It was a sports-themed family reunion 70 years in the making.
Seven decades after gathering as children outside a Nova Scotia pool to pose for a photo in the local newspaper, a Canadian swimming family has reconnected to recapture that magic in Penticton.
Members of the Jackson family reunited at the Penticton Community Centre pool on June 11, in celebration of their brother, Tom Jackson, who turned 80 years old that day.
Competitive swimmers when growing up in eastern Canada, the Jacksons gathered in Penticton to take a photo reminiscent of a shot taken in 1955 at a Dartmouth, NS pool.
Three of the family's members now live in Penticton.
The Jackson family siblings took after their father, Tom Jackson, who was a swimmer, lifeguard, instructor, and water polo player in Fergus, Ont. He encouraged all his children to take up swimming, said his daughter Jan Higgins.
All 11 of the Jacksons were swimmers, Higgins added.
The family's 1955 photo came as seven of the Jacksons competed for their local Nova Scotia swim club.
According to Higgins, three members of the family, including her, still swim at Penticton Community Centre nearby every day.
