Didn't see this one coming, did you? But in her day Kate was Iowa's Sweetheart. If you don't know her story, here it is in brief. It was 1861 and a terrible storm raged. Fifteen-year-old Kate Shelley lived close enough to Honey Creek that she heard a train crash into the water. She ran to the bridge, saw 2 men trapped. Not only did she need to get help for them, but she knew a passenger train was scheduled to come over that broken bridge in a matter of minutes. In the filthy weather, her lamp long blown out, Kate Shelley crawled across the broken bridge, over slippery railroad ties - the kind with the gap between them and a looong fall down - full knowing she could be hit by the ongoing train! Where is this girl's action movie! Kate made it to the station on time, the passenger train was saved and two of the men who went into Honey Creek survived. She died in 1912 and the Kate Shelley High Bridge near Boone is named in her honor. Heck, I don't even want to go from the house to the car in a nasty storm. Kate Shelley was one amazing Iowan.Kate Shelley : bound for legend
Kate Shelley and the midnight express
Additional Information: Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
