A “star-spangled, heart-tugging, patriotic” celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Memorial Swinging Bridge at the Winamac Town Park was held Monday night.
The centennial re-dedication of the footbridge mirrored aspects of the original dedication ceremony from 100 years earlier. A patriotic grand finale finished the celebration with the most anticipated illumination of the bridge with a newly-installed, professional LED system.
Perhaps Winamac’s most beloved and sentimental landmark, the Memorial Swinging Bridge has now spanned the historic Tippecanoe River at the town park for a century. One of the oldest suspension bridges in Indiana, it was erected and dedicated shortly after the Great War. Still feeling the pain of loss, community leaders named the bridge “Memorial” in honor of “soldiers and sailors” from Pulaski County from all wars.
In anticipation of the Memorial Bridge’s centennial this summer, a citizen’s group was formed four years ago to facilitate efforts to spruce up the bridge and make plans for a grand celebration. Central to the group’s plans was an effort to illuminate the bridge with a professionally designed and installed, multi-color LED-lighting system.
Known as “Light Up Our Legacy,” the lights were installed on the bridge’s cables, towers and beneath the structure. Light color combinations can be changed for holidays and seasons. Funding was secured from private and corporate donations through a variety of fundraising projects the past two years.
Heading up the Memorial Swinging Bridge Project were Greg and Brenda Henry of Winamac with Kathleen Thompson serving as chair of the fund development committee. The sponsoring organization was the Winamac VFW.
Dozens of committee members and additional volunteers have been meeting and working since early 2019 brainstorming ideas and gathering histories and photos of the bridge. They organized fund-raising efforts, contacted local government entities for support and advice, and interviewed contractors for the illumination portion of the project.
The Winamac Town Council and its park committee provided scheduled refurbishing of the bridge. The Pulaski County Historical Society secured a grant to further help finance the town’s renovation of the span. The town council gave its approval for the centennial committee to proceed with the plan to illuminate the bridge.
The celebration saw live music performances, food vendors, youth baseball and softball games and the grand finale which featured the lighting of the refurbished bridge.
