Cook County and Silver Bay high school students have been taking timber framing classes at North House Folk School for several years. Recently a small group of students erected this timber frame brige, which will be part of the Grand Marais Recreation Park’s Community Connection. The new walkway is almost complete and will be accessible in time for the 2013 Wooden Boat Show at North House Folk School.
Another example of North House Folk School’s excellent work was erected at the beginning of June, a sturdy timber frame bridge on the pathway from Highway 61 to the Grand Marais Recreation Park, the “Community Connection.” The bridge, made in a traditional Norwegian style, was a collaborative project between the City of Grand Marais’s Recreation Park, North House Folk School, and Cook County and Silver Bay high schools.
When the Recreation Park’s master plan was completed, it was determined that the area between the folk school and campground needed a facelift. Although there were paths into the campground, they were not very welcoming and there were erosion concerns on the hillside. The Grand Marais Park Board, which oversees work at the campground, worked on a plan with an engineer. They received a shockingly high cost estimate of nearly half a million dollars and the park board agreed it needed to find a way to complete the project at a more reasonable price.
“We knew we had storm water to manage,” said Recreation Park Manager Dave Tersteeg, “but we thought we could do it for less, using local contractors and the North House Folk School.”
The bridge, which was made with native untreated pine timbers from Hedstrom Lumber by area high school industrial technology students under the supervision of master timber framer Peter Henrikson of North House, was one of the first steps in the creation of the Community Connection. Henrikson designed the bridge. The joinery work started back in April in the classrooms and the timbers were erected at the beginning of June. Tersteeg said Henrikson and Travis Wickwire of the Recreation Park spearheaded the raising of the bridge. It has taken about $8,000 in materials, said Tersteeg.
There is a little more work to be done—some finishing touches to the path—and there is some more storm water work. Since the pine timbers are not chemically treated, the pine timbers must be heavily stained, or “boat souped,” said Tersteeg, but getting the bridge erected is a step in the right direction.
Having the bridge in place in time for North House Folk School Wooden Boat Show is great, said Tersteeg. “The construction of the bridge went really well. It was the spirit of the park board to involve community stakeholders,” said Tersteeg. “It’s a legacy project and when it is done, it will be a landscaper’s showroom.”
At the park board meeting on Tuesday, June 4, North House Folk School Director Greg Wright complimented the Grand Marais and Silver Bay industrial arts students who worked with North House to construct the timber frame bridge. “We loved collaborating on the project,” Wright said, “so thanks for the opportunity.”
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