Evening star., 1953-12-10
On the Air

That recent mention here that
Arthur Godfrey was to go sleigh
riding through a covered bridge
on his CHS television show last
night demonstrated two things.
Rather, wondering what was
done about sleighs on bridges
covered against the elements
Gncluding snow) did it.
Bringing this up proved for
one thing that a lot OF people
are more interested in covered
bridges than in some other
things. It also proved that our
ancestors were rugged indlvld-
ualists in the covered bridge
matter as we'll as in others. There
was, the mail indicates, no stand
ard operating procedure in meet
ing the wintertime problem OF
making covered bridges easier Tor
horses pulling sleighs.
Writes Orville DeBray OF
Davis place NV: Although I
am not old enough to renen-
ber, 1 did hear from good au-
thority that it was a law in
New Hampshire that in the
winter, when there was snow
on the ground. some of it must
be hauled and dumped on the
floors of covered bridges"
Adds w. B. Manter of Chevy
Chase, Md: when 1 was a kid
in the State of Maine they
hauled enough snow into the
local covered bridge to keep the
floor boards covered all winter.
But covered bridges were still
a trial to horses because the
snow inside them got dirty and
made sleds and sleighs hard to
pull"
Our innocence about ways of
New England life is rightfully
brought up by Leonard P. Quinn
by of Maple street NV: Your
article about covered bridges.
dry boards and sleighs proves
to me you have never been in
Vermont during the months be-
tween November and May. When
that winter wind would put a
snowdrift on my bedroom win
dow sill with the window shut,
don't you think with both ends
open on covered bridges a lot
of snow gets into the bridge?
And before the SnoWplow was
invented, which wasn't so long
ago, we, in Vermont anyhow,
used snow rollers to pack the
snow and make smooth road
for horse and sleigh in covered
bridges as we'll as in the hills
From w. P. Elson of Warren
ton. Va, comes another report:
"Very simple, really. The
sleigh. having narrow runners of
steel which were highly polished
from use, had little difficulty
sliding across the hardened
boards of the floor of the covered
bridge. Besides, after a few
horses had carried snow on their
hooveS into a bridge a light film
of snow spread practically from
one end to the other. After that
1t was as easy as the snow on
the road. Imagine you're right.
Perhaps the automobile was in
vented by a horse"
Some kind but anonymous
reader has forwarded an article
from the November % Saturday
Evening Post about Richard
Sanders Allen, postmaster of
Round Lake, New York. and
foremost collector Of covered
bridges. It's author, Neil M.
Clark. confirms the report on
that New Hampshire law.
Mr.. Allen, of course. does not
have a yard full of old covered
bridges he has collected. He
visits them and collects pictures
of them Che has 5000 or 10000
and historic facts and lore about
them. There are (by Mr.. Aliens
April. 1853. census) 1870 exist
ing covered bridges in this coun-
try and 623 in four Canadian
provinces.
Some strange things have
happened in covered bridges.
Stranger than you think. Man
was murdered in one once (by a
jealous husband). Mob hanged
a man in another. A band which
used to practice in one drove
the nearby housewives frantic.
Several people, Mr.. Clark re-
ports from Mr.. Aliens collected
lore. have taken trips in COW
cred bridges, unintended trips,
that is.
Man named George Fell of
Centerbridge. Pa, was crossing
one once when a flood took it
out. He was rescued after a
wild 15-mile ride downstream.
Whether the name of Center
bridge was changed to Outer
bridge, reports does not say.