When Scuba Diving Was A New Sport

 In the late 1950's and early 1960's, scuba diving became a new and exciting sport. A large number of Covington area residents jumped into it, taking classes, joining the local scuba diving club, and going on spearfishing trips to the Gulf Coast. The City of Covington even had scuba diving lessons taught at the city pool.

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Here are some articles from the St. Tammany Farmer newspaper showing the growth of the sport. Some of the names of the participants you may recognize. 

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The local skin diving group was called 

the Ozone SCUBA Lancers Divers Club. 

Tim Wilson was active in a number of activities in the Covington and New Orleans areas. 

The television show "Sea Hunt" helped launch the new sport. 

Pete Fitzmorris moved back to Covington and in the 1970's became a St. Tammany Parish Police Juror as well as president of the St. Tammany Fair Association. 

There was even an annual banquet for the scuba group, with awards given out. 

For many years, Smith Hardware on Columbia St. refilled scuba tanks for the local club. That store closed in 1992, and when cleaning out the back storage room, one of the items it found was the old chalkboard message board used by the Ozone Lancers scuba diving club. They had used it to record the catches and activities of the popular group.