BUCKLAND — Cynthia Schwartz was only 4 years old when the first Buckland Recreation Area swimming pool opened in 1963, but she remembers a town parade and the hoopla surrounding Buster Crabbe, an Olympic gold-medal swimmer and “Flash Gordon” film star who came to the pool dedication.

After five decades, that pool was leaking substantially and had to be removed.

On May 23, Schwartz, who chairs the town’s Recreation Committee, was at the new Buckland swimming pool for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and to thank donors whose contributions helped make the total $2.1 million pool replacement and park upgrades possible.

“We have long memories. We remember the sense of community we felt at the previous pool,” she said. “We remember it as a ‘vacation’ just 10 minutes away.”

Schwartz said the new “Buckland Rec” pool and pool house “was built on the shoulders of this community,” with 18.5% of the money to build it coming from Buckland taxpayers and the rest coming from grants and donations. About 300 donors were from Buckland and Shelburne Falls, with many other donations coming from other towns.

After the ribbon cutting, 8-year-old Issa Peardon was the first one in the pool, slowly getting used to the cold water. But soon several others followed.

The pool is now open on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. The full season is June 14 through Labor Day.

Swimming lessons will be offered on weekday mornings in July, so the pool hours for the general public on those days will be noon to 7:30 p.m. All other times, the pool is open from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., weather permitting.

Day passes cost $7 for each Buckland resident, $10 for residents living within the Mohawk Trail Regional School District, and $12 for all others. More information is available on the Recreation Committee page on the town website, town.buckland.ma.us. The Buckland Recreation Area’s phone number is 413-489-3331.