Goodnight, Dolly ...

 Goodnight and Godspeed, Dolly.

 We will always love you.

 

The Northampton Street Bridge – commonly called The Free Bridge – that spans the Delaware River linking Phillipsburg, New Jersey and Easton, Pennsylvania is illuminated in pink lights August 29 to honor the life and legacy of Dolly Parton. The beloved Queen of Country Music and philanthropist passed August 25, 2026 at age 80 after a brief battle with cancer.

I shot this from my vantage point by the banks of the Delaware in Phillipsburg, as sparkles of pink and gold reflect in the river at dusk.

“I Will Always Love You” is a song written and originally recorded by singer-songwriter Parton in 1973, and released in 1974. It was one of the many hits by the Grammy winner, a woman of strong Christian faith who also founded Imagination Library, a book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth until they begin school in participating areas.

Programmable LED lights illuminate the iconic bridge. The lights were installed as part of a bridge rehabilitation/improvement project that spanned from late 2021 until spring 2023. The bridge is colloquially referred as the “Free Bridge” to distinguish it from the Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge (previously the Bushkill Street Bridge), a short distance upstream.

Eligible civic, cultural, and community organizations may apply to the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission to request temporary color schemes https://www.drjtbc.org/bridge-info/northampton-street-bridge-lighting.

The bridge that spans the two states was completed in 1896 and survived massive flooding from Hurricane Diane in 1955. It underwent a thorough restoration in 1990 and is one of my very favorite places to photograph.

 

Historic Phillipsburg was established March 8, 1861 and named for William Phillips, an early settler of the area. The historic town of Easton was founded in 1752 and is located at the confluence of the Delaware River and Lehigh River, known as the Forks-Of-The-Delaware. Both are Delaware River Towns.

The Free Bridge can also be seen from across the Delaware River at Delaware Canal State Park, Easton, near the Forks of the Delaware Trailhead of the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail).

Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.

Seating By Magnolia ...

“Gentle as the sweet magnolia, strong as steel, her faith and pride …”

  ~ “Eagle When She Flies”

   ~ 1991

~ Grammy award-winner for best country song by Dolly Parton, one of the stars of the 1989 film “Steel Magnolias”

 ~ “Steel Magnolias” is the film adaption of Robert Harling’s 1987 play of the same name. The play and film are about the bond a group of women share in a small-town Southern community, and how they cope with the death of one of their own.

The story is based on Harling’s real life experience of the death of his sister, Susan Harling Robinson, in 1985 due to complications from Type 1 diabetes. He changed his sister’s name in the story from Susan to Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie, portrayed by Julia Roberts in the film.

The title suggests the main female characters can be both as delicate as the magnolia flower, and tough as steel.

A sweet and beautiful pink magnolia tree beckons you to come sit a spell on a gorgeous early May afternoon at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.