170AMODELA

BRIDGE ALMOST FINISHED

First of all I would like to announce that Sabina and myself were honored to be the first passengers in a Model A to cross the bridge.

Here is a picture of the event and the almost finished 60 ft bridge Rod & Fletcher have put across a creek on their property. They have one more section to go and it only lacks a little work on the roof then it will be moved into place and joined with the other two sections.

Fletcher and Rod are trying to get this all done in time for a June 17^th Tour that our Gallopin’ Gertie Club from Tacoma, WA with the Beaver Chapter out of Portland OR and the Cowlitz “A”’s from Longview, WA are planning.

We plan on having some pretty Photo Opportunities as it gives us a few hundred feet of road from the barn to the bridge, which they will line the road on each side with split rail fencing. An entire line of Model “A”’s along the road plus a group in the parking area should make a good picture. Also, there will probably be an opportunity to get a picture of each car as it comes through over the bridge.

Rod & Fletcher are going to construct some old fashioned “Out Houses” to house some Port-a-potties they are planning on leasing.

It will be a little early in the year to watch the Salmon Spawn but we can be right next to the creek and cook our hamburgers and eat all the food we plan on having.

Fletcher said he was going to try and register this as Washington States 9^th Covered Bridge and use that as the name of the Bridge. Personally, I would have tried for some Model A theme for it.

Will follow up with more of the details and pictures after the June 17^th outing.

Stay tuned.

I recently had an opportunity as well as an invitation to visit some very nice folks in Chehalis, Washington.

We have several Gallopin’ Gertie Club Members living in that area and one of them is Fletcher Anderson. I first met Fletcher when he purchased a 1931 tudor from a family who had just lost a wonderful husband, father and grand-father. When I first saw Fletcher with that Model A, I just said “That is a perfect match” He and that car fit so well together.

A few of our Gallopin’ Gertie Model “A” Ford Club Members were invited by Fletcher Anderson and Rod Rice to visit their home in Chehalis, Washington.

The group consisted of Dick & Sabina Burton, John & Karie Austin and Andy & Sami Panagiotou who made the trip on October 9, 2005.We stopped by Steve and Peggy Birley’s place who are from Chehalis and they joined us and showed us the way to Fletcher’s place. The weather was just terrific for this trip.

There are several Gallopin’ Gerite members living in the Centralia/Chehalis area and they bring their local Model “A” folks from the Cowlitz Valley A’s when we have a function in that general area and especially the "Mossyrock” tour area.

When we arrived, we were greeted by some very nice people, Fletcher Anderson, Rod Rice and their neighbor lady, Louise (Toots) Mohoric, who was the original owner of the property and raised a family (3 children) in that home.

Fletcher and his friend, Rod live in a small older home, which they purchased some years, back and originally included about 108 acre’s. It has a creek running through the property and somewhat surrounded by small mountain/hills terrain. They recently purchased an additional 42 adjoining acres for the preservation of wildlife, which gave them a total of 150 acres. The home initially was in need of considerable repairs/maintenance as you can tell from the following pictures.

They wanted it to be a home dated to the 1920’s-1930’s style and the desire was to live the lifestyle of Pre-World War II. He says this was the best years he could have ever lived, as one could trust another very much, doors could be left open and it was just a happy and friendly era.

As they proceeded with their reconstruction of the home they kept pictures and planned designs. The home yard is surrounded by a picket fence consisting of approximately 1,800 hand made pickets, which has perfect symmetric curves and apple trees with some very delicious apples. Walkways lined on each side by flowers and when one walks up to the home, they are greeted by music from pre-WWII.

Their lifestyle consist of utilizing wood stoves for cooking as well as heat for the home.. They have era lighting fixtures, refrigerator and radios (These are shown in the following pictures).

They are currently installing a 60 ft bridge across the creek and will eventually cover it to show it as an old time covered bridge. The bridge replaces culverts, which prevented Salmon from getting to their desired waters for spawning. They are hoping to have the Bridge in place plus a road constructed for our Model “A” Club to hold a picnic in a “Special Place” they have selected (Nice area). (On October 20, 2005 Fletcher told me the bridge was now in place and he would get me some pictures of it).

Fletcher has a thing about Burma Shave signs as he has made several years of them to the exact specifications of Burma Shave. He installed the posts for display of these signs along the side of the road on his property to the exact specification for distance from road and separation distances as specified by Burma Shave and on the first of each month he changes this signs to the next set. This is a continuous thing and when he has gone through the entire list, he will start back over again.

Fletcher and Rod have several cars, which include a 1928 pickup, a 1931 Tudor, a 1931 Phaeton and a 1931 Roadster, in addition they have a 1938 Plymouth and a 1933 Buick (which Fletcher has owned since about 1950). There were other cars but I never got a chance to see all of them.

Fletcher Anderson is a very accomplished Pianist and Composer. He studied Music through a Private Teacher and at the age of 23 was invited to give a concert at Studyvesant Hall in New York City. He has spent 10 years traveling and performing in concerts.

Enjoy the pictures and I will try to keep up with the progress on the bridge.

THIS IS THE PHOTO USED FOR FLETCHERS CONCERT IN NEW YORK CITY WHEN HE WAS 23 YEARS OLD