By John Hankins
My wife Beth and I live in the southern part of Mansfield, directly adjacent to the southern terminus of the Nipmuck Trail. The presence of the trail across the street from our house is not a coincidence. We bought the house nearly 30 years ago because the trail gave us instant access to thousands of acres of forested land to the north, including the Joshua’s Trust Wolf Rock Preserve. My neighbor on Puddin Lane in those early days was Sam Dodd, a titan in the local land conservation movement and a major mover and shaker in both Joshua’s Trust and the Connecticut Forest and Park Association (CFPA). Sam recognized my love of the trail, and in no time flat I found myself adopting Sam’s long-term role of CFPA steward for this section of the Nipmuck Trail.
Although I originally thought the job was limited to getting out my clippers twice a year and taking a walk in the woods, I quickly learned there was a whole lot more to trail maintenance, including the need to occasionally build walkways and bridges over wet spots in the trail, especially the formidable Sawmill Brook. My lack of carpentry skills is well known to my friends and family, including my daughter Anna who as a five-year old remarked to a friend, “My dad, he’s not handy”. And that’s where this part of the story begins.
I recognized over the winter that an existing 20-foot long bridge over the Sawmill Brook was in danger of catastrophic failure. In addition, I had been getting complaints for years (mostly from my wife) about three tricky wet crossings. In a moment of inspiration, I realized that I just might be able to find a work-around to my own construction ineptitude and lack of financial resources. I called the parks person at the Town and said, “If I could find someone to construct a bridge and three walkways on the Nipmuck Trail would you be willing to buy the lumber? It’s on Town land”. “Maybe” she said. I then called the trails coordinator at CFPA and said “If I could convince the Town to purchase the lumber for a bridge and three walkways would you be willing to lend me your summer field crew for a few days to get these structures constructed? It’s on your trail”. “Quite possibly” she said. In short order, the “Maybees” and “Quite Possiblys” turned to “Yesses” and a project was born.
The CFPA crew foreman met with me a few days before the job to determine if we could cart in about 3000 pounds of lumber through a neighbor’s property. The neighbor not only gave us permission, but also offered to carry the heaviest pieces in with his Kubota tractor, an offer which we readily accepted. Emboldened by my good fortune to this point, I made one final call, this one to JT’s Executive Director: “Hey Michael, I need to cart the lumber from an old bridge to the landfill, can I use the JT pickup truck? It’s on a trail leading to our preserve”. From this request I received my fourth “Yes” in as many tries and felt like I’d just been crowned champion of American Idol.
The bridges were expertly constructed and should last for many years. CFPA’s young crew gained valuable experience and built a project they were proud of. The Town-owned park through which the trail passes now has a new set of amenities that would not have existed otherwise. Joshua’s Trust has a much-improved entrance to its Wolf Rock Preserve from the south. And the neighbor got to live every man’s dream – moving heavy stuff using an internal combustion engine. I didn’t help at all with the bridge construction, so I’m still not handy, but I felt pretty darn good about facilitating this collaboration of forces. Sometimes all you need to do is ask.
