Many of the Waitsfield Select Board know that I have complained ad nauseam about the "new" look of the covered bridge. Ever since its renovations in the 1970s, the whole look of the bridge was changed and in my mind became "prettified," if there is such a word! So when I hear that folks "are concerned about keeping a sidewalk as part of the bridge but doing so without changing the bridge's visual appearance...,” I go gaga....! The "visual appearance" is awful!
I do not remember what the bridge was like before 1940 as I was born in 1937,
but I do remember what it was like when I lived in the village in the 1940s and
walked through the pedestrian walkway every day on my way to and from grammar
school at what now is called the Old High School.
It was also one of my favorite places to hang out, watch the water flow down
the river, as I worried and wondered about my mother who was dying of a
malignant brain tumor back home on the farm. It became my special hideaway
while living with my Aunt Marion and Uncle Paul Moriarty when my mother's
condition became so grave that I could no longer stay at Round Barn Farm with
my father and brother. There was no one there to watch me. Therefore, that old
covered bridge has very special meaning to me, and I, for one, would love to
see it returned to its earlier plain lines.
As a non-Valley resident, I have no control or say in what is done with the
bridge now, but if massive change is anticipated, perhaps now would be a good
time to decouple the walkway from the rest of the bridge as it was way back
when…. It certainly looked better when the walkway had its own roof line rather
than being an extension of the bridge roof as it is now and as it was designed
by Mr. Gratton in the 1970s.
Well, I guess I am just getting old as I live in the past. So, since my move to
Montpelier a year and a half ago, I have been attempting to recall some of The
Valley as I remember it through oil paintings. Recently, I finished an oil
rendition of the Waitsfield Village covered bridge as a reminder to me of the
look we lost back in the 1970s. Although I am no trained artist, I believe it is
a fairly accurate rendition of what the bridge was like in the 1940s, as I used
an old photograph to copy. Sometimes this kind of life review helps set to rest
a childhood with lots of pain.
On a more positive note, it was delightful to see that the "Senior
Moments" page, which I used to write, has been resurrected! Although I get
to The Valley rarely now, particularly with the high cost of gas, it is good to
know that caring folks are continuing to maintain what is important while
instituting new types of sustainable living for the 21st century.
Keep up the good work in that part of Vermont that will always be my home as I
continue writing my memoirs and hanging out at the State House during the
legislative session.
Peace to all,
Mary Alice Bisbee lives in Montpelier.
