Tribute to and Memories of Ed Wesely

It is my honor to have been asked to speak today with the title, "Tribute and memories of Ed Wesely."

Some here may not have had the pleasure of knowing Ed. Many did. Many knew him better than I, but I was fortunate to have frequent close contact with him when we were both contributing editors at The River Reporter. I arrived there in 1985. Ed, sometime earlier. When Ed's life came to an end on May 26, 2021, at age 91, I am told that he had spent the last several years of his energy documenting and preserving the Milanville Historic District and the bridge that bears that hamlet's name.

Preparation for today's remarks gave me a reason to make a thoroughly enjoyable 59-minute phone call to Barbara Yeaman, now age 100 – Ed's longtime partner. Barbara commented that for 30 years she and Ed told people they “planned to get married” but never did. Many present today will remember Barbara and Ed as I do, inhabiting a modest but lovely home on River Road where the Upper Delaware River Association and later the Delaware Highlands Conservancy were born. Throughout this time, they were both active contributors to The River Reporter newspaper, which this year celebrates its 50th year of life. 

In his writings and conversation, Ed referred to the bridge by its rightful name, constructed as it was during the early 20th century by the Milanville Bridge Company. In later years, due to its proximity to the Skinners Falls rapids, our bridge became commonly known by that pseudonym. But in Ed's formal writings, as in mine, it always remained the Milanville Bridge. 

When the bridge underwent some of its overhauls in recent decades, I covered the bridge repair news in those days for The River Reporter, since I lived nearby in Milanville. Liam Mayo does much the same today. Ed shared details with me about the bridge and wrote some bylined articles on the bridge himself.

Ed actively supported and helped document the Milanville Bridge and business district to be included in the National Register of Historic Sites and advocated vigorously for historic preservation. 

When Cynthia Nash asked me to speak about Ed's love for “our” bridge, I was initially reluctant, replying that I did not feel qualified to "channel" Ed, if that was what she wanted. Cynthia pressed further, urging me to share what memories I could of Ed and what might have explained what captivated his love for this 124-year-old "pin-connected Baltimore through truss design" steel bridge that for over a century had connected the people of two states.

With his writing and artistic skills, in partnership with Barbara, Ed produced a beautiful 37-page volume entitled "A Bridge for Milanville". Graced by numerous beautiful color photos, this book records the span's evolution from a heavy ferry crossing that served New York's Erie Railroad during the late 19th century, ultimately to an application filed by Milton Skinner to form a permanent connection to the railroad under the corporate name of Milanville Bridge Company. In 1901, the company’s directors hired New York City's American Bridge Company to build a 470' steel bridge at the ferry crossing, tendering $14,000 for a job that was completed in November 1902.

Later, this same company, as a unit of Andrew Carnegie's U.S. Steel Corporation, American Bridge built New York Harbor's famous Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and some of the world's most challenging suspension and truss bridges. "Milanville's 1901 bridge is a rare handiwork, still in use, that dates from that company's beginning," Ed wrote. 

According to nomination papers submitted in 2001 to the Pennsylvania Historic Survey: "The Milanville-Skinner Falls Bridge is an intact example of a multiple span Baltimore truss of moderate length... It is one of only three representative examples of this type of truss bridges included in this nomination. It is also unusual in its location. Most exemplary truss bridges included in this nomination were built in the north central, northwestern and southwestern sections of the state... The nominated property consists of a 500 feet long by 30 feet wide rectangle, whose vertices coincide with the outside corners of the bridge's wing walls, and includes only bridge superstructure and substructure."

A copy of that final nomination was shared with me at the time by the late Town of Delaware municipal historian Mary Curtis who also worked locally in the interpretive division of the National Park Service.

Ed was a vocal supporter of the National Park Service on the Upper Delaware, at a time when not everyone was. I attended many of the meetings of the Conference of Upper Delaware Townships (COUP), and later Upper Delaware Council (UDC), as those local intergovernmental coordinating councils struggled to produce methods that would protect the river and its landmarks while preserving local government autonomy in relation to the NPS which came into our valley after the passage in 1978 of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Those methods still work today, 29 years after the river plan’s adoption.

In an illuminating 2018 interview by Rosie Starr of WJFF's "Farm and Country" (on the Damascus Citizens website), Ed answered a question that Rosie put to him, "If ... people want to get involved with preserving this bridge, what would you recommend?" Ed’s reply was with confidence and without hesitation: 

"I would recommend they support the National Park Service. If you ask the park service what’s worth preserving in the Upper Delaware national scenic river corridor runs from Sparrow Bush almost up to Hancock, the local park service staff decided that the Milanville bridge is worth preserving. That is very important I guess, in a category they call outstandingly remarkable, or whatever you will. So now if PennDOT wants a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers or from the Federal Highway Administration to demolish this bridge and build another one, that has to be approved by the park service. The position of the park service right now is this bridge has such outstanding qualities historically and scenically that it must be preserved. If you value the bridge support the park service."

In the seven years since, has the position of the NPS or US Department of Interior on our bridge changed? To my knowledge it has not! The UDC, on behalf of its member municipalities and two states between Hancock and Sparrowbush, has conclusively and consistently held that the 1902 Skinners Falls, NY-Milanville, PA Bridge is a cultural resource worthy of preservation. 

According to a recent letter by UDC executive director Laurie Ramie: "The UDC has consistently advocated for traditional rehabilitation of the Skinners Falls Bridge... The plan announced on Nov. 14 to carefully dismantle and store the bridge parts to allow for repair of the abutments left open a possibility that the bridge would be fortified and reassembled. To hear only a month later on Dec. 17 that the proposal changed to demolition by explosives with no salvaging of its components due to an emergency declaration was a shocking turn we did not anticipate."

Ms. Ramie continued: "The alleged escalation of deterioration, said to be based on in-depth inspections after the UDC reported dangling pieces and parts fallen into the river in August, is hard to fathom. Clearly this plan does create an Adverse Effect that no amount of mitigation can truly resolve."

“It’s not a done deal until all of the required federal and state permits are received,” she concluded.

The Upper Delaware River was included in 1978 amendments to the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S. Code § 1271) based on what the law terms "outstandingly remarkable criteria". In the law, this phrase refers to high standards used to evaluate features, qualities, or characteristics that are exceptional and significant. The phrase is common in environmental and conservation fields, including this Act. It begins with the declaration: "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States that certain selected rivers of the Nation which, with their immediate environments, possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural, or other similar values, shall be preserved in free-flowing condition, and that they and their immediate environments shall be protected for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations."

This is NOT a low bar, and yet the Milanville Bridge meets it. Here is a general definition of the concept:

• Outstanding: Exceptional or surpassing usual standards.
• Remarkable: Worthy of notice or attention; distinct or extraordinary.
• Criteria: Standards or principles used for judgment or evaluation.

In environmental contexts (like the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act), "outstandingly remarkable values" are used to identify and protect specific values that make a river segment special or unique on a regional or national scale, including these three which apply to the Milanville Bridge:

• Scenic: The visual quality of the river and its surroundings.
• Recreational: Opportunities for outdoor activities, such as hiking, fishing, or kayaking.
• Cultural: Historical or cultural significance, such as archaeological sites or heritage.

To be "outstandingly remarkable," the features or values in question must stand out relative to others within the same geographic or thematic region. They must also have enough importance to warrant special protection, recognition, or preservation – which this river and our bridge were by act of Congress. The term “outstandingly remarkable” describes the 1902 Skinners Falls, NY-Milanville, PA Bridge to a tee. 

PennDOT has chosen to evade Federal and States environmental conservation laws, hoping no one will notice its 20-plus year abject neglect of the Bridge. It may be that PennDOT administrators misinformed the Governor to persuade him to sign his recent declaration of emergency, ordering our bridge to be destroyed based on faulty recommendations provided by administration advisors whom he trusted. In a bureaucracy, budgetary considerations are always a factor. This letter must be reconsidered. 

Ed Wesely was a writer, a poet, and a consummate gentleman. He was an environmentalist who was well educated in relevant laws and regulations. He devoted his last years to documenting and preserving local resources that he recognized as outstanding and remarkable.

Ed’s partner and fellow conservationist, Barbara Yeaman, the founder of the Delaware Highlands Conservancy, told me yesterday: "Ed spent a major amount of his time in his last years working to save that bridge. To tear it down or blow it up, he would be rolling over in his grave."