Monroe News-Star (Monroe, Louisiana) Sunday - 24 Aug 1941 pg3
MANY LEARN HOW TO SWIM FROM VETERAN INSTRUCTOR
Captain Blanks, Head Life-guard Here, Has Been A Teacher For 16 Years
A fire captain in the winter, a life-guard and swimming instructor in the summer, and a veteran in all three fields -- that's Captain Jack Blanks, 41, tall, slender, and you might know, sun-tanned. Head life-guard at the municipal pool, Captain Blanks has been a fire captain for eight years, a fireman many more, and a swimming instructor at the old saltwater pool and the new pool for 16 years. He instructs in first aid.
He was the first life-guard employed at the old saltwater pool, located near the old Monroe boat dock, and since then has worked under City Commissioners William Atkinson, the late R. D. Swayze, and now, Charles R. Tidwell.
The mornings at the three year old pool in Forsythe Park are devoted to his four swimming classes and the afternoon to life-guard duties and first aid instruction. Captain Blanks has taught more than 150 children how to swim this year and makes them "toe the mark" before he turns them loose. His pupils who range in age from 4 to 10 are required to swim 125 feet, the entire width of the pool, although, most instructors only require beginners to swim 50 feet. "While it only takes a comparatively short time to teach a child how to swim, diving (and scuba) is a different thing," he said. "To teach a person to dive well," he explained, "one to five years is required. And it's not just off and on a person must dive, but every day. It required constant practice," he explained. "Swimming and diving are just like any other sport, such as tennis, golf, or track."
His swimming teams have an enviable record, too. The teams of 1939 and 1940 topped such squads as El Dorado, Arkansas, Shreveport, Bastrop, Rayville and Ruston. They lost only to Louisiana State University. Rosemay Harris, for example, placed second in diving in the A. A. U. meet in New Orleans, 1939.
But this year (1941) he has lost most of his men to the army, and although his girls' team is complete, there are no other squads in the area to challenge the Monroe swimmers.
Standing on the edge of the pool yesterday, watching his pupils and former pupils in the water, Captain Blanks remarked: "Think how much better a man would feel if he took a swim each day after work instead of going straight home. Swimming out ere has made me feel 10 years younger."
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Monroe News-Star (Monroe, Louisiana) Tuesday - 11 Apr 1972 pg15
JACK W. BLANKS GETS PACESETTER AWARD BY CITY
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Monroe News-Star (Monroe, Louisiana) Monday - 8 May 1972 pg9
FUNERAL TUESDAY FOR JACK BLANKS
Funeral services for Jack W. Blanks, 72, of 1803 Forsythe Avenue, Monroe, will be held at 2 pm Tuesday in the Mulhearn Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Clyde Frazier and Ernest Holloway officiating. Burial will be in the River Cemetery. Mr. Blanks died Sunday in St. Francis Hospital following a lengthy illness. He was a 45 year veteran of the Monroe Fire Department.
Until two years ago, he served as superintendent of the Swayze Natatorium in Forsythe Park. He was appointed to that position when the pool first opened and over the years taught thousands of youngster to swim. For his services to youth, the Monroe City Council last month awarded him the Pacesetter Award. Prior to the opening of the pool he had served as lifeguard at the old city saltwater pool.
He was a native of Caldwell Parish and had lived in Monroe for more than 60 years. Mr. Blanks was a member of the Western Star Masonic Lodge and the First Methodist Church of Monroe. He was a naval veteran of World War I and was a member of the L. B. Faulk Post No. 13, American Legion. He was also a member of the American Red Cross.
Survivors include his wife:
Mrs. Gladys Blanks
One daughter:
Betty Blanks (Mrs. Larry Bennett) of Monroe
One brother:
Major Faulkner A Blanks, Jr. (Ret) of Niantic, Conn
Three sister:
Mrs. Landis Mauldin of Albuquerque, New Mexico
Mrs. A. F. McCaleb of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Mrs. W. B. Herrick, Sr. of Monroe
Two grandchildren
MANY LEARN HOW TO SWIM FROM VETERAN INSTRUCTOR
Captain Blanks, Head Life-guard Here, Has Been A Teacher For 16 Years
A fire captain in the winter, a life-guard and swimming instructor in the summer, and a veteran in all three fields -- that's Captain Jack Blanks, 41, tall, slender, and you might know, sun-tanned. Head life-guard at the municipal pool, Captain Blanks has been a fire captain for eight years, a fireman many more, and a swimming instructor at the old saltwater pool and the new pool for 16 years. He instructs in first aid.
He was the first life-guard employed at the old saltwater pool, located near the old Monroe boat dock, and since then has worked under City Commissioners William Atkinson, the late R. D. Swayze, and now, Charles R. Tidwell.
The mornings at the three year old pool in Forsythe Park are devoted to his four swimming classes and the afternoon to life-guard duties and first aid instruction. Captain Blanks has taught more than 150 children how to swim this year and makes them "toe the mark" before he turns them loose. His pupils who range in age from 4 to 10 are required to swim 125 feet, the entire width of the pool, although, most instructors only require beginners to swim 50 feet. "While it only takes a comparatively short time to teach a child how to swim, diving (and scuba) is a different thing," he said. "To teach a person to dive well," he explained, "one to five years is required. And it's not just off and on a person must dive, but every day. It required constant practice," he explained. "Swimming and diving are just like any other sport, such as tennis, golf, or track."
His swimming teams have an enviable record, too. The teams of 1939 and 1940 topped such squads as El Dorado, Arkansas, Shreveport, Bastrop, Rayville and Ruston. They lost only to Louisiana State University. Rosemay Harris, for example, placed second in diving in the A. A. U. meet in New Orleans, 1939.
But this year (1941) he has lost most of his men to the army, and although his girls' team is complete, there are no other squads in the area to challenge the Monroe swimmers.
Standing on the edge of the pool yesterday, watching his pupils and former pupils in the water, Captain Blanks remarked: "Think how much better a man would feel if he took a swim each day after work instead of going straight home. Swimming out ere has made me feel 10 years younger."
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Monroe News-Star (Monroe, Louisiana) Tuesday - 11 Apr 1972 pg15
JACK W. BLANKS GETS PACESETTER AWARD BY CITY
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Monroe News-Star (Monroe, Louisiana) Monday - 8 May 1972 pg9
FUNERAL TUESDAY FOR JACK BLANKS
Funeral services for Jack W. Blanks, 72, of 1803 Forsythe Avenue, Monroe, will be held at 2 pm Tuesday in the Mulhearn Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Clyde Frazier and Ernest Holloway officiating. Burial will be in the River Cemetery. Mr. Blanks died Sunday in St. Francis Hospital following a lengthy illness. He was a 45 year veteran of the Monroe Fire Department.
Until two years ago, he served as superintendent of the Swayze Natatorium in Forsythe Park. He was appointed to that position when the pool first opened and over the years taught thousands of youngster to swim. For his services to youth, the Monroe City Council last month awarded him the Pacesetter Award. Prior to the opening of the pool he had served as lifeguard at the old city saltwater pool.
He was a native of Caldwell Parish and had lived in Monroe for more than 60 years. Mr. Blanks was a member of the Western Star Masonic Lodge and the First Methodist Church of Monroe. He was a naval veteran of World War I and was a member of the L. B. Faulk Post No. 13, American Legion. He was also a member of the American Red Cross.
Survivors include his wife:
Mrs. Gladys Blanks
One daughter:
Betty Blanks (Mrs. Larry Bennett) of Monroe
One brother:
Major Faulkner A Blanks, Jr. (Ret) of Niantic, Conn
Three sister:
Mrs. Landis Mauldin of Albuquerque, New Mexico
Mrs. A. F. McCaleb of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Mrs. W. B. Herrick, Sr. of Monroe
Two grandchildren
Monroe News-Star (Monroe, Louisiana) Sunday - 24 Aug 1941 pg3
MANY LEARN HOW TO SWIM FROM VETERAN INSTRUCTOR
Captain Blanks, Head Life-guard Here, Has Been A Teacher For 16 Years
A fire captain in the winter, a life-guard and swimming instructor in the summer, and a veteran in all three fields -- that's Captain Jack Blanks, 41, tall, slender, and you might know, sun-tanned. Head life-guard at the municipal pool, Captain Blanks has been a fire captain for eight years, a fireman many more, and a swimming instructor at the old saltwater pool and the new pool for 16 years. He instructs in first aid.
He was the first life-guard employed at the old saltwater pool, located near the old Monroe boat dock, and since then has worked under City Commissioners William Atkinson, the late R. D. Swayze, and now, Charles R. Tidwell.
The mornings at the three year old pool in Forsythe Park are devoted to his four swimming classes and the afternoon to life-guard duties and first aid instruction. Captain Blanks has taught more than 150 children how to swim this year and makes them "toe the mark" before he turns them loose. His pupils who range in age from 4 to 10 are required to swim 125 feet, the entire width of the pool, although, most instructors only require beginners to swim 50 feet. "While it only takes a comparatively short time to teach a child how to swim, diving (and scuba) is a different thing," he said. "To teach a person to dive well," he explained, "one to five years is required. And it's not just off and on a person must dive, but every day. It required constant practice," he explained. "Swimming and diving are just like any other sport, such as tennis, golf, or track."
His swimming teams have an enviable record, too. The teams of 1939 and 1940 topped such squads as El Dorado, Arkansas, Shreveport, Bastrop, Rayville and Ruston. They lost only to Louisiana State University. Rosemay Harris, for example, placed second in diving in the A. A. U. meet in New Orleans, 1939.
But this year (1941) he has lost most of his men to the army, and although his girls' team is complete, there are no other squads in the area to challenge the Monroe swimmers.
Standing on the edge of the pool yesterday, watching his pupils and former pupils in the water, Captain Blanks remarked: "Think how much better a man would feel if he took a swim each day after work instead of going straight home. Swimming out ere has made me feel 10 years younger."
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Monroe News-Star (Monroe, Louisiana) Tuesday - 11 Apr 1972 pg15
JACK W. BLANKS GETS PACESETTER AWARD BY CITY
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Monroe News-Star (Monroe, Louisiana) Monday - 8 May 1972 pg9
FUNERAL TUESDAY FOR JACK BLANKS
Funeral services for Jack W. Blanks, 72, of 1803 Forsythe Avenue, Monroe, will be held at 2 pm Tuesday in the Mulhearn Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Clyde Frazier and Ernest Holloway officiating. Burial will be in the River Cemetery. Mr. Blanks died Sunday in St. Francis Hospital following a lengthy illness. He was a 45 year veteran of the Monroe Fire Department.
Until two years ago, he served as superintendent of the Swayze Natatorium in Forsythe Park. He was appointed to that position when the pool first opened and over the years taught thousands of youngster to swim. For his services to youth, the Monroe City Council last month awarded him the Pacesetter Award. Prior to the opening of the pool he had served as lifeguard at the old city saltwater pool.
He was a native of Caldwell Parish and had lived in Monroe for more than 60 years. Mr. Blanks was a member of the Western Star Masonic Lodge and the First Methodist Church of Monroe. He was a naval veteran of World War I and was a member of the L. B. Faulk Post No. 13, American Legion. He was also a member of the American Red Cross.
Survivors include his wife:
Mrs. Gladys Blanks
One daughter:
Betty Blanks (Mrs. Larry Bennett) of Monroe
One brother:
Major Faulkner A Blanks, Jr. (Ret) of Niantic, Conn
Three sister:
Mrs. Landis Mauldin of Albuquerque, New Mexico
Mrs. A. F. McCaleb of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Mrs. W. B. Herrick, Sr. of Monroe
Two grandchildren
MANY LEARN HOW TO SWIM FROM VETERAN INSTRUCTOR
Captain Blanks, Head Life-guard Here, Has Been A Teacher For 16 Years
A fire captain in the winter, a life-guard and swimming instructor in the summer, and a veteran in all three fields -- that's Captain Jack Blanks, 41, tall, slender, and you might know, sun-tanned. Head life-guard at the municipal pool, Captain Blanks has been a fire captain for eight years, a fireman many more, and a swimming instructor at the old saltwater pool and the new pool for 16 years. He instructs in first aid.
He was the first life-guard employed at the old saltwater pool, located near the old Monroe boat dock, and since then has worked under City Commissioners William Atkinson, the late R. D. Swayze, and now, Charles R. Tidwell.
The mornings at the three year old pool in Forsythe Park are devoted to his four swimming classes and the afternoon to life-guard duties and first aid instruction. Captain Blanks has taught more than 150 children how to swim this year and makes them "toe the mark" before he turns them loose. His pupils who range in age from 4 to 10 are required to swim 125 feet, the entire width of the pool, although, most instructors only require beginners to swim 50 feet. "While it only takes a comparatively short time to teach a child how to swim, diving (and scuba) is a different thing," he said. "To teach a person to dive well," he explained, "one to five years is required. And it's not just off and on a person must dive, but every day. It required constant practice," he explained. "Swimming and diving are just like any other sport, such as tennis, golf, or track."
His swimming teams have an enviable record, too. The teams of 1939 and 1940 topped such squads as El Dorado, Arkansas, Shreveport, Bastrop, Rayville and Ruston. They lost only to Louisiana State University. Rosemay Harris, for example, placed second in diving in the A. A. U. meet in New Orleans, 1939.
But this year (1941) he has lost most of his men to the army, and although his girls' team is complete, there are no other squads in the area to challenge the Monroe swimmers.
Standing on the edge of the pool yesterday, watching his pupils and former pupils in the water, Captain Blanks remarked: "Think how much better a man would feel if he took a swim each day after work instead of going straight home. Swimming out ere has made me feel 10 years younger."
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Monroe News-Star (Monroe, Louisiana) Tuesday - 11 Apr 1972 pg15
JACK W. BLANKS GETS PACESETTER AWARD BY CITY
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Monroe News-Star (Monroe, Louisiana) Monday - 8 May 1972 pg9
FUNERAL TUESDAY FOR JACK BLANKS
Funeral services for Jack W. Blanks, 72, of 1803 Forsythe Avenue, Monroe, will be held at 2 pm Tuesday in the Mulhearn Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Clyde Frazier and Ernest Holloway officiating. Burial will be in the River Cemetery. Mr. Blanks died Sunday in St. Francis Hospital following a lengthy illness. He was a 45 year veteran of the Monroe Fire Department.
Until two years ago, he served as superintendent of the Swayze Natatorium in Forsythe Park. He was appointed to that position when the pool first opened and over the years taught thousands of youngster to swim. For his services to youth, the Monroe City Council last month awarded him the Pacesetter Award. Prior to the opening of the pool he had served as lifeguard at the old city saltwater pool.
He was a native of Caldwell Parish and had lived in Monroe for more than 60 years. Mr. Blanks was a member of the Western Star Masonic Lodge and the First Methodist Church of Monroe. He was a naval veteran of World War I and was a member of the L. B. Faulk Post No. 13, American Legion. He was also a member of the American Red Cross.
Survivors include his wife:
Mrs. Gladys Blanks
One daughter:
Betty Blanks (Mrs. Larry Bennett) of Monroe
One brother:
Major Faulkner A Blanks, Jr. (Ret) of Niantic, Conn
Three sister:
Mrs. Landis Mauldin of Albuquerque, New Mexico
Mrs. A. F. McCaleb of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Mrs. W. B. Herrick, Sr. of Monroe
Two grandchildren
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