KINZUA BRIDGE: We heard from Russel Berkhouse in Leesburg,
Fla., who sent us a poem his son Ron had written about the Kinzua
Bridge.
Ron wrote the poem after surveying the damage to the bridge left
by the tornado several years ago, his father noted.
“He was saddened by the loss of that historic land mark,” Russ
said, adding his son loved to take photos of the bridge in its
glory days.
What follows is Ronald Morris Berkhouse’s tribute to the Kinzua
Bridge, titled “A Miracle in Disguise”:
“No more rails across the sky
In deep prayer I asked Him why
Heaps of money and tons of steel
Won’t prevent a fate too real
A train of happy smiling faces
Did not fall thru God’s good graces
It seems man cannot understand just
How personal is His plan.
Heavenly Breath toppled the span.”
Russ notes in his letter that Ron, who used to live on Big
Shanty Hill, passed away last August and is sorely missed by all
who knew him.
“As Ron grew up and his voice changed, whenever he would laugh
his deep-from-the-belly laugh, I was almost inclined to look to see
if my father had returned. Ron’s laugh was indeed my father’s
laugh.”
COLD SPOT: Doug Sanders of Petaluma, Calif., e-mailed us back
on May 21 to let us know about Bradford’s notoriety in the weather
department:
“In today’s copy of the San Francisco Chronicle on the weather
page, Bradford was listed as being the coldest spot in the country.
That was on May 20,” he writes.
Even though that record was set over a week ago, not much has
changed weatherwise since then. We’ve heard from readers who have
purchased all their plants and flowers but have kept them in their
containers, so fearful of the freezes we’ve had lately.
By the way, Doug tells us the temperature listed for Bradford on
that date was 27 degrees.
“I grew up in Bradford,” he writes, “and moved to California in
1977.”
“Some things never change,” he said.
We might add that at least it keeps our name in the news!
COYOTE WATCH: Allison Caswell of Derrick Road called on May 21
to say she saw two coyotes chasing deer through Scott Field in
Derrick City at 4:15 p.m. on that date.
She thought – and we agree – pet owners in the area should be on
the alert.
