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Spanning New York State
Covered Bridge News

By Bob and Trish Kane

Update on Historic Hyde Hall Covered Bridge

Hyde Hall Covered Bridge

NY-39-01 - Hyde Hall Estimates are being sought for repairs to the roof on the Hyde Hall Covered bridge, but due to New York State budget cuts, there isn't much money to work with this year. Outside funding and/or possible grant money is needed in order for the roof to be fully repaired. Anyone wishing to donate monies should direct their donation to: Richard Sheckells, Park Manager, Glimmerglass State Park, 1527 County Highway 31, Cooperstown, NY 13326. Your donation will be put into the Natural Heritage Trust account that is earmarked for the Covered Bridge roof material. Once enough money is raised, Rich hopes to be able to coordinate the labor as a combined effort between Glimmerglass employees and the regional restoration/rehab crew. If you are able, please consider a donation to this worthy cause and help preserve this historic landmark.

Indiana

IN-70-07 #3 - Moscow On June 3, 2008, a devastating tornado swept through Moscow, Indiana and the surrounding community, destroying or severely damaging many homes and buildings, including the old Moscow Covered Bridge. The force of the tornado dislodged the bridge from its abutments and sent it crashing into the Flatrock River below. Immediately following the storm, the County Commissioners took swift action to salvage and preserve as much of the bridge's structure as possible with the hope of rebuilding the bridge in its original location.

The Moscow Covered Bridge is now almost rebuilt and a grand celebration will take place June 4-6th, 2010. The three day festival includes a parade, musical entertainment, vendors and much more. You won't want to miss this event and join area residents and county officials in the celebration. Congratulations to everyone involved in the rebuilding of this bridge.

Maryland

MD-07-01 - Gilpin Falls Special thanks to Sandy Adrion for sending along this photo of the newly rehabilitated Gilpin Falls Covered Bridge. This photo was taken on May 10, 2010.

Massachusetts

MA-09-01 #2 - Chester H. Waterous This bridge will likely be open by mid June and town officials are hoping traffic can once again cross the Nashua River by the end of the month. The state is targeting September for a grand-opening ceremony of the bridge.

Michigan

MI-34-01 - White's This bridge suffered damaged as a result of a motor vehicle incident in January 2010. Ionia County Road Commissioners are determined to keep its historical nature preserved throughout the entire repair project, all the way down to the moisture content in the lumber. They are working closely with SHIPO (State Historic Preservation Office) officials in Lansing to keep the bridge historical.

The preliminary schedule for the repairs has the bridge being completed by September 30, with construction to begin on September 7.

Oregon

OR-20-40 - Chambers Railroad The Chambers RR Bridge at Cottage Grove in Lane County was dismantled as of the end of February. The old bridge was leaning about 4 feet off center with the top leaning that far upstream. The engineers told Cottage Grove to post security guards there to keep people off the bridge. The pieces were saved and marked and are now in storage. Unfortunately, only 10% or so of the timbers can be reused so when it is rebuilt, the bridge will be a "new" bridge. The bid for the new bridge is supposed to be let in July 2010 for the rebuilding of the bridge in 2011.

Linn County will be working on several covered bridges in the next couple of years. Special thanks to our west coast friend, Bill Cockrell for sharing this news with us.

New Hampshire

NH-04-08/VT-05/03 - Mount Orne This bridge, which links Vermont and New Hampshire, was severely damaged on Wednesday, May 26 after a tractor trailer truck drove through it. The driver, Sergo Niko, 59, of Pacoima, CA, had driven the truck cross country from Sun Valley, CA to Maine and was returning to California. The driver commented, "This was the way his dispatcher told him to go." The driver failed to stop after hitting the bridge but a Lunenburg resident saw the stopped truck and the driver picking pieces of wood from it. Niko was arrested by the Gilman, VT Constable and was charged with conduct after an accident, failure to display trailer plates and for the truck being over-height. He is currently free on $500 personal recognizance and is to appear in Lancaster District Court on June 30.

Pennsylvania

PA-15-22 #2 / 36-41 #2 - Pine Grove On March 1, 2010, a box truck driver damaged the Pine Grove Covered Bridge and then left without reporting the incident to police. Truck driver, Edwin R. Figueroa, 44, was driving a box truck when it struck and cracked the overhead beam on the south side of the bridge. He then continued through the bridge, and as he was exiting, the truck struck an overhead beam on the north side, breaking and cracking wood beams in the process. The bridge is still open to traffic as damage was minimal. In 2008, the state spent $3.7 million for a major rehabilitation of this bridge.

Other news…

Would you like to see New York's Covered Bridges in the comfort of your own automobile? Well, now that journey is much easier. The Driving Tour of New York's Covered Bridges is now complete and will be available to the public as of July 1, 2010. The full color tour includes turn by turn driving instructions, statistics and color photos of each bridge along with a brief history (including some old photos/postcards) of each of New York's 33 covered bridges.

For those Covered Bridge enthusiasts who are also Covered Bridge Patch Collectors you will be pleased to learn that there is a new book available with a wonderful compilation of all the known Covered Bridge patches known to exist to the author. Approximately 460 Police, Fire, EMS, Scout and Souvenir patches have been well documented in this collection. Included is a color photo of each patch along with all the pertinent information known regarding the patch such as: description, type of patch, colors, and approximate size. Pages are separated by state tabs and within each tab, separated by Police, Fire and EMS, then by Scout and Souvenir patches. Other tabs include: Foreign, Canada and State Not Known. These pages have been inserted into a quality loose leaf binder so updates can easily be inserted. This is a great way for Covered Bridge Patch collector's to keep track of their own personal inventory of Covered Bridge Patches as well as knowing what patches they don't have.

For more information on how you can obtain a copy of the patch book as well as the NY State Diving Tour, contact Bob and Trish at 607-674-9656 or bobtrish68@frontiernet.net.

Update on the Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Resource Center

Oxford Memorial Library built by Theodore Burr used by permission, Trish Kane

Exciting News! As previously announced, part of the plans for the new Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Resource Center is a special, climate controlled room that will hold the rare collections that need special storage consideration, such as photographs, slides and postcards. Thanks to so many of you and your donations, construction of this special area will now begin in June. Although the center will not yet be officially opened to the public, you can make an appointment to view the progress of the center by contacting Nancy Wilcox, Library Director at (607) 843-6146. Plans are to begin moving the collections donated to date into this room in September of this year.

With the estimated cost of the center being established at $50,000, we still have a long ways to go to reach our goal. We are continuing to apply for grants whose qualifications we meet. We will be applying for the NY State Construction grant to see if the center qualifies for their assistance. We also continue to look for a group or individual(s) who might be interested in matching donations to the center. As previously mentioned, donors gifting $1,000 or more will have their names prominently listed on a donor's plaque displayed in the center, but no gift is too small. You can also designate your gift for a special area such as funding for a computer, scanner, bookshelves, or other expense, or you might create a memorial or honorary gift in memory of a covered bridge friend or loved one. You might even consider donating an actual computer or scanner. Remember, all gifts are tax deductible.

A very special thanks to the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges for their recent donation and to Mr. Terry Miller from Kent, Ohio for his most generous donation as well. They are greatly appreciated and their gifts have enabled us to move forward sooner than anticipated with the special storage room. Thanks!

As a reminder, on Sunday, June 13, 2010, the New York State Covered Bridge Society will host their June meeting at the Oxford Memorial Library. This will be a special meeting held in the Library's new Community Center Meeting Room which is absolutely gorgeous, and gives us a hint as to what the Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Resource Center will look like. At that time, Fred Lanfear, President of the Oxford Historical Society, and Bob and Trish Kane will update the group on the progress of the center. This will be an exciting meeting open to the public and all Covered Bridge Enthusiasts are invited to attend.

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