The Tenth Annual Historic Bridge Walk is proceeding as planned this Labor Day in Three Rivers, organizers at the Three Rivers Women’s Club (TRWC) said in a statement this past week. Participants can begin their walk on September 7 between 9:00 a.m. and noon. The event is free and will take place rain or shine, unless lightning is present.
A check-in table in Scidmore Park will offer passports that participants can stamp as they cross each bridge and will have trail map guides available for participants. Following check-in, participants can follow a number of different routes, each featuring a selection of bridges around the city, with volunteer “bridge tenders” from TRWC and the Lion’s Club posted to offer information on each bridge’s history. Weenie King will be on hand in the park “for an after-walk lunch,” organizers said.
TRWC President Mary Kay Todd said the walk was inspired ten years ago by the Mackinac Bridge walk, which usually takes place on the same day. “Susie Warner and Sally Amadore decided driving to the Mackinac Bridge on a weekend when we had over eighteen bridges in Three Rivers” required an alternative, Todd said. “That was something we could offer.” Warner passed away and Amadore moved from the area, but TRWC carried the event on, making it a tradition.
Todd took over the event’s leadership seven years ago. “The premise was to get people and families out that are here for the Labor Day holiday weekend,” she said. “They can get up in the morning and walk along the rivers and enjoy what’s unique about Three Rivers.”
Trail routes have been added over the years. There are a total of 13 bridges on the various trails, some of which overlap. With requests for longer trails, Todd says TRWC eventually hopes to have one that reaches Meyer-Broadway park. The most recent, new trail was the 3.8-mile Portage Riverwalk, part of which the City of Three Rivers began developing a few years ago, and which crosses the Rocky, Portage, and St. Joseph Rivers.
Other current trails include the 4.6-mile Broadway-Hoffman trail and the 2.2-mile South Main Trail, both of which also cross all three of the city’s rivers. The 1.5-mile Memory Isle trail is the shortest. It crosses the Rocky and Portage Rivers and features the recently replaced Memory Isle foot bridge. Previous years’ maps and photos, along with current event information and updates, are available on the event’s own Facebook page.
Amid a range of pandemic-driven event cancellations, including the Mackinac Bridge walk, the TRWC was unsure it would be able to hold the 2020 event. However, Todd said the event is conducive to social distancing. Organizers said they “talked with City of Three Rivers Officials, and with social distancing plans in place, the city approved the TRWC permit to hold the event this year.”
There will also be a donation table where TRWC volunteers will accept contributions of food, litter, and other supplies to assist with a recent influx of cats and kittens under the care of St. Joseph County Animal Control following recent raids on hoarding situations in the Three Rivers area.
There will be a few changes to this year’s event. A bake sale that is usually part of the program is cancelled for the year. There will also be pandemic precautions in place. Volunteers will wear masks, and all participants will be encouraged to wear one at check-in. Participants will also be asked to maintain six-foot social distancing measures. In addition, organizers said, “when they get to each Bridge where Woman’s Club Volunteers normally stamp Bridge Passports, this year we will be asking participants to mark their own passports after hearing some of the history of each bridge in Three Rivers.”
Planning for the event has been ongoing. Todd said she plans to walk some of the trail routes before the event to ensure they are in good order. She credited Three Rivers Department of Public Services staff for being a “big help” by doing the work of “trimming and getting things to look good” along the various routes.
The routes are largely ready, Todd said. In their statement, organizers said, “the Three Rivers Woman’s Club (TRWC) hopes to see the community come out to help us celebrate the 10th Annual Bridge Walk this year.”
Dave Vago is a writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.
