Faces of SOP - Sara and Luke Gilleran

Sara and Luke Gilleran

My husband’s family moved to Dearborn in 1991 when he was in high school at St. Alphonsus. They lived right across the street from Ten Eyck Park.  We started dating in 1994 and spent many great evenings walking around the track at Ten Eyck. My brother-in-law John is much younger than us and he spent most of his summers as a Ten Eyck “pool rat.” I remember John would run between the supervised recreation box to the pool just about all day long during the summer. I know he has fond memories of his days at the pool.

Fast forward several years and many life changes, and my husband and I bought our home in Dearborn, just a few blocks from Ten Eyck. We had our son, Luke, in 2004. One afternoon, I was pushing Luke in the stroller and I was amazed when I saw that Ten Eyck Pool is STILL open. From then, we spent a lot more time at the park and the pool.

Looking back, I realize that moment became the day that I wanted to make sure the pool stays open for Luke, my younger son Colin and all kids in our neighborhoods.

As soon as I started seeing stories about the city’s plans to close the small pools, I started to do what most people do; I got angry and started complaining. I drove my husband, mother, sister, and neighbors nuts talking about the reasons that the pools were closing and why they should stay open. Then I decided I needed to do something besides complain. I began to attend neighborhood association meetings, budget meetings, and city council meetings. I also emailed city council members and joined SOP and Dearborn Residents for Accountability so that my voice could be heard.

My son, Luke, has been with me every step of the way. He has attended many of the meetings with me, and has addressed the mayor and city council during both budget and formal city council meetings. His favorite activities have been the swim team, pool clean-ups in the spring and floatie nights all summer long.

Ten Eyck pool has led us to a love of swimming. Luke now swims for the Dearborn Dolphins and plans to continue swimming as his main sport. We love our park and pool and are extremely hopeful for the upcoming election this November. We are praying that the new city government will realize how important these pools and all recreation are for children. We look forward to a time that we can enjoy our pool without the worry and fear that it might not be there next summer.

- Sara Gilleran

Are you a member of the SOP family? We would like to feature you on our blog! Please email us at saveourpools@yahoo.com with your information and tell us why you love Dearborn's pools! You can also join the SOP group on Facebook now!