(rshsdepot) Poughkeepsie, NY Railroad Bridge - Book

["Jim Dent" <james.dent_@_itochu.com>]

Friday, November 9, 2001
Pulitzer style fleshes out bridge's history
People are book's focus
By Lee Park
Poughkeepsie Journal

The Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge still stands, holding more than 100 years
of history in its large steel beams.
Carleton Mabee, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who's lived in Gardiner for
36 years, decided that a detailed history of the bridge, towering 212 feet
over the Hudson River, was due -- so he obliged.
Mabee will be signing and discussing ''Bridging The Hudson: The Poughkeepsie
Railroad Bridge and Its Connecting Rail Lines'' at Ariel Booksellers in New
Paltz on Saturday at 5 p.m.
''Bridging The Hudson'' tells the up-to-date story of the bridge, from the
problems faced during construction in the 1880s to the recent battle for
ownership and all the interesting anecdotes in between.
The bridge and its neighboring rail lines have been the setting for much
activity over the past century, including jumpers looking to cheat death, a
neighbor taking revenge on the railroad company for neglecting to maintain a
fence and a fire that put the bridge out of commission, making its future
uncertain.
Mabee spent six years researching these scenarios and others to create a
humanistic history of the span. Instead of focusing on the technical aspects
of the bridge, Mabee chose to look at the stories that took place on, around
and underneath the bridge.
''I didn't focus on the machinery, but the people connected to all of
this,'' said Mabee. ''I was interested in what it was like for the hobos who
went across the bridge.''
Through his research, Mabee came across stories that surprised even him.
''I didn't know anything about the Poughkeepsie Regatta,'' he said about the
boat races that went directly underneath the bridge. ''For 50 years,
Poughkeepsie was well known as the place for intercollegiate rowing races.''
Mabee also came across the story of Carrie's cow, a true and humorous tale
about a resident who took revenge on the railroad company after it neglected
to maintain a fence that ran between her property and the railway near the
bridge. After her cow went through the shoddy fence and was hit by a train,
she used the dead animal's entrails to wreak her vengence.
Daredevils galore
He also addresses the daredevil bridge jumpers who, at the end of the 19th
century and through the mid 20th century, sought fame by leaping off the
towering bridge. Mabee points out that after the bridge was irreparably
damaged by a fire in 1974, some people wanted to have a bungee jumping
station based on it.
Mabee concludes the book by discussing the uncertain future of the bridge,
which changed ownership several times before landing in the hands of The
Walkway, a group looking to turn the bridge into a scenic overpass for
pedestrians.
The bridge should be maintained, according to Harvey Flad, professor of
geography at Vassar College.
''It's one of two or three very symbolic landmarks that Poughkeepsie can lay
claim to,'' he said. ''Every place needs a landmark that people can relate
to.''
Mabee's signing at Ariel is combined with two other signings on Saturday --
for Leila Philip's ''A Family Place: A Hudson Valley Farm'' and for
Kirkpatrick Sale's ''The Fire of His Genius'' about Robert Fulton's steam
engine.
''We decided that because there is so much going on (in the Hudson Valley),
this is going to be our first annual Hudson Valley Day,'' said Helen
Zimmermann, events coordinator at Ariel. ''It's going to be a wonderful
program.''
IF YOU GO
BOOK SIGNING
What -- Book signing and discussion by Carleton Mabee, author of ''Bridging
the Hudson: The Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge and Its Connecting Rail Lines''
as part of the first Hudson Valley Day at Ariel Booksellers.
When -- Saturday, 5 p.m.
Where -- Ariel Booksellers, 3 Plattekill Avenue, New Paltz.
Information -- (800) 325-2665 or (845) 255-8041.

------------------------------