Broad Ford Winters
Written & Compiled by
K. R. Overholt Critchfield, © 3-8-2008
"A. Overholt &
Company Distillery, Broad Ford, PA"
Photograph by Hubert Riedman, © January 1978
Frozen
Hush of Winter
Broad Ford and the
Youghiogheny River are inhospitable in the
winter, but photos reveal the stark beauty of an
untamed landscape. Naked trees and icy weather
team up to chill your eyes and bones, and numbs
your mind. Everything is cold, and your frosty
breath curls around your muffled ears. The crunch
under your boots is ice or snow, except on the
rainy days that come through, whenever the
temperature permits. It is a season of all things
biting, bitter and bleak -- the cold-hearted time
of the year. And nothing is more cold than
abandoned buildings, freezing on the outside,
arctic on the inside. Mortality sings a mornful
song.
Broad
Ford's Youghiogheny River
Allen Anthony grew
up around Broad Ford, and still has family living
nearby. On April 2, 2004, he sent me a jpeg of
the photograph above, taken by a passenger in his
canoe as they "paddled from Connellsville to
Dawson in the middle of winter." It had been
"a bit treacherous going down the Yough in
January with ice in the river and on the
shoreline."
Describing the
scene, he wrote, "You will notice in the
middle far left, the remains of the Swinging
Bridge across the river. This was a suspension
foot bridge built to allow Overholt employees who
lived on the west side of the river in the
village of Adelaide to commute back and forth
(walk) to work. Many of my mother's work buddies
were ladies who lived in Adelaide. Also notice
the trees and ice line on the river just
preceeding (upstream from) the bridge. They
appear to be the west bank of the river, but they
are not. They are actually on the west bank of an
island that sits directly across from the main
part of the distillery . . . Many times since my
mother passed away, I have wished she were here
to say something to or to ask questions. She
could have told you just about everything you
wanted to know about that distillery. It was
right in her backyard for 37 years. I know she
was proud to have worked there."
Detail: A. Overholt & Company
Distillery, Broad Ford, PA
Photograph by Hubert Riedman, © January 1978
History
in Black & White
In February of
2007, Geocacher JimBat wrote to say he found two
pictures at the Connellsville historical society,
located in the Carnegie Library in Connellsville.
"I looked through all their photo albums and
these were the only two pictures I found of the
distillery. The librarian scanned the photos for
me and then sent them to my e-mail. I was just up
at the old swinging bridge the other day. There
are still cables hanging from the piers
stretching across the river. I was on the
opposite side of the river from the distillery.
There is a set of old iron steps on this side
that go up over the hill. I was told by a local
that there are five houses on the hill and some
of the bosses and a chemist used to live in them
. . . I'm trying to find more pictures of the
bridge, preferably a side view . . . I was
planning on hiding a geocache across the river
from the distillery and need info and pics of the
distillery and bridge to include on the
page."
The two old
photographs are featured below. For the result of
JimBat's research, see the companion article, Broad
Ford Geocacher.
"Broad Ford Winter" - date unknown
Photograph from Connellsville Area Historical
Society
"Broad Ford Footbridge" - date unknown
Photograph from Connellsville Area Historical
Society
Brian
Krummel's Forgotten Bridge
Brian J. Krummel is the owner and
president of Iziks Interactive, Inc. (see
URLs below), a “Pittsburgh-based creative
company specializing in interactive web
applications and designs that are as unique as
our corporate name.” Along with being a
web programmer-developer and web designer, Brian
is building a reputation as the Southside
Shutterbug, the photographer who exhibits his
Forgotten Pittsburgh Collections in local
galleries. Done in stark black and white, this
ongoing work of photographic art lays bare the
effects of abandonment on buildings and
technology. Quoting his web site, "The ruins
of factories and churches, steel mills and mines,
theaters and asylums lay dormant as forgotten
roots of bygone days. The icons of our heritage
are being quickly razed and redeveloped. Each
overgrown and disremembered location will soon be
a faded memory of a strong industrial and
cultural history. The Forgotten Pittsburgh
series examines the past, present, and
temporariness of landmarks in Pittsburgh and its
surrounding neighborhoods. This visual essay is a
photographic journal that traverses the
abandoned, fenced and forgotten, subterranean,
and decayed areas that once defined this great
city. The black and white images chronicle the
urban exploration of the rot and the rust of
these crumbling buildings; analyze the deserted
hulks never revisited; or speculate purpose for
remaining ominous machinery that once served a
definitive purpose."
Among Brian's recently
published photos, I found one he took of the
Broad Ford swinging bridge in the dead of
winter. It appears here with his permission.
"The Youghiogheny in Winter: Ruined Bridge
at Broad Ford"
Photograph by Brian J. Krummel, Southside
Shutterbug, © 1-30-2007
Iziks Interactive, Inc.
http://www.iziks.com/public/company.cfm
Forgotten Pittsburgh
http://www.flickr.com/photos/forgottenpittsburgh/
The URL above is the front page. At
the far right, you will find the link for the
photos in the Forgotten Pittsburgh Series,
currently totalling 26 sets.
Forgotten Pittsburgh Collections
http://www.flickr.com/photos/forgottenpittsburgh/collections/72157594587088735/
At the bottom of this web page,
you will find an Old Milwaukee Light
icon representing 16 photos of the "Ironside
Distillery" that you simply must see.
(A rose by any other name is still a rose!)
Best viewed as a slideshow, you may wish to turn
up the brightness of your screen to get all the
details. And remember, a picture is worth a
thousand words, so read them and weep!
End of Page . .
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