Category: Water Under the Bridge

The current Book Club selection is “The Emerald Mile” by Kevin Fedarko. Ostensibly dealing with an attempt to set a record for the fastest trip through the Grand Canyon in a small boat, it turns out to be an overview of the Colorado River and man’s attempts to harness it. One chapter in the book sings the praises of the Civil Engineers who designed and constructed Boulder Dam and then Glen Canyon. These are indeed two massive structures that tested the audacity and technology of the engineering and construction industry in the middle of the twentieth century. Another chapter focuses…

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In last week’s column we discussed some very old bridges in the Bridgeville area and in Allegheny County. The positive feedback we received from that column has encouraged us to follow up on our promise to do another column on this subject. Part of our difficulty evaluating old bridges is the extent of replacement some of them have experienced. This bring to mind the old story of George Washington’s Axe. It has been reported that visitors to Mount Vernon are provided the opportunity to split a piece of firewood using the very axe that the “father of our country” used…

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The requirements for the bridge being designed by the Senior Design team I am mentoring include a design life of one hundred years. My initial reaction was that it is unrealistic to design a bridge today to last one hundred years. After all, how many bridges built before 1920 are still in existence? With a little reflection, I answered my own question — quite a few! One website, “Bridgehunter.com”, lists at least eighty-seven in Allegheny County, including three reported to be even older than the Smithfield Street Bridge, which was built in 1883.    Let’s begin our search for centenarians…

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Thanks to Alfred Barzan, the Bridgeville Area Historical Society now has a copy of the Bridgeville News “Special Souvenir Edition”, celebrating the community’s Golden Jubilee, July 15 through July 21, 1951. This was Bridgeville’s first attempt to celebrate anniversaries of its incorporation in 1901. The headline in the paper reads “Golden Jubilee Opens Officially”, with a subtitle “Big Parade Saturday is Feature of Celebration”. Dominating the front page is a photograph of Marcella D’Agaro, “Miss Bridgeville Golden Jubilee”. Directly below her photo is a bit of advice – “Save this paper”. Fortunately for us, Alfred’s parents followed those instructions. Also…

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We are now six months into the Covid-19 pandemic and the end is still not in sight. For me it has been an inconvenience, a disruption to my routine. For many other people it has been a serious problem. Now that we are into a new school season, its impact has been magnified. There is general agreement that the abrupt shift from conventional classes to remote ones last Spring was less than satisfactory, at every level. Educators did their best to adapt to new challenges, frequently with disappointing results. This Fall is a different story – they have had four…

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I continue to be impressed with the videos of the Bridgeville Borough Council and Planning Commission meetings that are archived on “Bridgeville.org”. The format is an ideal instrument for private individuals to keep well informed on their deliberations. In a recent Planning Commission meeting they continued their prioritization of critical community issues, narrowing a dozen or so down to three. One of the members commented that it was important that the issues with lower priority not be permanently sidelined and commented that perhaps “Enhance Bridgeville’s small-town charm” was one that should be revisited in the near future. I recall one…

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In a recent discussion with another supporter of the Bridgeville Area Historical Society, I found myself tabulating the impressive list of things the Society has accomplished in its brief life. I ended up suggesting that he visit our website, “bridgevillehistory.org”, which I characterized as easily the best one in this area. The Society website is the product of Ed Wolf; he has every right to be proud of it. The amount of historical information it provides is outstanding. I am particularly impressed with menu item “Bridgeville History”. It consists of sixteen separate articles in chronological order, derived from our series…

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Among my numerous eccentricities is my love of railroads and railroading. Fortunately my family has humored me, and we have managed to ride on a large variety of tourist trains in years past. This year it appeared that my streak of consecutive summers with memorable excursions was about to be a victim of the corona virus. When we first talked about spending a week at Chautauqua, I decided to promote a day on the Arcade and Attica Railroad. We had ridden on that line sometime in the middle 1970s, and I was ready for a repeat trip. When Covid-19 hit,…

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Last summer my grand-daughter Rachael spent a week at Music Camp at Chautauqua. Her parents and I drove up to attend their final concert. We enjoyed the experience so much that Beth and Mike decided to rent a house for a full week this summer when Rachael was at Music Camp. We were disappointed when Covid-19 forced cancellation of the Music Camp, but decided to make the best of an unfortunate situation by going there for a week anyhow. In reality, we merely moved our quarantine site from Allegheny County to western New York State. Masks were much more prevalent…

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Although I have officially been retired from teaching in the Civil Engineering Department at Pitt for over eighteen months, up until now I have been able to retain my office. Before Covid-19 I would go into school one day each week, loaf in my office, help out with Senior Design, and enjoy lunch with my daughter Elizabeth. Alas, all good things must come to an end; recently I was advised that the Department had four new hires coming in and that they needed my office. Elizabeth and I waded through the red tape maze, acquired an entry permit, and were…

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