Thursday, March 23, 2006

Hunter Bridge - part 2


Hunter Bridge itself, only feet from where I was born, was named after my late uncle James Richard "Dick" Hunter, a mayor of Marietta in the 60s.

It is a railroad bridge. Under it is the Marietta Parkway, or Marietta Loop, which is about a ten mile perimeter of the inner-city of Marietta. As you look at the above picture, after you go under the bridge you would make an immediate left to go by my birthplace, then up Atlanta Street for about two or three blocks to get to downtown Marietta. If you prefer to look at something Civil War - like, you could go up the bank, right by the bridge and be in the Confederate Cemetery, which is the largest Confederate Cemetery there is.*

*So, they claim, I don't have the statistics, but the Confederate Soldier Section of Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta looks bigger to me.

Also the bridge has another Hunter connection. My first cousin's son, when he was a high school student, and a friend of his, hung a big banner from the bridge that said, "WELCOME TO HELL!!!!". The banner was intended to greet the incoming buses of an opposing high school football team. The Marietta Loop is the main road that leads from the I-75. Unfortunately, the banner had only hung for a brief moment. My cousin, once removed, and his friend was arrested. A railroad company actually are the proprietors of the topside of the bridge. They pressed charges on the two teenagers for trespassing. Fortunately, the dropped charges when they learn it was something done in the spirit of fun.

My fist cousin, once removed, went on to college, studied history, and is now over a history museum on the Georgia's coast.

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