These hot, hot days launch all kids of LBL memories. These memories include the glorious days of jumping and sometimes even diving off the Lick Creek Bridge. The bridge is still there on State Highway 49 in Dover, Tennessee. Dover is the southern gateway to the federal government’s Land Between the Lakes. About one third of LBL is in Stewart County, Tennessee and the other two thirds are in Kentucky.
The hot days remind me of when literally dozens and dozens of teens and young adults would be climbing and walking all over highway 49 at the Lick Creek Bridge.
Dozens of kids at the Lick Creek Bridge
Kids would be daring each other to jump off the bridge and it did take a bit of courage to muster enough strength or stupidity to launch yourself off of the bridge. My father often warned me against the Lick Creek Bridge jumping. He’d say, “The old Lick Creek bridge is still there in jagged pieces and you don’t want that rammed into your head or somewhere else.” That really didn’t stop me. However, I only remember actually jumping off of the bridge a few times and perhaps no more than twice. I do recall lots of other guys jumping numerous times off of the bridge.
I also watched a few daring souls actually dive off of the bridge. That was a sight to behold when someone would actually take the dive from the bridge into the murky, dark waters of Lick Creek. Lick Creek is a tributary of Barkley Lake on the Cumberland River at Dover. The area where the Lick Creek Bridge is located is in the Lick Creek impoundment that was created when the Cumberland was dammed up and Barkley Lake was created.
Dangerous Jumping, Diving conditions
The water is pretty deep where the bridge is, so there probably was not that much of a chance of sticking some metal from the old bridge in your ear or rear. However, it a submerged log or semi-floating object was under the surface, that would have been a problem.
Again, in the hot days for several summers while I was a teen, if you drive by the Lick Creek Bridge sometimes there would be twenty or more teens gathered in on and around the bridge, jumping, diving, swimming. There would be some fishing also.
Too tired to swim
Once I can remember swimming from the bridge to the opposite bank. I actually got very tired on that swim and had to calm myself down and float on my back some. I think I may have been as close to being too tired to swim as I ever have been. Once I did reach the opposite shore, I refused to swim back. I had to get one of my friends, who did swim both ways, to go get his motorcycle and come get me and take me back across to the bridge where I had parked my motorcyle.
Sometimes the boys would be joined by daring girls. It was always a thrill when one or more of the local girls decided to join us at the bridge for jumping, diving and swimming. There would be a dozen or so boys for every girl who was there at the Lick Creek bridge. But, on occasions, there would be a girl or two in the mix.
Bridge Jumping Days long gone
These were fun days and great times. Now we look at the youngsters and wonder what they are doing with whatever they do these days. I’m sure our parents thought the same about us. My dad would have worn me out, no matter my age, if he had ever caught me jumping off of the Lick Creek Bridge.
Often I have wanted to revisit the old Lick Creek Bridge and yesterday I did. I paddled my canoe from the Dover City Park boat ramp at Lick Creek up to the Lick Creek bridge and even on up into where Lick Creek is an actual cold creek on these hot days. However, I did not with to jump from the bridge again. And I did not want to swim from the bridge to the other shore. Those days are only in my LBL memories.
Story and Photos by David R. Ross — LBLUS.com
https://www.anyplaceamerica.com/directory/tn/stewart-county-47161/streams/lick-creek-1291209/
