Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Society of
Pennsylvania, Inc.
Monthly Business Meeting
Saint Paul Episcopal Church, Columbia, PA
Sunday, March 5, 2023 at 2:00 pm
Bob
Kuether, President is absent due to his recent back surgery and rehab
stay. Vice-President Jim Smedley called
the meeting to order at 2:00 pm, welcomed everyone and led the Pledge of
Allegiance.
NEW MEMBERS AND GUESTS: Attending their first meeting are
Homer and Cindy Beard; Wanda Boon; Pat Richard and Bruce Saylor; Cindy Garland
and Ken Slippey; Mike and Mindy Ross.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Jim Smedley reminded everyone the December
Meeting Minutes are available for
review at the back table; he will ask for approval later in the meeting.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Judy Kuether reported there were 2 new
members in February, giving a total of 374 members paid for 2022-2023 (9 less
than a year ago).
MEMBERS’ BRIDGE REPORTS:
Connie
McLaughlin – Connie saw
Gibson’s Bridge multiple times, Mercer’s Mill, Speakman No.1 (no graffiti), Hunsecker’s Mill and Pine Valley Bridges.
Pat
Cook – Pat saw Meiserville Bridge and reported it needs painted.
Joe
McCarthy – Joe saw his favorite
bridge, Speakman’s. He visited Hassenplug and said it looks good but has graffiti
there. Joe shared that the contract for
repairs to Zimmerman’s Bridge in Pine Grove went to Eckman’s Construction. Money is allocated for an engineering study
of Bartram’s Bridge to determine what needs replaced; Joe can then bid on the
contract giving an estimate for repairs.
OFFICERS’
REPORTS:
President Bob Kuether – No report.
First
Vice-President Jim Smedley
– Jim and Gloria saw 3 bridges in Bedford County: Turner’s, Herline
and Claycomb, which now has a separate pedestrian
bridge alongside it. All looked nice.
Second Vice-President
Ray Finkelstein – No
report.
Third
Vice-President Frank Mailey
– No report.
Fourth
Vice-President Tony Abramo – Tony and Jim Smedley did a
preliminary run through for the May 20th Mini-Safari to Perry and
Juniata Counties. It will start at
Academia Bridge (longest bridge in PA, double span) and end at Fort Hunter
Bridge, stopping for lunch at a restaurant in Newport. Tony and Karen also visited Schenk’s Mill
which needs painted, Siegrist’s Mill, and Forry’s
Mill Bridges.
Recording
Secretary Pam Mailey – No
report.
Corresponding
Secretary Pam Heisey – Not present.
Treasurer
Judy Kuether – Judy
thanked everyone for cards/calls for Bob during his hospital and rehab
stay. She also thanked everyone for
cards/condolences in the loss of her son-in-law, John Klucker.
Historian
Fred Moll – Fred shared
a February 9, 2023 article from the Reading Eagle reporting a driver hit a fire
truck as part of his 90mph high speed chase through 3 municipalities and a
covered bridge. Fred went to
Pleasantville Bridge and found no damage. He reported Greisemer’s
Mill Bridge really needs painted (the Society painted it 10 years ago). Fred also took a picture of Wertz’s (Red)
Bridge since it has a sewer grate at one end.
He is working on a Program of how Covered Bridges are dismantled and
rebuilt to last longer.
NEWSLETTER EDITORS: Jim Smedley reported the deadline to
submit information for the Summer edition of PA
Crossings Newsletter is Sunday May 28th.
ILLNESS OF MEMBERS:
(1)
Bob Kuether had back surgery on February 20th and came home 2 days
ago after a short stay in a rehab facility.
(2) Carol Wright was in the hospital after
passing out; diagnosed as a ruptured blood vessel in her brain and she is now
home.
(3) Anita Ford is still recovering from her heart
surgery and was back in the hospital a couple weeks ago; a very slow recovery
process for her.
(4)
Tom Walczak had a recurrence of his illness but is getting better.
(5)
Dave Evans’ wife, Darlene, has been in Jefferson Hospital for 3 weeks now, with
a serious bacterial infection.
DEATH
OF MEMBERS:
(1) John Klucker, Diane’s
husband, passed away on January 30, 2023 (Diane is Bob and Judy Kuether’s daughter). The Society expresses our deepest
sympathy to the Klucker, Dickson and Kuether families.
(2) Charlie Elflein passed
away September 12, 2022 after having a heart attack.
(3) Russell Funk passed away November 29, 2020.
OLD
BUSINESS: The deadline to submit photos for the
2024 Calendar is March 16th; please send to Jim Smedley via email. The
Committee will review and select photos for the calendar which should be
available May 1st.
NEW BUSINESS:
(1)
Pam Mailey has chocolate Easter eggs and pretzels for sale today as a
fundraiser for the Society (made by Fishing Creek Salem United Methodist
Church). Cost is $2/egg and $3/bag of
chocolate covered pretzels. Pam is also
taking orders for pick-up at the April meeting.
(2)
The 64th Anniversary Dinner is scheduled for Sunday, May 7th
at Yoder’s Restaurant/Buffet in New Holland.
Yoder’s is currently closed on Sundays but hopes to re-open by April 9th
(Easter). If they will not be open for
Sunday, May 7th, members will be notified through emails, website,
phone calls, etc. of an alternate plan to celebrate the Society’s Anniversary.
Registration forms are on the front table to register and pay Judy Kuether for
the meal.
(3)
“See PA Covered Bridges Week” is May 13th-21st with
“National Travel and Tourism Week” May 7th through May 13th. We provide the PA Welcome Centers with
displays on Covered Bridges on a tri-fold board. Volunteers are needed to set-up these
displays at the 14 Welcome Centers; see Judy Kuether. Tim McLaughlin volunteered to do Welcome
Centers in Erie and Delaware County.
(4)
Jim Smedley updated us on the Vermont Safari in September. There are 74 members from TBCBSP and/or The
National Society now registered to attend.
Connie McLaughlin is working on the T-shirt design and patch.
(5)
The Bloomsburg Covered Bridge Arts Festival is October 5-8, 2023. Hours are 9-5 Wednesday through Saturday and
9-4 Sunday. Volunteers are needed for
set-up, tear down and to work each day.
(Please see Judy Kuether).
(6)
The current Officer’s term expires September 30, 2023. Joe and Joanne McCarthy have agreed to be the
Nominating Committee. Please see them if
you are interested in any position, including nominating yourself or another
person.
COVERED BRIDGE ITEMS: Pam Mailey shared a 3-D handmade picture
she found at an antique shop of a farm and covered bridge with a horse and
buggy exiting the bridge (made by Lambert’s Crafts in Quakertown).
SHOW-AND-TELL: As part of our meeting, we will have a member
volunteer for a “Show and Tell” to talk about 5 minutes on their collection or
an item/hobby important to them. Gloria
Smedley talked about her patch collection and shared one binder of patches. She asked for volunteers for future meetings.
NEXT MEETING: Our next meeting is April 2nd. This
is our bake sale fundraiser with canned/boxed food donations for this church’s
food pantry. The Program will be “PA’s
Covered Bridges” by Pam Mailey.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The December 2022 minutes were approved
with one correction (change Cynthia Beard to Cindy Beard).
PROGRAM TODAY: “Patches
and Portals” by Gloria Smedley.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 4:10 pm.
Respectfully Submitted by
Pam Mailey, Recording Secretary, March 28, 2023