Big River - December 1993

Page 1

December 1993 the monthly newsletter for people who live, work or play on the Upper Mississippi River Vol. 1, No. 12

$2

Mike Spettel's Better Bridge Part Bridge, Part Pontoon

The Big Classroom - Teens Explore the Great River

By Ed Brick

by Pamela Eyden

The Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad

The Mississippi River serves as a highway, a

(later the Milwaukee Road) reached the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, in 1857. For more than 100 years railroad freight and passengers floated, by various means, across the river to and from McGregor, Iowa. Railroad agent John Lawler arranged packet service across " the river in summer and horse-drawn sleighs in winter, from 1857 to 1867. Then he began using barges with rails permanently in place to carry four cars each - one barge on either side of a steamboat. In 1870, he cut a channel through an island to open a direct route between the tracks on either shore. His crews cut ice to keep this channel open in the winter. He abandoned this cumbersome practice after four seasons.

Lawler initially used barges to span the navigation channel openings - the Main Channel, on the Iowa side, and the East channel, near Prairie du Chien. In 1873, Lawler built approach bridges out from both shores to the navigation channels. The United States Constitution protects the right to navigate rivers, and the approach bridges were too low for river traffic to pass underneath, as it could at the Eads Bridge, then under construction at St. Louis. Lawler initially used barges to span the navigation channel openings - the Main Channel, on the Iowa side, and the East channel, near Prairie du Chien. The barges were moved out of • the way to let river traffic pass. This proved a dangerous choice, and many cars ended up in the river.

(Bridge continued on page 2)

campground, a source of food, a boundary, a scenic backdrop and a big pipe to the sea. Now it's a teaching tool, as well. The McKnight Foundation recently gave a $25,000 grant to the Water Resource Center at Winona State University to teach high school teachers how to use the river in their biology, chemistry, ecology, social studies and literature classes. Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville developed the Great River Project curriculum for use on the Mississippi River and its tributaries. "The Mississippi River is a wonderful lab in our own backyard. We don't use it nearly enough, mostly due to the lack of time and money," said Nancy Jannik, Ph.D., geology professor at Winona State University and director of the Water Resource Center. The center is an environmental education and water quality technical assistance center at the university. Assistant director Judy Shepard will be in charge of the project. Next summer, the Water Resource Center will host workshops for teachers from high schools in the nine counties it serves. Besides sharing the Zumbro-Root River watershed in southeastern Minnesota, the counties - Dodge, Fillmore, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Rice, Wabasha and Winona - share similar hydrogeology and water quality planning efforts. Students in the program will read, write and explore the rich cultural and historical heritage of river communities. They will also learn firsthand about water quality and how to protect it. With help from professionals and experts

(Teens continued on page 4)


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