The Mystery of the Walkway

            I’m a cyclist.  I love to ride my ruby red Cannondale around the park on the bike path.  It’s great exercise and just plain fun to fly down the path surrounded by nature.  I express this joy by singing as loud as possible while I ride, listening to my iTunes. On my way to the park, I often use a walkway bridge that crosses one of the major roads in my city.  It is strategically placed next to a parochial elementary school and church connecting that side of the street to the baseball diamonds and park across the way.

            I have looked at this walkway with a great deal of sadness of late. Here is a structure with a memorial plaque that is weathered beyond true legibility.  It is not maintained nor is the walkway itself, which is rusting and damaged.  The cage style fence that encloses it has been broken in various spots. One day in May, I took a series of photos of the structure and sign with the plan to learn more about its history.  I’m rather good at research, if I do say so myself, and I was certain I could learn more through my various methods.  Imagine my surprise when I came up with nothing. 

            The name the walkway is dedicated to in memorial is Bernard J. Smith, Jr.  The sign itself is very difficult to make out as the paint is chipping away.  There was nothing on it regarding the date of the dedication or why the walkway is named after him.  There is no dedication plaque on the structure itself or a date plague of any kind.  I couldn’t find any information on the Internet either.  As of today, I plan on setting off to the public library to research this further. 

            Right now, the memorial walkway is a mystery that I intend to solve.  I have big plans on how to proceed with this and am talking to various people to raise awareness. For now, the best thing I can do is show you all what I am talking about.  Below are the pictures.  What do you think?