MM Systems Manager Ed Young and assistant Sean Croson assembled the 11-panel system in one week. Five panels sit atop the recreation building adjacent to the pool; another six panels are placed on a wooden ground structure, with all panels facing east. The black panels blend unobtrusively into the Ponderosa pine forest background.

Water is pumped from the pool through a sand filter and then passed into tiny tubes making up the larger panels on the roof and then into the ground panels before returning to the pool. During this transit time (about 3-5 minutes) the system acts as a heat exchanger, warming the water.

Water temperatures at the pool remain at about 80 degrees F. and there is a backup propane heater should weather conditions warrant its use. The 20-yard pool holds 20,000 gallons of water.

"The system should save property owners thousands of dollars for energy costs over coming years," says Metolius Meadows Home Owners Association Board Member Erhard Dortmund.

Made in Israel, the STR 50 solar unit is distributed by the Megen Plastic Sunstar Company from Florida.

The historic pool, located near Lake Creek, is on Pine Lodge Road in Camp Sherman. It serves a community of about 115 home sites on 147 lots.

Original owner Bertha Ronalds used the original swimming pool in the 1930s on summer visits while staying at her Pine Lodge home located next to the pool.

Metolius Meadows homeowners renovated the pool in 1994 and it remains a summer treat for people of all ages.