Bucks
Suspension Bridge Kathy Leber
Dear Friends,
Good morning. As you know, news is not when dog bites man…it’s when man bites dog. When Mighty Betsy and I recently attended the United Friends School auction, we met Kathy Leber, a teacher who’s taught at UFS since 1987. She and her husband, Bob, have a brand new steel suspension bridge on their property about 10 miles west of Quakertown.
When the Unami Creek is high, the bridge is the only way to get to their house. As we walked across its 160-foot span, I asked how much did it cost? They declined to answer but I’d bet that it exceeded $100,000. The Lebers’ bridge actually has a connection to the Brooklyn Bridge. Frank Neeld, a Riegelsville resident, designed the Lebers’ suspension bridge. Neeld is a retired employee of the Roebling Company, which designed the Brooklyn Bridge.
Getting permission to build a bridge is no easy matter. “We had to obtain permits from the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Fish and Boat Commission, and the township,” Bob began. Because he has a degree in biochemistry and is the Director of the Abington Township wastewater treatment plant, Bob understands governmental complexities.
I visited with the Lebers on April 15, the opening day of the trout season. Kathy had just caught three trout but only kept one. Coincidentally, she catches sunfish, which she takes to UFS to feed the Alligator Snapping Turtle that resides in a 75-gallon tank in her classroom. Kathy is a seventh and eighth grade math and science teacher. “I got ‘Snappy’ from a reptile rescue six years ago,” she said. Alligator Snapping Turtles grow to 250 pounds, but at the moment, ‘Snappy’ weighs only 25 pounds.
More than 20 feet tall, steel towers form the supports for the suspension bridge. The deck is 45 inches wide in order to make the bridge handicapped accessible. “It took the builders one week to assemble,” Bob continued. “It looked like a gigantic erector set.”
“You can fjord the Unami by a causeway but one inch of rain puts it underwater,” Kathy explained. The creek rose six feet when Hurricane Ivan struck in 2004. Huge granite boulders are everywhere. “You can see the cutting marks that quarrymen fashioned for Philadelphia cobblestones during the 1800’s,” Kathy continued.
The new bridge replaces the original suspension bridge which previous owners built. It’s quite wobbly and will be removed. Kathy demonstrated the flexibility of the old bridge by walking across it. She had more bravery than I.
Kathy told me that the Audubon Society designated the Unami Creek as an important birding area. As we spoke, she identified a Northern Flicker and a Pileated Wood Pecker perched on the tree next to their house. Kathy is writing a children’s science book, “Flora and Fauna of the Unami Creek.”
She’s busy when UFS adjourns its academic year. Thanks to a NASA grant in astro biology last summer, she searched for life beyond earth in California and Nevada with a group of scientists and educators. The team was collecting extremophiles, which are microorganisms that survive the most extreme conditions on earth. “They are the most likely forms of life we might find beyond earth,” Kathy explained. She’ll be studying the rain forests in Costa Rica when school lets out in June.
I asked Bob what he does when Kathy’s engaged in a project in a far away land? “I stay home and feed Kayla,” he laughed. Kayla is a Rottweiler. “But last summer, I traveled with Kathy and brought home 100 pounds of rocks…for her geology study.”
The Lebers have placed conservation easements on their property to insure that open space will be permanently preserved. They are working with their neighbors to encourage them to follow their example.
I enjoyed my visit with the Lebers…I might add that it pays to be properly introduced to Kaya, the Rottweiler. I would want Kaya on my side in a fight.
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith