Discovery Bridge
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Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan PAGE 18B Saturday, October 4, 2008 DISCOVERYDedication2008 PHOTO: CAROLYN DEROOS The Meridian Bridge has always served as a backdrop for leisure for the community of Yankton and the area. The development of Riverside Park in the 1980s only added emphasis to this canvas. The above photo, provided by Carolyn DeRoos of Crofton, Neb., shows the skeletal frame of the bridge standing out in this wide-angle shot of the park. BELOW: Of course, the Missouri River is what necessitated the bridge in the first place, and the bridge still serves as a landmark for fishermen out prowling the river for sport. PHOTO: RON DERTIEN PHOTO: JIM GEVENS Old images of the bridge: Ron Dertien supplied the photo, above left, of the bridge when the Missouri River was running high, probably in the spring of the year. Jim Gevens provided the photo, above right, of a construction crew working on the lower deck. BELOW: A P&D archive photo of the bridge construction, probably taken in the winter of 1924, finally linking up. P&D FILE PHOTO P&D ARCHIVE PHOTO 1924 From Page 13B Meanwhile, W.P. Pete Olson, who lives in Ideal but grew up in Wausa, Neb., admits he didn t pay much attention to the ceremony held at the opening of the bridge. Instead, he remembers the accompanying carnival and buying pop for 10 cents activities that were more in line with the interests of an 11-year-old. Olson said his dad was upset because some Yankton residents were charging for the privilege of having a picnic on their lawns. Still, the Olson family found a place to sit and eat their lunch, he said. By the end of the weeklong celebration, it was estimated that 20,000 vehicles had crossed the bridge. Of course, that was just the modest beginning of an 84-year-long stream of vehicles. The toll charged to passing motorists would pay for the cost of building the bridge by 1953. The steady flow of traffic across the bridge was a source of comfort and fascination for Jim Gevens, who would visit his grandparents house near the corner of Second and Walnut as a boy a half-century ago. It was fun to sit in that screened-in porch and watch the traffic go by, he said. You d have sworn I was 100 years old, but I was only 7. When Jimmy would visit the home of Jacob and Lydia Gevens with his brother Johnny, their grandfather would walk with them across the Meridian Bridge. As they walked over the grates, Gevens said his grandfather had to carry him because, as a boy, he was scared he would fall through the holes. Recollecting those early years with his parents, Harvey and Evelyn, recently, Gevens said he is glad the bridge will have a future after its role as a traffic artery is complete. Plans are to convert the bridge into a pedestrian/bicycling path. It served its purpose for that particular time, he said. We need to be progressive, and you can t just live with the past. Seeing the Discovery Bridge is now on the list of things to do for those who saw the opening of the Meridian Bridge in 1924. I would like to be (at the Discovery Bridge dedication), being that I was there for the Meridian Bridge dedication, said Nooney, who lives in Yankton. Podzimek said there will be too many people at the ceremony for his taste, but he hopes to eventually cross the Discovery Bridge with his family. I want to see that if I live. I should live. I m 39, like Jack Benny. He was always 39, joked the 93-year-old.
- HyVee
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Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan PAGE 18B Saturday, October 4, 2008 DISCOVERYDedication2008 PHOTO: CAROLYN DEROOS The Meridian Bridge has always served as a backdrop for leisure for the community of Yankton and the area. The development of Riverside Park in the 1980s only added emphasis to this canvas. The above photo, provided by Carolyn DeRoos of Crofton, Neb., shows the skeletal frame of the bridge standing out in this wide-angle shot of the park. BELOW: Of course, the Missouri River is what necessitated the bridge in the first place, and the bridge still serves as a landmark for fishermen out prowling the river for sport. PHOTO: RON DERTIEN PHOTO: JIM GEVENS Old images of the bridge: Ron Dertien supplied the photo, above left, of the bridge when the Missouri River was running high, probably in the spring of the year. Jim Gevens provided the photo, above right, of a construction crew working on the lower deck. BELOW: A P&D archive photo of the bridge construction, probably taken in the winter of 1924, finally linking up. P&D FILE PHOTO P&D ARCHIVE PHOTO 1924 From Page 13B Meanwhile, W.P. Pete Olson, who lives in Ideal but grew up in Wausa, Neb., admits he didn t pay much attention to the ceremony held at the opening of the bridge. Instead, he remembers the accompanying carnival and buying pop for 10 cents activities that were more in line with the interests of an 11-year-old. Olson said his dad was upset because some Yankton residents were charging for the privilege of having a picnic on their lawns. Still, the Olson family found a place to sit and eat their lunch, he said. By the end of the weeklong celebration, it was estimated that 20,000 vehicles had crossed the bridge. Of course, that was just the modest beginning of an 84-year-long stream of vehicles. The toll charged to passing motorists would pay for the cost of building the bridge by 1953. The steady flow of traffic across the bridge was a source of comfort and fascination for Jim Gevens, who would visit his grandparents house near the corner of Second and Walnut as a boy a half-century ago. It was fun to sit in that screened-in porch and watch the traffic go by, he said. You d have sworn I was 100 years old, but I was only 7. When Jimmy would visit the home of Jacob and Lydia Gevens with his brother Johnny, their grandfather would walk with them across the Meridian Bridge. As they walked over the grates, Gevens said his grandfather had to carry him because, as a boy, he was scared he would fall through the holes. Recollecting those early years with his parents, Harvey and Evelyn, recently, Gevens said he is glad the bridge will have a future after its role as a traffic artery is complete. Plans are to convert the bridge into a pedestrian/bicycling path. It served its purpose for that particular time, he said. We need to be progressive, and you can t just live with the past. Seeing the Discovery Bridge is now on the list of things to do for those who saw the opening of the Meridian Bridge in 1924. I would like to be (at the Discovery Bridge dedication), being that I was there for the Meridian Bridge dedication, said Nooney, who lives in Yankton. Podzimek said there will be too many people at the ceremony for his taste, but he hopes to eventually cross the Discovery Bridge with his family. I want to see that if I live. I should live. I m 39, like Jack Benny. He was always 39, joked the 93-year-old.
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