The Shiretown Blogger reads third issue of agelessNB

I picked up the third copy of agelessNB a few weeks ago at the Connell House Gift Shop. I read the stories with great interest and thoroughly enjoyed them!

My favorite story was a memoir of Woodstock's Island Park.

I have really enjoyed the stories in this magazine, and recently picked up the first three issues for my grandfather!

By the way, if you missed the first two issues, they are still available at Connell House Gift Shop. 

Former CMH property one step closer to re-zoning

The former site of Woodstock's hospital came one step closer to being re-zoned last week.

Woodstock council approved the first and second reading of the bylaw at the Monday, July 23rd regular council meeting, allowing the former Carleton Memorial Hospital property to advance closer to being re-zoned.

A public hearing is scheduled for August 27th for a bylaw to re-zone the property.

The property must be re-zoned from institutional to commercial to allow for any commercial development.

The Carleton Memorial Hospital, which opened in January 1955, closed its doors in 2007 to make way for the Upper River Valley Hospital in Waterville.

The hospital and surrounding buildings were demolished in 2009, and the property has remained vacant ever since.

With files from www.cj104.com 

65th Old Home Week bids farewell to the one-cent coin

The fence is up in front of the Carleton Civic Centre in
Woodstock's Connell Park. In a couple of days, this area
will be packed with people waiting their turns to ride the rides
at the fairgrounds, an annual fixture of the Old Home Week
celebrations in the Shiretown.

WOODSTOCK- The 65th Annual Old Home Week festivities in Woodstock are currently underway.

This year's Old Home Week celebrations will bid adieu to the famous one-cent coin, which the Royal Canadian Mint will cease to produce this fall.

"While the penny will soon be no more, we can celebrate what the penny used to buy," Woodstock Mayor Art Slipp stated on the Old Home Week website. "We can all reflect on priceless memories from a lifetime of Old Home Weeks."

"For most of us, Old Home Week has played a special role in the lives of our families."

The 2012 festivities officially began on Friday, July 28th, with the horse pull at the racetrack in Connell Park.

The 25th Annual Tim Hortons Joe McGuire Road Race followed its usual route from the Woodstock town hall to Grafton on Saturday, July 29th.

The annual 4-H Achievement Day also took place on Saturday morning, at the livestock ring in Connell Park.

A yearly fixture at Old Home Week, the parade was held on Sunday, July 29th. The parade followed its usual route on Sunday afternoon from Deakin Drive to the end of the downtown bridge, and those taking in the parade were encouraged to say goodbye to their pennies in style by donating them to the Woodstock Rotary Club. Proceeds from the parade penny drive would be donated to Camp Rotary, a camp for disabled people.

A gospel concert was held Sunday night, with the band "Side Effects" providing entertainment. A free will offering was taken, and the proceeds will be taken to a local charity.

The "Crowning Jewel" of Old Home Week will take place Monday night. The talent portion of the annual Miss New Brunswick pageant will be held at the Carleton Civic Centre on July 30th at 7:30 pm. The remainder of the pageant will take place on Tuesday, July 31st at 7:30 pm at the Carleton Civic Centre.

One of three cards of harness racing will happen on Monday night at 7 pm at the racetrack in Connell Park.

Old Home Week Image

The New Brunswick Premiere Heifer Show will be hosted at 12 pm on Tuesday, July 31st. The show is sponsored by the Carleton Holstein Club.

The hobby show building and commercial exhibits will open at 5 pm on Tuesday, with the fairgrounds opening at 6 pm.

On Wednesday, August 1st, the children's parade will happen at the Carleton Civic Centre. This year's children's parade has a Disney theme.

A new feature at Old Home Week will also be held on Wednesday. A pie auction will begin at 6 pm at the fairgrounds. Pies will be sold to the highest bidder and can be thrown at a boss, co-worker, friend, former friend, or someone you just don't like.

The second card of harness racing will take place on Wednesday at 7 pm at the racetrack.

The East Coast Opry Show will provide the finest in classic country music on Thursday, August 2nd. Entertainers include Jason Shaw, Phil Kennedy, Andrea Weston, Clay Harrison, Rick Collins, Brittany Shaw, Tom Ryan, Kathleen Jones and Kelly Shaw. Tickets for the show, which begins at 7 pm, are $20, and can be purchased at Creative Framing in Upper Woodstock, the Carleton Civic Centre box office and Mark's the Spot in Bath.

The third and final card of harness racing of the 2012 Old Home Week will take place on Friday, August 3rd at 7 pm at the racetrack.

The popular Napa Auto Parts Demolition Derby will bring smoke, dust, and clanging metal to Connell Park on Saturday, August 4th at 2 pm.

2010 Napa Auto Parts Demolition Derby. Old Home Week Image

A fireworks show will bring the 2012 Old Home Week to a close at 10:15 pm on Saturday night.

The following is a price list of Old Home Week events which require an admission fee.

Event	Admission Fee
Miss New Brunswick Talent Show	$7 (all ages)
Miss New Brunswick Pageant	$15 (adults and students) $10 (children 12 and under)
Napa Auto Parts Demolition Derby	$10 (adults) $5 (students) $2 (children)
East Coast Opry Show	$20 (all tickets)
Harness Racing (Mon. and Wed.)	$2 (adults and students) Children 12 and under-free
Harness Racing (Fri.)	$5 (adults) $2 (students) Children 12 and under-free
Fairgrounds (Tues.)	All rides $2 from 6 pm-midnight
Fairgrounds (Wed.)	Bracelet Day-Unlimited rides for $30 from 1 pm-closing time
Fairgrounds (Thurs., Fri., Sat.)	Regular Ride Pricing (see below)

Ride Coupon Pricing:

Single Ride Coupons	$1.50 each
Sheet of 25 Ride Coupons	$33 each
Sheet of 40 Ride Coupons	$38 each (best value-$0.95 each)

Most rides take 3-4 ride coupons. The Freak Out takes 5 ride coupons

With files from www.oldhomeweek.ca  

Beautiful Friday afternoon on the Meduxnekeag

Friday at the market

Artist Valerie Flewelling was selling prints made from her
original paintings (and cinnamon buns) at the Woodstock Farm
& Craft Market on Friday.

Woodstock Mayor Art Slipp was among the many people who
stopped by to purchase local goods at the Woodstock Farm &
Craft Market on Friday, July 27th.

Popular cafe in Woodstock's downtown closes

A sign was posted on the door of
Bistro 610 on Tuesday morning
informing the public that the cafe was
closed "effective immediately" and
thanking customers for their patronage

WOODSTOCK-What had become a hub of the community within months of its opening closed its doors last week.

Bistro 610, formerly Fusion Cafe, unexpectedly closed for good on Tuesday, July 10th.

The closure of Bistro 610 caught many by surprise - the only indicator of the business closing up shop was a sign in the window stating that Bistro 610 was closed "effective immediately," and thanking customers for their patronage.

Ray Kierstead, owner of Bistro 610, told the Bugle-Observer that the bistro was closed for business reasons.

"In today's environment and economy, operating a restaurant like Bistro 610 costs a lot of money," Kierstead said. "There are costs associated [with] running a business like that."

"Profits have to exceed that, and unfortunately, they didn't."

Kierstead realizes the bistro's closure will have an impact on Woodstock's downtown core. But he remains hopeful that the space will not remain vacant for long.

"There will be another business, quite possibly a restaurant, in there soon," Kierstead told the Bugle-Observer. "I'm optimistic and I'm sure that will happen."

"It will just have a different face than the one we closed."

Bistro 610 (formerly Fusion) - A fixture of the
Woodstock town square since 2006.

Woodstock town councillor Randy Leonard was a frequent customer at Bistro 610. He told the Bugle-Observer about going there every morning with friends for coffee and to do crossword puzzles.

"It was a real social thing for us," Leonard said. "There were other groups that came in later in the morning after us."

"In the evenings, they had music, and it was great," he recalled. "[The closure is] just unfortunate."

He added that he feels the loss of Bistro 610 is going to hurt downtown business. Being a town councillor and former Woodstock mayor, this is something Leonard understands.

"It was quite unique, the restaurant and what they had there," Leonard told the Bugle-Observer. "There was a bar there and good food and they always seemed to have a lot of entertainment at night."

"Its going to put a bit of a drag on downtown Woodstock."

Geoff Stairs was also a regular at Bistro 610. Stairs, who serves as president of the River Valley Arts Alliance (RiVA), believes Bistro 610 was important to the community, and always played a role in the programming with the Dooryard Arts Festival, which he helps organize.

The fourth annual Dooryard Arts Festival is scheduled to take place from August 8th to August 11th, and the scheduling will need to be tweaked to accommodate seven artists who were going to perform at Bistro 610, Stairs told the Bugle-Observer.

"In terms of programming, we won't lose any programming. There will just be some shifting that will have to happen," Stairs said, remaining optimistic that other venues will be found for these performers.

Mayor Art Slipp sees the bistro's closure as a huge loss to the community.

SLIPP

"I think it had become a major focal point for the students at the community college and a number of our working professionals," Slipp said. "It was a gathering place."

Slipp added that the internet cafe aspect of the business was a unique type of restaurant for the town. The mayor was sure to note the amount of entertainment provided by musicians who were coming through the area while on tour.

"[Bistro 610 provided an] opportunity to see great entertainment and that's something that the community is going to greatly miss," Slipp told the Bugle-Observer.

Slipp said that the bistro also served as a place for artists to show their work.

"It had provided an outlet for different artists in the area to display their work, so in terms of the integration in the arts community, the bistro had played a major role in providing a place where the community could gather, discuss the work and socialize," Slipp explained.

Slipp went on to explain that Bistro 610's closure will be a major disappointment for its patrons, and a setback for downtown Woodstock, as it attracted people to the downtown core in evenings and on weekends.

"It will take a while for us to determine what the impact [will be] on the downtown, but its certainly going to be a tremendous loss," Mayor Slipp commented.

Bistro 610 originally opened in 2006 under the name Fusion Cafe. In the fall of 2011, Fusion relocated in the former Needs Convenience store, adjacent to its former home. The new location would provide twice the square footage, improving Fusion's ability to host entertainment.

Founder and manager Tracie Jones explained the cafe's original concept, which was to provide nontraditional food, which included fair trade coffee, tea and home baked goods while using as much local product as possible to support the local community and offer a healthy selection of food.

Though Jones thinks everyone would say that the restaurant's specialty was cheesecake, she feels that the specialty was centered more around building relationships while operating a type of neighborhood cafe where everyone was welcome.

She added that art and music becoming a larger part of Fusion (later Bistro 610) seemed fitting as it promoted individuality and creativity, while also promoting local talents and providing them with a place where they could be seen and heard.

"I can't even tell you how much joy I have derived over the years and feel very blessed to have met so many local, national and international talents," Jones told the Bugle-Observer.

Culture was just as important a part of Fusion as food and entertainment. A number of different cultural holidays were acknowledged at the cafe with dinners and music traditional to cultures.

Jones recalled being able to employ staff that she could stand behind.

"I had a staff that I trusted impeccably, and I respected," Jones noted. "We prided ourselves on loyalty and hard work, and [on a few occasions] when my health was less than stable, they really rose to the top and took care of everything without being asked, nor did they have their hands out for rewards."

-- With files from the Bugle-Observer - Friday, June 13, 2012 issue --

The Shiretown Blogger celebrated one year of blogging in Victorian style

July 19, 2012 was the one-year anniversary of The Shiretown Blogger. What started as a blog aiming to celebrate the wealthy community and its progress ended up with 200 pageviews after being up and running for less than a month. The blog now has over 16,000 total hits and continues to "celebrate our wealthy community and its progress." 


The Shiretown Blogger celebrated the milestone in Victorian style at the Victorian Tea, offered once weekly at Connell House in Woodstock. 

Food at the Victorian Tea at Connell House was served buffet-
style.

The tea is served every Thursday from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm. For only $11.95 per person, one can experience a Victorian-style luncheon and tea and check out the exhibits on display at Connell House.


I'll let the pictures do the blogging. 

Patrick King greeted guests at the door sporting
a black tuxedo. King also escorted guests to their
tables.

My table was nicely decorated

The restored parlour at Connell House was also nicely decorated

Patrick King entertained guests with some piano music

Carleton County Historical Society summer
student tour guide Sam Wilson poses with
a birch bark canoe model in the room dedicated
to Edwin Tappan Adney.

This oddity, believed to be an antique harmonica,
is among many antique musical instruments on display at Connell House.

A total of 1,000 toy soldiers are on display at Connell House.
The soldiers were collected by a Col. Edward Vince.

Some old-fashioned military uniforms which belonged
to Col. Vince.

The Shiretown Blogger looks back on past year of blogging

As I was leaving First Town Dental on Connell Street after my dentist appointment on June 28^th, I saw Rosalyn Drake, owner of Viveta Medical Clinic.

I met Rosalyn in September 2011 when I gave a presentation at Falls Brook Centre in Knowlesville at their annual fair about my blog. Rosalyn was there promoting her clinic. Rosalyn is a very kind lady who always goes out of her way to speak to people.

I couldn't help but say hello to Rosalyn and ask “how's it going?” We talked about how the summer is going, work, and my blog.

I mentioned that the blog has been up and running for nearly a year (the one-year anniversary is on July 19^th), and that I have surpassed 15,000 total hits on the blog, the second goal I had set for the amount of pageviews I had hoped to have by mid-July.

Rosalyn mentioned that her walk-in medical clinic is preparing to celebrate one year in business too. Where does the time go?

My conversation with Rosalyn brings me to reflect on The Shiretown Blogger's first year. Within a twelve-month period, I have been able to establish my blog as an alternative news source which would serve the Woodstock area and most of the online world. Establishing a strong presence in the beginning helped to lay the groundwork for the blog's early and continued success.

I have also established a presence on other social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. Contrary to popular belief, the use of social media to promote my blog has been met with limited success, however, it has helped in one way or another for sure.

Celebrating our wealthy community and its progress

The Shiretown Blogger aims to celebrate the community (primarily Woodstock) and portray it in a positive light. What our wealthy community really has to offer is often overlooked.

My goal to celebrate the community and the people in it has not changed. My goal is still to celebrate “our wealthy community and its progress.”

I have been inclusive to most other types of stories. Everyone has a story to tell. I strive to tell every story I possibly can and stick to The Shiretown Blogger's motto.

But as the blog grows in popularity, the amount of stories told on it does too. I have somewhat branched off from my main focus of celebrating the wealthy community and included different types of stories, including my (somewhat) regular commentary “The Blogger Speaks,” where I express my sometimes unpopular opinions on issues.

I still, however, see joy in “celebrating our wealthy community and its progress.”

A year's worth of changes

I have got to admit, a lot can happen in twelve months. I have had the pleasure of covering and promoting various events in Woodstock and the greater area, including the successful 2011-12 Slammers campaign, the Dooryard Arts Festival, and the Falls Brook Fair, just to name a few.

I have added a History at a Glance page, where The Shiretown Blogger takes a look at how Woodstock became the wealthy community it is today.

Aside from my commentary “The Blogger Speaks,” I will be beginning an occasional segment called “Our World,” where I will be discussing world issues.

This segment will also be changed to something along the lines of an editorial, something less personal. However, it will still reflect the views of The Shiretown Blogger.

For more information, visit www.shiretownblogger.blogspot.com. 

Have lunch in style on Thursdays at Connell House

Ashley Black, left, and Patrick King are summer students with
the Carleton County Historical Society. Guests taking in the 
weekly Victorian Tea at Connell House can expect to be served
by Black and King in period costume. The Victorian Tea is held
every Thursday from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm at Connell House.
Carleton County Historical Society Image

Future home of Carquest

Keeping score at Shiretown Field with new scoreboard

The new scoreboard at Shiretown Field in Woodstock

Shiretown Field

The 2012 Western Valley Midget AA Shiretowners. Front row,
left to right: Cole Giberson, Brody Giberson, Rod Langille, 
 Bry Crabbe, Devon Cullins, Matt Inman, Corey Dickinson, 
Luke Harvey. Back row, left to right:Terry Mann (announcer), 
Richard Morneau (manager), Jordan Hutton, Joseph McHugh,
Brent Wallace, Scott Wishart, Ryan Morneau, co-head coach 
Jake Smith, co-head coach Kirk Giberson. Absent- Danny Smith.
Image courtesy of Western Valley Shiretowners

Sussex participating in Kraft Celebration Tour

SUSSEX-A south central New Brunswick town is participating in a promotional opportunity which could earn it some recreation funding and put it on the map.

Centrally located nearly 75 kilometres from Saint John, 120 kilometres from Fredericton, and 83 kilometres from Moncton, the town of Sussex is among roughly 420 nominees in the 2012 Kraft Celebration Tour.

Sussex is also among 20 finalist communities of the tour.

Nominations for the tour can be submitted on the Kraft Celebration Tour's website, and a panel of judges selects 20 finalist communities.

Over a ten-day period, people can vote for their communities online. The ten winning communities receive a grand prize of $25,000 from Kraft to be used on the facility or project endorsed by the winning community.

TSN will then provide a live SportsCentre broadcast from the winning community in celebration of the win. RDS Sports 30 will provide a broadcast in any winning Francophone community.

Stacey Charlton originally nominated the 8th Hussars Sports Centre, Sussex's arena. She described the town as "a small cow town in New Brunswick."

8th Hussars Sports Centre (Kraft Celebration Tour Image)

"We are known as the Dairy Centre of the Maritimes," Charlton's description read on the Kraft Celebration Tour's website.

Charlton also included the various benefits the funding would pose to Sussex and the greater area, if they are chosen as one of the winners.

"The $25,000 would help our community and area, as it would help our children in a positive way," the description stated. "We could help our children with programs based on learning valuable life skills."

She went on to describe the importance of recreational programs in keeping Sussex's people active.

"This area [and] our cozy little town has many programs that help keep children, youth and adults active. [The] arena has skating programs, such as hockey and figure skating, but also has a learn to skate program for children."

"There [are] also programs for children in the summer months as summer camps that this $25,000 could really benefit with some equipment."

Charlton says that the funding could help to establish programs for people of all ages.

"I think the town is in real need of programs that could help with adult healthy lifestyle changes that would be passed on to our children and to others in the community," Charlton's description stated.

Charlton cited the town's efforts to improve the greater community as a valid reason for choosing Sussex as a finalist community.

"Our community should be a finalist as we are a small town with big dreams," Charlton stated. "We try every year to make improvements in our town, and they are doing a wonderful job."

"This town should be a finalist because we need to add more programs to this community, and $25,000 would really help jump start these programs."

Becky Titus nominated the Sussex Tennis Association Tennis Courts for the Kraft Celebration Tour. The town's tennis courts were selected for the finalists. Titus described nominating Sussex's tennis courts to help with the growth of tennis in the community.

Sussex Tennis Association Tennis Courts (Kraft Celebration
Tour Image)

"I would like to nominate the Sussex Tennis Association for the Kraft Celebration Tour to aid substantially the growth of tennis in the Town of Sussex," Titus mentioned in her description on the website for the tour. "This vision continues in upcoming months with the construction of a Clubhouse to run daily operations and store equipment."

"We need to install washrooms in this building as there are no facilities in that particular section of the park (where the tennis facility is located)."

Titus added that lighting improvements would be a positive thing as well, and the funding from the Kraft Celebration Tour could be used to offset the costs of installing lighting.

"Installation of a lighting system would be beneficial to expand our operating hours, lengthening the evening play," Titus stated in her description. "Assistance is also needed in covering some of the staffing (two summer students), who are responsible for running after school and summer programs for the juniors and promotion of the sport in the area."

The Bathurst Curling Club in Bathurst is also participating in this year's Kraft Celebration Tour, and was chosen as one of the 20 finalists.

With files from www.kraftcelebrationtour.ca and www.sussex.ca 

Dangling stop sign in Woodstock neighborhood

Location: Intersection of Creighton Street North and Wilson Street
Problem: The stop sign at the three-way intersection is dangling. It looks as if it is hanging by a thread.
Effects of Problem: The sign could fall, increasing chances of an accident at the intersection or injuring a pedestrian. An accident could also be caused by a car failing to stop at the intersection if the sign is dangling or missing.
Party Responsible: Town of Woodstock Public Works Department
Solution? N/A

TOWN WATCH UPDATE
The missing stop sign at the intersection of Park Street and Broadway in Woodstock, featured in The Shiretown Blogger's Town Watch on Monday, May 28th, has been replaced.

Beautiful day along the "Crick" in Woodstock

CJ 104 awards prizes

Jackie Hatheway, left, was one of the lucky winners
of tickets for the fan bus courtesy of CJ 104 traveling
to the Nickelback concert in Moncton this weekend.
CJ 104 announcer Terry Mann presented her with the
tickets.

Charlie McCartney, left, won tickets to the Cavendish Festival
show being held on Saturday, July 7th. CJ 104 announcer Tim
Durling presented McCartney with the tickets.

CJ 104 was recently honored for the support their listeners
demonstrated for the IWK Radio Telethon, held in May 2012.
The telethon has been a longtime fundraiser for the Halifax
children's hospital, and proceeds are used to purchase equipment.
IWK representatives Lisa (left) and Penny (right) presented
CJ 104 announcer and station manager Rick McGuire with a plaque
on behalf of the IWK Children's Hospital.

Images courtesy of CJ 104

Victorian Tea at Connell House begins today

The Victorian style tea at Connell House is being offered for the second summer starting today!

Stop by Connell House every Thursday to experience a trip back to the nineteenth century with an 1800s style luncheon and tea.

The Victorian Tea runs from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm every Thursday at Connell House. Tables cost $11.95 per person and can be booked by calling (506) 328-9706.

The Victorian Tea menu will vary by week. This week's menu is as follows:

• Assorted cheese and pickles
• Homemade biscuits and jam
• Lemon poppy seed scones and clotted cream
• Chilled cucumber soup 
• Sandwiches: tasty tuna, cherry cheese and asparagus
• Strawberry custard tarts 
• Sugar cookies 
• Date squares

Hartland Covered Bridge featured on Google Doodle

One of the world's leading search engines has honored the longest covered bridge in the world on a special milestone.

Google created a Google Doodle yesterday of the Hartland Covered Bridge in Hartland, New Brunswick.

At 1,282 feet (391 metres), the historic structure spanning the Saint John River at Hartland is the world's longest covered bridge.

Today marked the 111th anniversary of the original opening of the bridge.

The bridge at Hartland was built around the turn of the twentieth century at a cost of $33,000 in those days. Private shareholders funded the bridge's construction because the provincial government at the time refused to build the bridge. Hartland townspeople stressed the importance of the bridge to local farmers and transportation. 


The bridge was opened on July 4, 1901, in a ceremonial fashion. A large celebration was held in Hartland's downtown core. 

The Hartland Bridge as it looked on its opening day on July 4, 1901

 Originally uncovered, the bridge was funded by tolls for five years. A toll house stood on the Hartland end of the structure. The tolls were lifted in 1906 when the New Brunswick government purchased the bridge. 


In the spring freshet of 1920, two spans on the Somerville side were lost. Over a two-year period, the spans were replaced and the bridge was covered. The wooden piers were also replaced with reinforced concrete ones. 

Bridges were covered to preserve the wood and protect it from the elements. Covered structures are said to last up to eighty years, compared to the twenty-year lifespan of uncovered structures.

In 1945, the pedestrian walkway was added to the bridge (pictured above). It is a small covered bridge in itself.

In 1960, the Hugh John Fleming Bridge was opened to traffic, keeping with the new Trans-Canada Highway of the day. There was talk of demolishing the covered bridge, but it remained open as a tourist attraction.

In 1966, vandals attempted to burn the bridge, but were unsuccessful. Another unsuccessful attempt to burn the bridge was made in the early 2000s, but was detected by Department of Transportation employee Vince Wortman. Wortman was commended at the New Brunswick Legislature by then-Minister of Transportation Percy Mockler.

In 1980, the Hartland Covered Bridge was declared a National Historic Site. A ceremony was held at the park at the Somerville end of the bridge, and then-New Brunswick Premier Richard Hatfield (also a Hartland native) attended the ceremony. The bridge was declared a Provincial Historic Site in 1999.

In the fall of 1982, a car struck the side of the bridge near the Somerville end, causing the bridge to sag as a result of damage to a steel beam.

Damage to the car totaled $400, while the bridge suffered $140,000 in damage. The bridge was opened again in February of 1983.

In 1995, Canada Post unveiled a commemorative stamp of the Hartland bridge.

In 2001, the Town of Hartland celebrated the centennial of the Hartland Covered Bridge. Then-New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord cut the ribbon to open the bridge for the next century, and the first crossing was reenacted by Drs. Stocek and Ghanem (in May of 1901, the bridge was not yet complete, but a Dr. Estey asked to cross the bridge to see a patient on the Somerville side of the river, and planks were put down in a hurry to allow for Dr. Estey's crossing).

In 2007, a central beam had split down the middle, and the bridge was closed for several months in the winter to allow for repairs to be carried out. It was closed again a few times afterwards for upgrades.

Craig Melanson, the mayor of Hartland, told CJ 104 radio yesterday that a member of the media called him at 6 am yesterday morning to inform him of the recognition by Google. Melanson was caught by surprise.

"When you get a call first thing in the morning like that, you approach it with trepidation," Melanson told CJ 104. "Once I found out what the story was all about, it was pretty golden."

Melanson added that Google's featuring of the iconic landmark may mean an increase in tourists visiting the town, resulting in economic benefits.

"People are going to say 'Where is this?' and when you hear something like this type of an interest story, you may like to visit. You may think this is something you've been putting off, and you may want to go see what they (Google) are talking about," Melanson said. "I think it will bring tourists and give the local business community a chance to benefit from it."

The Hartland Covered Bridge is one of only 61 structures of its type remaining in New Brunswick.