The Veterans Memorial Swinging Bridge in Winamac was built in 1923. The bridge spans the Tippecanoe River and was dedicated to the veterans of World War I and other previous wars. A century later, it was rededicated to include the veterans of the wars that followed its completion. As a part of the rededication, a committee led by Greg Henry and his wife Brenda Henry put lights on the bridge.
“My wife and I were walking in the park and my wife said, ‘Wouldn't it be nice if we had some lights on the bridge?’” said Greg Henry. “I knew that the bridge was about to turn 100 years old, and I thought that we could put all this together. My wife and I started three years ago; we formed an actual committee to raise the money. It was a long time coming, but we finished the project about six months ahead of schedule. It was quite a project, and there was a lot of fundraising going on.”
The rededication ceremony and lighting took the efforts of the committee to make it happen. Kathi Thompson was the head of the funding committee who helped to raise money. Back in 1923, Culver Military Band performed at the ceremony to dedicate the bridge. Under the leadership of Melanie Burger, the Culver Military Band returned to perform at the rededication ceremony.
“We invited Culver Military back again, and we tried to redo the original ceremony,” said Greg Henry. “We recreated it with not only costumes but the music and things like the national anthem that Culver Military played. We had dignitaries from all around the state come and give speeches, and some of the people who helped us raise the funds were able to speak. The event lasted for about an hour in the evening and then we had the ceremony of the actual lighting about 10:00 p.m. as it got dark out.”
There were 3,200 LED multi-changing lights used to brighten up the bridge. The lights can be changed to thousands of different colors and serve different functions.
“These lights are LED multi-changing, and you can change it for the holidays,” said Greg Henry. “For example, you can also change the colors for a wedding. If the couple goes to the town office, they can request to have the town change the light for that day or evening to suit their needs. The bridge and the lights themselves are multi-purpose; they can change from being a direct light to fading from one end to the other.”
The bridge was dedicated to all veterans, and it serves as the perfect spot for a lot of functions.
“You can have picnics and all types of events,” said Greg Henry. “It's a focal point for the entire county, not just the town of Winamac. It's a great way to get from the downtown area over to the city park; the bridge was built in order to help people do that.”
The Veterans Memorial Swinging Bridge is a must see attraction.
To learn more about the Veterans Memorial Swinging Bridge, please visit memorialswingingbridge.com.
