If you see something, you’re supposed to say something. But Matthew Wilhelm went a step further. He and his son were hiking on a trail this summer at the Wildlife Education Center in Cornwall-on-Hudson. As they neared the creek, they saw that the bridge was damaged. A tree had come crashing down on it during one of the many summer storms.
Rather than just say something, Mr. Wilhelm raised a question. He asked the Hudson Highland Nature Museum if he could replace the bridge. It was an offer that was hard to refuse.
The trail is a half mile loop. It starts at the museum building and meanders uphill. After a few steps, hikers are surrounded by wilderness. While the path is steep, the kids at the museum would manage to follow it from beginning to end every day — at least they did while they could get across the creek without getting wet.
Mr. Wilhelm, the owner of EKB Kitchens in New Windsor, got an OK on his bridge-building proposal and went to work on Columbus Day weekend. He provided the lumber for the job. Getting it to the proper location wasn’t easy. There was no vehicle that could enter the woods and negotiate the narrow path and rocky terrain.
On Saturday, Oct. 6, the bridge builder carried a few boards uphill at a time until everything needed was near the span he was about to replace. On the following day. Anthony Cerra joined him and the two men went to work.
When we found them at 11:30 a.m., they were working on the bridge while standing on rocks in the stream. They seemed happy to take a break to talk to us. On the side of the trail was a sign that read “Bridge out ahead.” By nightfall the sign would no longer be needed.
Replacing the bridge was an all-day job. The men stayed in the forest while the museum’s executive director, Tom Bregman, went out to get them lunch. He was happy to hear that the volunteers’ work would be publicized in local newspapers. He agreed that they deserved recognition.
