from bonfires, trivia and a late-night swim to a candy toss and contests and games for children.

Board member Daryl Saltzman said the 90th-anniversary season will include a three-day weekend celebration later in the summer with a concert and other events, followed by “Brunch at the Beach” and burial of a time capsule commemorating the beach club's nine decades of family service and role as a summer retreat for the community.

Every weekend during the summer, the club will have a different theme from past decades, and Friday and Saturday nights will be movie nights.

“That'll be pretty cool,” Saltzman said. “We're working on hunting down the families from the four originators of the pool. We got to make it interesting.”

Saltzman has been a member since he came as a guest in summer 2003.

“The pool is a bit of a respite for me and was a respite for the steelworkers and miners in the '20s,” Saltzman said.

Ford plans on going to the club every weekend this summer. He described it as “a great place that has brought enjoyment to so many.”

“I can only think of good things to say,” Ford said. “Rosedale has always been special in our lives.”

Rosedale Beach Club is at 5401 Third St., Penn Hills. For more information, go to rosedalebeachclub.com or email theboard@rosedalebeachclub.com.

Samson X Horne is a Tribune-Review staff writer. He can be reached at 412-320-7845 or shorne@tribweb.com.