Generations say goodbye to old Chester Bridge after demolition

FOX23 News at 9 p.m.

CHESTER, Ill., (KBSI) — The old Chester Bridge stood for more than 80 years, long enough to become part of everyday life for generations on both sides of the Mississippi River.

When the bridge came down Monday, spectators gathered along the Chester riverfront to watch the controlled demolition. For some, the moment brought back memories stretching back decades.

Ken Bald remembers the bridge from around 1960, when he and his cousin rode Cushman motor scooters to Chester.

“I used to ride a Cushman motor scooter, and I can remember my cousin that lived over in Steeleville,” Bald said. “We drove our motor scooters over here, and this probably would have been in ’60, maybe somewhere like that.”

At the time, drivers still paid a toll to cross the bridge. Bald and his cousin convinced the toll attendant to let them make a shorter trip.

“We talked a toll gate guy into letting us ride out to the middle of the bridge and come back, but we wouldn’t have to pay both ways,” Bald said.

More than six decades later, Bald returned to the riverfront to watch the same bridge come down.

“Well, it was exciting,” Bald said. “I mean, I was surprised of the concussion, the impact that we felt. Yeah. That was — that was neat.”

For 15-year-old Chester resident Josie Gaertner, the bridge represents a much different generation.

“Yeah, it’s been here all my life, basically,” Gaertner said. “I mean, I know 15 years. Not very much, but…”

Gaertner said she crossed the bridge as often as five times a week, making it a routine part of growing up in Chester.

Now, her generation will know the crossing by the new Don Welge Memorial Bridge.

“I think now just getting this new bridge is a really cool experience to have in this very small town of ours that really nothing happens a lot,” Gaertner said.

The old Chester Bridge opened in 1942 and connected Illinois and Missouri for more than eight decades before Monday’s demolition.

For Bald, the bridge carries memories dating back more than 60 years. For Gaertner, those memories span her entire life.

The structure they both grew up crossing is gone, but a new bridge now carries the next generation across the Mississippi River.