The Goldfish

With no official numbers to back up my opinion I am willing to say that one of the most remembered and recounted activity, according to the www.olympus98.com web site, that took place during our high school days brought death to about 5000 goldfish. There are many “memory comments” that people have made on their profiles, but the “Goldfish in the Swimming Pool” seems to show up more than any other high school memory. What really happened that day? Has the legend grown so big that the truth has been lost? How many fish do your remember floating on the surface? Through a private interview with Dan Kormylo, Mr. Guthry, and other eye witnesses I have been able to nail down some long lost facts about the incident that might have been forgotten had it not been for the wonderful world of blogs.

The winter in 1997 brought a record amount of snow fall to the Wasatch Front, and because of the high run-off the Jordan River was experiencing explosive fish breeding. The idea behind throwing fish into the swimming pool during the belly-flop contest was born when a news broadcast reported that the Jordan River had an overpopulation of carp. “Carp could live for days in the pool,” Dan Kormylo recalled. One problem. None of the pranksters knew where to trap carp in the Jordan River. Thus, the goldfish plan took flight. Rich Strauser and Dave Hendrickson took a trip to PetSmart to purchase numerous clear plastic bags filled with baby goldfish – 5000 baby goldfish. The fish killers slipped in the side door of the pool and slowly dumped all the bags of fish into the North-West corner of the pool as everyone’s attention was focused on belly-floppers. Mr. Guthry asked me recently, “Do you still think it is funny to cause damage to the pool filtration system, and at the same time bring financial ruin upon your school through hundreds of dollars in cleaning and sanitation fees?” Yes.  Some remember seeing the fish several minutes before an on-looker finally cried wolf. By that time the belly-flop contest was almost over and thousands of tiny fish had floated to the surface of the chlorine-laced water. All of those involved faced school suspensions, and Guthry supposedly got a copy of the PetSmart surveillance video showing Rich and Dave purchasing the fish. Many recall the story with the added twist, “The animal rights groups in Utah thought about charging them with cruelty to animals.” I prefer to believe that the fish enjoyed swimming free for those few minutes of eternal glory.

So many memories…so little time.