The Clover Hill Swimming Club in Millington, New Jersey, was a swim club operating in the late 1950s and 1960s in the suburban New York City metropolitan region.
Clover Hill Swimming Club, Inc. was incorporated in New Jersey on October 6, 1961 (Filing number:3019855000) as a privately owned and operated corporation for the purpose of returning a profit to its stockholders by constructing and operating "beach, swimming, tennis or recreation areas on the plan and form of a private membership club" in what was then called Passaic Township. When Clover Hill began operations in 1963, about 250 families held memberships and the total zoning capacity of the built club was fixed at 400 families. During the period of construction and for some time thereafter, there was displayed at the entrance to Clover Hill a large sign (8' x 4') which read:
"Clover Hill. On this 170 acre site a private family club with complete recreational facilities. Lake swimming, tennis, skating, golfing. For information write or call P.O. Box 222, Millington, N.J., Fr 7-0658, Millington 7-9779."The club was centered on a 3-acre (12,000 m2) lake filled with water from the club's well. The lake bottom was covered with stones, with white sand covering the 300-foot (91 m) beach, extending out into the water. The late had a 224-foot (68 m) dock and a deep water float. Bleachers overlooked 25 meter swim lanes. The club's swimming teams competed with other clubs. Other amenities typical of swim clubs, such as tennis facilities and a playground, were available. In the early 1990s the adjacent land was developed as a suburban neighborhood. The clubhouse was torn down and replaced by picnic facilities and the docks were removed as part of the neighborhood's development. The land and facilities of the old swim club are now managed by the neighborhood homeowner's association.
The club was the defendant in a landmark 1966 civil rights case, Clover Hill Swimming Club V. Robert F. Goldsboro. The club was sued by an African American veterinarian who said he was denied membership because of his race. The club claimed that because it was private it could pick its own membership, despite the fact that the club advertised at the entrance to Clover Hill and in newspapers that it had a policy of open membership. The Supreme Court of New Jersey sided with the plaintiff.
Famous quotes containing the words clover, hill, swimming and/or club:
“To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,—”
—Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)
“John Anderson my jo, John,
We clamb the hill the gither;
And mony a canty day, John,
We’ve had wi’ ane anither:
Now we maun totter down, John,
And hand in hand we’ll go;
And sleep the gither at the foot,
John Anderson my Jo.”
—Robert Burns (1759–1796)
“Whenever parents become overly invested in a particular skill or accomplishment, a child’s fear of failure multiplies. This is why some children refuse to get into the pool for a swimming lesson, or turn their back on Daddy’s favorite sport.”
—Cathy Rindner Tempelsman (20th century)
“Of course we women gossip on occasion. But our appetite for it is not as avid as a man’s. It is in the boys’ gyms, the college fraternity houses, the club locker rooms, the paneled offices of business that gossip reaches its luxuriant flower.”
—Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978)