Collapse of 2nd narrows bridge

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Collapse of 2nd narrows bridge

Postby Jack Bennest » Mon Jun 02, 2008 4:34 pm

I am looking for any info on radio coverage of the collapse and aftermath
at the 2nd narrows bridge in 1958 (June 17) 27 people lost their lives.

any recollections?
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Second Narrows Bridge collapse.

Postby Laterider » Mon Jun 02, 2008 5:57 pm

You might try and contact George Garrett. He covered the story and would have a lot of archived material.
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Postby Jack Bennest » Mon Jun 02, 2008 6:52 pm

thanks dg - I had given WB's phone number to Chuck Davis who was
inquiring

GG seems to be unlisted

On a general basis there is not a lot of info readily available on media coverage of that day and the aftermath.

Jim Bennie might give us more after a visit to the Library
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Postby jon » Mon Jun 02, 2008 7:19 pm

I was only 5 at the time, so cannot give you a lot of details. But I was in the backyard at 345 East 15th Avenue in East Burnaby on that sunny warm afternoon, listening to CJOR, where I heard them first announce it, and their coverage was pretty detailed after that.

It is the earliest remembrance I have of listening to the radio that I can pin down to an exact date. The only thing I can pin down as being earlier is when I first heard Bob Hutton say the time as Twenty to Eight on CKNW, after I'd learned to tell time only as minutes after the hour, as in Seven Forty.
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Postby Howaboutthat » Tue Jun 03, 2008 6:21 am

jon wrote:The only thing I can pin down as being earlier is when I first heard Bob Hutton say the time as Twenty to Eight on CKNW, after I'd learned to tell time only as minutes after the hour, as in Seven Forty.


That's because digital time hadn't been invented yet in radio.
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Re: Collapse of 2nd narrows bridge

Postby Raymondo » Tue Jun 02, 2009 12:02 pm

http://www.harbourpublishing.com/book.php?id=701
Tragedy at Second Narrows
The Story of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge
by Eric Jamieson

This is the book you want. Eric has done a fantastic job on this piece of Vancouver history. I got the book last Christmas, and finished it Boxing Day. It covers the detailed engineering element, the tragic human element and the followup legal element all with gripping detail. Eric puts the names and souls of the victims, and their families into a place other than just faceless inscriptions on a bronze placque. Remember June 17, 1958.
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Re: Collapse of 2nd narrows bridge

Postby Heard It On The X » Tue Jun 02, 2009 5:43 pm

Here are Jamieson's childhood recollections of the bridge collapse...

I was just coming home from school late that afternoon, and as I came loudly into the kitchen my mother shushed me as she listened intently to our little Westinghouse radio squawking in the corner of the counter. CKWX announcer Red Robinson broke the melody of "Do You Wanna Dance?" by Bobby Freeman with the news that brought the city to a standstill: "Well, for the past two hours you've been listening to the afternoon show. Stay right where you are on CKWX for further reports on the Second Narrows Bridge tragedy. Keep your ear right here on CKWX Radio. This is CKWX Radio British Columbia..."

Reporter: "...saying very little in that the ambulance service is still coming and going, possibly a little more frequently, but the thing that we're deploring here, along with the police, is the number of pedestrians that are here on the scene. The list of casualties is unbelievable and the police say these police are going to be here probably for one, a very long time...the divers have been in the water here...it will take a long, long time to shift the load, and if people want to come sightseeing, the police advise to stay away from the area, particularly either this week and next, but don't come tonight. The bridge is closed to all traffic...they're keeping it open for ambulances and other emergency vehicles, and definitely closed to all other traffic..."

Red got the scoop of the decade largely because of his paternal uncle Chuck, who had been relaxing on his sister's front lawn sipping a beer with his brother-in-law when the bridge collapsed. From the house, located on Wall Street in Burnaby just near the Burrard Inlet, they had a decent view of the bridge. Coincedentally, they had been discussing it, and what they considered to be flimsy supports, when they heard a loud report.

"We turned back again and everything was...it was like it was in slow motion, but we could see some of the workers going down with the crane and everything and boy there was a lot of noise and commotion going on there...but as soon as it happened I said to my sister; 'Hand me the phone out the window, I'm going to phone Red.' And when I phoned, I said, 'I'd like to speak with Red Robinson right away,' and she said, 'I'm sorry, he's on the radio,' and I said, 'Well, this is Uncle Chuck and the new Second Narrows Bridge just fell down,' and she put me right through to Red and he started to ask me what was going on."

Even before Red's shift ended that day, the question on everyone's mind was clear: what had gone wrong -- bridges don't just fall down, do they?


If you turn to the acknowledgements section of the book, Jamieson thanks Red for "two recordings" used as source material.

I too highly recommend the book "Tragedy at Second Narrows" -- an excellent example of well-researched local history.
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Re: Collapse of 2nd narrows bridge

Postby jon » Tue Jun 02, 2009 6:23 pm

I have a copy on its way to my local public library, so I can read it. Sounds great!

I checked and there is only one copy of the book in all of the public libraries in Alberta. In Lethbridge.
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Re: Collapse of 2nd narrows bridge

Postby Howaboutthat » Tue Jun 02, 2009 6:24 pm

I've read it too (most of it) You'll love it Jon... its extremely detailed. But a good read!
Houston, We're dealing with morons!.
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Re: Collapse of 2nd narrows bridge

Postby Steve Sanderson » Tue Jun 02, 2009 6:37 pm

Howaboutthat wrote:I've read it too (most of it) You'll love it Jon... its extremely detailed. But a good read!


Howaboutnotgivingawaytheending...I thought for a minute that you might spoil it for him!
:D
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