The real-life Bridge War of 1836, in which West Side residents cried “Two Bridges or None!,” led to mob violence. Clark has offered to bankroll the construction, but the site chosen suits his and Cleveland’s interests, bypassing Ohio City and its businesses. He has no job, no money, no home.Ĭleveland and Ohio City are embroiled in conflict about bridging the river. But Big’s feats get him no closer to his intention: to wed the majestic Cloe Inches, who will not have him. The story begins when Big rescues a widow and her baby from their burning cabin, followed by calming a storm over Lake Erie. The story is told by Medium “Meed” Son, who is medium only in comparison to his brother, Big Son, whose “ivory teeth seemed to have muscles.” Big is Ohio City’s Paul Bunyan, who “rastled rivers and lakes and rescued women in woe,” who “dug a well into dry rock.” In the 1830s, Cleveland and Ohio City are rivals across the banks, reachable only by ferry. That divide is even greater in “Cuyahoga,” the debut novel by Middleburg Heights native Pete Beatty. A wedding or a major sporting event will justify the trip, but the divide is great. Clevelanders, the saying goes, go to great lengths to avoid crossing the Cuyahoga River.
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