The Bridges in Autumn....
What
we look for is what we end up seeing. How do we look
at these old stone bridges in our modern-day world of four-lane highways and
jumbo jets? Are they a useless anachronism? One could say they're
merely a quaint and obsolete reminder of a time when society and
transportation moved at the pace a horse could travel.... Antique museum pieces
standing in the path of progress. Could it be that we've lost our ability
to appreciate simple, natural beauty for its own sake?
To the artist, the photographer, or the farmer who takes pictures, there is a simple and natural beauty here. These bridges, built of the very stone from the earth itself, blend more naturally with their environment as they age and weather. Built in an age before computer formulas determined the shape of a bridge, builders then had to rely on naturally strong designs, in this case the arch. Today's designs are born on a computer chip. Completely logical mathematics determine the overall design. Aesthetics are slapped on later, if at all, and this is why so much of our modern architecture looks fake--it is. Even without having a trained eye, we can see the beauty of an arch, if we take the time. The eye is drawn to natural lines; we just have to give it a chance.
Triple Arch across Grouse Creek, near Dexter (small photo above, and photo right). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Badger Creek Bridge... a favorite for the photographer (or just a farmer who takes pictures, as is the case with the Flatlander) and the artist alike. In addition to being a musical artist, Gary Gackstatter is also a talented visual artist. Check out his pen-and-ink sketch drawing of the Badger Creek Bridge (below right). What you see is the result of many hours of painstaking labor. Gary's artwork is available for purchase as postcards and as prints.
Single arch stone bridge, Dexter area. You can't see it in the photo very well, but one side of the bridge is about a foot higher than the other. Why the bridge is "banked" is hard to say. How they could build an arch on an angle like that and not have it collapse right away is even harder to understand.
Single arch bridge over Grouse Creek in the Cambridge area. Be sure to eat at the Stockman's Cafe in Cambridge--best food in town!
Another single arch across Grouse Creek in the Cambridge area. This bridge was a double arch bridge until recently. The second arch was filled with dirt by repair crews in an effort to save the bridge which has been damaged by time and floods.
Double arch bridge crossing Silver Creek. The swimming hole below this bridge has been used for generations by locals. In Model T days, folks would drive their cars on to the rock ledge below the bridge and wash them here as well.
The soft overcast light of a rainy Sunday afternoon made this image possible. Single stone arch bridging Timber Creek, Floral area.
Follow one of these links to continue:
A Bridge Builder, Walter Sharp...