Covered bridges can talk

Citation preview

LEWIS iH

•

"I'D

A.

HAR LOW

M

LIKE

64 PICTURES

^

,

1

1

hmI

TO MOVE OUT TO SOME SUBURB."

with

COMMENTS

by the BRIDGES

Covered Bridges rSi

Can Talk LEWIS In

HARLOW

A.

January 1963,

YANKEE

published a

Lewis Harlow's photographs of covered bridges, with captions which he

clutch of

said the subjects provided in

moments of

confidence while "posing". Readers of the magazine all over the country responded with gleeful chuckles and guffaws. They

demanded more. Harlow, and Wake-Brook House, have obliged with COVERED BRIDGES CAN TALK. It contains 64 of his excellent pictures of

covered bridges

to a page,

the bit in

in large size,

and Harlow has let its teeth and gallop

one

his wit take

pur-

in his

and relaxed bridges. It is a very funny book. Anyone who has met a covered bridge, by accident or design, must have COVERED BRIDGES CAN TALK. If you like covered bridges, you will enjoy the pithy ported

conversations with talkative

comments of the bridges on

politics, the

winter in covered bridge territory, human eccentricities, and a dozen other matters of mutual

interest.

If,

on the other hand,

you cannot abide covered bridges, you'll still find yourself laughing at each page you turn Whether you laugh in sympathy .

or

exasperation, makes no difference

The bridges could not care less. But you will have a lot of fun with

COVERED

BRIDGES

CAN

TALK.

cP

o'-s'i-

STATE OF VERMONT DEPARTfwSENT OF LIBK.'^IES fiSGiONAL LiERAi^' RO 2 BOX 2^ ST.

J0HNS8UP4-tr 03813

Digitized by the Internet Archive in

2016 with funding from

Kahle/Austin Foundation

https://archive.org/details/lccn_63019907_0

if

V

1 ••

IV.

if*

S.

i

)

V

COVERED BRIDGES CAN TALK

"Quiet, please! There's

a

poet

Inside.

II

(g®

LEWI

S

A.

HAR

LOW

WAKE-BROOK HOUSE

COVERED BRIDGES CAN TALK by LEWIS A.

HARLOW

© COPYRIGHT

WAKE-BROOK HOUSE

1963 by

No

book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the All

rights reserved.

part of this

case of brief excerpts included in critical re-

views. For information write Wake-Brook House, Coral Gables 34,

LIBRARY

Florida.

OF CONGRESS

All of the pictures

Catalog Card Number 63-19907

and captions

new and published here

book are time, ex-

in this

for the first

cepting those on pages 4, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 30, 36, 58, 59, 61,70 and 73, which were published in YANKEE magazine for

January 1963. Printed in the United States of

First

Edition

Designed by This

America

is

Helene Geauque

a Handmade Book

Wake-Brook House,

Publisher: Coral

Gables 34, Florida

Covered Mridges Can

^

Zalk

occasion when you find your first covered bridge by accident or diligent search you are likely

n the

O—

—

compulsion to do something more than just look at it. You cannot take it home with you, and your next opportunity to visit it may be a year in the future. So you photograph it or sketch it. This happens to feel

a strong

again with the second

and

so a

hobby

is

covered

bridge and the third

—

born.

Other people look on

us

covered bridge hobbyists with

may even include tsk-tsking and head-shaking. Perhaps we have managed to communicate to them a good measure of what we have seen, but a degree of indulgence that

this

is

only a small part of The Environment. There are

the sounds and the silences

with-the-world

kind of

— and

to the

lift

the all's-pretty-good

morale

that you

get

—

and

the happy reminders of youth spent or misspent. There

may

from

associating with old people and old things

have been no covered bridge

7

in

your

own childhood,

but

you can at least dream wistfully about the kind of childhood in which there could have been one.

America's wooden

bridges were

covered in the time of the earlier Adams and Jefferson. They were wooden because wood was the cheap and available building material in a rapidly expanding and not too prosperous country. They were provided with roofs for the same reasons you find roofs on

first

wooden houses.

New

covered bridges have continued to be built well into the present century, though competition from mild steel appeared in 1880, and for city bridges, this material soon proved cheaper. The WPA built the last sizable group in California, though of covered bridges in the 1930's even today an occasional aroused populace will throw its civic weight around and succeed in the replacement of an old covered bridge with a new one. In this year of 1963, just such an event is taking place in Pepperell, Massachusetts at great expense and with equally great

—

—

satisfaction

Covered bridges rarely wear out. Worn parts can be replaced and are. Floods floated away many of the earlier bridges, and these were replaced first by higher-set covered bridges and later, as economy dictated, by steel or concrete. Fire, too, has taken est

enemy

of all

its

toll, but the

great-

has been traffic volume and speed. The

covered bridge cannot be widened, and if it is not wide enough for the modern highway, (1) the highway must be relocated and sometimes is, or (2) the old bridge must be sacrificed. Condition Two usually prevails, though a few of these sound old masterpieces have been dismantled and reassembled in man-made parks and reservations.

8

where they stand

stiffly

and disconsolately like buffalos

zoo.

in a

The ones that remain on their original sites are there because their world has not changed. They are in the very small towns which are content to stay very small, and they are In the very back country which the fast high-

ways have not yet found and desecrated. If you are so minded, either of these settings is a nice refuge from the frenzy of normal living, and in addition, there Is the matter of the water that

is

likely to

accompany

the bridge.

Water, too, can be restful, idyllic and stimulating of general good feeling. The bridge itself is often hardly more than an excuse to visit a very pleasant place.

I

am

not a painter, so in

brush and palette has a

much

my

opinion, the wielder of

easier time with a covered

bridge than does a photographer. The painter can sketch

on site and then finish in the comfort and leisure of his or for truth home. He can recompose for beauty or for both together. He can shift his sun from quadrant to quadrant of the sky. He can move his BIrnam Wood to DunsInane or away from DunsInane. (And if his perception is not the equal of his technique, he can endup

—

—

—

with the stylized formality of a Christmas card.

The photographer, though, must take things when and which is not always In their best mood. as he finds them

—

Let's say that

you

start

out at six In the morning in the

golden glory of a summer sunrise. You drive about two hundred miles, which in the bridge country can take six hours. And then you arrive at your bridge in the pouring rain. The bridge

is

huddled unhappily

In

the very middle

of a dripping jungle of alders, trying to keep as dry as

9

by becoming small and dark and hidden. You park. You sit in the car and think. You prepare. Then you make a dash for it. Twenty frames later you are ready to dry off, pack up possible

and leave. The following day you discover with surprise that your film has captured a portrait worthy of Rembrandt a study of the true feelings of a damp and disgruntled bridge. You have had a fight and won it, and your satisfaction far outweighs the discomfort of your experience.

—

More often than not, though, the sun is still shining when you reach the bridge. You park. You prepare. You dawdle. The bridge

strongest character in

west of south

little

east and west and expresses

sits its

—

western face. The sun

exactly where

is

just

Its

a

belongs.

It

With the project completed, you put all the stuff away, and then you sit down somewhere preferably on an old stump. This is the time to enjoy The Environment. Since your arrival, there have been no passers-by. You and the bridge and The Environment are alone. It is very

—

quiet.

The birds are out for Intermission.

A

pair of lo-

and alto, sings a duet, and a frog drums a lazy, unschooled accompaniment. The refrain repeats itself endlessly. It Is very quiet but suddenly you hear

custs, soprano

—

a voice.

The bridge

Not

all

speaking.

is

bridges will

should

carefully

people

In

avoid

numbers.

A

talk with all

people, and you

overwhelming your bridge with

sedan-load of

tourists, for Instance,

lower the rapport level to absolute zero. A bridge that used to know quite well once told me that he con-

will

I

sidered

even three

conversation. There

people is

too

many

for

a

stimulating

the other kind, of course, the gabby

bridge, and gabby bridges will talk to almost any people

10

any numbers. In the book, have included samplings of the gabby type in about the proportion you are likely to find them. in

I

To the technically curious photographer: (1)

All of the pictures are 35's, shot mostly with

mestic cameras. The few of them that were

with imports

from

do-

made

Germany and Japan seem no

better or worse than the others. (2)

The one frustrating technical problem in bridge photography is the long brightness range that you will

want

to include

in

much

of your composition.

B&W film cannot. My own

This frequently rules out color entirely.

can hold

B&W

paper often alternative, perhaps cowardly, is to sitions (3)

it,

but

like this into

split

compo-

two pictures.

While you are there, shoot plenty of film; it is the least costly element in your hobby. You are probably a long way from home and you may never come again. And even if you do return, the bridge

may no longer be

there.

Thanks are here rendered to YANKEE magazine for the pre-publication of some of the subject matter to follow and for the establishment of contact between publish-

—

er

and author which has since

brought

this

book

into

being.

LEWIS A. Boston, Massachusetts

1963

11

HARLOW

frt

I

u'^ f:

V

A

V

"Sometimes

it's

13

exciting.

'In

1908,

i

t

was woodpeckers

14

II

"What's

so

new about stereo?

15

"

"It's

politics!

That's

what

16

it

is!

Politics!

II

When

I

heard the second whistle,

17

I

blew my top

II

"Adds inches

to

my height. you know.

18

"Something

in

19

a

stripe?"

20

"I'm

staying right here. 2]

just

LOOK

eager.

"It

feels

like

a

22

slipped disk

II

sF.nv J)"JILUEns

It

isn't

'/

THAT

Ke

II

I'm

just

filling

in

24

for

a

friend

"Look, mo! No cross bracing

25

II

"And then the wind shifted

27

M

vyy;? rVVV»V^j\i

"Before we had so much flood used to begin back here."

28

control

,

the

river

29

“Ouch!"

30

"Right this way, folks. roof,

new floor

Back

new siding,

31

service with new paint."

in

new

K-

"Care

to

try

32

for

two?"

"Swallows, sometimes, but never pigeons. Mostly it's

for

the

party

line."

33

hope that thomebody will do thomething thoon about the retht of my upperth."

"I

mm

tr.» * t

i

34

\

"We don

have many pedestrians, but mighty good fishing hole." 't

35

it's

over

a

'

'

There

just

36

aren't

s’

f*

any trains."

I

used

to

hate

steam

locomotives. They tickled

37

II

I**,

may hear, but three cannot take

part

in

a

con-

versation of the most sincere and searching sort."

38

"And

I

said

to

her: Dorothy,

39

I

said

Johnson, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur Cleveland and Harrison. " .

.

.

40

1

>

"Fellow Republicans

41

.

:

"Uncle! 42

"

"It's

not

one-way, mister. Just one way

43

at

a

time

"You'll

have

to

ask

someone else.

45

I

m

newcomer

"

"Whichever way you turn, THERE .

46

you're

not

going

to

get

"On what preach

a

seen and heard around here, pretty good sermon. And fifthly,

I've

47

could

I

.

.

48

now, we haven't needed foot passage."

"Up

to

49

to

build

the

second

II I

miss

them terribly

50

II

II

Individually, we

happen

52

to

like

white paint

II

»

53

"Surprise?

54

"

"Be careful! I'm the the other end."

one with the small

55

opening

at

"Stoop,

then enterl

56

D'ya get it?"

“As a farm bridge, I'm now entitled to depreciate on 1040F. It doesn't seem to have made much difference."

57

"They say

It‘s

about 25 miles.

58

"The

first

one slows them up

59

a

little."

'nf^-

"Th e

i'-' V***:-

same

iiy .ii\?.

to

you and

60

a

\*

*^

•

i

•

'

^..ki it'.-. •'

Happy New Year."

.

_?

61

62

M*

E

*

f

1

LI

,9

1 1

\j

'

1

TTp^^ '

1

/

"

S pr ng Tra - a I

the air again; tra-la, tra-la."

s

i

,

in

63

1

;r\

"The visibility is better now, somehow it seems immodest

64

but

it's

drofty

and

called a knee brace, and It's an afterthought to cut down on the side sway. First you attach a cross member to the under side of the stringers, letting it stick out beyond the sides. From this, you brace to the top chord of the truss. Then you cover the whole addition n th is case w ith sheet metal It's a mess isn't it?"

"It's

—

66

"I'd

rather

you didn't ask."

67

"My mother and father both have

68

roofs."

"

Bessemer-schmessemer

1

It

won't

69

last a

hundred years.

"And what

is

funny about

70

a

pent

house?

"

"The committee didn't catalog."

like

71

any of the designs

in

the

"This

is

NOT

a

prairie

and

72

I

am

NOT

a

schooner."

"

Ho

ne

s t

1

am

a

covered bridge

73

II

"In

a

book. did you say? Not just another calendar?”

74

"Come back! You've forgotten your

75

t r

i

pod

It

1

*

t »

^ $

0

Frontispiece: in

the

t e

s

OH

COOMBS

the

BRIDGE

(1837) over the Ashuelot River

the northeast corner of Winchester,

name

of the builder,

bridges

N.H.

whose descendants

This bridge bears

still

live in town.

page 13

WATERLOO BRIDGE

over the Warner River at the Waterloo

Station west of Warner, in

14

N.H.

This lattice bridge

1857 to serve the nearby suburb of Mink

was

built

Hills.

SHORT FALLS BRIDGE over the Suncook River in the township of Epsom, N.H. The later-added arches are solid rather than laminated, suggesting a repair job of

many

years

ago. 15

RAMP CREEK BRIDGE now

retired to Salt

Creek

in

Brown

County State Park near Nashville, Indiana. Built at Fincastle in 1838, the bridge was dismantled, moved here and reassembled in 1932. 16

BARTLETT BRIDGE over

the Saco River east of Bartlett to-

Now

used to store snow fences, bridge

ward Glen, N.H.

formerly carried the Crawford Notch scenic highway.

17

&

M

RAILROAD BRIDGE over the Warner River between Warner and Waterloo, N.H. A standard Boston and Maine B

lattice bridge of

18

1895 which once had a roof.

WEST CORNWALL BRIDGE

over the Housatonic River, a

two-span lattice which joins the village of West Cornwall , Connecticut, to US Route 7 running along the west bank of the river. 19

SLAUGHTER HOUSE BRIDGE

77

over the Dog

River at the

.

south end of the village of Northfield Falls, Vt

Northfield bridges, the paint job here

20

GREENBANK HOLLOW BRIDGE back road

is

.

Like other

red and white.

over Joe's Brook on the

Barnet out of Danville, Vt. The roof

to

quently a later

is

fre-

addition to the simple queenpost bridges

of this region.

21

POMPANOOSUC VILLAGE

BRIDGE over

the

Ompompa-

noosuc River north of Norwich, Vt. The trusses are lattice

and the 22

site

is

an abandoned location of US Route 5.

THE BLUE BRIDGE over the Second Branch

of the

White

was built in 1903-4. Trusses are queenpost and kingpost, and the paint job is River south of East Randolph, Vt.,

tip-cart blue.

23

SHELHORN BRIDGE

located since 1933 over a dry gully

Lake County Fairground at Crown Point, Indiana. Built in 1878 near Milroy, Indiana, by the Kennedy family.

in the

24

VILLAGE BRIDGE

over the

Mad

River at the

center

of

1879-80 by Walter Bagley. The east portal is flush, the west portal overhangs, and there are good fishing windows. 25

Warren, Vt ., was built

in

TURKEY JIM'S BRIDGE

over West Branch Brook east of the

village of West Compton, for

N.H.

Built

Jim Cummings who started the

first

1874, and named turkey farm in these

in

parts.

26

MERRIAM SCHOOL BRIDGE

over the Lamoille River a half mile west of the village of Wolcott, Vt. There seems to be no explanation for the asymmetrical design of the south portal

27

SABIN BRIDGE

(1850) over Saxton's River in Westminster,

Vt. Build ing cost was divided: Rockingham $674. 74; Grafton, $162.85; Westminster, $1162.41. Westminster didn't |

.

.

.

need the bridge and paid under protest. 28

the White River

two miles west of Seymour, Indiana, on the Cortland road. The "Post" trusses are a variant on the almost-as-rare Pratt suspension

29

FORD BRIDGE

BELL'S

(1869) over

.

NORTH SCHOOL BRIDGE

over the

erly end of Waitsfield, Vt. In the

Mad

River in the north-

heyday

of the covered

bridge, there were eight in Waitsfield.

30

QUINCY BRIDGE

over the Baker River near the town line

between Plymouth and Rumney, N.H. tic

Howe

(rare in these parts), with

later. Also

31

as Smith

laminated arches added

Bridge.

POST MILLS BRIDGE

over the Ompompanoosuc River east of Post Mills Village in Thetford, Vt. Herman Powerr built this

one

care of

32

known

Trusses are authen-

in

1867, and the State of Vermont has taken good

it.

TWIN BRIDGES

over the Clyde River south of the village

of East Charleston, Vt.

A

bridgeless road was here before

the river decided to jog west and

make necessary

the two

crossings

33

SHEFFIELD UPPER BRIDGE over the Housatonic River

a

mile north of Sheffield, Mass. Built in 1835 with federal funds from the administration of

34

Andrew Jackson

THE HIGH BRIDGE over Clay Brook half a mile east of Waitsfield, Vt. Built in 1855 by James S Newcomb The classic queenpost trusses show the influence of the Howe .

.

patents

35

HAVERHI LL-BATH BRIDGE over Woodsville, N.H. Built in 1829, salt-box roof

is

278 feet long.

79

the this

Ammonoosuc

River at

two-span lattice with

.

36

JUNCTION BRIDGE ster

37

N.H.

Place (Franklin),

Boston and

1890 and typical of

Built in

Maine Railroad bridges.

McCALLEN'S BRIDGE was of the

Web-

over the Merrimack River near

1906 over the tracks

built in

Boston and Maine freight yards at East Deerfield,

Mass. Covered bridges over railroads were never common.

38

BULL'S BRIDGE over the Housatonic River four miles south of Kent, Conn. Built in 1842, the bridge was used durin the Civil

War

for transportation of military supplies.

39

THE TWIN BRIDGES over East Creek in Rutland Township, Vt. Nick Powers built them in 1849 and 1850, the second because the river had changed its course in the mean time.

40

MOSCOW

VILLAGE BRIDGE

the township of Stowe, Vt.

timbers and arches

—

A

over the Waterbury River in real oldie with hand-hewn

and a wedge system to take up the

slack.

41

PRIVATE BRIDGE over Otter Creek

in

nects two parts of a large farm. There the bridge and the abutments are

42

Brandon, Vt. is

,

con-

a cattle gate in

Vermont marble.

STATION BRIDGE

over Otter Creek a half mile west of

the Salisbury, Vt.

Railroad

toward

upstream, and

Station.

was caused

The

bridge's

by wind

rather

list

is

than

water

43

MILL BRIDGE over Plainfield,

N.H.

Blood's Brook near Meriden Village in

Built

by James F.

Tasker in the 1860's

$300, this bridge was repaired after Hurricane Carol for $3000. Also known as Meriden Bridge. for

44

TOLL BRIDGE over

a slough of the Mississippi

River be-

tween Hamilton, III., and Keokuk, Iowa. Built in 1869 as a main span on the Mississippi, the bridge was moved here in 1883. h

80

.

45

COUNTY

BRIDGE over

Contoocook River between

the

Hancock and Greenfield, N.H. bridge

this

ment 46

is

New

is

1937 for $77,000, Hampshire's newest. The truss arrangeBuilt

in

"Teco".

COBURN'S BRIDGE

over the Winooski River between East Plainfield, Vt. Built by Mr. Coburn in

Montpelier and

1851. Traffic, mostly from the gravel

47

BRIDGE AT THE GREEN over

48

its

Built

HALPIN BRIDGE

the Batten Kill

very heavy. at

West Ar-

in

Muddy Branch

over

River between Middlebury and in

is

1851-2, this lattice structure still crown which was designed to sag to level.

lington, Vt. retains

pit,

the 1850's, this

one

41

is

of the

New Haven

New Haven

Mills, Vt. Built

above the stream, the

feet

"highest" in the state.

OLD CENTER BRIDGE

49

over the Passumpsic River between Lyndonville and Lyndon Center, Vt. The trusses are Paddleford, and the paint job is red with white trim.

50

MOUNT ORNE tween in

Lunenburg, Vt. and

the Connecticut River be-

South

Lancaster,

an earlier span, New England.

1911, replacing

Howe, 51

BRIDGE over

rare in

VILLAGE BRIDGE

over Mill

Brook

this

at

is

N.H.

Built

an authentic

Fairfax,

Vt.

unbraced lattice suggesting great age probably about 1825 but the bridge isn't saying. trusses are early

52

The

—

STARK BRIDGE over the Upper Ammonoosuc River at Stark, N.H. One_ flood took the entire bridge down river. Another flood removed

its

upstream sidewalk, whereupon Mrs.

Thompson, of West Virginia and Stark, was so distressed at the sight of the "bird with one wing" that she paid the entire cost of the replacement. Mrs. Thompson's house is the

large one, white of course, abutting the bridge on the

north bank

81

"

53

BLAIR

FARM BRIDGE

over Blood's Brook

near the Plainfield town line.

Lebanon, N.H.

lattice bridge

in

enemy

one has frequently served as calendar

territory, this

54

A

in

art.

CORNISH-WINDSOR BRIDGE over the Connecticut River between New Hampshire and Vermont. This 468-foot bridge was framed on the meadows and moved into place over the ice. Tolls are

55

no longer collected.

WEST UNION BRIDGE of

over Sugar Creek a half mile north

West Union, Indiana.

rializes

its

builder, J

.

I

Built

in

1876, this bridge

memo-

Daniels, and later generations of

.

town fathers. 56

PETERS BRIDGE over the Blackwater River in West Salisbury, N.H. Built in 1883 by Plina A. Fellows for $584.39 using local help who were working out taxes.

—

57

RUSH sor,

MEADOWS The

Vt.

Felchville nothi ng

58

BRIDGE over

bridge

road,

and

be seen

to

is

the

truss

Brook in West

Mill

Wind-

from the Brownsville-

suspension

is

"arch-and-

.

TURKEY HILL BRIDGE

over the Souhegan River about three

miles upstream on the back road between Merrimack and

Pomonah, N.H. One of the 59

BAGLEY BRIDGE

cross

trusses suggests that the

SWIFTWATER BRIDGE

bracing

a

common

known Long and 61

THE

LONG

between the

lattice

bridge was built in the 1820's.

(1849) over the

River at Swiftwater Village (Bath),

Paddleford,

and best hidden.

over the Warner River east of Warner,

N.H. The inadequate

60

state's oldest

Wild Ammonoosuc

N.H. The

variant hereabouts

trusses

are

on the better-

Burr types.

BRIDGE over

the Deerfield River from the vil-

lage of Charlemont, Mass.,

to the

railroad station.

This

three-span 324-foot lattice was built in 1833 and covered

82

.

in

62

1834.

HAYWARD & NOBLE BRIDGE

over the

Branch of the

First

White River at Tunbridge, Vt. Posting is a generous ten tons, adequate access to the annual World's Fair at Tunbridge

63

.

FLINT BRIDGE (1845) over

the First Branch of the White

River at the Tunbridge-Chelsea (Vermont) town line. Note-

worthy truss

64

is

the "Je Vous

Aime" hand-carved

in a

diagonal

member.

SHEDD'S BRIDGE over

the

Walloomsac

at the state line

beyond

North Bennington, Vt. Bennington Battlefield is nearby, and General Stark's troops crossed here on an earl ier bridge, or by wading.

65

NARROWS BRIDGE

THE

over Sugar Creek

the

at

east

boundary of Turkey Run State Park near Marshall, Indiana. This Burr-type bridge, one of the most visited in the state, was built in 1882.

66

DINGMAN'S BRIDGE

over Vermont's more southerly Black

River near the Grout Cemetery a mile east of Perkinsville.

1870 by Artemus Wheeler, 45 feet

Built in

ling

67

1

COMSTOCK'S BRIDGE

over

it

has two spans total-

the Salmon

River

Colchester and East Hampton, Conn. Retired bridge tal

68

now includes such unorthodox

in

features as

between

1936,

ornamen-

gates.

FARM BRIDGE

over the

Mohawk

River east of Colebrook,

N.H.This enclosed-truss construction preceded the covered bridge. The log-crib abutment

69

this

is

totally

also traditional.

THE TWIN BRIDGE over the Contoocook

River

between

Penacook and Boscawen, N.H, Built in 1850. The present second "twin" replaced a covered bridge in 1899.

83

.

70

.

over the Lamoille River east of Hardbuilt in 1909. The smoke duct is char-

RAILROAD BRIDGE wick, Vt., was acteristic

of

St.

the several

Lake Cham-

Johnsbury and

plain Railroad bridges.

71

ASCUTNEYVILLE BRIDGE

over Mill

Brook in Weathers-

members are numbered at their joints, and Tasker bridge was probably moved here from another

field, Vt. Truss this

location

72

COOLEY BRIDGE

over Furnace Brook a mile south of Pitts-

ford, Vt., on a country road to

Proctor. Built in

1849 by

Nick Powers, and the abutments are, of course, Proctor marble

73

ORTON FARM US Route

BRIDGE over

the Winooski River alongside

2 in Marshfield, Vt.

Townsend. The interior of

this

Built

in

1890 by Herman

private bridge

includes a

cattle gate.

74

OLD SEVENTY-SIX BRIDGE land (Vt.) Country Club. (not

over East Creek at the Rut-

This

bridge was

built

in

1876

1776!) and saw no part of the wars against the In-

dians and the British.

75

BRIDGE AT THE

SCHOOLHOUSE

Clyde River near Charleston Center, Vt. Trusses are waist-high queenpost, and the bridge can be seen, with alertness, from Vt. -105 to Island Pond.

Publishers'

over

Reminder: As the author suggests,

the

it

is

a good idea

check with local authorities before journeying considerable distance to make the acquaintance of a particular bridge. It might just happen to have taken off in a high wind or a fast to

floodo

84

c

^

*

r’rf

/

\

ftfT

U 9

’V«

•

I

j-

8

COVERED BRIDGES CAN TALK is

another

unique Wake-Brook House edition. The books are handmade, bound in contempo-

enhance the text. Because each book is the work of an individual pair of hands, produced in a very personal environment, no two books will be identical They are genuine handicraft items, and there are no other books like Wake -Brook House books anywhere else rary fabrics selected to

OF VERMONT ^ department of libraries REGIONAL UBRART RD2 BOX244 SX JOHNSBURy, Vr (K81 STATE

'

.

in the world.

OTHER WAKE-BROOK HOUSE BOOKS

NEW

HAMPSHIRE'S COVERED BRIDGES Thedia Cox Kenyon. Well-known travel writer provides historical and descriptive

background of towns where the remaining covered bridges are located. Drawings of all bridges still in existence by the late Stan Snow. Arranged in itinerary format. Map endpaper. 56 pictures. 144 pp. $5.00 LIFE

WITH CAESAR An

Larry Thompson.

hilarious account of

adjustment to living with a tyrannical Si-

amese cat, by the humorist-columnist who has been favorably compared to the late Will Rogers. 21 large and witty cat portraits by June Amoroso, second only to

Harlow, L Covered bridges ca talk

a

portrayer of Siamese

Foujita

as

A

for cat

book

for cat

haters

quite as

cats.

much

as

3.00

lovers.

TWIRLY HURLY,THE HELICOPTER RABBIT Ardinelle Duncan. Adventures of a

G6

9*i0l

rabbit

who could

twirl

his ears

and

little

fly.

Praised by the Hartford Courant, Pittsburgh Press,

Miami News and

others.

Delight-

fully illustrated. Calico-bound, soap-and

water spongeable

for years of use.

2.50

Available Through Your Bookseller

"

.

LEWIS A.

HARLOW

and shortly thereafter musician

due time

"In

I

was born in a suburb of Boston, was to become a great was decided that

says of himself: it

"I

I

became an accredited by-product

emy and Harvard. While

at

Cambridge,

I

absorbed

of Milton

all

I

Acad-

could hold from

the university's excellent music department, but had to forego the tratrek to Paris, with genuine regret.

ditional

"Next came a few frustrating and profitless years in retail trade, a career was only able to support and prolong by moonlighting as a I

working musician.

"Then there was the WAR. fought my war in Chicago for fifteen years as an advertising man, and my areas of communication were electronics, thermodynamics and others of the physical sciences. "Now am back in Boston with the arts. I

I

"A

me

stark

list

of the

many and varied hobbies which

as a hopeless eccentric - perhaps unjustly.

fessionalism in any form have all I

find

am

I

way

ride could stamp

My

experiences with probeen unpleasant, but as a bystander,

curious about almost any subject. The

not be treated In such a

I

as to destroy the

new experience must

kind of amateur status

which permits profound wonder at - and enjoyment of - simple phenomena. Within these limitations, almost any discovery can become the start of a hobby, and so It has been with covered bridges. And like any good hobby, this one must be shared with someone or It will wither and die .