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Can you fill us in on the history of the Twin Plunges? Someone told me way back it was the site of Lithia water baths, and was enclosed. I remember swimming there as a kid for $1 a day in the '70s and the owners' three sons all sported mohawk haircuts. I think it was owned by the Willstatter family? Why did they close? Sure miss those good ol' days. — Kevin H., Ashland For the sake of the good ol' days, we will take the plunge and answer your query, Kevin. In fact, the extremely popular swimming, diving and recreational center was operated by the well-liked Willstatters and their three sons — the mohawks were a fad — through much of the 1960s and '70s. The site is now covered by a bank and the Ashland Community Food Store. But let's plunge all the way back more than a century, to the beginning when the Ashland Mineral Springs Natatorium was created in 1908 by investors E. C. Gard, Mary Meikle, Edwin P. Hughes and noted local architect Frank C. Clark. The 100-by-200-foot structure featured water slides, diving boards, trapeze rings over two pools and 58 dressing rooms. There was even a ballroom with maple floors. All of that was under an arched roof that allowed for year-round recreation. But the company went belly up in 1919, and the building was torn down in the next decade. The Twin Plunges Ashland was launched in the early 1930s by Ashland lawyer William Briggs along with his father, E.D. Briggs, and business partner G.S. Butler. For half a century it was a popular gathering place for young and old alike, until aging equipment and changing lifestyles brought it to an end. Owners Al and Edie Willstatter announced early in 1977 that they would be closing the pools, citing operational costs, taxes and vandalism. Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to [email protected].