Mighty Myths and Facts

Linda Burton posting from Saint Paul, Minnesota – I went on a cruise today. A Mississippi River Cruise, on a diesel-powered make-believe paddle-wheeler; complete with banjo and song and a few good stories along the way. It was the Lunch and Lock Cruise, a four-hour trip departing from Harriet Island just across the Wabasha Street Bridge from downtown Saint Paul. I’ll tell you some of the tall tales, and I’ll tell you about the river, and the locks; I now hold bragging rights to “locking through Lock #1” on the Mississippi. But first, a tale. As we approached a low-built railroad bridge, you know, the kind that swings open to allow tall boats to come through, our narrator directed us to look at the heavy concrete weight on the short end of it. “It took a year to build,” our storyteller said, “and the man who owned the land next to the right-of-way came out every day and sat in his chair to watch construction. Every day, all day. Finally, it was dedication day, and the man attended the ceremonies, at the conclusion of which he notified the railroad that, when open, the bridge encroached on his land by a few feet; therefore it could not be used. Railroad officials quickly put their heads together and offered to buy that few feet of land, at the price they paid for land before the bridge was built. The man refused. ‘So now your price has gone up,’ they said. ‘Oh no, my price is the same as it would have been before,’ he replied. ‘And what is that?’ they asked. ‘My price is priceless. The railroad took away my job and ruined my life years ago. I will never sell my land to you, under any conditions.’ The bridge was rebuilt.” » read more