Mitchells on the trail: Day Two

We all got together this morning and headed into Canada today for a day trip in a car caravan.

We are at the Canadian border waiting our turn to answer their questions and show our passports. You can see Don, he is the fifth car up.

We did a little side trip to the town of Hartland, New Brunswick to see the longest covered bridge in the world.

Hartland, the smallest town in New Brunswick, with a population of about 902, has a varied and interesting history. It was known as “Mouth of the ’Guimac” until it was officially changed to “Hartland” about 1870. Some say it was named in honour of Rev. Samuel Hart, an early Baptist minister; others say it is in honor of James Hartley, an early surveyor; while others say it was named because it was “the heart of the county.”

Its early settlers were loyalist with William Orser and his six children being the first settlers. William’s first wife died and he married Mary Blake Craig, who also had six children. To complete the story William and Mary had six more children. Mary Blake Craig Orser is called the “Mother of Hartland.”The Town of Hartland

Looking from the hill above the bridge going all the way across the Saint John River.

The 1,282 foot Hartland Covered Bridge is the longest covered bridge in the world. It was originally constructed by the Hartland Bridge Company, which was formed by citizens on both sides of the St. John River, and officially opened July 4, 1901.

The bridge was purchased by the government of New Brunswick in 1906. Two spans of the bridge were taken out by river ice April 6, 1920, and the government made major repairs and covered the structure in 1922.

The side walkway was added to the bridge in 1945 and on June 23, 1980, the Hartland Covered Bridge was declared a National Historic Site and on September 15, 1999 it was declared a Provincial Historic Site.

The bid for $27,945.00 was unanimously accepted by the board of directors from Albert Brewer, of Woodstock. In 1898, the Hon. H.R. Emmerson told the Board of trade delegation that a permanent bridge would cost between $70,000.00 and $80,000.00. The bridge would be eight steel spans. Since the bridge was built out of cedar spruce and hard pine, and local businessmen were used, the costs came in at a much lower amount.

The original completion date was to be May 14, 1901, but as the day approached, an emergency forced the first person to cross the bridge twelve hours early. At about 9:00pm on Monday the 13th of May, Dr. Estey responded to an urgent call to attend to a patient on the west side of the river. Dr. Estey approached the bridge and revealed to the workers, his circumstances. Workers then placed planks so he could drive across the bridge.

The longest covered bridge in the world at Hartland, New Brunswick, Canada is a kissing bridge. This is a legend, which developed during the years when this covered structure was used mainly by horses and wagons.

This was of so much concern to the general public that there was great opposition when they talked of covering the bridge. Sermons were even preached on how a covered bridge would destroy the morals of the young citizens. Their concerns were heard, but not heeded and the bridge was covered.

It is said that young men trained their horses to stop about half way across the bridge. The horse would wait until the couple shared a couple of kisses and then it would continue to the other side of the bridge.

Today, you can see many couples going to the bridge to share a kiss and receive the special feeling of their love with the spirit of the grand old bridge. We are certain that the bridge’s spirit will look favorably on these couples.

Covered Bridge Potato Chips is nestled in the heart of potato country in the picturesque Saint John River Valley. Located in Hartland New Brunswick, home of the longest covered bridge in the world, lies an old fashioned kettle chip company with old country taste and tradition. Every batch is cooked with care, one at a time, to ensure the best flavor and texture.

Raw potatoes going into the hot canola oil.

In the hot oil with the machine that gently tumbles the chips. It is the thingy with the wheels.

The man has a paddle and he is also gently turning the chips.

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After 6 minutes they are turned onto a conveyor belt to the packaging area. We were each given a large bag of hot potato chips right off the conveyor. You then would go into the store part of the building and put any of 30 different flavors on your chips.

We then went to the store and exchange office in Canada to get our money exchanged into Canadian money for the trip. The rate was 8 cents in our favor. So you have a wallet full of pretty shiny Canadian money. Their paper money is even shiny.

The we were off to show our passport to the people on the U. S. side of the border.

Tomorrow we are off to Canada with the rigs and we will stay in the country for 47 days. Our trip tomorrow is a long 78 miles. We were told that we should be having wifi most of the parks we go, but we are not sure how good the signal will be. That said I will try to do a daily blog if signal and time permits. We got home from the day trip and went to the store to pick up a few things.

We are traveling tomorrow so we have a travel log meeting. This is where our wagon master explains the trip, any road hazards, neat things to see along the way, maybe tricky spot to get rvs around in, etc. Nothing on this one. We are traveling 78 miles with a great spot in the middle. Will have lots and lots of pix and stories to come.
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After the the travel log meeting we were served a wonder meal. This is Jim of Terry and Jim. He is always hamming it up. He just could not wait for the main course. LOL