Podcast

Kim interviews engineer Bob Durfee of DuBois & King about bridgewright Peter Paddleford and his unique truss design. Learn why even though it was never patented, the Paddleford truss dominated covered bridge construction in northern New England for many years. Today there are only 22 Paddleford covered bridges left in New England.

Kim interviews two people who were instrumental in the 2021 rehabilitation of the Bement Bridge in Bradford. Town Administrator Karen Hambleton and engineer Josif Bicja from Hoyle Tanner share their experiences with the project and walk us through a $1.6 million renovation of an historic covered bridge. 

Kim interviews engineer Sean James, Senior Vice President at Hoyle, Tanner & Associates in Manchester, about the 2014, twenty-one-month-long rehabilitation of the Bath Bridge in Bath, New Hampshire. Sean walks us through the process of carrying out a $2 million project on a 375’ covered bridge and shares some interesting stories he learned along the...

Kim interviews Sandwich Historical Society Director Jim Mykland about the Durgin family of Sandwich and their namesake covered bridge. Learn about the Durgin's influence on the political climate of Sandwich in the mid-nineteenth century as well as their role in the Underground Railroad.

Kim interviews New Hampshire Preservation Alliance Executive Director Jennifer Goodman about historic preservation efforts in the state and their impact on saving covered bridges. Join us for a conversation about successful preservation efforts and how the Alliance celebrates this work.

Kim talks with Steve Taylor of Plainfield about the importance of covered bridges in New Hampshire communities. Steve explains how a practical approach to bridge building has translated into part of our cultural cache and how important these covered bridges are not only to small towns but to the state as a whole.

Kim talks with master bridgewright Arnold M. Graton of Holderness about his long career preserving and restoring historic structures, most notably, covered bridges. Arnold shares his experiences utilizing nineteenth-century construction to both restore, and build, new covered bridges, not only in New Hampshire but across the country. This is a rare interview with a true...

Kim talks with Trish Kane, Collections Curator of the Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Resource Center in Oxford, New York. Trish shares a history of the center, the significance of its namesake, and her personal journey in the preservation of historic covered bridges.

Kim interviews  Marilyn Stuller of Langdon about her experience leading the fundraising efforts to save Langdon’s two historic covered bridges. Marilyn shares the story of the organic process that took fourteen years to complete and the value of preserving part of the tapestry of the greater Langdon community.

Kim interviews Francis Faulkner, Jr. of Swanzey, about his involvement in fundraising efforts to rebuild the Slate Bridge after it was destroyed by arson in 1993. Francis shares the many layers of funding through the process of town meeting and the community connection to covered bridges in Swanzey.

Kim talks with Kaleigh Paré Shaughnessy, Executive Director of the John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace, about the namesake of the Whittier Bridge in Ossipee. Kaleigh tells us the story of how a young Massachusetts poet transitioned from a fierce abolitionist to one of America’s most beloved fireside poets, and how his name became attached to a...

Kim talks with lifelong Swanzey resident Lee Dunham about the namesake of the Thompson covered bridge. Lee walks us through the exciting life of actor and playwright Denman Thompson and his production, The Old Homestead; and how integral the play has been to the town of Swanzey for over a hundred years.