Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1908-01-15
A TOWNS SIDEWALKS
Those of Wood Being Discarded
by Wide Awake Communities.
PERMANENT ONES WANTED.
Walks Of Concrete Can Now Be Found
Almost Everywhere, Says a Man Who
Has Travelled Widely-safer and
Much Cheaper In the End.


Almost Everywhere, Says Man WI
Has Travelled WideIy-safer an
Much Cheaper In the End.
''If this is not the cement age th
next age promises to be-" recently n
marked Nan who has Travelled wild,
ly through the interior sections of Sc,
eral states in the west and south.
am not abiding to the cement built
ings and bridges which we see spring
ing up In the big cities and on railwa,
lines-this stuff they call reinforce,
or armored concrete. 1t is the use o
concrete in the smaller cities an,
towns which calls forth my prophecy
Take California, for instance. o
course California Is exceptional, par
ticularly southern California, wher,
wood is very scarce and naturally ce
ment is largely used, not only In house
building, but In laying walks and ir
flooring and ceiling easements and
that sort of thing While In southern
California not long ago man who
had lived there for years made a bel
that couldn't find wooden sidewalk
in any of seven towns which he
named. had Informed him that in
tended to visit those seven towns.
"Well. thought was safe in taking
the bet. 1t looked like a cinch, for /
had lived, many years In a middle
western town and some time In a
New England town where wooden
sidewalks were the rule | made a
still hunt for wooden sidewalks In
each Of those seven towns. | think
must have walked at least a hundred
miles more than l otherwise would
have done. But | lost out. Not one
single stretch Of wooden sidewalk did
] find. Everything was concrete. l
paid up cheerfully. for 1 had learned
a valuable lesson. When / returned
home the first thing | did was to give
an order for the laying of a concrete
sidewalk in front of my house. and my
at each side took the hint
and continued it uniformly until now
the whole block is sidewalked with
cement The town has run cement
mad as to sidewalks.
"Since my California experience |
nave made 1t Il practice to observe and
inquire as to sidewalks in every town
visit. | find that the concrete side |
walk is here and here to stay. 1t |
makes a much better, pretter and |
iafer sidewalk than the old castoff /
lumber which most of us used to put
lown in front of our houses. You
now the sort. In the towns along the
lavigable river courses particularly
ONE of the wooden sidewalks were
rights to behold and still worse to
walk over. The lumber was full Of
hose round auger holes. which dis
losed the fact that II was the bind
lg' lumber used in building the great
ats of plank which were foated
own the streams. When the dealers
ouldn't find any other way of dlspOs-
lg of the bored planks they sold 'em
nominal sum for sidewalk mate
al. The planks quickly rotted around
lie anger holes. and here and there
ne soon broke, making a sag In the
ak and sometimes costing pedes-
ian the use Of limb or costing the
wn few thousand dollars in dam
res inter losing ont in a lawsuit. |
"Now thousands Of town property
yners are chopping up their ancient
dewalks for kindling wood and put
lg down cement. which stays put. {
this material Is laid by a man who {
lows his business 1t will outlast any T
her sidewalk. and 1t Is cheap enough
w to he available for almost any r
dy. In the long run II is by all odds r
e cheapest sidewalk material in the e
lrket. q
You will notice that practically all S
2 boomers Of real estate additions n
: concrete sidewalks In front Of the
$ and advertise the fact before Of o
ing the lots for sale. Plenty of peo-
will pay considerably higher for a h
curbed and sldewalked with con. p
tie than for one In the natural state. d
ey pay for the concrete, too, though r.
y may not know 1t. These real es- d'
e dealers know what's what. They &c
p up to date and they profit by It.
Just take a look around your own cl
IN and see how many citizens have II
down concrete walks not only T
ng the street. but In their yards, til
Mt and rear The old time gravel do
TX is disappearing. while the obso- nj
! plank walk Is so far behind the
es that nobody can claim to be up sh
b the procession unless he has elm nj
ted the perilous planks. say per. &c
is because sooner or later somebody n
sure to set lockjaw from stepping sh
a rusty nail sticking up from the ca
K or fall through the place where a W
Tx ought to be and peel his shlns or hi
sc. or
4 l were n moving character in INK
n improvement society ! think the 1t
thing | should do would be to sp
st upon cement sidewalks along all
cts. even If they were but two feet We
e. Nothing adds more to the at Eli
tiveness of town than concrete go
walks. A visitor takes note of ses
things and If he finds that the cal
ems have kept up to date along len
line he goes away with a favor his
impression Of your town. 4
dare say that many town has at the
ted Few citizens who. If they were tha
led down to IT, would have to ad- she
that IT was the decent sidewalks the
first gave them a favorable i'm. be;
sion. and they were Of cement. The
o far rs sidewalks are concerned. Grill
ny rate this Is the concrete age. ans
you may tS,ke this hint for what hin
worth" aw
life
NarH nirty MS