Gale Fiege stood looking up at the plaque with her father’s name displayed at the entrance of the Mountlake Terrace Recreation Pavilion.

“He was a proponent of the Pavilion, he worked really hard to get it built and to convince citizens to fund it,” she said about her father, Gene, who was on the Mountlake Terrace City Council when the Recreation Pavilion was built.

The Recreation Pavilion celebrated its 50th birthday on Tuesday, Nov. 20 with a free swim as well as a prize drawing, games, dancing and a performance by local musician Bill Kimball. The celebration included a brief ceremony and cake cutting.

Fiege said she and her friends were the first children to jump into the Recreation Pavilion’s pool when it opened in 1968 after her father and his friends — Park Director Kenneth Harms and City Manager Robert White — decided they wanted a place for the community’s children.

“It was just a really progressive group of World War II veteran- type guys,” she said. Fiege said the three men — along with other community members –were dedicated to providing a place where local children could come for a swim, dancing, an after-school A&W Root Beer or bubblegum-flavored ice cream.

“Here it is, it’s 50 years later and it’s still standing and it’s still great,” said Fiege, who now lives in Skagit County and was 11 years old when the Recreation Pavilion opened. The Pavilion was a popular hangout for Fiege and her friends. While students at Mountlake Terrace Junior High (now Terrace Park School), they would come for a 25-cent hamburger during lunch or ride their bikes over on countless Saturdays for free swim.

According to Fiege, the Recreation Pavilion was the first city-owned pool in South County. Since its opening, the Pavilion has grown to serve more than 300,000 community members annually, said City of Mountlake Terrace Recreation and Parks Director Jeff Betz.

“Over the years, the Recreation Pavilion has received state and national recognition for providing excellent recreation and aquatic programs,” he said during remarks made prior to the ceremonial cake-cutting.

The celebration also included a performance by local musician Bill Kimball, who sang a song he wrote about Mountlake Terrace — “A Mountain and A Lake.” Kimball said he wrote the song two years ago and was waiting for the right time to debut it.

“It’s really more about the Mountlake Terrace birthday,” he said. “It really was driven by memories and the unique history of the city.”

Kimball’s song invoked memories of growing up in the city, with lyrics like “Do you remember Ben Franklin’s Five and Dime, I can see it clearly in my mind,” and “After school, walking home we stopped at Maggie’s Market for an ice cream cone.”

Like most other small towns, Mountlake Terrace is filled with residents who have spent their lives together. Just over four square miles and now with a population of 21,000, it has a small-town charm that draws newcomers and former residents alike.

“I left and got married and moved to Connecticut for three years, but I came back,” said Tracie Neal, who now runs the youth programs at the Recreation Pavilion. “I always find myself coming back to Mountlake Terrace.”

As the neighboring communities grow, Fiege said she is grateful to see how the Pavilion has stood the test of time and continues to be a place for Mountlake Terrace neighbors to come together.

“I am very proud of my dad,” Fiege said. “I am so thankful for the people of this town who made it happen. It’s such a joy to look out and see those kids swimming.”

— Story and photos by Cody Sexton