Last of the Bridge Tenders: Russell Lewis of Harkers Island
Reprinted from Tradewinds Magazine, 2022 by B. Garrity-Blake. Photo by Garrity-Blake
Trawler. Carolina Skiff. TowBoatUS. Jarrett Bay Sportfisherman. Standup paddle board. Skipjack. Parker boat. Channel netter. Marine Patrol. Sharpie sail skiff. Jet ski. Coast Guard. Sunfish. Boston Whaler. Barge. Kayak. Gillnetter.
If you scroll through Randall Russell Lewis’ Facebook feed, you will see photos of the daily waterway traffic under the Earl C. Davis Memorial Bridge – known informally as the Harkers Island bridge -- during his 7am – 7pm shift as bridge tender.
“I’ve been taking photos since I first started,” Lewis explained. “I started with a smaller camera and now I use a 35 millimeter with a telephoto lens.”
Bridge tending used to be a state job, but it’s now contracted out. Lewis works seven days on, seven days off. “I’ve probably worked here at this bridge longer than anyone,” he said.
Russell Lewis’s job mainly consists of listening for larger boats to hail him on the VHF radio so that he can blow the siren, stop highway traffic, and open the swing bridge, which pivots horizontally 90 degrees to allow passage.
“Over time we’ve seen less commercial boats and more recreational,” he observed. Most boats are small and do not require the draw to be opened.
Partly out of boredom, he picked up a camera and began documenting what he saw. If boaters are paying attention, they’ll see Lewis standing on the bridge outside the draw house, taking aim with his camera. Many people are not only aware of the photo shoot – they’re ready with a smile and a wave.
“Some get ready in advance – women in pretty dresses, men might straighten themselves up. I’ve had boats turn around and go through again if they don’t see me out there with the camera!”
It’s a lot of “up and down, up and down” for Lewis to operate the drawbridge and photograph boat traffic all day long. After work he spends hours sorting through photos each night to post the best shots on social media.
“I don’t get to bed most nights until eleven o’clock or midnight.”
Bridge tenders are required to keep a log of all vessels that pass through the open draw and the number of cars that stop and wait. But nothing says they must photograph and post a daily census of everything that floats by from little skiffs to schools of fish.
Why does Russell Lewis bother?
“I love looking at the comments people post about my photos and I appreciate what people say – they seem to enjoy it.”
He ain’t ugly! someone posted about a young marine patrolman. This you? many will post, tagging the person photographed. Great pictures! is a popular comment. Thanks for always snapping a good pic of my kids coming home on the boat! a woman wrote.
Lewis has an eye for natural beauty. He has posted photos of the full moon rising, as well as plenty of breathtaking sunrise and sunset images.
“The Harkers Island bridge is the best location for sunrises and sunsets, because you get a clear shot of both over the Straits,” Lewis said. “I see skates jumping out of the water. Dolphins come about the same time every day. They bring their babies, go one way and then come back.”
Lewis now has about eleven hundred followers on Facebook. Many boaters will find their craft and share it on their page or website. Lewis will occasionally post a public service announcement when he has a message to share.
“I had some kids, a few days ago, that were climbing up the draw and jumping off into the water,” he recently posted. “I hollered for them to get off…If I had to move the draw and didn’t know they were there, they could easily be crushed… it’s very dangerous.”
He has also observed some boating mishaps.
“A man in a speed boat came through too fast. I heard him hit the draw and saw the boat come out by itself!” Lewis was ready to go overboard to find him until he saw the boater swim to safety. “Another man who hit the pilings was carried to the hospital.”
Lewis is also documenting the very project that will put him out of a job: the construction of a high-rise bridge to Harkers Island, slated to be completed in 2025. He is taking the changes in stride.
"We really need the new bridge," he explained. "This old one is terrible – it’s a wonder it hasn’t fallen in.” He said the draw mechanism came from another bridge that was torn down 50 years ago. “These are old controls – stuff you don’t see anymore.”
Lewis said that his job can be tedious, especially when the old bridge mechanism malfunctions.
“Bridge tending can be a dangerous job. People will run the stoplight; you’ve got to make sure the cars stop. The bridge gets hot and expands. We’ve had the fire department come out to cool it down with their fire hoses. The bridge gets stuck open, gets stuck closed. Gears don’t always work, motors don’t always work - you've got to ease things together when you close it.”
Lewis, who retired from Cherry Point and has done his share of commercial fishing and net hanging, was born in his grandmother’s house on Harkers Island in 1950. He was delivered by his great grandmother Annie Rose who was an island midwife. “My mother wanted to have me at the hospital, but she got caught short,” he explained. “I was a ten-pounder, too!”
Lewis was one of the last babies born at home on Harkers Island, and will be among the last bridge tenders.
“I’m a lot of lasts!” he laughed. “Bridge tending is on the way out – they’re replacing draw bridges all over North Carolina.”
Lewis has observed lots of changes. “Harkers Island had a wooden bridge when I was a child, and very little traffic. There was a lot more woods, less people, and everyone knew everyone.”
What will be lost when the drawbridge goes away, besides the job of a bridge-tender?
“The bigger trawlers won’t be able to go through anymore,” Lewis said. “They’ll have to go around. This bridge will be lower than the new Morehead bridge – it’s 45 feet.”
Also lost will be a bridge tender who pays attention to traffic of all kinds, appreciates his surroundings, and cares enough to photograph and share what he sees in a typical day’s work.
“I’m 72, and I’m ready to retire again,” he reflected. “People say they’ll miss me and my pictures -- I love doing it but I’m kind of ready to go home.”
