For Sparky and myself, curiosity drives passion which in turn fuels our life's engine. Our passion was capturing the story of both unbuilding the Grace (1929 - 2007) and Pearman (1966 - 2007) Bridges and discovering the unbuilders. It takes a lot of passion to track a project from July 2005 until April 2007 - rain, shine, hurricanes or moving to Singapore. We discovered the joy of discovery learning. Ken Canty opened the front door for us - then Steve Testa, Ponch Billingsley and Mickey Rogers opened many side doors. Below are the highlights of what we discovered, who we met and what we learned.
And a reminder from T.S. Eliot (East Coker from the Four Quartets)
Home is where one starts from. As we grow older The world becomes stranger, the pattern more complicated Of dead and living. Not the intense moment Isolated, with no before and after, But a lifetime burning in every moment And not the lifetime of one man only But of old stones that cannot be deciphered.
August 17, 2005 17:36
Jack Foley: Reflective sun glasses make a difference
September 06, 2005 7:50
Sparky Witte - as addicted as I am to capturing the unbuilding process
September 12, 2005 0:00
Ryan Billingsley (Birthday boy)
September 12, 2005 15:33
Michael Hebb (Anniversary boy)
September 14, 2005 0:00
Lee Graves' father and the Grace Bridge
September 17, 2005 13:41
Construction from a different era
The Berlin Wall
September 21, 2005 10:20
Pio Monsini
September 29, 2005 8:52
Sharon Stallings - Boat driver
October 01, 2005 9:13
Meet some of the Billingsley clan
October 03, 2005 14:08
More unsung heros: behind the scenes at the Navy Yard
January 22, 2006 11:45
Mickey Rogers and his ABS team
January 23, 2006 18:50
Bob McCabe - never standing still
January 23, 2006 19:23
The all purpose Richie
January 24, 2006 5:40
Neil Myers - the night owl
February 13, 2006 17:30
Leon: Corey's dad and Pete's grandpa
February 17, 2006 10:12
Jim Grier and his A team fells the last Grace segment on Drum Island
February 22, 2006 6:45
History today - Successful lowering of the Pearman main span over the Cooper RIver
March 01, 2006 6:45
The Ironworkers proclaim that the Cooper River is Graceless
March 18, 2006 10:45
Charlie Brown and Tenacity of purpose
March 25, 2006 6:30
From Newark to Singapore in 18 hour 15 min
March 31, 2006 11:17
Sparky and Sparky 2 and a trip around the worksites
April 01, 2006 8:00
Sparky's Family, Pio, Richie and Chucky (and a small sideline - the Cooper River Bridge Run)
April 23, 2006 6:54
The Starmer family has not forgotten how to build
May 19, 2006 11:10
Home for a little work, family and a bridge fix
May 26, 2006 9:30
The guys that make our web site happen
June 26, 2006 15:10
Our backup video team and the Navy Yard
July 22, 2006 10:30
Meet Billy Ward and the 995 in action
July 26, 2006 7:26
ABS University, Prof. Rogers and the CHS Bomb Squad
July 27, 2006 1:30
My dad passed to us many gifts and now he has passed
August 01, 2006 7:04
Jackie, Richie, Michael, Jim and Bob. Unbuilding in Singapore
August 06, 2006 8:12
Unbuilding an HDB block in Singapore
August 09, 2006 8:04
Hammers sleep on National Day in Singapore
August 11, 2006 8:07
Continued unbuilding of the HDB structure in Singapore
August 14, 2006 7:50
Unbuilding the HDB block almost complete in Singapore
August 16, 2006 7:08
Waking up across the street: Michael in the thinking position
August 17, 2006 7:04
From morning to evening: Unbuilding an HDB block
August 19, 2006 7:48
Unbuilding the foundation at the HDB block in Singapore
August 22, 2006 18:10
Finishing the nearer building, wrapping the next building
August 24, 2006 7:03
Wrapping the next HDB block for unbuilding
September 01, 2006 17:00
Igniting the Pioneer Spirit in Singapore
September 08, 2006 18:20
Around the world in 36 hours with Singapore Airlines
September 21, 2006 16:40
A bridge in Bali
October 05, 2006 8:15
From home to work in Singapore
October 10, 2006 9:00
Brian Dadin joins our team and Grace has a mid-span support
October 20, 2006 18:17
Evening street scenes in Singapore's Chinatown
October 26, 2006 12:00
Oriental Culture 101: Culinary Therapy
November 07, 2006 14:01
Monsoons in Singapore, Gloom in Charleston but surfers everywhere
November 09, 2006 16:35
Deep reach fishing with Michael and his 1250
November 25, 2006 7:00
Frank and Ellen visit Liaocheng China
November 29, 2006 0:00
Sparky and his team rebuilding what Katrina unbuilt
December 03, 2006 11:23
Wildlife in Singapore: Macritchie Reservoir
December 09, 2006 10:23
Ants in action at Macritchie Reservior, Singapore
December 12, 2006 17:23
Watch God build a rainbow
December 22, 2006 16:28
SCDOT's aerial survey
December 23, 2006 9:40
Unbuilding on Pulau Ubin, off the east coast of Singapore
December 27, 2006 9:10
The TreeTops suspension bridge in Singapore
December 29, 2006 11:03
More practice photographing insects and some building in Singapore
January 01, 2007 9:43
New Year's colorful nature in Singapore
January 02, 2007 11:23
Happy New Year from Singapore
January 05, 2007 16:14
Neither rain, snow, or ice can keep Jimmy Grier from an oyster roast
January 13, 2007 0:45
While Mickey is unbuilding big stuff - I'm trying to photograph small stuff
January 31, 2007 0:00
Night views of the Cooper River
February 20, 2007 13:45
A weekend at Lincoln's Kelong - near Batam Indonesia
February 23, 2007 18:25
Sunset over Charleston
March 04, 2007 14:00
Launching the Spirit of South Carolina
March 10, 2007 19:10
A view of the Ravenel in the early evening
March 11, 2007 7:50
A visit to Basel: Friends and Computational Biology
March 12, 2007 6:25
The moon sets over Basel - and a walk along the Rhine
March 13, 2007 14:25
Manny demonstrates the Manny push strategy.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
C. Frank Starmer