If you drive across the Mathews Bridge, you are driving across
nearly 60 years of history. The bridge was originally built in
April of 1953. Saturday people from across the area came to
celebrate, even people who were there when the bridge first
opened.  The ribbon snapped Saturday, celebrating the 60th
anniversary of Mathews Bridge, looked much like the one
celebrating it's grand opening.  In April 1953 Jacksonville
celebrated the brand new bridge with a parade. And they did the
same this time, with the same queen who led the parade 60 years
ago.  "We rode over the bridge you know and we thought we were
big somebody's you know," says Frances Padgett. "But it was fun
it was fun and we did the same thing while ago and it was so
much fun!"  Padgett is 92 years old, but still has fond memories
of what life was like before the bridge was built.  "We used to
have to go down Atlantic Boulevard for me to go to Western
Electric, which I worked for 22 years," Padgett recalls. "And
everybody that moved to Arlington rod