Meet The Staff:
A look back at the Tri-City YMCA
Founded in 1916 and incorporated in 1918, the Tri-City Area YMCA has a proud history of effective and practical service to its members. Originally, the YMCA functioned as a rooming house for itinerant industrial workers of Granite City, Madison and Venice.
The YMCA's founders envisioned an environment that emphasized study and education, thereby helping immigrant workers to become United States citizens. Partnerships with schools and civic organizations led to naturalization and study programs that functioned for many years.
By 1924, the need for broad-spectrum YMCA services in the Tri-City area was very apparent. As a result, the community engaged in a successful fund-raising campaign that netted $300,000 and the doors of the old Tri-City Area YMCA building opened to the public in 1926. This facility provided complete YMCA services including education, recreation and physical fitness.
Though it has went through several incarnations and changes through it's eight decades of existence, the mission was still the same: "To put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all." This has been accomplished in several different methods and ways.
With the "Learn to Swim" programs ran as far back as the 1930's, kids were able to come to the YMCA to use the pool. Also at the old Y, was the mainstay of boxing, which for a long time, was very popular throughout the YMCA's in the United States. A little known fact of the Tri-City YMCA is that along with the many activities and social events that went on, there were even bowling lanes in the lower level. The lanes were located where the Nautilus area of the old building, and allowed visitors to throw a few leisurely frames.
Sports activities were not the only thing that went on at the YMCA. The building also a hangout as well as a functioning hotel. People would rent rooms upstairs as sleeping quarters while in town doing work. According to John Gages, a member of the YMCA beginning in 1938, "The Y was the place to be" says Gages, who recalls that the place was buzzing with both teens & adults, from morning until night, 7 days a week. John has been coming to the YMCA for over 6 decades. When asked why he has continued to come for so long, John maintains a high degree of loyalty due to the policy held many years ago (and still today) by the YMCA, and that policy is to not deny membership to anyone who cannot afford it. Even if it meant that he had to go to work as a lifeguard or referee a few basketball games in the gym, John was always at the Y and still is to this day.
During the 1950's and 60's, Teen Town was the big draw at the YMCA and it was the happening place every Friday night. The local hot spot for kids to dance, listen to music and socialize, it was the popular place to be. In the late 60's/ early 70's a relatively unknown rock and roll band from Champagne, IL even played at the YMCA, rocking the old building pretty good. That band? None other than REO Speedwagon, who would go onto to bigger and better things as they exploded during the 1970's.
Also gaining in popularity at the YMCA was weightlifting. Several lifters during the 70's gained national notoriety while coached by local lifting legend Curt Mathes. Some of them included were Mark Seago, Dave Wilson, John Bruch, and Leeland Mathes
By the 80's, the need for the sleeping rooms on the upper floors had gone away and the hotel part that the YMCA played came to an end. With the exception of being used as a Haunted House at Halloween, the rooms were left almost untouched. One of the long hallways can be seen in this photo taken in 2003.
In the 1990's, a powerlifting team was once again formed and competitions were even held at the YMCA. Since then, in the spirit of the YMCA mission, the Powerlifting team and Y members have raised funds to get almost 20 different lifters to National and International competitions. Nationally, Y lifters have been Chicago, Ohio, New Jersey, Louisiana, Texas, Indiana, Wisconsin and to far away places such as South Africa, Czech Republic & Luxembourg for World Championships.
Near the end of the 20th Century, the proverbial writing was on the walls of the old building.
After extensive study and discussion, the YMCA's Board of Directors voted to explore the possibility of creating a new facility to house its programs and services. The aging infrastructure combined with the massive capital needed to update an 80 year-old structure made renovation of the former building cost-prohibitive. Additionally, the former building is located in the traditional, economically distressed downtown area with limited on-site parking. These factors act as disincentives for attracting potential new members and severely limit up-to-date programming.
Today, the Tri-City YMCA opens a new chapter in it's long history with the new River's Edge facility located at the River's Edge Complex on Route 3. The River's Edge location is the former Melvin Price Support Center, known better to most, as the Army Depot. Sitting in the middle of the 850 acre complex, the YMCA will now have the space to thrive even more as it approaches it's 100 year anniversary in the Tri-City Area.
Led by Executive Director Rich Wittmann, it is an exciting time for the YMCA. With a state of the art fitness center, sizeable pool area and many outdoor activities the future of the YMCA in the Tri-City Area looks brighter than ever. The Tri-City YMCA at River's Edge continues to offer something for everyone in it's effort to build stronger kids, stronger families and a stronger community.
