Staff writer
The steel bridge that once spanned the Cottonwood River south of Marion Reservoir on Pawnee Road may have been removed, but its memory lives on in the form of a machine shed on the Dwight Kruse farmstead northwest of Marion.
The structure was removed in the summer of 2005 and replaced with a concrete bridge to provide better access for farm equipment and visitors to the reservoir.
Kruse bought the steel bridge and transported it in sections to his farm at U.S. 56 and Remington Road.
Work on the “bridge shed” began in March 2006 and still is in progress. Kruse and his son, Jason, manage a farm operation; so, work on the shed is limited to winter months.
The bridge banisters were used for the main structure, and cross-sections of I-beam iron from the bridge floor were used to complete the framework. It is set on a concrete foundation that reaches to solid rock.
“The steel carried the load of the bridge; now, it carries the load of the shed,” Dwight said.
The men built roof trusses inside Dwight’s shop, using oil field pipe and 40-foot I-beams from the bridge. Neighbors helped hoist the trusses into place.
Some of the boards onto which the metal roof was attached were sawed from trees along the Cottonwood River on land farmed by the Kruses. Some came from a demolished barn.
Twenty-foot-wide wings are being built on both sides of the main structure, anchored by electric line poles. One side is completed; the other is in progress and is expected to be finished this winter.
The north side of the whole building will be enclosed while the other sides remain open.
The Kruses have farmed the land below the dam for many years.
“I had the idea for this bridge a long time ago,” Dwight said. “I worked out the details as we went along. The blueprint came last.”
Father and son are experienced welders. Dwight, now 71, was a freshman at Marion High School, the first year vocational agriculture was instituted. It included a welding class. The shop was in the west end of the former gymnasium, now being used by Marion Middle School. It was new in 1952.
Dwight took advantage of the opportunity, and built a cattle squeeze chute that he still uses after 54 years. He built many other projects throughout the years, mostly during winter in a heated shop.
Jason followed his father’s example. While taking welding in high school, he built an implement and hay trailer that took first place at the state fair. Since his graduation in 1996, he has modified, improved, and repaired many pieces of farm equipment.
Each man has his own cowherd (70 head altogether) and some of his own equipment, but they share farm work and other equipment. They raise wheat, milo, corn, soybeans, and alfalfa, and put up corn silage every year in two upright silos.
In 1965, the Kruse homestead was just a bare prairie point overlooking the convergence of the Mud River Valley and Cottonwood River Valley.
The family was forced to relocate its farm when 200 acres were taken for Marion Reservoir. They developed another 40 acres on the east edge of the reservoir into the residential community of Eastshore.
The Kruses tore down their house and used some of the wood to build a home at the new site. Seven other buildings were relocated there.
The new machine shed is one of several that have been added since. Dwight is proud of this latest accomplishment.
“We couldn’t have done it ourselves,” Kruse said. “We had a lot of help from friends and neighbors. It wasn’t easy, but it’s strong. Nothing is going to blow it away.”