Here’s one way to celebrate a water tower anniversary
“We were talking at the department head meeting about the 100th anniversary and I said ‘I want to climb it,’ and Gary (Pendzick) said ‘Go ahead,'” Mr. Walter said. “Then Michael said ‘I want to climb it too.'”
Mr. Pendzick said they’ve been talking about climbing the tower since the first of the year. Mr. Eschete “gave us a little training lesson” and up they went, the supervisor said.
Mr. Reichel is an experienced climber who recently climbed the Sydney Bridge in Australia.
When asked about his climbing experience, Mr. Walter said it was limited to 24-foot extension ladders. “I was on one the other day washing my house,” he said. So that’s a no.
“This is the tallest thing I’ve ever climbed besides a lighthouse,” Mr. Walter said.
Mr. Pendzick said back in the 1970s and 80s, Riverhead High School kids used to frequently, and illegally, climb the water tower. That was before the water district installed fencing and other security devices to prevent them from climbing the tower.
Amazingly, no students were ever hurt doing so, he said.
Mr. Walter said he wasn’t scared going up or down the tower, but he did get a little nervous when he got to the catwalk at the very top and the wind picked up.
