One thin dime. There's hardly anything you can get with it these days, but come August 6, 10 cents will buy you an entire day of water fun at Swanson Pool.

That's when the St. Charles Park District rolls back prices to celebrate their 100th anniversary and the renovation of Swanson Pool, which opened exactly seventy-three years ago.
And just as on that momentous day in 1938, the first person to take a dip in the pool this time around will be Carol Swanson Glemza.
Glemza is the Administrative Assistant for the St. Charles Park District and daughter of Algert Swanson, the guiding park district official who championed the project back at a time when public improvement projects could mean the difference between success and failure to a community suffering in the throes of the Great Depression.
"I remember the day we received the telegram from Washington, D. C., saying that St. Charles had received the grant that would help build the pool," says Glemza. "That was a very happy day for everyone in town."
Through business associations, Glemza's father knew many influential members of Congress in the 1930s. One of those contacts, Senator J. Hamilton Lewis, alerted Swanson and his fellow St. Charles Park District Board members Col. E. J. Baker and Bertram Turner, of grants from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) that could be used for civic improvement projects. At $367,000, the grant was one of the largest awarded at that time.
The St. Charles Township Park District, as it was then known, used the funding for several projects in Pottawatomie Park, most notably the development of an aquatic complex that included an Olympic-sized swimming pool, children's wading pool, and bathhouse constructed from limestone taken from local quarries.
"I used to walk down to the pool to swim every day," recalls Glemza. And on hot summer nights, the pool would stay open until 10 PM. "It would be packed," says Glemza, who remembers it being lit up at night for evening swim times under the stars. "It was very beautiful," says Glemza.
Though it served the community admirably for more than seventy years, by 2007, the swimming complex in Pottawatomie Park was in need of restoration, renovation, and remodeling.
Initially designed to accommodate a population of some 7,000 residents, by the early 21st century, the area had grown to more than 46,000, a nearly seven-fold increase, with an equally large demand for increased programs and improved facilities.
To that end, the St. Charles Park District undertook a massive construction project to update the pool and return it to its original, 1938 dimensions of 50-meters.
Other features, such as a second diving board, additional drop-slide, and exciting new water activities were added and new infrastructure improvements to filtration, gutter and piping systems were installed.
Locker rooms were expanded and renovated, family rest rooms were created, and the concession stand was remodeled — all in time for the start of the 2011 swim season.
 Having been there at the start, Glemza says such improvements have been exciting to watch take place. "I hear a lot of wonderful compliments," says Glemza.
With such a rich family history associated with it, it was only fitting that in June 2009, the St. Charles Park District Board changed the official name of Pottawatomie Pool to Swanson Pool to acknowledge the contributions made by both Carol and her father, Algert, to the St. Charles Park District and community.
"I'm very honored," says Glemza.
The community is invited to join in the celebration of the St. Charles Park District's 100th Anniversary and enjoy the history of Swanson Pool on "Dime Day," Aug. 6, when guests will be admitted for just ten cents. Swanson Pool is located at 8 North Avenue, St. Charles.
For more information, contact the St. Charles Park District at 630.584.3314, or visit their web site at www.stcparks.org.