Lenape Swim Club, used to surviving, hopes to flourish
By: David Dankwa
MONTGOMERY — The Lenape Swim Club, a private club located in a hillbilly country setting within sight of the Sourland Mountains, has operated for decades under the threat of closing down.
On a tight budget, a $29,000-a-year rent and a year-to-year lease, members have struggled to keep the pool running for 30 years.
Nonetheless, each year on Memorial Day, to the relief of many longtime faithful members, the spring-fed, crystal-clear pool opens to a swarm of sun-loving families.
“The club is a survivor,” said Linda Schwarz, the club’s president. “It takes a licking and keeps on ticking.”
Drainage problems, leaking underground oil tanks and even burglary are just a few of the setbacks the club has endured over the past decade, she said.
The future could be a lot brighter, as the township recently announced plans to buy the land on which the club sits.
Located on Pine Brae Drive off Route 518, Lenape Swim Club was once known as the Pine Brae Country Club, a lavish facility that was home to the “who’s who” in the Princeton area, Ms. Schwarz said. Established in the 1950s, Pine Brae’s 1965 membership roster included the likes of United States ambassador and diplomat George Kennan.
Pine Brae closed in 1971, after the owners sold the property to a developer who was not interested in running a country club, she said.
“The barn lost its liquor license and Martin Lombardo (who owned Pine Brae) sold the property to Bukiet (a developer),” Ms. Schwarz said. In terms of development, she added, “there’s not a whole lot you can do back here.”
Shortly after Pine Brae closed, a group of club members who wanted to continue swimming there decided to lease the pool area and its washrooms, she said.
It was known briefly as the Sourland Country Club, before it was changed to its present name.
Over the years, Ms. Schwarz said, it’s been a struggle maintaining the pool, especially at times when the club had to operate under a one-year lease.
“We can’t build a reserve or repair our driveway because everything we get goes into the pool,” she said. “It’s been very difficult. We have nothing to take with us, except the furniture, if we leave.”
While the pool area has been sustained through membership dues and voluntarism, what’s left of the old Pine Brae Country Club sits around the swim club in ruins.
The old clubhouse — once used for elegant banquets, proms, dinner dances and wedding receptions — is a haven for raccoons, wild turkey and even hogs.
“Sometimes, it looks like something out of a gothic horror movie,” said Ms. Schwarz.
Inside the old horse stable — which once housed horses used in benefit shows for the United States Equestrian Team — are cobwebs, mounds of decayed wood, weeds, broken glasses and debris almost 2 feet high. Other buildings on the property — the caretaker’s home and grille room, for example — are in similar, if not worse, conditions.
“I call it Club Shabby Chic,” said longtime member Judy Hatke, who described the club as looking rugged on the outside but gorgeous inside.
To Ms. Hatke and many of the club’s 230 members, it came as a good news when they learned in March about the township’s intent to purchase the 124-acre Opatut tract, on which the club is situated, as part of its plan to purchase large tracts of land for open-space preservation.
“I am enthusiastic,” said Ms. Hatke, who joined the club in 1967. “It’s a second home to me, and I’d be very sad if it closes.”
For now, she said, that possibility seems remote.
The Township Committee, which approved an ordinance authorizing funds toward the purchase about two weeks ago, has indicated it might offer some financial assistance to help expand the pool, if the club wants to do that. A larger swimming facility, township officials say, is needed to meet the growing demand in the township.
There are also plans to build hiking and bicycle trails there and revive the old riding stables.
Also, Mayor Don Matthews said recently he would look into the possibility of rebuilding one of the old buildings for a much-needed senior-citizen center.
Last-minute repairs are under way at the club in preparation to open on Memorial Day.
And when the pool closes on Labor Day, as its tradition requires, the prospect of a better working relationship under a new landlord next year is exhilarating, Ms. Schwarz said.
As tenants, “we’ve always been terrific,” she said. “We just hope our landlord will be the same too.”