Bartlett History Snow-Roller Project - 2014-2016 In reverse chronological order
Our forefathers were an industrious and rugged lot. When faced with problems or challenges, they invented the proper tool, implement, structure, or machine to overcome the issue.
Snow essentially caused a halt to travel in rural areas of the valley, even via horseback, at times. A solution was needed, and the “snow roller” was invented.
THE SNOW ROLLER STORY:
by Norman Head - June 2014
Last year I heard that a lady in Intervale had an old snow roller and maybe we would be interested in it if it was available for sale or donation. I approached her and she said it actually was her neighbor, Francis Savard. I approached Francis and said he'd be happy to donate it to the historical society if we could move it and hopefully restore it. He took me in his side yard to look at the roller where it had been sitting (and rotting) for many many years. It was partially buried in the ground, the inside was covered with leaves, pine needles, dirt, etc. but the iron structure was in quite good shape and I thought it was not only salvageable, but would be a real gem when restored. I approached my fellow board members and they were excited in pursuing it.
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Story Continues Below
May 2016:
The Snow-roller in the Village Park gets its plaque with a description of the project. Thanks to Phil and Sue Franklin for their generous donation.
August 2016
Mr & Mrs Phil & Sue Franklin generously donated this plaque. It describes the snow-roller and its history.
Phil is also the Secretary of the Bartlett Historical Society. He has contributed countless hours of his time to the endeavors of our organization. We all thank him for his efforts..
NORMAN'S STORY CONTINUED:
In a subsequent casual conversation with Doug Garland (and I think both other selectmen) and David Shedd, they expressed their enthusiasm in our project and offered to help us bring the idea to a reality. David Shedd offered to approach Greg Tsoules of East Branch Logging to help us move the snow roller from its Intervale location to a more readily accessible location that would be easier for us to work on and that would have power nearby. At this point, I offered the use of a location on my property near my barn that would be readily accessible, easy to get to to work on, had power available and also would give us the added benefit of Rte. 302 exposure so interested parties could watch our restoration progress and hopefully get excited about our undertaking. David Shedd, a local timber framer who also has his own saw mill offered to cut the oak slats which would replace all the old rotted ones.
Continues Below...
MAY 2015, IT'S DONE:
With some hard work by a few volunteers, the snow-roller is back to the way it looked a hundred years ago. Only missing a team of horses.
Mike Chandler, Bert George, Phil Franklin and others had a strong helping hand in bringing this project to completion.
June 2014:
Thanks to Mike Chandler of Bartlett, the snow-roller has been stripped of the wood to expose the metal framework. Volunteers will be working to restore this tool to its original appearance.
NORMAN'S STORY CONTINUES:
From there David and I had a number of conversations with Francis Savard, the donor, and I went to the roller and partially dug it out so it would be easier to move to a spot that would be easy to load onto Greg Tsoules's flatbed for the move to my property. David made all the final time arrangements for when the move would take place. Francis has a machine that was able to move the roller near where Greg could get his machine in and then Francis, with his machine, lifted the roller onto the flat bed. We secured it and it then traveled up to my house and Greg unloaded it. While I was digging it out and again when it was moved by Francis, we discovered a number of iron pieces that were part of the original mechanism.
While this will be a big, laborious and somewhat expensive project, we are all excited about it and are certain that the finished product will be something the historical society, the town and future generations will be proud of and will enjoy. 2015 is Bartlett's 225th anniversary (1790--2015) and we can't think of a better gift to give the citizens to remind them of days gone by.
JULY 22, 2014: Snow Roller Progress---Mike Chandler has been diligently at work welding, repairing and straightening out the numerous iron spokes on the snow roller wheels. Many thanks to Mike for all his hard work and to Bob “Elvis” Holmes for loaning us his oxyacetelyne torches. The next step will be to oil all the iron spokes, wheels, etc. to try to prevent any further rusting, then cut and install the center timber. After that we’ll be ready to seal the oak slats, cut them to size and then bolt them to the wheels. Keep tuned for future progress and developments. This undertaking is one that we hope all society members and town folk will be proud of. Any financial contribution, no matter how small, you can make to help us make this project become a reality will be immensely appreciated. Contributions can be mailed to Bartlett Historical Society P.O. Box 514 Bartlett, NH 03812
The historical society owes a huge debt of gratitude to Francis Savard for his donation and help in the move, Greg Tsoules for the transportation and unloading and David Shedd for his milling efforts and his invaluable knowledge of the mechanics of snow rollers. Mike Chandler is due a huge pat on the back for not only his work today in removing old metal and wood slats but also for his and Hannah's search efforts to find an original driver's seat.
This tractor seat, a critical component, was donated by Nubi Duncan of Brownfield Maine. We think it will fit perfectly, Many Thanks!
During 2014 The Historical Society finds this old snow-roller partially buried and slowly rotting in Fran Savard's back yard. We dug it out and hauled it away to Norman Head's side yard. Let the work begin.
As part of this project Phil Franklin researched the old-days of how the snow-roller came into use. It's an interesting read and was published in the "Mt. Washington Valley Vibe". Click on their logo to read it. The link works as of Dec 2024.
