Valley Girl Views: The Road The State Built - By Lucille Brown-Fillinger, 1926

THE ROAD THE STATE BUILT

Trout Run to Canton

This is the road that the State built,

And these are the stones,

That lay in the road the State built.

And these are the ruts, both long and deep,

Through which the cars must crawl and creep,

Where the men will curse, and the women will weep. At the sight of the road the State built.

And this is the dust that thickly flies,

That gets in your mouth, your nose, and eyes,

That rises in clouds both day and night,

That blurs the vision, and dims the sight,

When you drive on the road the State built.

And this is the mud, both slimy and mean,

That splashes the cars, all new and clean,

That makes them look like a gravel truck,

When covered with mire, and mud, and muck,

That makes them skid, and slip, and slide,

And takes all the pleasure out of a ride.

When you travel the road the State built.

And these are the poles that you will clear,

If you drive real slowly, and- carefully steer,

As there's not much margin on which to play,

For the telephone poles have the right of way,

On this piece of road the State built.

And these are the signs that you'll observe.

"One way bridge" and "Dangerous curve."

"Railway crossing" just ahead,

"Stop, look, and listen" or you'll be dead

Killed on the road the State built.

And these are the bridges that you will find.

Long ones, short ones, every kind.

Iron ones, wooden ones, nearly new,

Built in the summer of sixty-two.

Abutments shaky, with girders sagging,

Floor plank loose, and guard rails lagging.

Bridges that rumble, and roar, and rattle

With a deafening sound, like an army battle,

Along the road the State built.

And these are the ghosts, all robed in white,

That haunt the road on a starless night,

Wraiths of the people whose lives were lost.

That the State might save the paltry cost

Of building a road, where men could drive,

And reach their home and friends, alive,

When they journey the road the State built.

And these are the cars all shot to,-- well.

You know the word, I need not tell.

Packard eight, and Ford Coupe,

Willys-Knight, and Chevrolet,

Overland-Whippet, and Cadillac,

Studebaker, and Pontiac,

Chrysler "50". and Nash four-door,

Classy Marmon, and many more.

Dozens of other styles and makes,

With balloon tires, and four-wheel brakes.

Look them over while standing there.

You'll see the damage, the wear and tear.

The tires punctured, the fenders battered,

The axles bent, and the wind-shield shattered,

All caused by the road the State built.

There's a lot more things I'd like to say,

But language is powerless to portray.

We boast of the freedom of our press,

But no paper would print this tale, I guess,

If I should write what I really think

Of the Trout Run - Canton missing link.

The road that has four times been surveyed,

But the stakes get lost, and the maps mislaid;

So whenever some work they start to do,

They have to summon the survey crew.

Each year we're handed a line of bluff,

While still we travel a road that's rough.

A road that's narrow, that twists, and swerves,

Cross railroad tracks, and round sharp curves.

Where cars are wrecked, and lives are lost.

And accidents total a frightful cost,

On the dangerous road the State built.

Now I'm no artist, sad to state,

So I'm asking my readers to illustrate.

You'll notice I'm leaving a vacant space,

So draw the pictures, and set in place.

Lucille Brown-Fillinger, Ralston, on the Lycoming.

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Lucille Brown-Fillinger wrote a number of poems, many published in local papers. Her husband owned the general store in Ralston, and Lucille was postmaster for at least one term. Born in 1870, she was widowed in 1916, and her only son died just one year after his marriage, in the early 1930s. Lucille lived to be 89, and is buried in the Montoursville Cemetery.

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More Poems by Lucille Brown-Fillinger

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The Hermit Of Hound Run

Will Rogers

I knew Will Rogers came to Beaver Springs [unexpectedly] - he wrote about it for the Saturday Evening Post. But I was not aware of him visiting Ralston.. I'll have to research that more later

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2019/10/when-will-rodgers-came-to-beaver-springs.html