Princeton Recreation Department to Honor Larry Ivan Next Month

Larry Ivan (c) with two Princeton students. File photo.
Larry Ivan (c) with two Princeton student-athletes. File photo.

The Princeton Recreation Department will unveil a bronze portrait plaque of long-time Community Park Pool Manager Larry Ivan at a 6 p.m. ceremony on Friday, June 10 at the pool.

Ivan has served as the manager of the Community Park Pool for more than 40 years. He also taught school in Princeton for 41 years and supervised recreation playground programs in Princeton from 1958 until the 1980s.

The bronze bas relief portrait that will be unveiled at the ceremony was created by Princeton sculptor Stephanie Magdziak. Funding for the piece came from a community donation campaign organized by Cindy Hines Baker, a former lifeguard at the Community Park Pool.

The ceremony will include opening remarks from officials, a proclamation, comments from Ivan, and light refreshments. There will be no swimming at the event.

3 Comments

  1. May I have your attention please!

    I am so thrilled, having been able to better my childhood summers under the supervision of this fine man. (although it may not have been so easy for him at times, he never gave up on any of us! ) My fondest childhood summer memories are those of Harrison Street Playground and Mr. Ivan. I am so happy knowing this honor is being bestowed upon this person who is so deserving and that he is here to really see just how much he truly meant and still does mean to so many !!!!
    Mr Ivan, I hope you know how much you did for all of us kids and how much to this day we appreciate you!

    Cindy Davison Clausen xo

  2. Larry Ivan has been a fixture in my school life and summer life since I was a kid. A role model, mentor, and hero to so many who grew up, and are now grown up, here. What a great thing to honor this fine man!

  3. Larry Ivan was my basketball coach “back in the day” at PHS. The practices were more fun than the games, and he used encouragement, in that trademark booming voice, rather than humiliation. And his tireless commitment to princeton recreation, including opening the PHS gym on summer nights, was a godsend for a teenage gym rat. I’m pretty sure there is no one “in the pipeline” with his dedication and concern for the young and the restless.

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