Swimmers at Pier 126, Delaware River, July 15, 1918
Children swim in the Delaware River at Pier 26 on Monday, July 15, 1918 (incidentally, the first day of the Second Battle of the Marne in World War I).
After capturing this playful scene, the photographer moved his camera to the south side of the same pier, where he found a double-barrel sewer belching raw wastes into the river. Sewage and industrial wastes continued to pour into the river until the 1970s, when improved sewage treatment methods and new environmental laws began to come on line. Kids, ever tempted by a cool swim on a hot day, swam in the river regardless.
