Historic bridge reopens to an elegant dining event in Oconee Hill Cemetery in Athens
As the sun settled on a recent evening in Athens where nary a leaf rustled in the trees, about 100 people gathered on a bridge in the middle of a cemetery.
Diners seated at white-linen covered tables feasted on salmon, tenderloin steak, an array of sides along with wine poured into crystal glasses.
Beneath them a river flowed silently.
Conversations ebbed and flowed among those having a meal under the soft glow of lightbulbs as darkness soon enveloped this inner-city forest where over the past 170 years many a body was laid to eternal rest.
The unmistakable Athenian Lee Epting, for whom parties are a seasoned skill, worked each table to ensure a night of ease for the guests.
This Thursday night event brought together people on the hallowed grounds of Oconee Hill Cemetery in Athens for a celebration called “Dinner on the Bridge.”
The dinner was a fundraiser to christen the reopening of the historic iron bridge that crosses the North Oconee River and provides access to both sides of the nearly 100-acre cemetery.
The bridge was originally built in 1899 to give passage to property that was purchased three years earlier to enlarge the ground space for burials. The truss bridge was closed to vehicular traffic in the spring of 2022 due to instabilities of the structure.
Don Smith, the engaging general manager of Oconee Hill, explained that the work to repair the bridge became more complicated than originally thought.
“It had an asphalt topping, which it should never have had. It had a steel plate underneath, and it was rusting," he said. "It turns out we had to add I-beams and things like that. It became outrageously expensive, but it’s in great shape now and will last a long time.”
All this effort culminated in the dinner that was hosted by the Friends of Oconee Hill Cemetery and the Trustees of Oconee Hill in a partnership with Epting Events.
The dinner, Smith said, is the first such event ever hosted in the cemetery and he expects something like it will never happen again.
The group sold sponsorships and individual tickets to raise money. Numerous local people in various professions with interests in history and the cemetery attended the dinner, including Charlotte Marshall of Athens, who has documented the history of the cemetery in a book.
The entrance to the cemetery is located across the street from the University of Georgia’s Sanford Stadium making it a well-known cemetery for thousands of people throughout Georgia.
Two of UGA’s most famous football coaches, Vince Dooley and Wally Butts, have joined the hundreds of people laid to rest behind the wrought iron gates.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Gala Night: A celebration of a century-old bridge in Athens cemetery
