Quarry cautions

"Sanders," "Longhole" and the ever-popular "Rooftop" are just some of the names used to refer to the quarry that was immortalized in the 1979 film "Breaking Away." Indiana University students and locals alike flock to this giant limestone pond on hot summer days just like the characters in the movie that made the quarry famous.\nOne IU sophomore and informatics/telecommunications major first heard about the quarry from other people on the floor of his dorm during his freshman year and has been to the quarry several times since. He said he goes quarry jumping "for the thrill and the outdoor party-like atmosphere." He explained that the number of people at "Rooftop" varies depending on the day. On his most recent visit with some friends, he noted that they arrived on a weekend "at about one or one-thirty. There were about fifteen people there already and more came."\nAdjacent property owner, farmer and lifetime Monroe County resident Tom Bartlett said he started swimming in the quarries during the, early to mid '60s when he was, 12 or 13-years-old. Bartlett learned about the quarries from his father who used to drive their cattle to a smaller quarry to let them drink during hot summer months when the well water was low. \n"All the kids swam in them," Bartlett said. "It would be a Sunday afternoon thing. Whole families would go out there." \nThis was at a time before the man-made Lake Monroe was built for recreation. Bartlett and other local residents frequented a quarry that was known as "Earnestine" rather the one featured in "Breaking Away," although college students were going back to the now famous quarry even before the movie was filmed.\n"Longhole was more for the skinny dippers and college kids and things like that," said Bartlett. \nEven though the area is frequented by visitors it is illegal to go back to the quarry. Indiana State Trooper Travis Corea explained that when people go back there, it is considered trespassing. Many visitors understand that swimming in the quarry is illegal despite signs that warn "No Trespassing." In some areas of the property, however, these signs have been torn down. \nOn his first trip to the quarry, the IU sophomore didn't realize he was going to be trespassing until they, "got there and had to park at a church and walk back there. That's when it hit home that it was trespassing." \n"Trespassing wasn't enforced real hard until the movie came out," Bartlett said. They would always overlook it, but the numbers (of visitors) went astronomical after the movie came out."\nWhile fear of fines from trespassing won't keep most people out, the dangers of jumping into an abandon rock quarry will now keep one IU student from ever jumping in again. Sophomore Brittney Dyer says she, "would never do it again." She went out to the quarry with three friends during the summer, "just looking for some fun to do." \n"I jumped feet first off 'Rooftop' and tried to keep my body upright," Dyer said. "The momentum of the jump threw me backwards and I landed in the water on my back. I broke my wrist, cracked my sternum and sustained serious bruising along the entire backside of my legs due to excessive burst blood vessels. I couldn't move because of pain in my back, and was therefore bedridden for several weeks. The bruises took over a year to heal and I still suffer from back and neck soreness today. Because of my injuries, I couldn't swim or breathe. I was rescued out of the water by a stranger who was luckily watching from below." \nWhen asked to give advice to any would-be quarry jumpers Dyer said, "It doesn't matter whether it's your first attempt or your twentieth, one wrong move and you could be seriously injured. Ask any adult who grew up in Bloomington, and odds are they will know someone who was injured or died in a quarry related accident. When I think about the force in which my body hit the water, I feel very lucky to be alive and without paralyzing injury. There are plenty of other ways to get a cheap thrill."\nWhen asked to comment on the dangers of quarry jumping Bartlett added, "My dad told me about a guy who got killed jumping off of 'Rooftop'. Happened in probably [the] late fifties. He was a local boy, and there's been some since then."\nLongtime Bloomington resident Jeff Sympson, who owns property that borders the famous quarry, explained how a man drowned within the last year. The man was swimming in the water and his buddies were sitting on the edge talking to him. All of a sudden his friends couldn't find him. They thought he was playing a joke at first, but what had actually happened was that the man began cramping up and drowned. "The paramedics found him about fifteen feet below the surface (of the water) suspended," Sympson said.\nWhile quarry jumping may be a "thrill" and feel great on a hot summer day, there are many dangers. Not to mention that Bloomington's most famous quarry is on private property. Quarries are a part of Bloomington and Indiana University's history that are literally etched in stone. They will be forever remembered in that Hoosier favorite "Breaking Away." As for jumping into them, it may prove beneficial to remember some common sense advice and not try everything we see in the movies.