Photo by Jessica N. Rex Kathy Bimber-Johnson, a Warren YMCA swim instructor.

Kathy Bimber-Johnson, a Warren native, has been teaching swimming classes of all ages for the past 40 years on and off; even at the YMCA that was located where the Canterbury Court apartments are now located. Bimber-Johnson heard that if the ladies plant flowers out back of the Canterbury Court Apartments, tiles from the old pool come up from time to time!

She taught the Dolphins team about 10 years and at the high school for nearly seven years. She’s held her lifesaving certification for 29 years off and on, coming back even after a brain tumor, where she had to relearn many things. Her persistence in living an active lifestyle despite that difficulty is an inspiration.

Bimber-Johnson had an interest in swimming at a very early age, taking swimming lessons at the old YMCA at age 9. At just 12 years old she got her junior life-saving certification. She mentions that she had some very good role models in teachers and coaches including Jim Tenney, Bob Hammerback, Mike Phillips, and Betts Mullen. Several of her family members have also taught swimming lessons at the YMCA at one time or another.

The classes at the YMCA that she teaches include Swimnastics, which is a water aerobics class, with the youngest participant in their 30s up to some in their 90s. She said the class really has a good time making her job easy to enjoy. “You always leave with a smile on your face” Additional classes include mommy (or any adult) and baby for ages 6 months through 3 years old to provide water enrichment for the kids to get acclimated with the water. Classes for 3-, 4-, 5-year-olds as well as the currently enrolled YMCA preschool kids receive lessons. The arthritis class is another class offered. Bimber-Johnson seems to have a lot of fun on the job including being part of the mermaid birthday parties held at the YMCA.

Building trust with the young swimmers involves getting right in the pool with them, focusing on one at a time, out of a small group. Several youth from these early lessons come though on teams but that number has decreased recently. The YMCA offers a summer-long program sponsored by Whirley; kids swim free and take lessons too. With various outdoor recreational activities in the water in this region, it’s so important for all people to know how to swim. She can’t stress enough the fact that “The kids need to learn to swim.”

Both the Warren Area High School Dragon Swim Team and the YMCA’s Dolphins Swim team make use of the six-lane, 25-meter pool. When not in the pool, she takes advantage of some of the many things Warren has to offer. She enjoys knitting at the Tybout House as well as a quilters guild, known as “Quilter’s Night Out.”

For more information about the YMCA, visit https://warrenymca.org.