"The Moscow Covered Bridge is Gone"
I traveled today to the little hamlet in southern Rush County known as Moscow, Indiana.
Moscow, along with other parts of southern Indiana, was struck by a massive tornado on Tuesday night, June 3rd. The power and fury of that storm could be seen in the deep gashes in tree stands from Prince's Lakes to the Flat Rock River. But nothing prepared me for the sites I encountered in Moscow, Indiana.
My family has been to Moscow and nearby Milroy more times than we can count. The Covered Bridge Festival is one of our favorite stops and some of our best friends in the district live along the county roads of this rural Indiana Township.
Before Tuesday, Moscow was a small village along the Flat Rock River with the remains of a 19th Century rural school, a church, a few homes, and of course, the Moscow covered bridge, which was constructed in 1886.
As our helicopter landed, we were greeted by local Amish children, the sheriff, the local emergency management director and several local officials. The weight of the past few days was evident in the lines under their eyes. I learned, happily, that the woman found impaled on a tree near the river was beginning to recover at Methodist Hospital and that the clean-up was going slow but steady thanks to the outpouring of support from communities, churches and public safety organizations from all the surrounding counties.
But the Moscow covered bridge is gone.
As we met with volunteers and officials, the sacrifice and resilience of these good people shone from their eyes, until I mentioned the bridge. Time after time, when I asked about the bridge, men and women would stop what they were saying and wrestle with the obvious emotion of the moment.
Buildings become a part of our lives. They are the backdrop to our ongoing drama, and we attach the years and the memories to them. In a town like Moscow, the bridge was the heart of the community.
A first kiss was stolen on a walk across this bridge. A shaky hand pulled a ring from a box and handed it to a blushing girl sitting on a blanket just down the riverbank. A new mom posed with the white boards and roof in the background. One soldier came to this bridge to say goodbye to a sweetheart. Another soldier walked across this bridge with his dad the day before he got on the bus.
Since 1886, the water was high at times, and sometimes not so high. But through good times and bad, through droughts and floods, the Moscow covered bridge was there.
And now, though the Moscow covered bridge is gone, the foundations still stand tall amidst the rushing waters of the Flat Rock River.
The boy who stole that kiss and the girl who didn't object are grandparents now, and they farm a big stretch of land down the road. The bride-to-be on the blanket is now the mother of three. The baby in the picture is out of college now and working in the city. One soldier came home and has a business in town and is an elder at the church. The other soldier rests near his dad in the field just outside of town and is remembered every May.
In other words, the Moscow covered bridge is gone but everything and everyone that matters remain.
Buildings attach themselves to our hearts and they symbolize who we are. In Moscow, Indiana, the timbers might be gone but the foundations still remain, good and strong and permanent. With a foundation that strong, I know that this community and that bridge will be rebuilt.
Mike Pence
Moscow, Indiana
June 6, 2008
