BRIDGES HAVE CONNECTED THE WORLD FOR AGES
by Dave Ponke

A simple link, but an important one.

Bridges have been relied upon to bridge gaps, connect nations, allow foot travel, to transport goods; quite frankly without the invention of a bridge, where would we be today in the modern world?

Imagine the possibilities, or that matter, the impossibilities. How would you get from a mainland to an island, other than by use of a boat? Would civilization today be affected dramatically, or would the difference be subtle?

Certainly vehicle and pedestrian traffic across rivers would not exist as we know it today. There would be no Ambassador, Mackinac or Blue Water Bridges. Imagine the lack of pedestrian and vehicle traffic; it would be non-existent.

Around us today there are many fascinating bridges, still serving useful purposes within our various communities and neighborhoods. A look around us tells the tale of what someone invented a long time ago: An obvious thought, to get across open water from shore to another, ended up becoming one of the most useful ideas ever for the modern world today.

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Even in reading about the history of our great state we find many unique connections that fascinate today.

Michigan was actually a portion of the place migrating immigrants stayed, in St. Clair County, when crossing from Canada just after 1800. Many came across from Sarnia, by vessel in the St. Clair River, and ended up settling near Port Huron; others continued to move westward into mid-Michigan. Without the modern Blue Water Bridge, use of kayaks and canoes, historical information dictates, was their primary mode of transportation.

At just over 700 square miles, St. Clair County is bounded by water on its eastern edge and southern tip, thanks to the St. Clair River, Anchor Bay and Lake St. Clair. Other rivers are carved through the inland areas, including the Belle, Pine and Black Rivers.

A journey across the miles and miles of back roads reveals the bridges that are alive and well, providing safe crossing above creeks and streams.

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Dr. C. C. Eckfield began the Eckfield Boat Company back then. Mr. Eckfield was well known back in those days for his creation of a boat he called the Escapade. With a trio of cockpits, it measured out at 21 feet in length. With its unique 90 horsepower motor, the craft could travel just over 30 miles per hour, which was considered rather swift in that era. Mr. Eckfield’s son Gene was basically in charge of the company, which closed its doors due the Depression settling in (1929). Gene eventually went to work for the Chris Craft Corporation, for over 40 years.