The Pigeon River Bridge
In August 1917 this bridge first opened and was known for years as the Outlaw Bridge, due to the fact that it was built without government approval by the Rotary Clubs of Duluth and Thunder Bay. On the day it opened a motorcade of 65 cars made the five and a half hour journey to Grand Marais. Our digitization collection features a photo showing vehicles lined up for the opening. It looks similar to the lineup I was in last year on the May long weekend. You can also find further information on the bridge in our Local History file.
Source: http://images.ourontario.ca/
Bridg
When Leslie Burke moves into the farmhouse next door she crushes the dream of Jess Aarons to be the fastest boy in the fifth grade. After he got over losing this coveted spot he finds out she’s not so bad. Friendship blossoms and soon they create a secret kingdom in the forest, named Terabithia. It can only be reached by swinging on a rope across a gully (hmm – wonder why it’s not called Rope To Terabithia). Here they see themselves as rulers of the kingdom. When tragedy strikes during a storm their world is changed forever. A tale of friendship and courage that will have you grabbing for a hankie. We have it in book or DVD format.
Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel
The album featuring this song was released on January 21, 1970, and we carry it on cd. Who can forget those haunting lyrics – When you’re weary, feelin small, When tears are in your eyes, I’ll dry them all. I recall listening to and discussing this song in a high school English class. If you’re looking for the words and music we carry the songbook, The Simon & Garfunkel Collection. It features several of their hits such as Mrs. Robinson and The Sound of Silence (something my family doesn’t often hear). This past April saw the release of Live 1969, which contains recordings from the 1969 tour that started shortly before the album was first released.
In 1957 this movie captured Academy Awards for best actor, director, cinematography, musical score and best motion picture. The story happens during World War Two in a Japanese prison camp in the jungles of Asia and centers around the construction of a railway bridge. It’s a battle of wills between Colonel Saito and a British prisoner, Colonel Nicholson, played by Alec Guinness. Meanwhile a team of Allied commandos is dispatched to stop the construction project by blowing up the bridge. We carry the movie on dvd. One of the songs this movie is best known for is the Colonel Bogey March. Who can forget the scene where the soldiers march across the bridge? If you’d like to hear this song visit the Naxos Music Library in our Virtual Collection. Who knows…you may want to get up and march around the house.
Local Bridges
We have information on local bridges in our local history collection located in the Brodie Reference Department. For example we have files on both the Swing Bridge and the old Jackknife Bridge (both of which scared me as a child. I was always afraid of being on one when it opened and tumbling into the river). The Jackknife Bridge went into operation on May 8, 1913. It was constructed in the open position and cost the CPR $350,000 to build. Did it ever fail to close? Yes, in August of 1975 it was stuck open due to an electric problem. A quick check of our Thunder Bay District News Index, located in the Virtual Collection, shows that demolition work of the bridge took place in spring of 2004.
Source: LF Thunder Bay – Bridges – Jackknife
Next time you take the bridge to Mission Island, don’t just enjoy the view, think about how lucky we are to have it. May each bridge you cross take you somewhere delightful.
Karen Craib is a Library Technician at the Brodie Resource library.
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