Happy Birthday YMCA

No, I'm not talking about the disco song (and dance) from the Village People, I'm referring to the YMCA

(Young Men's Christian Organization). I remember as a kid growing up in Utica, going down to the YMCA on Washington Street in downtown Utica to pass along the time during those summer days and Saturdays. It was there that I learned how to swim, shoot pool, play ping pong and make boondogles (we had a lot of key chains thanks to my boondogle efforts). Today, The YMCA celebrates its founding.

According to the YMCA's website history,

"In 1844, George Williams launched the YMCA movement in London as a volunteer, and his example persists in the expansion of the Y across the globe. In the United States, early YMCA programs were run almost entirely by volunteers."

(Photo from general file footage)