I like old metal truss bridges. I was caching in the area and
found this one... Couldn't resist placing a cache so people would
stop and enjoy the bridge even for a few minutes.
This is the Jack Walsh Memorial Bridge. It is on the dirt road
between Sieben and Silver City. This bridge was built in 1905 and
is still in active use. This bridge was dedicated to Jack Walsh who
was responsible for keeping bridges like this maintained for many
years. Near the cache location there is a plaque which talks about
Jack's contribution to bridges like this one throughout
Montana.
Shortly after placing this cache I was contacted by one of
Jack's nieces who happens to also be a geocacher (zenpanda). She
was kind enough to send me some additional information about Jack
for me to add to the listing. I was going to try to summarize it,
but I feel it is more appropriate just to post it as provided to me
with only a couple of minor corrections:
Jack Walsh February 26,1927-February 23,2003
Born & raised in Wheaton Ill, a suburb of Chicago, Jack
was the 10th of 12 children born to Frank and Elizabeth Walsh. He
moved to Montana at age 17 & was drafted into the Army in 1945.
He returned to Montana and graduated from College of Great Falls
with a degree in Math & Science. He taught for a few years and
then attended Montana State University where he received a degree
in Civil Engineering in 1958.He worked for the Montana Dept of
transportation for 37 years before retiring in 1993. After
retirement, he continued to consult with local counties and with
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency).
He was married to Catherine Sweeney for 45 years and had four
children: Caryn, Twins Brian & Barbara, and Patricia. He was a
devoted family man who loved to share his passions with his
children. All 4 attended MSU and 2 followed in his footsteps by
becoming engineers. He frequently traveled and loved to visit new
places especially those with different bridges. He loved trains and
built a model set in his house which takes up over 1/2 the
basement! He loved to tinker with things and barely finished
"fixing" a car up before he sold it or gave it to a
relative.
He encouraged his children to be active in church, school and
the community. He was a leader of a local Boy Scout troop. He was
also a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Pacific
Northwest Council, Hibernian Society, St. Helena Cathedral Choir,
Helena Symphony Choral and Helena Exchange Club."
She also provided me a few pictures of Jack and the dedication
of the bridge, which are available to view below.
The cache is located in easy reach of a typically sized adult.
Some feeling will likely be necessary