Chapter 56
A Wave from Mama
MAY 23, 1883—THE celebration the world waited more than a decade for—would take place the next day. The president, Chester A. Arthur, headlined the dignitaries along with the governor of New York, Grover Cleveland. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country arrived for the ceremonies and a fireworks display that promised to be the best ever. Ships jockeyed for prime positions in the harbor and both cities became a buzz of activity as the grand moment approached—the day the Brooklyn Bridge would open to the public.
Fourteen years of construction, twenty-seven deaths, and scores of illnesses, including a number from the mysterious caisson’s disease. Through it all, the work continued, and after Vent’s difficult three-day stint as a sandhog in the
