Alvin Settles Day: Beaufort honors longtime swim instructor

Alvin Settles nodded behind him to the Greene Street pool deck where a woman was enjoying the outdoor facility with her children.

Settles taught the woman how to swim when she was a child. Now she was back with another generation.

There are many other examples of Settles' reach. Those he taught as babies who are now lifeguards. Adults he taught who had never been in the pool before.

Adults are the most fun, he said -- watching for the light bulb to go off when someone understands how to move through the water.

Last year was Settles' last at the pool. He started its swimming lessons program from scratch after the pool was built in 1981 and stayed more than 30 years, giving lessons over the summer months during his break as a speech language pathologist at Department of Defense schools in Laurel Bay.

Settles was recognized in May by the state House of Representatives, the resolution sponsored by Kenneth Hodges, a state representative and pastor of Settles' church, Tabernacle Baptist.

"Whereas, many of Mr. Settles' students who never would have had exposure to swimming or the opportunity to learn how to swim have excelled, some of them even becoming lifeguards."

Last week, Beaufort City Council proclaimed June 23 as Alvin Settles Day.

"It's kind of confirmation of a job well done," Settles said. "Two things that have been constant over the 30-plus years -- the pool's been really right here in the city of Beaufort and to this day, it's still the only outdoor public swimming facility."

Settles now passes his days working as a deacon at his church and playing golf a couple of times a week with fellow retired military and government types. During the school year, the Lady's Island resident still works on contract about 20 hours a week.

The 64-year-old Settles grew up in Aiken during segregation, swimming at the Smith-Hazel Recreation Center built for his black neighborhood.

After earning his master's degree at S.C. State, he came to work at Laurel Bay and chose swim instruction to make some money on the side. He received water-safety training at the multipurpose Marine Corps Recruit Depot pool and began teaching at Laurel Bay.

When the city built the pool on Greene Street -- then on the opposite side of the street from where it moved in the mid-1990s -- longtime recreation director Basil Green asked Settles to lead instruction.

Green was a baseball and football guy who knew little about pools, Settle said, but he asked that Settles teach people to swim and that it be safe. The American Red Cross provided Settles guidelines, and he began to teach babies to adults and to train lifeguards.

At the time, the military bases and Beaufort Yacht and Sailing Club were the only other area pools. Greene Street became the public's first and only option.

Settles said he did not have a safety issue in the pool or from the surrounding neighborhood in more than 30 years.

"The pool has been a salvation for a lot of kids and adults," Settles said. "They can come here to swim and not have any problems whatsoever."

Follow reporter Stephen Fastenau at twitter.com/IPBG_Stephen.

This story was originally published June 28, 2015 at 4:33 PM with the headline "Alvin Settles Day: Beaufort honors longtime swim instructor ."