Susan Bartholomew Manecke grew up surrounded by a variety of chunks of concrete from the first concrete streets in America.
Kate Quickel, left, a great-great-granddaughter of concrete paving pioneer George Wells Bartholomew, speaks Wednesday at a ceremony to dedicate a replica of the original 1891 test strip of concrete in the 100 block of south Main Street. (EXAMINER PHOTO | REUBEN MEES)
The paperweights, doorstops and other random objects were really just an afterthought — a reminder of something her great-grandfather did in a long gone age.
Today, however, she celebrates the contribution George Wells Bartholomew made to modern transportation and makes sure her own children and grandchildren are also aware of the history.
“I thought, ‘Who cares about all this?’ until I came here in 1991,” the concrete pioneer’s great-granddaughter said after a Wednesday morning ceremony to dedicate a section of pavement on Main Street in front of the Logan County Courthouse that is a replica of the first test strip Bartholomew constructed in 1891.
“When we came here in 1991, they talked about how it made farm-to-market possible and how it changed commerce. It was a time of invention, and to think that our family was part of it is important to us.”
While Manecke and her own daughter, Kate Quickel had a relatively short trip from Columbus, other family members — including Nancy Bartholomew, the wife of Bartholomew’s late grandson; and Ellie Bartholomew Bates — the first member of the sixth generation — traveled from as far away as Cincinnati and Pittsburgh to take part in the ceremony
Read complete story in Thursday’s Examiner.
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