SnapGlow.TV: Modern Gems Galore! FOR THE LAST five years, working full time at the Bridesburg Recreation Center, Jacqueline DeSanctis didn't receive a paycheck.
But to DeSanctis, 71, who has worked at the rec center for 50 years - 45 as an employee and five as a volunteer - money is no object.
"What you get back from a community like this, there's no paycheck for," DeSanctis said yesterday, her 50th anniversary at the rec center, at Richmond and Buckius streets, in Bridesburg. "There's no money value."
Yesterday was "Miss Jackie Day" at the center. But the festivities - including gifts, a cake with her photo on it, a congratulatory serenade and a visit from city Parks and Recreation Commissioner Mike DiBerardinis - didn't stop DeSanctis from going about her usual day, watching the children in the pool and minding the center's many activities.
Pool-maintenance attendant Bill Godfrey, 24, who has worked summers with DeSanctis for the last six years, said that nothing could make her miss a beat.
"If the president was here, she'd be like, 'Sorry, Mr. Obama, I need to work by the pool now,' " Godfrey said.
And she was by the pool yesterday afternoon, wearing her "Queen of Bridesburg" sash and watching dozens of children during their afternoon swim lessons.
"She's a tough cookie, but at the same time, she's the sweetest person," said Cathy Hammerstein, a pool-equipment operator whose children spend summers at the center. "She's very dedicated to the kids."
Hammerstein's 10-year-old daughter, Caitlin, acts as a secretary for DeSanctis, running messages between DeSanctis while she works inside and Hammerstein, who spends all day by the pool.
"It's kind of fun," Caitlin said of working with Miss Jackie, adding that last summer she received a thank-you card in the mail from DeSanctis. "I like to volunteer and help people."
DeSanctis' history at Bridesburg Rec began as a temporary career for the Chester County native.
"I was going to work here for four years and leave, because I was married to a dental-school student," she recalled. "But he left and I stayed. Now I hang my hat in Torresdale, but I spend 50 to 60 hours a week here."
After her first husband left, DeSanctis remarried and had a son, who now has three children and lives in Maine. Her husband, she said, splits his time living with her in Torresdale, spending winters in Florida and staying with their son in New England.
"It wouldn't work for some people, but it works for us," she said.
Much of her dedication, after all, lies with her "kids," as she calls them - three generations now - with whom she has worked at the rec center.
"The difference is, if the job's your hobby, it's not a job," she said, adding that she usually works 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. "I guess it just gives me a good feeling."
And her presence does have an impact, employees said.
"It's awesome, especially in these days and times with so many negative things kids are bombarded with," said Alain Joinville, Department of Recreation public-affairs coordinator, as he watched DeSanctis work by the pool yesterday. "It's great to know they have a place to come for fun, safe activities."
Facility manager Michael Bernaudo, who started working at Bridesburg rec center in May, said that he had not met anyone like DeSanctis at the several other rec centers in the city where he has worked.
"Bridesburg rec center is as strong as it is because of her," said Bernaudo. "Every place has volunteers, but never anyone who does 12 hours a day, five days a week. And she loves it. She steps right up every time."
Hammerstein, who moved to Bridesburg from Fishtown five years ago, agreed. She said that Fishtown's neighborhood pool, one of 27 that are closed this summer as part of city budget cuts, was nothing like the one in Bridesburg.
Put simply, DeSanctis is what separates Bridesburg's community from others, Hammerstein said.
"That's why we're scared if she does decide to leave us, or, God forbid, has to," she said. "You hear 'Bridesburg' and you think of Miss Jackie."
But DeSanctis said that her departure won't happen anytime soon.
"As long as I can do what I'm doing and do it right, I have no plans on going," she said. "What I've gotten from the community here you can't buy."
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