With some time on my hands I have been reviewing family history pictures and have been having a great time. In this process I came across pictures of the last bridge the Hutchings built over the "Big Canal" on Hutchings lane. Over the years of farming several bridges had been constructed to allow access from the Homestead or farm yard to the fields above. I do not know the actual count of bridges built but would guess five or six. In the Spring of 1972 Roger and I were walking in the canal, the water had not yet been turned back in so it was dry, and we observed the cross beams or "Stringers" on the bridge had rotted such that there was less than 50% left to bear the weight.
We immediately took part of the "deck" or top boards off so people could not drive over and then set about to repair the bridge so it would safely hold our equipment and loads. Well the repair turned into a complete rebuild. We removed ALL of the bridge, deck, stringers and abutments. (All were wood.) The wood abutments were replaced with concrete. All of that work had to be completed before the water was turned back on so there was a real rush. Here is a picture of the last remnants of that bridge taken in the 1990's.
The slipping concrete box in the lower left of the picture is know as a High Box Weir. This is were we received water from the canal. It was higher than most weirs so there were times we could not water one of our fields.
Once the abutments were in we began the installation of the stringers and then the deck. Seems that the rush to get the abutments done was not carried over to the stringers and deck. You will see in the picture above the corn is four to five feet high so this would have been late July or August and the water was definitely in the canal. My memory was we had a challenge getting the deck lumber. I wanted WWII vintage temporary runway material but it was not available.
None the less, it was a project that we had to work in between watering, caring for crops, Chiropractic practice and church service. I have very fond memories of the experience, even if I was trying to be a ham and pretend to walk into the canal or swing the hammer no pretending there! I did my share.
Some of those memories:
We immediately took part of the "deck" or top boards off so people could not drive over and then set about to repair the bridge so it would safely hold our equipment and loads. Well the repair turned into a complete rebuild. We removed ALL of the bridge, deck, stringers and abutments. (All were wood.) The wood abutments were replaced with concrete. All of that work had to be completed before the water was turned back on so there was a real rush. Here is a picture of the last remnants of that bridge taken in the 1990's.
The slipping concrete box in the lower left of the picture is know as a High Box Weir. This is were we received water from the canal. It was higher than most weirs so there were times we could not water one of our fields.
Once the abutments were in we began the installation of the stringers and then the deck. Seems that the rush to get the abutments done was not carried over to the stringers and deck. You will see in the picture above the corn is four to five feet high so this would have been late July or August and the water was definitely in the canal. My memory was we had a challenge getting the deck lumber. I wanted WWII vintage temporary runway material but it was not available.
None the less, it was a project that we had to work in between watering, caring for crops, Chiropractic practice and church service. I have very fond memories of the experience, even if I was trying to be a ham and pretend to walk into the canal or swing the hammer no pretending there! I did my share.
Some of those memories:
- The hat I was wearing was one of my all time favorites.
- Working with dad, Deon and Roger
- The planks for the deck were really heavy
- We were using 40d spiked to nail the deck on and the sledge hammers were the best way to get them in.
- Driving over that bridge with my children knowing that I built it.
1 comment:
What an AWESOME thing to read today. Good to see you as a goof :) I remember driving over that bridge. If I remember correctly, there wasn't much left of it, and you made Mom nervous. Very nervous.
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