Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 15, 1990 TAG: 9006140391
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MARIANNA FILLMORE
DATELINE: ELLISTON LENGTH: Medium
Goodwin, 83, whose footbridge across the Roanoke River to her home in Elliston was swept away when Hurricane Hugo struck in late September, has her bridge back. It had been torn from its foundations when a Norfolk Southern Railroad crew, using a crane to clear debris from a trestle upstream, dropped a large part of a 40-foot tree into the river.
Granny and her neighbor, Victor Ham, 40, were left with a low-water bridge and the trestle, which has no pedestrian walkway, as their only links to the outside world.
The saying goes: "All things come to those who will but wait." Granny waited a long time - more than seven months, to be exact.
Isolated in her trailer, with no easy access to family, friends, town, church or doctor, Granny waited.
She waited while family and friends petitioned NS to replace the bridge. She waited while NS first denied responsibility, then gave $330.07 for materials. She waited while the Twin County and Shawsville Ruritan clubs rallied around her with donations. She waited while the Virginia Mountain Housing Project organized replacement efforts, bought and delivered the materials. She waited through the long winter while the weather and high water refused to cooperate with the construction effort.
Finally, in early May, her wait was over. The new bridge was completed. Three feet higher above the water, 8 feet wider, sturdier, and farther upstream than the old bridge, the new one delights Granny to no end.
"The old one used to swing and sway and bounce up and down," she explained. Ham added that it had "big gaps" in it that could be treacherous. "It's paradise over here now," Granny said. "I can come and go as I please."
The final cost of the bridge, excluding labor, which was volunteered by family and friends, was close to $2,000. An electrical contractor from Salem donated materials, and Rorrer Well Drilling provided the bottom cables without charge.
Granny, who lives on a limited income, bought numerous bags of cement to pour around the support posts. Her grandson, Jamie Boston, designed the bridge, and, together with his wife, did most of the building. But many other friends and relatives helped.
"A lot of people had a hand in it," said Ham. "Almost like a barn-raising. It's a good one. I hope I don't see the water get high enough to let something take that one out."
"I want to thank everybody for helping me," Granny continued. "I appreciate it very deeply."
She said she would like to thank everyone personally and individually, and hopes that through this article they will understand the depth of her gratitude.
Granny is content now. She said she had never asked for much to begin with - a roof over her head, a garden spot to tend, and the independence to come and go as she wants without relying on others. In her opinion, there's nothing more she needs.
by CNB