Meet YMCA Member: Robbie L.
When Robbie Lightner was in seventh grade, she dreamed of swimming in the Taj Mahal’s reflection pool. For Robbie, swimming was a fun way to pass the time. There were few opportunities to play sports for her and other girls growing up in Iowa in the 1940s. However, there was swimming, and so Robbie, having learned to swim at age nine, spent her summers in the pool.
Robbie kept swimming throughout her childhood and college. Then, in 1968 while on a trip to New Delhi to visit a friend, she went to the Taj Mahal and discovered the reflection pool wasn’t swimmable.
“It was only ankle-deep,” she said, remembering with a laugh. She may not have been able to achieve her childhood dream, but her visit to India introduced her to something new—the YMCA.
“We had sleeping bags for the trip, but needed a place to stay. My friend heard there might be space at the New Delhi YMCA,” she explained. “The New Delhi YMCA had a floor and walls, but no roof, so we rolled our sleeping bags out and slept under the sky. I’ll always remember that the Y let us come in and it gave us a safe place to spend the night.”
Robbie returned from her trip and kept swimming. In 1994, she and her husband moved to Missoula and she joined the Missoula YMCA the following year.
Now 80, Robbie still swims regularly.
“I’ve been coming here every Tuesday and Thursday for as long as I’ve been a member,” she said. “I’ve got my routine.”
“And once I get done swimming, I’m in a much better mood,” she added with a smile.
“To me, the pool is the most important part of the Y because here in Missoula we have five rivers that kids swim in, as well as Frenchtown and Lolo Ponds,” explained Robbie. “The YMCA has a third-grade swim program that’s wonderful because they teach kids how to swim. I’m always willing to give up my swim time when the 3rd graders are here.”
She’s also met great friends while working out at the YMCA, including Cyd, Youngee, and Carol. While the four of them now work out at different times, they regularly meet up for lunch.
“We help the restaurant industry,” Robbie joked. Not only has Robbie made good friends thanks to the Y, she also encourages others to become members.
“There are two things I’ll recommend to people,” she said. “Good books and the YMCA.”
As 2022 unfolds, Robbie knows where she’ll be—swimming at the YMCA every Tuesday and Thursday, just as she’s been doing for the past 26 years.
“I came to the YMCA because of swimming and I’ll keep coming because of swimming,” she said. “I’ve made good friends and I enjoy coming in.”