Columbia Montour Quarterly Vol. 3: January-March 2022

Paden stood firm as it took the beating, but the West Paden was not faring as well. West Paden was rocking on its abutments, and it was making a horrible, groaning sound. On the downstream side, the sideboards were being pulled away from the bridge’s main

After some mournful conversations with the people at the Twins, our attention now returned to the Josiah Hess bridge. The raging water continued to batter the bridge. The rain had slowed down greatly, and only time would tell if the Josiah Hess would survive or meet a fate like the West Paden. The neighbors closest to the bridge kept watch all night. If it was still standing in the morning, it would have a chance of surviving. In the morning, everyone gathered at the Josiah Hess Bridge. The water levels had dropped and the bridge was still there. The bridge was a little off-kilter and leaned downstream. We could see that the southern abutment was severely undercut. We feared the northern abutment had the same problems. A call was made to John Lapp, an Amish man known for his quality work on covered bridges. He came quickly and said the bridge needed a counter-balance to support its weight on the damaged abutment. My husband, Bill, said he had a large log and a telephone pole that he could use for the counter-balance. Lapp cut a hole on the south end of the bridge and used a chain to attach the log to framing under the bridge. The bridge remained like this until the water had receded enough for Lapp to start his repair work. The following day, the water had fully receded. We could see that the abutment was badly undercut and the Josiah Hess could still collapse. Upon close examination, we discovered that one tiny stone was holding up the entire bridge! If that one stone came out, the larger stones above it would fall taking the bridge along with them. Lapp and his sons quickly set to work setting up cribbing under the bridge to support more of its weight. The repairs would begin once the ground drained out and was suitable for the equipment.

One tiny stone holds up the abutment!

structure. The joints of the West Paden were being pulled apart and beams started to break under the strain. All any of us could do was watch. We all stood there hoping she would hold together. Around noon, our son said he was hungry and wanted to head home for a quick bite. We were gone for approximately 30 minutes. When we returned, the West Paden Covered Bridge was gone.

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