Bridge Opening and Event Program, September 21, 1949

 

 

 

One: This is the dedication of the new bridge on Chesapeake City’s South Side. The school principal let us kids out of class to witness the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Wielding the scissors is Maryland’s governor Lane. I went up and down that bridge many times long before this dedication. Many people attended this event, including then mayor, Archie Crawford. He rode around in a convertible and waved at everybody. Two: This second image is the program for the ceremony that was passed out to everyone. Notice the small red, white and blue strip of ribbon that Governor Preston Lane snipped. I know that Birdy Battersby and Lee Colling obtained pieces of the ribbon as souvenirs.

Overhead Bridge Construction

Here’s our present overhead bridge under construction in about 1948. It was opened for traffic in the fall of 1949. I remember well watching the workers build this bridge from scratch as I sat in my eight-grade classroom. Instead of doing my class assignments I would gaze out the window at all the activity. I guess that’s why I spent the best three years of my life in that eight grade. I was about twelve at the time of this photo and I remember cycling up there to the end of the roadway and crawling to the edge to hang over and look down the smoke stacks of the tankers sailing under.

Bridge Destruction, Close-up View

Bridge Destruction, Close-up View

This is what I saw that afternoon after the ship hit our bridge. The Franz Klassen was a German ship and this was during the Second World War, thus some people suspected sabotage. This was not the case, however, because the ship had been taken over by the USA. Notice the derrick barge and, at left, the Ericsson Line building.

The Chesapeake City Lift Bridge Destruction

Here is a south view of the bridge damage by the tanker, Franz Klassen. The ship smashed into the south tower at 11:38 AM on Tuesday, July 28^th, 1942. I was six years old and playing outside on our farm, which was about a quarter mile south of the bridge. I heard the crash and looked in and saw that the familiar bridge towers were not there. That evening after work my father took me in to see the destruction. He parked very close so we could see all the black steel lying across the ship’s bow. This aerial view shows parts of north and south Chesapeake City. Notice the old buildings on Lock Street and George Street. At left is the City Dock area (now Pell Gardens).