Rensselaer/Washington Counties

Buskirk Covered Bridge -- NY 32-42-02/58-04 The Buskirk Covered Bridge is once again standing tall and proud thanks to the combined efforts of Willie Grimmke, Superintendent of Public Works of Washington County and the Alpine Construction Company from Stillwater, NY and countless other individuals involved in the rehabilitation of this bridge. Congratulations and a big thank you goes out to each of you for saving yet another one of our covered bridges. The Buskirk covered bridge opened to traffic once again on April 1, 2005.

During a recent trip to Vermont we stopped by to see the bridge and were very impressed! As you can see by the photos, this bridge looks magnificent now and even more important, it is safe for traffic. There is a weight restriction on the bridge that we certainly hope will be adhered to. The day we visited you could tell the bridge had just recently been painted, except for the white trim. Congratulations to Willie Grimmke and the Alpine Construction Company for their excellent work on this bridge.

Buskirk Bridge 32-42-02/58-04 Photo by Bob & Trish Kane, May 14, 2005	Buskirk Bridge 32-42-02/58-04 Photo by Bob & Trish Kane, May 14, 2005

Beyond New York

Other news
Alabama -- It isn't often I can report news on our covered bridges in the south, and now that I can, it is only to report the loss of one. The Salem-Shotwell Covered Bridge (AL 01-41- 04) in east Lee County, Alabama collapsed on Saturday June 4, 2005. A tree fell on a portion of the bridge Friday evening and then around 1:00 pm Saturday, the entire bridge fell into Wacoochee creek leaving the bridge in total ruins.

Canada -- A new book! Les ponts couverts au Quebec. The first complete book about wooden covered bridges in Quebec. This book is a Quebec's Department of Transportation project however, most of the book was written by Gerald Arbour, former President of Quebec's Covered Bridge Society. You can order by calling this toll free number 1-888-746-2283, ext. 227. Please use this ISBN number when ordering: 2-551-19636-1. Congratulations, Gerald!

Indiana -- By now you have all heard of the terrible loss of the Bridgeton Covered Bridge in Parke County Indiana on April 28, 2005 due to arson. What a terrible shame . Jesse Payne was formally charged in Parke County Circuit Court of two charges of arson. Charge #1: Arson Class B Felony of the Bridgeton Bridge. Charge #2: Attempted Arson Class B Felony of the Mansfield Bridges. His sentence could be 6-20 years for each count with a $10,000 bond. If you would like to follow what is happening in this case, as well as the rebuilding of the Bridgeton Covered bridge, visit this web site often: http://www.coveredbridges.com/home.htm

Pennsylvania -- We all know one of the best ways to preserve our covered bridges is to educate our children about their historical significance, and teacher Tom Rosencrans of the Priestley Elementary School in Northumberland, PA is doing just that. During a recent visit by his fifth-grade class to the Keefer Station Covered Bridge, Tom assured his students that there was plenty to study besides the messages scrawled by vandals on the historic structure. The field trip was intended to give students an up-close look at the architecture of the bridge as part of a unit on covered bridges developed by Tom through the Partners in History program. The Partners in History program is a professional development program for 15 teachers developed by the State Museum of Pennsylvania in partnership with the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit. Teachers complete an orientation day at the intermediate unit, a two-day symposium at the museum and a week's residence at the museum. The teachers then create curriculum activities using objects and documents from the museum's Pennsylvania history collection. For covered bridges, Tom used correspondence written by bridge designer Theodore Burr. Weeks before they traveled to see the covered bridge, the pupils began learning how they were built by building model bridges. Wouldn't it be super if we could get programs of this type in all our schools! Our children would certainly come away with a better understanding of just how important our covered bridges are and hopefully, have a greater appreciation for them. Thanks, Tom!

Virginia - Leola Pierce is at it again! This lady just doesn't quit when it comes to Virginia's Covered Bridges. Leola just finished her second book, Covered Bridges in Virginia -- Nine Old Ladies in the Slow Lane! You can order this book on line at: www.authorhouse.com. Please use this ISBN number when ordering: 1-4208-3998-5. Congratulations, Leola!

On May 7th, we had the honor of offering a presentation at the Vermont Covered Bridge Society's Annual Meeting in Lyndonville. The program began with a description the Covered Spans of Yesteryear project followed by pictures and stories of covered bridges lost in the 1927 flood.

       Since our last update, our knowledge of Oregon structures has been enhanced tremendously thanks to research provided by Bill Cockrell of the Covered Bridge Society of Oregon. The website now includes 638 covered bridges for that state. When you get a few moments, be sure to visit the website (www.lostbridges.org) and see our progress to date.

       If you live in Vermont or will be traveling in the area during late June, consider a stop at the Vermont History Expo in Tunbridge during the weekend of June 25 & 26. We will be sharing a booth with the Vermont Covered Bridge Society and showing pictures of long gone Vermont bridges. For more information about the expo, see their website - http://www.vermonthistory.org/expo/

WHEN Walter Carlson taught high school carpentry classes, he had his students build models of houses when they couldn't work outside in the winter. Little did he suspect that model building might one day help save his life.
       "Back in 1995 and '96, I had chemotherapy once a week for 14 months," he remembers. "It made me so sick, I didn't even know if I wanted to go on. The doctor said I needed to find something I loved to do and asked me, "Did you ever think about building models of covered bridges?"
       "It's funny, because I'd always built models of houses. And I had hundreds of pictures of covered bridges my wife and I had taken through the years. But I never thought about putting the two together."

What does it take to build a model of a covered bridge? A lot of patience and, of course, knowledge of the construction along with photographs of details helps.

I built this model (see photo below) out of what we call sugar pine (balsam fir). It is a soft wood and easy to work with. It bonds good with glue, which absorbs into the wood.

The scale which I used was 1/2 inch to the foot which makes it an easy scale to work with. The model is 22" x 8" at the floor line and 12" high over-all. The model represents a 44-foot span.

I chose multi-king post with a burr arch -- I've photographed many of them. It was one of my favorite constructions. The Zacke Cox Bridge, Parke Co. Indiana (14-61-11) is one of them. Each rafter and king post was put in a jig so they were exact size. The flooring is laid cross-wise of flooring joist.

The roof boards are splayed apart similarly to when they were used for wooden shingles. The boards run length-wise of the bridge.

What to use for shingles? I picked up a piece of Formica counter-topping: There was my answer. The Formica was dark brown on the underside which makes the shingle look natural.

Each shingle was cut 3/4" long and 3/8" wide. The Formica was 1/16" thick. With the help of Elmer's Glue, I glued all 1480 shingle (count them if you can!) on the roof board. I used a headline to keep the rows straight. At first, I laid the shingle even at the bottom edge. It didn't look right so I staggered every-other shingle 1/32" of an inch. They look more natural.

For wooden (tree-nails) I used round tooth picks, bored a hole the size of the tooth picks, glued the tooth picks and inserted in the hole. With the aid of a side shaper, I cut each end off almost flush then sanded off rough edges to give a natural look.

If I were to build a real covered bridge where would I build it? What would I name it? The answer -- two miles east of Tyner, Indiana in Polk Township, Marshall Co. The comer of my father's farm was four comers. 100-feet north ofthe comer was a type of steel bridge, another bridge was 200' east, and two more were 1/8 mile and another 1/4 mile south. All 4 bridges were painted black. Thus the community became known as "black bridge comers." Thus the name of the model. The bridges span Pine creek.

The first bridge was at the comer of my father's farm. As a lad, I use to play around these bridges. The steel bridges are long gone. Replaced by concrete bridges today.

If I were to build a real bridge, I'd build it at the four comers, thus the name "black bridge comers."

I started this model in 1972. I tell people I have $5 worth of material and 500 hours "labor of love."

I never got around to putting siding on the model. I kind of like looking at the side view construction. Now at age 93-years-old, my eyes are getting dim with age so it will be my unfinished work.

So..I say to the covered bridge Society, see you down the road at the next bridge! Photo by Duane Locke.

Both are now available on computer diskette in either Mac or PC format. Please specify your choice. It is in a compressed format to fit on a PC computer disc. You must have Zip Software to decompress it. If you do not have the Zip software, Joe will send you a copy. The TOPICS index includes: Table of Contents for each issue, an index to subjects and authors, as well as more. The World Guide is kept up-to-date and in the regular format. Order your choice at $5.00 each from Joseph Cohen, 130 Westfield Drive, Holliston, MA 01746 from mid-April until mid-September. The rest of the year he can be reached at 210 Wellington F, West Palm Beach, FL 33417.

File Cleaning

The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 6, 2005, Two Men Get Prison for Bridge Blaze. Two young men must each pay $35,000 each, serve several months in prison, and perform community service for burning a hole in the Knecht's Covered Bridge in Springfield Township on August 31, 2004.

The Eagle, March 31, 2005, The Historic Buskirk Bridge will Open for Traffic. Following an inspection of the bridge, the Superintendent of Public Works for Washington County announced that the reconstructed Buskirk Bridge was scheduled to re-open to traffic on Friday, April 1.

Opelika-Auburn News, June 5, 2005, Salem-Shotwell Covered Bridge Collapses. The 75-foot bridge which crossed the Wacoochee Creek collapsed and completely fell into the creek after a tree had fallen on it.

Winteset Madisonian, Iowa, March 30, 2005, Forest Service Grant to Monitor Covered Bridge. Fiber optic lines, infrared and ultraviolet camera systems and a flame detector are being considered to be installed in hidden recesses of the Cedar Bridge. This high- tech remote security monitoring system is designed to notify officials in case of a problem.

The Hartford Courant, June 3, 2005, State Promises Speedy Bridge Repairs. The Comstock Covered Bridge, built in 1791, is scheduled to be repaired and re-opened to visitors by July 4th. The bridge which spans the Salmon River, has been closed to pedestrians since March 16 after structural problems were found.

Tribune-Star,Indiana, May 13, 2005, Suspect Charged in Arson of Bridge. Jesse L. Payne is accused of setting fire to the historic Bridgeton Covered Bridge, built in 1868, during the early morning hours of April 28. He is also accused of attempting to bum the Mansfield Covered Bridge the same day.

CONTRIBUTORS: George Eysenbach, Dick Wilson, Bill Caswell, James Crouse, Andy Howard.

For a white Polo Shirt with a blue NSPCB logo, send $15.00 plus $3.95 for shipping and handling to June Roy, 73 Ash Street, Manchester NH 03104-4906. Specify, Medium or Extra Large. This is a fund raiser for the preservation fund. Buy several as gifts for your family and friends. Shirts are 100% pre-shrunk cotton.

A television documentary on covered bridge culture, issues and restoration is currently being made available to members at a cost of $24.00 including postage and handling. The Treasurer has reviewed the DVD and assures you that it is of excellent quality and interest. This DVD prominently features the society's president, David W. Wright.

Please send your check payable to NSPCB to: David A. Topham, NSPCB Treasurer, 45 Village Way #50, Rockport, ME 04856