LEELANAU COUNTY — For 30 years, an entire community has been coming together to participate in this bridge walk, but can you believe that this bridge walk all started because of a bet?
Bill Thompson, who started the Glen Lake Bridge Walk tells us “But I said, I’m going to do a bridge walk next year. I’m going to have a bridge walk. And this guy Rusty, who is sitting there, he says, I tell you what, you do the you get the, brochures or the, the things made up. And I put them out and I did so then that I was sitting there and there and I remembered Labor Day. I said, oh God, I forgot So I went, I ran up the hill and there’s people. I thought, oh my God, this is ridiculous. So and that was the beginning of the bridge walk. ”
Since 1996, Glen Arbor and Empire have been part of the Annual Glen Lake Labor Day Bridge Walk.
Every year at noon, community members gather for a .3 mile walk across the Carl Olson Bridge.
While Bill Thompson started the bridge walk three decades ago, he passed the torch six years ago to the Empire Area Community Center.
Jo Anne ‘Yogi’ Bear, who is with ethe center, tells us Bill approached them first, saying “they’d like it to continue and everybody is getting older and I am also, the people in our group wanted to take it over because the community center helps people in need. ”
The community also has an after party following the 6 minute bridge walk.
This year they had popsicles and ice cream at The Manor.
Like every small town event, the community makes it all worthwhile.
Bill tells us that one year he had asked a local bar to play something for those walking.
“So as soon as he saw, because again, you can’t see the people coming over the bridge until they get on the bridge, you know. So as soon as he saw the people on the bridge, he was blasting the theme from Rocky. It was hysterical. ” Bill says.
Many other bridge walks also took place on Labor day, like the Mackinac Bridge Walk, the Elk Rapids 4th annual Labor Day Bridge walk, the 37th Annual Little But Mighty Bridge Walk in Charlevoix, and The Horton Bay Candlelight Bridge Walk.
Labor Day itself is always celebrated on the first Monday of September, and is meant to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements in the United States.