MIDDLEBORO — The Middleboro public pool has officially opened, and the Parks Department couldn’t have picked a better time. 

The pool opened its gates to residents on Monday, July 8, when temperatures soared into the upper 90s. 

Adults and children came from Middleboro and surrounding towns to get some reprieve from the scorching heat and show off their best cannonballs and flips. 

Katie Hastie and Kylie Shields were among the first to take a dip. Hastie lives in Taunton and came to spend the afternoon at the pool with her friend who lives in Middleboro.

Shields said the water was refreshing and both agreed that their favorite thing to do in the summer is go swimming.

Their favorite place to do so? “Probably here,” said Shields, who knows how to do tricks like handstands and cartwheels in the water. 

Hastie’s mother Bobbie Newcomb brings her children to the pool because they “are all water babies,” she said, and because it is a good way to pass the time in the summer without spending a lot of money. 

Siblings Hazel and Lincoln Leandres, who live in Middleboro, also made sure to be at the pool for opening day. 

Hazel’s favorite part about the pool is “seeing all the lifeguards” that come back year after year. “It’s nice to see everyone and spend time with family and friends,” she said. 

Middleboro’s Olympic-sized swimming pool is one of the oldest and largest in New England, according to the town’s Parks Department. The pool was built in 1934. 

This year, residents have something extra to look forward to: A large, inflatable slide.

The slide was funded by a $20,000 donation from the Peirce Trustees, which was also used to pay for repairs to the pool walls, according to the Parks Department. 

Park Superintendent Fran Cass expects the slide to be delivered by the end of the week. 

The new slide will be a welcome addition. Middleboro has been without a slide since state regulations mandated that the last slide be taken down several years back, according to Cass.