ON THE ST. LOUIS RIVER — The Grassy Point Swing Bridge is an oddity in itself. The 111-year-old rail bridge spans the river, linking Duluth and Superior, and spins on its center point so recreational boats, and the occasional ship, can pass through.
But paddle your kayak or motor your fishing boat a little closer, and you start to notice something odd nailed along its timber base: stuffed animals.
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Since at least the mid-1990s, stuffed animals have been attached to the side of the bridge, which is owned by BNSF Railway.
One stuffed animal, perhaps a decaying tiger, is crucified to the wooden bridge, a nail through each palm.
Most are tattered, weathering away by the sun and waves. But others, like a large stuffed unicorn and pink troll, still hold their vibrant colors and are clearly new additions to the island of misfit toys.
There were once larger artifacts left there, too.
In September 1995, the News Tribune published a short article about the bridge, and its photos showed two mannequins with painted faces and wigs on either side of the bridge’s base.
The day after the article ran, the mannequins were gone, the News Tribune reported almost a year later.
“The two lounging mannequins had been placed on either end of the bridge by an unknown decorator sometime early last summer,” the News Tribune reported. “Their faces were painted so lifelike and their hair so natural, it was almost spooky. Each wore a painted-on bikini and struck a provocative pose.
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“The Burlington Northern employees who work on the bridge nicknamed the ladies Bridge and Babe,” the News Tribune said.
So why are all those stuffed animals there anyway?
In 2012, the News Tribune’s "Eh?" column answered that question posed by a paddler. At the time, Tom Sershon, a retired 44-year veteran of the BNSF and former Grassy Point bridge operator, told the News Tribune a late bridge operator began putting the stuffed animals up. Boaters joined in later.
“Rick McDonald, one of the operators, started putting them up,” Sershon said. “He used to get them at Goodwill and stick them up there. Then some boaters put some up. That’s how that started.”
Sershon didn’t know why McDonald, who died years before 2012, fastened the stuffed animals to the timbers of the swing bridge.
“I think he did it just for the entertainment for the boaters,” Sershon said. “I saw some of them (boaters) put more up.”
Sershon never asked boaters why they were adding to the collection. “The company wanted to know who was putting them up,” he said. “I said, 'I haven’t a clue.' I wasn’t going to tell anybody.”
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Boaters and anglers carry on the tradition today, likely in the same way as 28 years ago.
In the News Tribune’s 1995 article on the bridge, the paper granted anonymity to “the guy who operates the bridge.”
“They put them up here at night, usually,” the guy said, leaning over a railing. “They pull under the bridge and stop. And then, poof, the next day there’s another one. Kind of like magic.
“It’s just a fun thing,” he said. ”No big deal. Just a neat little thing out here in the middle of nowhere.”
The Trust Project
