The Fred Yenerall Collection

Website is now live

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 20:54:00 +0000

I have worked all weekend on the website. But I'm happy to say that its now live. It's not totally finished but it's about 80% done.

What we changed.

- We changed hosting companies. The photos are no longer hosted by Smugmug. This is now going to allow us to have more pages indexed in Google, and you will be able to find more of the images in Google Image search.

- We added some extra links such as adsense, and advertisers that you may be interested in. We don't collect any money from the photos, we are hoping that this way will give us enough money to pay for hosting and upkeep on the sites.

- We have the site set up so it loads faster. You don't have to click through 20 pages to get the photo that you want. We have them all loaded on one page now. So far with testing it seems to load fast with DSL or Cable Modem. We haven't tested it with dial up connections.

- We made less categories and galleries. We think it will be less confusing with less categories. The nice thing is now you can see ALL the galleries on EVERY page. So you don't have to go back to the home page to choose a different gallery.

- Quick overview of photos. If you Want to see all the bridges we have in the county, you now can do it from one page. If you want to see a bigger version of that photo, or read more about that photo you can click on the photo and get the bigger photo and the history of the bridge or the photo.

-Quick Links Across the Top. These take you to the most popular galleries. Notice: This will pull up all the categories with the galleries and will load slower while all the smaller photos load on the page.

-Shopping at Ebay from the site: you can now click on the link at the left to shop at ebay for items containing bridges, mills, and barns. It will take you to Ebay to purchase but I did all the searching and will only bring in the most up to date items for you. This will change hourly.

- About the Password Protected Pages: When at smugmug I had family sections that Grandpap took of the immediate family photos. These were hid pretty well there I still have these on the new site, but unless your family you won't be able to see them. There are MANY unflattering photos of our family shown there, trust me your not missing much.

Whats left to do:

- I want to organize the photos by years within the counties. So when you look at the zillions of photos of Ebenezer Covered Bridge, you can see how it changed over the years. and not see it being moved after you see it already set up at the new location.

-I want to get more information on the photos, or link to Lost Bridges.org for all the information on the bridge itself. I personally feel that I will be linking to Lost Bridges because all the research that they have on the bridges, I could never duplicate it on my site.

- Finish uploading and databasing the rest of the photos. This will be done over the next few weeks. It has been a long weekend for me, All the photos needed uploaded again to the new server, then all the information needed typed in again. So I'm going to take a few days off away from the site and work my full time job, then work on it again next weekend.

- Correct spelling errors and other errors I made over the weekend. Mostly I probably have a zillion spelling errors. Sometimes its because I simply can't spell, or it could be because I wasn't able to read well enough the information off the slide. But then - I can blame it on the keyboard... Which I think I will. All errors is because of the keyboard. :)

Sometime this week Smugmug will be canceled. For me it's bitter-sweet. If it wasn't for that site, I would of never had all these photos organized the way that they are. I never had any problems with them, in fact I would highly recommend them to store photos. The reason that I moved them is for the fact that I make no money off this site, and I simply couldn't afford to host them there any longer. If you are looking for a site to host your photos, do consider SmugMug. You will not be unhappy at all. If you have a problem or a technical question they will respond to you in a matter of hours, not days like most places.

I hope that you like the new site. I am very pleased with the way it turned out for being done so quick. I think it's much better layout and easier to navigate.

If you would like to show some of the photos on your site, you can contact me at fmyphotos@gmail.com and I will work with you to get them to you. If you notice that all photos are now able to be saved to your computer, I am not even going to protect them from being downloaded at this time. But if you do snatch a picture from me, please at least give credit back to the site.

Thanks!

Judy

Website Updating

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 02:03:00 +0000

Over Thanksgiving day weekend I will be moving FMY Photos to a new host and it will have a new look! I hope to have it live by December 1st, with most of the photos move over by then.

Today I started the long process, and Murphy's Law is right here with me today. Anything and Everything that could go wrong has. But I think I have it mostly figured out, and should be able to move right along with building the site this weekend.

At the new site, I still have a link to Smugmug where the photos are still hosted at this time. It's just too expensive to keep them there, so I have no choice but to move them if I want to still show them.

So if you try to get to FMY PHOTOS and see a new design, or a half-done website this is why. It's still a work in progress. And Right now I am working full time, so it's going to take about a week to move everything over to the new site. Unfortunately I have no choice but to have the site live while I am doing this. So you may see some pretty weird things while I am fixing things. But it will all be worth it.

Photos will be used in Documentry

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 15:44:00 +0000

I am in contact with someone who wants to use some of the photos for a documentry. I am excited that his photos will be in film!

I can hardly wait. They will start out with the Washington County PA photoe which there are allot of them, and then move on to other counties.

I will update you when the documentry is finished and will give links!

Sure, Why Not?: It's not always a goofy hobby...

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:51:00 +0000

Sure, Why Not?: It's not always a goofy hobby...

Adam, another photographer who takes beautiful photos and who loves Road signs, has just had some photos published in a Magazine.

If you want check out his website please do you will also find photos from The Fred Yenerall Collection there. But he also has many awesome photos of his own of Covered Bridges, signs and old buildings. He has many photos of places that Fred didn't have.

He has many photos of road signs on his personal website. http://www.gribblenation.com/papics/

Check it out if you can and you love photos of old buidings and roadsigns.

Website update

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 23:30:00 +0000

I am still working on the new website. Hopefully it will be easier to navigate then on Smugmug, where I have the photos hosted at now.

It has taken me longer than usual to do the website, there are just so many photos in the collection, that each one needs captioned, and organized. But it's coming along slowly.

It has just been taking most of my time just working on the site. But I am happy with the way it looks so far.

Blairsville Historical Society of Indiana County PA

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 06:08:00 +0000

There was a post that I did on Blairsville County Covered Bridge, I retyped some information from the Mapbox and posted it. I didn't think anything else about it, just figured it was old information that people would read and forget about. In fact, most of the papers in the box are so old, that scanning them and having them presentable wasn't even an option for me. Even the picture of the bridge itself wasn't the best quailty, but then again the bridge collapsed in 1874.

The Blairsville Historical Society of Indiana County PA has used the information and made a great presentation of the Blairsville Covered Bridge.

You can find that here. (or click on the photo).

They have made an impressive paper on the bridge, even using a photo from the Fred Yenerall Collection, and it's excellent. I was so impressed with the way the presented all this information.

I think it is absolutely wonderful that they have used the information to allow people to learn about the history of the bridge and the community.

All the Covered Bridges in Indiana County are shown on their website with descriptions about the bridges. I have used their site to research some of the bridges when I was doing the photos. They even have a link to driving to each and every bridge that is still standing in the county.

The information on many of these places weren't easily available when Fred was alive, they did everything with snailmail, and word of mouth. Imagine how much information I would have if the Internet was available back in the 70's.

Video on Mailpouch Barns

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:07:00 +0000

Found Clips on Harley Warrick's mailpouch barns. Harley is one of the best known painters for Mailpouch barns. He has painted hundreds of barns all by hand. Without templates.

Alternate Link:
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1344594092

Fred Loved Mailpouch barns. He had quite a few in his collection. There aren't many of the barns still standing.

You can see photos of the barns at FMY Photos, or Ohiobarns.com.

Update on Westmoreland House Photo

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:49:00 +0000

House built in 1826.

It has been brought to my attention that this house that Fred Yenerall took 1971 is now up for sale. It's nice to know that it's still standing. The realtor's website also gave some fantastic information on this house.

Historic Facts about the house From the website of the Realtor:

The area known as Youngstown was settled in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Believed to be on a road cut through the area during the war between England and France in 1755-60, a number of taverns and inns operated in the area at the turn of the century.
The area became even more popular with travelers when the Greensburg Turnpike, part of the road running between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, was authorized in 1815.
It wasn’t until the construction of Rt. 30 north of Youngstown that it became a quite residential community.
As would be expected from an area settled this early, many local homes, churches, schools, and businesses have a rich and long history.
But perhaps no individual’s history is as well known in the area as Arnold Palmer, who was born in 1929 in Latrobe and frequented the Latrobe Country Club with regularity as early as age 5.
Arnold and his brother, Gerry, not only both still own homes in Latrobe, they are your neighbors.
The home for sale, 207 Arnold Palmer, was built in 1826 and was the home of Jacob Brindle.
Jacob’s grandfather, Lawrence Brindle, came to Youngstown in the early 1800s and purchased a large tract of land, where he operated a farm with his two sons, John (Jacob’s father) and George.
George moved to Ohio while John, and later Jacob, inherited the farm.
Jacob and wife Peggy Aukerman and they had three decendents.
One son, E. Lewis Brindle, moved to Latrobe in his twenties and engaged in the grocery business.
Another son, John, continued to operate the farm with his wife and seven decendents
One of them, Jacob, ran the farm and worked the coal deposits on the property for 25 years until he moved his farm to Latrobe.
This home has a rich history as both the site of an inn and a stagecoach shop.
Even more intriguing, a hidden compartment in the attic and local lore lead the current owners to believe it was once a stop on the Underground Railroad.

I love getting updated on these photos, and knowing that these places are still standing, and Tina, who brought this house to my attention, (she is the one that own's the round-house in a previous entry) also found updated photos of this house and forwarded them to me. It appears that the house still looks the same now as it did back then, or at least the front of the house does.

If you would like to be the new owner of this historic house, or see the virtual inside tour of the house and property you can Contact or visit the website of Tidwell Realty .

Mood's Covered Bridge Reopens soon

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:40:00 +0000

Mood's Covered Bridge Taken in 1965 by Fred Yenerall

Mood's Covered bridge will re-open soon and they will allow traffic to drive across the covered bridge.

Right now the Bridge is owned by PennDOT, after the dedication it will be given to the township at that time. It is still being worked on at the moment.

Mood's Covered bridge was destroyed by Arson in June of 2004.

Order your prints now for Christmas and Save Money

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 20:12:00 +0000

As you can tell on the website, there is a slightly new look there. I had downgraded the account to save money while still being able to keep the photos online. This allows me to keep the photos online, and you still can purchase photos if you want them, but there is no frills anymore. I can not put on my custom header so it's just the blah name. But that's ok. I think most people go there to look at the photos anyhow, not look at my header.

The part that most people will like to know is that if you order a photo now from the site, there is no price markup anymore. That's right, I don't make a penny on the photos. I am leaving them on Smugmug so that photos can still be ordered if you want a photo. I love Smugmug with the guarantee, if you don't like the photo for ANY reason, send it back, they will reprint it, or give you back your money.

The Prices for smugmug now is as follows:

(you can click on the photo to go to the pricing page)

They are quick at shipping, and you can get a 4X6 photo for .19 cents and a 5X7 for .99 cents. There is no minimum to buy to get these prices. They ship from Georgia, I have ordered many photos from Smugmug and was very happy with each purchase. If you have problems with your order, send an email and someone will be back to you within hours, not days! I love that about Smugmug.

You can also buy gifts like mousepads, photo books, aprons with your favorite photo on it.

As I said before these are the same prices that I would pay for the items at Smugmug.

Why am I doing this? I decided that it's not worth the cost to pay for the site to make a little profit every year. I still want the photos online for people to be able to see them and own this little part of history and to enjoy the photos, but can't afford the professional website fees.

I Love to get updates on the photos

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 20:03:00 +0000

Grandpap loved to take photos of many buildings and structures around Greensburg, Pennsylvania. I no longer live in Pennsylvania, so I don't get to visit these places to see if they are still standing. But I love to hear about these places as they are today.

Last week I was contacted by an ower of a house that Grandpap took photos of back in 1974. The house is still standing, and the owers were excited to see photos of the house online.
The house had some windows replaced from what they said, the round windows aren't there any more.

This is how the home looked in 1974.

This is just one of the unique homes that he took photos of. This house is located in Irwin PA. It's such unique home that he captured in photos.

I did learn why he liked log cabins so well, he grew up in a log cabin in New Alexandria PA. I just learned that about him, a fact that I never knew before.

If you come across any photos in the collection, and can share any thing to update the information, please email me at fmyphotos@gmail.com . I love to hear about how these places have changed since he took the photos of them.

New Look at Website

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 01:25:00 +0000

I am still working on the website, but untill I am happy with it and have it ready to go live, I will still be using Smugmug. Everything is still where it was, and you can still get to it by going to www.fmyphotos.com but some things look different. I downgraded the account to save money.

Photos can still be bought but I will no longer make a profit off of them. But to make a profit off of them, I would of had to stay with the professional account and it was just too much money. So my loss will be your gain.

I was hoping to have the website done by Thankgiving this year, but it's so many photos that need moved that I just haven't had the time to finish it.

There is still a link to the blog from the main website. Keep checking back.

From the Map Box - Blairsville Covered bridge

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:36:00 +0000

Here is another sheet of information that was in the Map Box again it's impossible to copy and scan - these are typed on old typewriter paper, which isn't really paper, it looks more like transparent film. If your old enough to remember what typewriter paper was back in the 60's and 70's you will understand. So I will retype it.

- it's titled

NOTES AND DATA ON THE BLAIRSVILLE COVERED BRIDGE

* Erected 1821-22 by the Conemaugh Bridge Company. In November 1822 passable for wagons. Fully Completed September 1823

* Cost $15,000. James Moore, Contractor. Covered arch structure. Wernwag plan, 300-feet span with (no?) piers. Said to have been in 1822 and for some years afterward the longest single-span structure of it's kind in the United States.

* First bridge to cross the Conemaugh River

* First schedule of tolls:

Foot pedestrian 2 cents,

six horses and four-wheeled wagon 75cents,

five horses, four-wheel wagon 62 cents,

four horses, four wheels 50cents,

three horses, four wheels 44 cents,

two horses, four wheels 37 cents,

one horses, four wheels 31 cents,

sleighs of sleds with four horses 37 1/2 cents

single horses with or without riders 6 cents

sheet or swine 2 cents per head

cattle 4 cents

gig and one horse 18 cents

- the above from history of Indiana County (Newark, Ohio. J.A. Caldwell, 1880) Pages 349-350

* Bridge traffic in 1829:

pedestrians on foot 12,527

One horse wagons 374

Two-horse wagons 245

Four-horse wagons 781

Five horse wagons 1566

Six-horse wagons 1438

Cattle 497

Sheep 98

Swine 475

Stagecoaches 730 times

Yearly subscribers 325

- the above from Thomas F Gordon, A Gazetteer of the State of Pennsylvania ( T. Belknap, Philadelphia, 1833)

* Act of the General Assembly, March 28, 1820, "Authorising the Governor to incorporate the President, Managers, and Company of the Conemaugh Bridge Company" George Mulhollan, junior; Moses Murphy, Nathaniel Doty, Samuel Bard, and Edward Howard named Bridge Commissioners. To Commence selling stock at $50 per share on or before August 1,

Notices to be published in each of the newspapers of Indiana and Westmoreland Counties for at least one calendar month. $2 fee payable immediately as each share of stock in subscribed; the balances to be paid in installments. The Governor to issue letters patent after 200 shares subscribed. Books to be closed when 300 shares subscribed. Bridge must be completed within 10 years.

* Act of March 26, 1821 authorizes Governor to subscribe 100 shares at $50 each to the stock of the Conemaugh Bridge Company on behalf of the Commonwealth.

* First officers of the Conemaugh Bridge company:

Andrew Brown, president

John Doty, Treasurer

Managers - James Moorhead, Samuel Baird, Nathannel Doty, John Bingham, John Anderson, and R. K. Simpson

William Clark, First tollgate-keeper

- the above from J.T Stewart, Indiana County, Pennsylvania.

Volume 1 pages 463 (Chicago, J. R. Beers and Co. 1913)

* The Commonwealth sold its 100 shares of stock at a sale in Harrisburg, November 28, 1842

* Specifications of the Bridge:

Length between abutments 295 feet,

35 feet above water level (from Hazard's Register of Pennsylvania, Volume 2 page 297

* Bridge had 2 wagon tracks separated by timbers and small windows at intervals, painted white and yellow. Toll house on the west side of the River. (Westmoreland County)

* Tolls November 1822- September 1823 $1569.30 1/2

* On December 31, 1831 a 14% yearly dividend declared to stockholders.

* Yearly Pass cost $1.50

- The above from Lois F. Smith, History of Blairsville (Pennsylvania State College, Master's thesis, 1939) Page 36

** Bridge fell at 10:00 pm on Thursday January 22, 1874

More information about this bridge can be found at Lost Bridges. org here

Notes from the Box- Somerset County Covered Bridges

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 15:17:00 +0000

This is a report of sorts from Somerset county, PA. The date on this is 1979 and was typed up and researched by my Grandfather's friend, Johnny Otto. If I would scan it, you wouldn't be able to see it. Age has made it yellowish, and it's hard to read, so I am retyping it.

Here's what it says:

This is a partial list of bridges and information printed in the Laurel Wessinger November 1963 with additional information and corrections added by John M. Otto. "Gone" bridges without information are deleted. This list is not for sale but compiled only for those interested in preserving our remaining covered bridges.

John M. Otto

The first bridge in Somerset County was built in the 1987 over Laurel Hill Creek near Bakersville, adjacent to an early Grist mill owned by William Jones.

in 1798 a second bridge was built over Laurel Hill Creek Down the stream on the Middle Road. Cost $283. Jacob Harbaugh, John Selmer Jr. Contractors.

Another bridge was built in 1798 over Coxes Creek at Ankey's mill, south of Somerset. Cost $140. Christian Ankeny, contractor.

In 1802 a second bridge was built over Coxes Creek at the east end of Somerset on the Bedford Turnpike (now Rt 31).

Kings Bridge 36-56-06 built 1806 over Laurel Hill Creek on the Old Clay Pike, This was a popular drovers Highway from Turkeyfoot to Bedford. Still standing at the original location along the south side of Rt 653. Now being used by owner John R King as a storage Shed. Length 188 feet.

In 1811 a bridge was built over Laurel Hill Creek At Bakersville, up stream from the one built at Wm. Jones' Mill. Peter Kimmel, Conrad Will, Contractors.

In 1815 a bridge was built over Castleman River at Harnedsville, cost $799. John Webster, John Answalt, Jacob Blocker, Jacob Ankeny contractors. It was washed out by a flood and in 1832 it was replaced by another bridge, (on old Rt 53) in 1832. Cost $900. John Mong, contractor.

In 1816 Schaff's bridge was built over Castleman River at Rockwood Cost $1350. John Answalt, John Webster, Jacob Ankeny, John Gebhert contractors, Washed out in a flood 1936.

In 1819 a bridge was built over the Castleman River at West Salisbury. COst $1075. John Answalt contractor. Bridge stood for 100 years.

Barronvale Bridge 36-56-03 Still standing and maintained as a historical Landmark. Built in 1828 and completed in 1830 over Laurel Hill creek at what was then Peter Kooser's Mill. Cost to County $300. Length 162 feet. Cassimer Cramer, Contractor. Remodeled and strengthened with bow string truss arches in 1845. Still standing North of Rt 653 Along LR 55149 at Barronvale.

In 1836 a bridge was built over Castleman River at Meyersdale. Cost $1000. Peter Meyers, contractor. Replaces with an iron Structure in 1899.

Page 2

In 1838 a bridge was built over Castleman River at Boynton, cost $1000. John Mong Contractor, replaced by an iron structure in 1903.

BEECHDALE or Althouse Bridge 38-56-01 Built in 1870 over buffalo Creek North of Farret off rt 219 Length 52 feet Still in use.

Glessner Bridge 38-56-08

built over Stony Creek Lenght 96 feet 1 mile north of Shanksville off lr 55068. Still in use

Lower Humbert Bridge 38-56-08

Built in 1891 over Laurel Hill Creek along lr 55030 south of Humbert. Length 125 feet Still in use.

Trostletown Bridge 38-56-10 built prior to Civil War over Stoney Creek just south of Rt 30 at Stoystown. Length 113 feet Formerly carried to RT 30. Repaired in 1959. Still Standing. closed to traffic.

Breathaking or Grady Bridge 38-56-07 built in 1880 over Stony Creek 1/2 mile west of Shanksville. Length 81 feet Fell into the stream and was removed in 1967.

Upper Humbert Bridge 38-56-04 Built in 1891 over Laurel Hill Creek north of Humbert off lr 55030. Length 109 feet Destroyed by arson in 1969.

Hay's bridge over Coxes Creek north of Rockwood. Lost in 1954 by a flood.

Glencoe Bridge at Goencoe, built over Wills Creek. Replaced by a concrete bridge in 1957

New Baltimore Bridge 38-56-09 Built over Raystown Brance of Junita River off lr 55051 in New Baltimore. Length 87 feet Still in use.

Packsaddle Bridge 36-56-02 built in 1870 over Brush Creek off lr 55005 north of Fairhope. Length 48 feet . Still in use.

Ben's Creek (or Sheffer) bridge 38-56-11. Built in 1877 over Ben's Creek at village of Ben's creek. Off east side of old rt 219. Length 68 feet. Still in use.

This is today's find from the map box! There are more goodies in the box! Stay tuned.

Old Letters about Washington County Covered Bridges

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 21:56:00 +0000

Grandpap had a map for almost every county in Pennsylvania. Here he would write notes and have directions to the bridges, churches, and mills. While I knew there was sheets in there with the bridges listed on the counties, I found some interesting things. I plan on scanning them to get them online, but here are some interesting things I learned in the letter that was written By Fred Collins about Washington County, PA Covered Bridges. The date of the letter is 7/17/74.

Background on the reason of the letter: It appears that this is the time that my Grandfather took over marking the covered bridges on the Washington County Maps for The Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Society in PA. This looks like a letter that was sent to members about the new 'map-marker' Fred Yenerall as well as the update on the conditions of the Washington County, PA Bridges.

Informative Information on the letter -

THIS IS THE INFORMATION THAT WAS DATED in 1974! Things have changed some.

- Washington County has been painting the bridges red since about 1964. Before 1964 All the bridges were unpainted and rustic- looking.

- Thompson Covered bridge, was removed during 1965

- Pine Bank Covered bridge was moved to Washington county from Greene County by Mr. Albert Miller. It is now part of Meadowcroft Village which is Western Pennsylvania's Answer to Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. There is an admission charged for entry into the Village.

- Longdon - The bridge's life is threatened by a flood control program for the Wheeling Creek.

- Bailey - Bridge was restored and the only bridge in the county that is a Burr Truss. It is the 1st bridge to be painted Red. It was restored in 1964 and has been pained regularly since. In 1967 a picnic ground was added at the south end of the bridge.

- there used to be 2 bridges that border with Greene county, But Hawkins was burnt down . Now only Davis Bridge is on the border. (notes from my Grandfather - Hawkins - Burned 6/28/74)

- Hughs is right besides a cloverleaf for Interstate 79. When the I-79 was built the water under the bridge changed. Where it used to be a stream it's now backwater. The bridge is by-passed, and now there is a stairway leading down the hill to get to the bridge.

- Wright Bridge, and Ebeneezer can be seen from the Interstate. The Wright Bridge was the 2nd bridge in Washington County that was painted.

- Ebeneezer is named for the church on the north side of the road. It has been cut off from the Church by the Interstate highway. It was used for a garage, and rumor has it that it may be moved to Mingo Park up near the Henry Bridge. (it has been moved)

Note at Bottom of letter:

Come prepared for hilly country and dirt roads that are muddy in the Spring. Make sure your gas tank is filled, especially now. There never were many gas stations in the hills.

The letter was signed by Fred Collins.
Third Vice President

While it was only a 2 page letter it gave alot of good information on the bridges in Washington County in the 1970's.

As far as the new website, I'm still working on it. It has to be done by December. So keep looking for it. (probably at the last minute I will have it ready.)

Unidentified bridges now at lostbridges.org

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 16:40:00 +0000

Lostbridges.org has listed some of the FMY Photos on their site that need identified. While Fred did mark them with what he knew about the bridges, they still were unable to be identified. So if you get a chance and want to see if you can identify any bridges, you can go to lostbridges. org.

As he gets the rest of the photos on his website, it will help complete the database he is doing for all bridges in the United States. This is a huge collection that he has been working on, and has been able to fill in alot of gaps of these bridges. Many - actually most of the bridges do have photos so you can see how they looked. It's awesome site, that I frequently use to check the facts on the images that I am working on. He has had information sent to him from many sites, and I trust the information that is on the site. It's the only site that I really found that has all the bridges listed and that you can actually go find the information you need.

Since Fred had alot of old photos that were copied from post cards and cards, newspaper articles, and that I have donated the images to the site so it can be updated with the photos they didn't have. I know that I will never have the time to update everything and maintain a database of that size.

If you are interested in Covered Bridges, and Covered Bridge history, you need to check out the site, any information that he finds about the bridges - trivia, facts, he writes about it on that bridge's page. It's a wealth of information.

As for the new Fred Yenerall Collection Website, I'm making progress. I'm still shooting for the end of September or the end of October. I am leaving the mills and the bridges for last, becuase they're going to be a pain. But I did send a sample out to my sister and she was pleased with the way that it looked. Now when you look a bridge, it will show on one page all the years of that I have photos of. While it is a simple - plain design, it will show everything that I want and will be easier to navigate.

Still working on website

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 01:03:00 +0000

I am still redoing the website. I am taking it off of smugmug. The new site will be plain, cause I'm not good at web design, but should be easier to navigate. I have been researching the pictures as I put them on the site. One site I found that I love is Dale Travis' site. http://www.dalejtravis.com/ It's awesome for researching. Several of Fred's pictures were already on the site, and I donated a few more to the site, for the ones that Dale didn't have. Dale really researches the barns. I think he knows most of the barns by site. He has been a great help with my research, since I only have old material to work with, he actually has it up to date.

I am hoping to have the site ready by the end of September. I have quite a few pages created, but still the mills, and bridges I haven't even started yet. I honestly dread doing them, cause there are so many of them and they will all need done by state/county/bridge. I did do one just to lay out the design, and I like it better because now you can see the bridge over the years, and the changes of the bridge all on one page.

But it's going to take alot of work to finish the site. But I have been working on it about 4 hours a day. So it should be done by the end of September.

Google Image Search - Disappointing results

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 02:40:00 +0000

Tonight I did a search for images from the FMY Photos Website. And I found none. Seems that smugmug doesn't index them in a way that they can be found by doing a google search. To say I'm upset would be an understatement. All the photos on the website are keyworded for people to find them easily, and that took a lot of time to do, only to find out that none of the images are really showing up in the google image search.

So right now I'm kind of torn on what to do with the images. I have a lot of places linking to FMY Photos, if I take the photos off of the smugmug site, alot of places lose the links. On the other hand, I want people to be able to find the photos in an image search. Only the photos that I use on the blog and the articles that I write about these places are showing up. I'm so upset about this, and actually- I'm quite pissed off about this.

So tomorrow I will have to figure out a solution. I do own the domain name of FMYPhotos.com so that will stay the same, but my web building skills isn't that good, but I may have to forgo a prettier website in order to be found by google. I could build my own site, it just will be plain but still will show the photos. If I take the photos off of smugmug, I won't be able to sell them as easy as I do now. It's always something.

Tomorrow It's back to the drawing board.

Photo Calendars Chose your photos now

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 00:45:00 +0000

I am in the process of making calendars for 2008. I am choosing the photos now that will be used. I am planning on making one for Covered Bridges, mills, mail pouch, signs, and furnaces.

If you would like a calendar of 12 photos, you can chose them from the main website and forward them to me, I will use those 12 photos and make you a calendar of those photos. The price for the calendars will be $19.99 each for a 12 month calendar. Please send your requests to fmyphotos@gmail.com and I will notify you when the calendar is ready. You will not need to pay for the calendar till it's ordered.

I plan to have the calendars ready for sale by Friday. I will post the details on the website and this blog.

There will be several different calendars to choose from when they are completed. Details will be posted later this week.

Ohio Covered Bridges

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 11:47:00 +0000

Cincinnati.com wrote a nice article about covered bridges in Ohio recently. Reading through the article I did notice that were some errors. They stated that by one estimate Ohio has nearly 300 covered bridges in the state of Ohio, and PA beats them by only 1-2 more than that. Right now Pennsylvania has 202 bridges still standing. While I don't know the exact number for Ohio, I know that Pennsylvania has the most bridges, so Ohio has to be less than 200 bridges still standing. Ohio is like Pennsylvania restoring and preserving as many of these fine covered bridges as they can, but like the rest of the states lose a few here and there due to arson, flooding and just the age of the bridge it will just collapse.

The Fred Yenerall Collection has many covered bridges from Ohio. I am still sorting them out by counties, there are quite a few counties that I still need to do. With so many photos in the collection, it does take allot of time.

What I like about looking at the photos of the covered bridges in Ohio is that in 1976 they painted several of the covered bridges in Red White and Blue for the bicentennial. I thought how appropriate that they did to with the covered bridges a link to the past and an Icon to the United States. Without the covered bridges, we wouldn't be the country we are today. They needed the Bridges to move merchandise, to get to the grist mills, and to explore other parts of the country. How much pride they had in their work to have bridges still functioning after 100+ years of use, weather and elements. Not only have many bridges stood the test of time, they are out in the elements taking abuse daily from Mother Nature and still standing up to her.

Covered bridges are truly a gift from other generations to us. We photograph them, visit them and walking or driving through them we image what it must of been like for people when the bridge was brand new. It's a gift that we need to preserve for the future generations.

New Hampshire -Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge Repairs start 9/10/07

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 15:20:00 +0000

The bridge will begin being repaired starting September 10, 2007.
The wooden deck is expected to take about 6 weeks to be repaired, the bridge will be closed from 7:30-3:30 daily from September 10-14 then will reopen with a single lane till the 19th.

Bridge taken in 1975

This bridge was built in 1866 for $9,000. It is 449.5 feet long. It is owned and maintained by New Hampshire Department of Transportation.

This used to be a toll bridge until June 1, 1943. It was renovated in 1954, then damaged from a flood and ice in 1977. The state repaired it again but was closed to traffic in 1987 due to deteriorate condition. It finally reopened on December 8,1989 to traffic. This is reported to be the largest wooden covered bridge in the United Stated, and the longest 2 span bridge in the world. This has been a National Historic Landmark since 1970.

Bridge side view

PA Covered Bridge Festival Coming up Sept 15 & 16

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 17:13:00 +0000

I got my brochure in the mail today about the 37th annual Covered Bridge Festival for Washington and Greene county PA. It's going to be held on Sept 15 and 16th. I am planning on making the trip there this year to visit. The collection has a lot of photos from these area's. Grandpap was close to both counties, and did the maps for the Burr Covered Bridge Society for Washington County. He reported back to the frequently about the condition of the covered bridges.

I have been to several of these covered bridges as a young kid and would like to go back and visit, and to see the bridges in person since I have scanned so many of these photos for the area.

Some of the bridges that are now in Washington county used to be in Greene county, and the collection has photos of them in both locations. This is great for history reasons, but it was a nightmare trying to make sure that I had the photos in the correct county. After awhile I did eventually figure it out. I use http://www.lostbridges.org/ and http://www.tbcbspa.com/ as guides to figure out a lot of these puzzles. I also have a collection of books from Grandpap that tells a lot about the bridges, These are the books that he got from Burr Covered Bridge society.

At the festival there will be entertainment and music as well as vendors. It looks like its going to be a great time to explore the bridges, and see how they look now. At one point all the bridges in the counties were unpainted. I believe they painted them all red sometime in the 1960's or early 1970's.

The collection has photos of Ebenezer covered bridge while it was being moved as well as photos of bridges that are gone.

Here are the links for photos and the festival links.
Festival is http://www.washwow.com/
Greene County Covered bridges Greene County Tourism (there is a link to FMY photos from here)

Fmy Photos - Greene county
Fmy photos- Washington County

Update for Knetch Covered Bridge Fire

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 02:11:00 +0000

Knecht's Covered bridge, 1967

It's hard to imagine that a firefighter for the community would try to destroy a historic covered bridge by burning it. But that's exactly what happened. 5 people that attempted to burn the bridge. The bridge wasn't the only thing that they burned, they are accused of setting other fires.

Some of the 5 people accused are still in jail awaiting trial, and some will be charged as adults. While the bridge can be repaired, It's still a shame that the respect for these old historical structures mean so little to some people.

So many covered bridges are lost due to arson, which is a senseless act, once a bridge is burnt, it may be rebuilt, but loses some of the historical features that are present. If the bridge is rebuilt it takes many years to raise the money, and get conntractors that are knowledgable enough to bring it back to the original state that the bridge once way.

Hopefully the tough sentances these people will get will deter others from trying to commint the same act on this bridge or any other bridge.

News Report - Stonelick-Williams Corner Covered Bridge

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 13:24:00 +0000

Stonelick Covered bridge taken in 1966

According to a newspaper article today at Cincinnati.Com about the restoriation of Stonelick-Williams Corner Covered Bridge. The weight limit will be increased to permit buses and trucks. The Federal Highway Administration will give $360,000 to help with the project.

The work should be done by fall 2009.

This bridge was built in 1878 by M. Collins. It is 140 feet long.

Photo from the Fred Yenerall Collection
Information verified from Lost Bridges.
I use Lost Bridges website a lot to verify information. It is one of the best databases around for accurate covered bridge information.

Dingleton Covered Bridge New Hampshire

noreply@blogger.com (Red) — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 15:24:00 +0000

Dingleton
29-10-02
New Hampshire
1975

This picture is just so nice, it's what you really expect to see with a covered bridge in the fall. You can see how it wasn't used much when the photo was taken, with the trees overgrown, and it just looks abandoned. But this is a nice photo.

I did find some information on the bridge from here.

It appears that the bridge is still standing, and the orginal cost was $812.00 to build it. It is 77 feet long.
The bridge was built by James Tasker. It has been restored in 1983.

There are more covered bridges from New Hampshire at FMY Photos.