9
Discover Smith Mountain Lake
SUMMER 2016
8
n 1879, a covered wooden bridge
was built across Hale’s Ford to
allow passage across what was
then called the Staunton River… it was
erected to replace the original bridge,
which had washed away in the flood of
1877. Many years later, a third bridge
replaced the old covered wooden
bridge, this time a steel trestle.
Many nights, under cover of darkness,
modified stock cars could be heard
rattling across the old metal bridge,
as moonshiners plied their trade… by
day, regular travelers crossed between
Franklin and Bedford Counties across
the old structure. One such itinerant
was Jasper “Jap” Hundley, who made a
daily crossing astride his mule to visit
DeLong’s Store, which was situated on
the Bedford side, right at the bridge.
This bridge was still in use when, in
the early 1960’s, Appalachian Power
Company began work on what is now
Smith Mountain Lake. A significant
part of the “Smith Mountain Project”
was the construction of an entirely new
bridge, which would span the Roanoke
bridges. As it took shape, Jap Hundley
would monitor its progress on his daily
commute across the old metal bridge.
Finally, after the completion of the new
Hales Ford Bridge in 1963, it seemed
only fitting that Jap Hundley and his
outmoded form of transportation should
have the honor of being first to travel
across it.
As the water level rose, Herman
DeLong relocated to a new store at
the edge of the new bridge, and there
his business thrived, as did that of his
cousin,Thomas DeLong, who operated
an auto repair garage in the same
building. Hard times fell upon both
businesses after Thomas was killed
during a physical altercation in his
office. The building was later sold, and
eventually razed, and Herman relocated
his store to the corner of Hardy Rd and
Rt 122, in Franklin County.
Some forty years later, the store is still
operating, but a lot of water has passed
under the bridge.When the Hardy Rd.
DECADES
BRIDGING
THE
store was new, gasoline was 35 cents a gallon. A man could
support his family very comfortably on less than $10,000 a
year… a new car cost less than $3,000… mini-skirts were
coming into fashion… Congress had only recently passed the
Civil Rights Act and theVoting Rights Act… and the “moon”
was still “shining”.
Local Realtor Phyllis Johnson, whose old family cemetery is
surrounded by what is nowTheWater’s Edge, recalls singing
“Jeremiah was a bullfrog…” as a child, during weekend
bonfires at her uncle’s cabin, and swimming in the lake with
her cousins. Others recall water-skiing in between trees as
the lake slowly filled.
Pantyhose liberated 60’s women from girdles and garter
belts… dancing no longer required touching one’s partner…
or even having one. Television transitioned from black and
white to color… tension was mounting in the Middle East…
and children were spoiled with the introduction of all sorts
of marvelous toys.
Among these was “VRROOOM!!” a fake plastic “engine” that
could be mounted to the frame of a bicycle. This ingenious
example of exploitative marketing produced all sorts of
irritating motor sounds at the touch of a lever, consuming
battery power while disturbing the peace and quiet of the
neighborhood.We were also introduced to GI Joe, the “Magic
8-ball”, and bicycles with ‘banana’ seats.
It was a time of innocence, when children roamed suburban
housing tracts unescorted, and played with all sorts of (by
today’s standards) dangerous toys. Duncan yo-yos became all
the rage, “Clackers”, a toy that resembled the gaucho’s bolo,
could be just about as lethal. Cyclists routinely pedaled down
residential streets without helmets. (Thankfully, most of
them survived, and many now enjoy life at the lake.)
Still, there were similarities between now and then.
Nationwide, tensions were rising over an unpopular foreign
war, and there were sharp divides between generations
over preferences in fashion, music, and hairstyles. People
complained about the government, and protests were routine.
Locally, folks complained about the high cost of buying and
building a house at the lake. At that time, lakefront property
in one early development was valued at $1000 an acre, and
covenants required the owner to build a $10,000 house on
it. A 25-inch color TV set cost more at that time than it does
today, and it took a minute or two to warm up when you
turned it on.
Now, 50 years later, if you cross at Hale’s Ford, you’ll drive
across the same bridge that Jap Hundley traversed on his
mule… and if you tune your radio to the local AM radio
station, you’ll hear many of the same songs that played on the
radio back then.The lake is still there, and it’s still filled with
good old American water.The similarities end there.
by Charles Alexander
