Pollocks Mill Bridge Incident 09.28.14

One of the things that SWPa is noted for, is the large amount of bridges.  When someone thinks of Greene County bridges, most likely, they imagine one of the Covered Bridges dotting the countryside. While the covered bridges are cool enough, I've always liked the old metal brides a little better.  There were literally tons of them in our area, some are GONE and FORGOTTEN, some are largely unknown and a handful still survive.  
A few years back, Danielle did a story on a few of the Old Iron Bridges of Greene County.  We noticed a lot of interest lately in this post, so we decided to do an update to the Pollocks Mill bridge. 

     Everybody in this area of Greene County knows this bridge.  Senior pictures, wedding pictures, band pictures have been taken here. People regularly fish here.  Parties happen.....(we have heard)...  So when we heard of the incident of the water truck, we went on down to investigate.

     According to HISTORICBRIDGES.ORG, The Pollocks Mill bridge was erected in 1878 by the Massillon Bridge Company in Ohio.  Also mentioned is the fact that any Iron Bridge that is older then  1880 is considered historic and worthy of saving.  Click the link above to learn more.

     On the evening of September 28th, 2014 , a 30 plus ton water truck attempted to cross the posted 4 ton limit bridge.  on our FaceBook page, there was a lot of speculation of why this happened, and whether or not the posted weight limit signs from last years pictures were removed...(they were not, just relocated further up the road).   The purpose of our post here is not political or critical, just documentation of the incident. 

      I overheard lots of "just how the hell are they gonna get that truck outta there" theories when I was taking the pictures Sunday.  Some people were speculating the worst, cutting the deck, letting it fall, or bringing a crane down and cutting the top off the bridge.  So We headed on down the next day and watched as they extracted the truck.  Wade's towing, a local company, pulled the truck free at an undramatic 1/2 mph pace with no more damage being inflicted on the bridge.  It seems the bridge is a lot more sturdy then we thought, as the giant wrecker was also partially on the bridge, pulling the truck free.  

Chip and I went down Monday and shot some video of the area and speculated on the bridge....click the image below...

     It's too soon to know what will happen to the bridge.    We'll keep you updated....

More Monongahela Lock 6 demo 1965. Rices Landing, PA

These vintage shots are from the collection of Tony Meza of Rices Landing.  These shots depict the demolition of Lock 6 from September through December of 1965.  Great before-during-after shots.  Interesting shots of the W.A. Young Machine shop, too!  Personally, I dig the old blue van!


More info can be found at the Lock 6  Museum, as seen in this post.

Clean up on Aisle 2! Dunbar, PA's famous Pechin's!

 Danielle, Evan and I decided to do some shopping and the Laurel Mall flea market didn't disappoint.  D found some sweet new exploration footwear as well as some Spuds McKenzie glasses.  Evan scored a Stoney's tray and just wait 'till you see the gnarly purple carpet I'm getting for the Shaggin' Wagon!

 Anyway, while we were checking out the Star Wars toys and digging on the vintage vibe of Laurel Mall, we decided to pay homage to a local shopping mecca.  A place everyone has memories of, both good and,well.... Eating in the cafeteria was a rite of passage. Feed your family for about $5...really.  This was a place where you could buy groceries, shoes, golf clubs, a gun and beer all in one place...way before Wal-Mart!

 I'm of course speaking of the legendary Pechin's Shopping Village.  Located in Dunbar, Pa. near the Fayette County Fairgrounds, Pechin's was not just a store, it was an adventure!  Founded in 1947 as Pechin Grocery by Sullivan "Sully" D'Amico in a former train depot, the place was a staple for Moms and Grandmas in the tri-state area.  Pechins was famous for low prices and infamous for being janky as hell! But thats what made it great!   There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the location of goods in the grocery store.  I think they just dropped a pallet where there was room.  Maybe it was a brilliant way to make shoppers roll the entire wooden floor in search of what they needed, picking up items as they went? Nah, probably not.  Evan recalls "old timers" telling how you could see the creek through the holes in the floor.  The buggies look as if they were patched together from different stores and you NEVER,  I MEAN NEVER, went to Pechins on the first of the month!

 Every year, we would head to 7-Springs and stop at Pechins for beer.  The challenge was to eat $5 worth of food in the cafeteria.  Keep in mind...hamburgers were 20 cents, cheeseburgers 25 cents.  I never even came close...The food was actually pretty good. If I remember... those prices lived on until the end of the original plaza.

 Following the death of Mr. D'Amico in 2005, Pechins moved to the afore mentioned Laurel Mall. Occupying the former Montgomery Wards.  The store lives on, but with much less character.  A salvage company moved into the original site not long after and began the process of clearing out the shelves, cases and fixtures.  Then, on June 6th, 2006, a fire swept through the former shopping plaza destroying most of the buildings and nearby trucks and equipment.  We grabbed some pix of whats left, which isn't much.  Share your Pechins story...cuz we know you got one!!

Found this inside the resturaunt shot online...

The two pictures below, courtesy of Jay Miller...Just look how busy, and it was always like this.