Article published June 24, 2007

Span's silver strands lure thousands

By JANET ROMAKER
BLADE STAFF WRITER

Thousands of people turned out yesterday for a star-spangled salute to the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway.

As its silver strands glistened in the sunshine, the signature superstructure soared in popularity with the flag-waving, camera-clicking crowd.

Cheers sounded early in the day when the first bus brought visitors onto the bridge. By midafternoon, bells, whistles, and applause accompanied a patriotic parade of veterans passed in front of a make-shift viewing stand near the bridge’s 403-foot pylon and the 20 stainless-sheathed stay cables radiating down from it.

Throughout the day visitors posed for photographs next to the bridge’s pylon, and necks strained when people looked up, up, up to the top.

To capture the entire pylon in his picture, 7-year-old Noah Roscoe of Toledo sprawled out flat against the pavement.

“It’s a cool bridge. I have never seen a bridge this big,” the youngster said.

His uncle, Bob Van Tassel, said walking on the new bridge was “a chance of a lifetime.”

“It’s the only chance we have to be up here. When Noah’s old with no teeth he can tell his grandkids that he was here,” Mr. Van Tassel said.

Celebrating the event in a romantic sort of way was Dave and Sandy Brown, who live near Sylvania.

The couple exchanged an impromptu kiss in the shadow of the pylon. Mr. Brown claimed his wife instigated the kiss, but he wasn’t complaining.

“I’ll take them anytime I can get them,” he said with a grin.

Smiles spanned the bridge throughout the day. Many people were delighted to walk across the landmark structure, but for others, it was an emotional day.

During the dedication ceremony, the Toledo Firefighters Pipes & Drums played “Amazing Grace,” while five snow-white doves were released to honor the five workers who died during construction of the bridge.

As the doves winged their way high above the Maumee River, tears trickled down the cheeks of several people in the audience.

When the dedication ceremony began, nearly 115 veterans waved an American flag that stretched nine stories — a patriotic beauty which billowed and rippled just behind the dignitaries’ platform.

“It’s like being out on the sea,” said Navy veteran Don Olejnik of Toledo, one of the volunteers, as reams of red, white, and blue fabric rolled in waves.

“What an honor,” said Toledoan Dale Beaudry, one of the flag-waving volunteers.

He was in the Marines for 10 years, 9 months, and 3 days.

“This makes veterans feel special again, like when you step off the plane after serving overseas and you have family and friends waiting for you. All those emotions. It’s incredible,” he said.

Emotion tugged at Virginia Spurgeon, who clutched the flag with one hand and gripped her camera with the other. Post commander of the American Legion Post 479 in Swanton, Miss Spurgeon served in the Army.

“I think this is an awesome way to honor veterans,” she said. “This is definitely something positive. Naming a bridge such as this for veterans was long overdue.”

Several veterans carried flags, including Larry Warnimont of North Toledo, who toted a three-foot by five-foot American flag that flies every day from his front porch. The flag, he said, honored his relatives who served in the military, including an uncle who was killed in combat during World War II.

Mr. Warnimont, who was in the Army during the Cold War, kept a close watch on the bridge project for five years.

“I live about a block and a half away. I watched the workers build it the entire time,” he said.

His sister-in-law Linda Holcomb of Catawba Island described the bridge dedication as a historical event that paid tribute to military personnel, past and present.

“This is what they are fighting for,” Ms. Holcomb said. “They are fighting for the freedom that lets us build such bridges and the freedom to walk across the bridge and not worry about being blown up.”

Mothers, fathers, in-laws, aunts, uncles, grandparents. They all came, and it was a family memory-making day for many.
Three generations of Chris Gladieux’s family were on the first bus that ventured onto the bridge.

Mrs. Gladieux’s immediate reaction: “Being from Oregon, I say it’s about time.”

She’s also pleased her marriage outlasted her up-and-down relationship with the Craig Bridge.

When she married 19 years ago, she wasn’t wild about living in Oregon because of traffic delays at the Craig bridge. But her husband, Ron, vowed that a new bridge would be constructed. “He was right, but it took an awful long time,” Mrs. Gladieux said.

Another Oregon resident, 6-year-old Jerry Watson, passed up a fishing trip to walk along the bridge. “We’ve been watching this forever,” said his father, Keith Watson. “I asked Jerry if he wanted to come here or go fishing. He wanted to come here.”

Mr. Watson predicted the new bridge would be mean more than convenience for him: “I do plumbing work, and I probably will make more money. I won’t get stuck in traffic and lose customers anymore.”

A Marine veteran, Mr. Watson applauded the bridge’s name. “I love it. It’s great. It’s perfect,” he said as his son held on tight to a red, white, and blue ribbon with Veterans’ Glass City Skyway printed on it in black lettering. About the size of a baseball card, the ribbon will be tucked away as a keepsake.

Kendyl Pelow of Toledo was one of the youngest visitors on the bridge. The 6-month-old was cradled in the arms of her grandfather Bill Cowan of Genoa. Kendyl’s mother, Laura, said she’s relieved that the bridge is ready for traffic. “Seems like we have watched this being built forever. To finally see it done is really neat.”

When he lived in Oregon, Mr. Cowan traveled across the Craig Bridge each work day for 31½ years. One day he fell asleep during an hour delay at the bridge. “The bridgetender came down and woke me up,” he said.

Some visitors stayed but a few minutes before heading off to other activities: family reunions, birthday parties, backyard barbecues, an arts festival, the zoo.

Others made a day of it, and some stayed near the bridge until dark to get a view of the dazzling lights that can make the pylon look like a gigantic lava lamp.

In the distance, puffs of steam drifted from the Davis-Besse tower, near Oak Harbor.

Over on the horizon is the Fermi II nuclear power plant near Monroe. At night during University of Toledo football games, you can see the stadium lights from the bridge.

At the conclusion of the dedication ceremony, a crack of gunfire signaled the start of a four-mile road race.

Jason Bumb, 21, of New Riegel, Ohio, won the race in 20 minutes, 45.46 seconds, while Wendy Licht, 33, of Waterville, was the top female finisher at 24 minutes, 47.33 seconds. Event organizers said 1,650 people paid the $25 registration fee to run or walk the course.

Many participants, including Dave Tippett of Gibsonburg, Ohio, paused along the race course to photograph themselves or their friends atop the bridge. Ed O’Reilly, the Roadrunners’ race coordinator, lamented that there are no plans for future pedestrian access to the bridge for similar events.

“Every time you run a new race, you think of things you can do differently the next time. Unfortunately, there won’t be a next time,” he said.

Sometime today, it will be motorists, not people running or walking, who will be traveling across the sculpture in the sky.

Contact Janet Romaker at:jromaker@theblade.comor 419-724-6006.

Ellie