Built for the enjoyment of the Greenwood Community
Cuthbert Bridge Dedication
The Cuthbert Bridge was dedicated to the community of Greenwood, Arkansas on June 10, 2023. The ceremony included many community members, the mayor of Greenwood, City Council members, Parks Commission members and the Cuthbert and Strang families.
For 30 years, Dr. Thomas R. Cuthbert Jr. and Ernestine Strang Cuthbert lived in Greenwood and served in this wonderful city. Their home overlooked Greenwood Lake and provided a beautiful view of the sunset over the hills of Arkansas.
Dr. Cuthbert (Tom) served on the water commission and assisted the city council with numerous projects related to the lake and long-term water resources. As a PhD and Electrical Engineer, his background served the city in a number of projects. He loved taking his grandkids fishing on Greenwood Lake!
Ernestine (Ernie) was active in the Garden Club and Greenwood Methodist Church. They loved the city, and their kids and grandkids grew up fishing and loving the lake and the community. Ernie grew up in Lavaca and has a lot of family still in the area. When they weren’t in town, they would travel on “Ernie’s Airline”, a Cessna 310 Dr. Cuthbert flew with her all around the country. Their favorite spot was Key West.
History of the Cuthbert Bridge
This bridge, built in 1931 by Virginia Bridge and Iron Co. in Roanoke, VA served as a highway bridge in Hempstead County, crossing Terre Rogue Creek Northeast of Hope, Arkansas. The bridge was decommissioned and donated by the Arkansas Department of Transportation to the City of Greenwood in March of 2009. It was kept in storage awaiting a worthy cause and funding until 2022. City Councilman and family friend Daniel McDaniel designed and oversaw the project along with the help of Mayor Doug Kinslow and many others listed below.
Sunset from the Cuthbert Bridge
A special thank you to all who donated
their time, talent and financial resources
to make this project possible.
Mayor: Doug Kinslow
City Councilmen: AC Brown, Rod Powell, Ralph Meeker, Daniel McDaniel,
Roger Rainwater, Tim Terry
Parks Commissioners: Joel Goldstein, Cinda Bell, Susan Fox,
Kay Headley, Otis Edwards, Brandon Tate
Parks Director: Casey Craig
Randy Coleman & Mickle, Wagner, Coleman Engineering
Larry Schmalz, Schmalz Engineering
Kolby Holmes, Holmes Erection
Josh Belk, Josh Belk, Inc.
Jacob Burton, MJE Construction
Arkansas Department of Transportation
Arkansas Community Foundation
The Cuthbert Family
It is with great honor that the Cuthbert and Strang families dedicate this bridge to the city of Greenwood, its residents and visitors from all over. We hope you enjoy the sunsets, walking the trails, and fishing on this beautiful and serene lake.
An old man going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening cold and gray,
To a chasm vast and deep and wide.
Through which was flowing a sullen tide
The old man crossed in the twilight dim,
The sullen stream had no fear for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.
“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,
“You are wasting your strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day,
You never again will pass this way;
You’ve crossed the chasm, deep and wide,
Why build this bridge at evening tide?”
The builder lifted his old gray head;
“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,
“There followed after me to-day
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been as naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be;
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him!””
— BY WILL ALLEN DROMGOOLE