Deep Dive: Go Fish!
Relax, take a nice breath, and join us as we go beneath the surface and uncover conversation treasures to bring up.
At first, all the competitive swimming at Woodland Hills was intramural. (The kids had to crawl before they could butterfly.)
Having just graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education, Harry Peterson became our first Swimming Instructor and Filter Operator, working part-time. (It’s just a misspelling, in the clipping above. That’s our Harry!)
It was 1959, and undeterred by lack of either experience or qualifications, Harry’s friend and classmate Herman Joy had ardently and successfully pursued the job of Woodland Hills Pool Manager. Herman immediately hired Harry, and he also brought on another college buddy, by the name of Fred “Dutch” Ikeler. They all hurried up and got certified as lifeguards, and then Herman ruled the pool for a couple of years before passing the torch.
(Apparently, his tiny car often had trouble making it up “Burma Road,” the private, dirt climb that would later become Bingham Drive.)
After full-timer Dutch spent a couple of seasons in the hot seat, Harry left Wildwood Country Club, where he’d been moonlighting, and took the helm here. A P.E. teacher during the school months, Harry Peterson would stay in the Pool Manager lane for nearly six decades at Woodland Hills Club—smoothly, efficiently, and gracefully powering through every summer.
It was 1961, though, when the Woodland Hills Flying Fish swim team took off, under the leadership of Coaches Ikeler and Peterson.
And that means…
This summer is our swim team’s 65th season!
A few things have changed since 1961.
Of the five other clubs in our original league, for example, only one still competes with us—or even exists—and that fifth team doesn’t go by the same name anymore. The team formerly known as Bower Hill Civic League is our rival Bower Hill Swim Club.
Whitehall Country Club and Jefferson Swim Club both closed in the early 2000s, and unfortunately the latter was destroyed by arson. Fortunately though, it appears that the Whitehall property will soon get the chance for a new life.
Poplar Heights Swim Club was right next door to Jefferson Swim Club, and both were known for their nail-biter high dives. Reportedly, Jefferson’s was preferred over Poplar’s by folks who didn’t enjoy climbing a vertical ladder.
Both Jefferson Swim Club (pictured) and Poplar Heights Swim Club were also owned by the same man—Paul P. Miller, a 32nd-degree Mason and WWII Navy veteran who saw active duty on the battleship USS California and then lived to be 90 years old.
Also in Upper St. Clair, Wingfield Pines Golf & Swim Club was founded ten years after Woodland Hills Club. Before that time, its flood-prone land had been farmed unsuccessfully, and then strip-mined for coal by Pittsburgh Seam.
Wingfield Pines closed in 1983, and then in 2001 The Allegheny Land Trust acquired the whole 80-acre parcel, remediated some pollution issues, and set the site up for conservation, hiking, and biology field trips.
Only there can you go off the deep end and still land on your feet.
Speaking of diving in…that’s another difference between the Woodland Hills Flying Fish of the last century and the Woodland Hills Flying Fish of this one: Nobody dives in at the shallow end anymore.
At Woodland Hills practices and meets in the 1980s, we used the swim lanes that run north-south, rather than the east-west lanes we use now. We’d lift the railing out of the pool at the northeast corner so that racers from Generation X (who else?) would be able to dive in—over the concrete steps!
And did you know that we also had a diving team back then? (But don’t worry. Divers used the deep end.)
In that era, and until 2019, South Fayette’s Hunting Ridge Stingrays swam as part of our league as well. Their pool was just off of Boyce Road, behind the 7-Eleven. Inconveniently for us, that pool was filled in a few years ago. A daycare center is located there now, and although Hunting Ridge has built a new pool nearby, unfortunately that pool doesn’t accommodate a swim team.
The Woodland Hills Flying Fish also competed with the team from the 1940-chartered South Hills YMCA that was located at 51 McMurray Road in Upper St. Clair.
As a team, we were appropriately awed by the Y’s spine-chilling high dive—which you can see pictured. (Woodland Hills actually had two diving boards too, in the 1960s!)
In 2017, Bethel Park’s Spencer Family YMCA replaced the McMurray Road facility after the latter had suffered major flood damage in 2013. Sadly, there’s no swim team at the new location.
There’s plenty of super-cool stuff that has remained constant over the decades, though.
Today’s team members still enjoy exercise and fun in the sun each weekday while hanging out with buddies old and new. They still bring a packed lunch to practice so they can stay all day long and make the pool their summer home.
And they still get to know our wonderful lifeguards (the team’s coaches) on a deeper level, benefiting from their knowledge, dedication, and mentorship. According to Coach Cat Olson, the heartfelt gratitude for those relationships is mutual.
“The Woodland Hills Swim Team has been a huge part of my life since the first summer I joined the team, at just 5 years old,” Cat says. “I have spent every summer since then as a part of the team, first as a competitor, and more recently, as a coach.
“Getting to watch the young swimmers that I coach fall in love with the same sport I did and as a part of the same team I was a part of when I was their age has been one of the highlights of my coaching experience. In addition, Woodland Hills has provided me some of my longest and closest friendships that I know I will cherish for a lifetime!”
Yup, Cat’s a lifer here—and so are her parents. Between the two of them, Kate and Chris have also held the Woodland Hills titles of Teammate, Lifeguard, and Board Member. Most importantly though, they’re Two-time Champions of our 4th-of-July Egg Toss!
Today’s Flying Fish all carry on the traditions of making improvements to your swimming, tracking your progress, and sharing in your teammates’ celebrations as well as your own. They all still play silly games and do other team-building activities at the end of each week, on our beloved Fun Fridays. They all still do loud, ridiculous chants and cheers together at swim meets. They all still recognize each fellow swimmer’s unique contribution to the team.
And they all still make memories to last a lifetime.
One memory we continue to honor is that of Flying Fish teammate Ken Waldie, who died in New York on September 11, 2001. The league-wide All-Relay Meet that Woodland Hills hosts each year is dedicated to Ken. He graduated from Bethel Park High School in 1973, and was one of the captains of the varsity team when they won the WPIAL swimming championship that year. In row four of the photo above, taken circa 1966, you’ll find Kenny as a kid.
In gratitude for those memories, and in an effort to commemorate our 65th season, we wanted the Flying Fish of today and tomorrow to have a special image that would bring together our past, present, and future.
Combining the word art from the Club logo designed decades ago by retired Upper St. Clair School District art teacher Estelle Luck, with elements from our current Club logo that was designed a few years ago by former student (and Cat’s uncle) Douglas Czuszak—both longtime Woodland Hills Club members—current Board Vice President Ryan Griffin has created a team logo for the Woodland Hills Flying Fish that celebrates our 65 years (so far!) as a team.
Our 2026 coaches look forward to presenting each Flying Fish member with a Woodland Hills swim cap very soon, as well as a team t-shirt featuring the new logo. These shirts will be available for purchase by Fish Fans as well, to help us support our swimmers as they continue battling the Bower Hill Barracudas—plus longtime rivals Elmhurst Swim Club and Rose Garden Pool Association, and the Keystone Oaks Aqua Club Krakens too.
Swimmers, Make Your Marks!
Want to join the Flying Fish?
Whether you compete as an experienced team member or you register for the first time and focus on camaraderie, we look forward to watching you soar. You’ll be part of a treasured Woodland Hills tradition!
Here’s how to sign up:
1. Check out the details here.
2. Process your registration and fee-free online payment here.
3. Check your email for an invitation to join our TeamSnap so you’ll be able to exchange detailed and up-to-date team information.
4. Make sure you have a team suit for swim meets, once our coaches make their selections for this season.
5. Show up. Our first practice is scheduled for Monday, June 8th at 10:15 AM, swimmers.
Let’s go!
(Psst. By the way…In the 1960s team photo above, did you find the Flying Fish coaching legend who’s still a key Woodland Hills Lifeguard and Assistant Manager today? When you see her this summer, be sure to give her a big GO FISH! Bonus: Ask her about the kayaking lessons her brother used to teach in our pool.)
We hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of Deep Dive, our new history feature. We’d love it if you contributed. Longtime members, please tell us your stories. Share your photos and your fond memories.