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PRESS RELEASES - MAY 2006
Arlington to Dedicate the Bad Königshofen Family Aquatic
Center
New Municipal Pool Stands for Friendship and is named for German Town
May 18, 2006
On Saturday, May 20, the City of Arlington will formally dedicate
its newest family aquatic center and celebrate a relationship that
started 55 years ago with a small town in West Germany.
A dedication ceremony for the new Bad Königshofen Family
Aquatic Center will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, and include Arlington
Mayor Robert Cluck, District 2 City Council member Sheri Capehart,
members of the Arlington City Council and the Parks Board. A German
delegation of 26 residents, including Bad Königshofen Mayor Clemens
Behr, will also be attending. The new pool is located at 2800 W.
Sublett Road inside of S.J. Stovall Park and is the city’s first
municipal pool south of Interstate 20. The dedication is open to the
public. Following the ceremony, pool gates will open for a preview and
public swim until 5 p.m.
In Arlington, the 2006 summer swim season officially begins Friday,
May 26, when all six municipal outdoor family swim centers open. For
operating hours and locations, call the Arlington Parks and Recreation
Department at 817-459-5474 or
www.aceacorn.com.
About the Pool
In a 1997 Park Bond Election, Arlington voters authorized funding
for the design and construction of the new pool. Construction started
in 2005.
The new Bad Königshofen Family Aquatic Center incorporates many
unique features designed to resemble the agrarian style of the small
region of Germany. The European theme is evident in the clock tower,
large wooden columns and overall design. The center has an interactive
spray pad, shallow water play pool, 25 meter four-lane swimming pool,
a one-meter diving board, two water slides, pavilions, restrooms and
showers. The center will offer swim lessons and can be reserved for
birthday parties and rentals for special occasions. For more
information about the pool, call 817-459-5223 or
www.aceacorn.com and
download the Aquatics Brochure, which can be found under the Online
Publications section of the web page.
How the Friendship with Bad Königshofen Began
Arlington’s relationship with Bad Königshofen began in the summer
of 1951, when the German town manager (Kurt Zuhlke) visited Arlington
at the end of a study tour of the United States. Local historians say
the town manager made an unscheduled stop in the city because a German
tour participant had a pen pal in Arlington. Through this pen pal
relationship, the town manager had an opportunity to meet and visit
with then Arlington Mayor Tom Vandergriff.
During their meeting, the visiting town manager told Vandergriff
about the difficulties his town was facing because of its location at
the border between west and east Germany. He said hundreds of people
from the communist east had overwhelmed his small German town, and
there was a shortage of food and clothing.
Moved by the plight of the town, Mayor Vandergriff and the
Arlington Chamber of Commerce coordinated a community drive to collect
food, clothing and gifts. In 1952, the first of four railroad boxcar
shipments left Arlington for Bad Königshofen.
Expressions of thanks from German residents showed that the
assistance from Arlington was more than food and clothing, but a true
sign of friendship, which residents have continued to recognize and
celebrate.
Bad Königshofen has a recreational park named for Arlington. A
12-foot stainless steel International Peace and Friendship Monument
stands in a downtown Arlington park across from City Hall. The
monument was completed during the summer of 2003 by Arlington
sculptors and visiting artists from Germany.
“The Bad Königshofen Family Aquatic Center is our most recent
tribute to a relationship that has evolved into a friendship that will
continue forever,” said Mayor Robert Cluck.
Interview and Photo Opportunities
Immediately following the 10 a.m. dedication at the pool - 2800 W.
Sublett Road - 76017
German Mayor, translator, German news reporter and guests
Mayor Robert Cluck
City Council member Sheri Capehart
Parks Director Pete Jamieson
Parks Assistant Director Gordon Robertson
Parks Assistant Director Bill Gilmore
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