18th Annual TTRAG Symposium
April 17-19, 2009
Union Bluff Hotel, York, Maine
The Guild’s Traditional Timberframe Research and Advisory Group (TTRAG) goes to historic York, Maine, for our 18th annual Symposium. Some of the region's top professionals in the conservation of timber buildings in Maine and Canada, along with some of TTRAG's own authors and experts, will offer not-to-be-missed presentations. Together we will examine the history of our craft and explore the unique environs of Old York Village.
Above: Maine lighthouse Location & Directions
Our headquarters will be right on the Atlantic Ocean at the Union Bluff Meeting House on York Beach, where we have reserved a block of rooms and where our presentations and meals will take place.
York is easy to get to, just over the NH/Maine border and less than two hours north of Boston. The Manchester (NH) airport is 1.5 hours away. Directions and more information will be sent upon receipt of your registration.
On your way to and from the Symposium, you can make a number of convenient stops nearby to see additional attractions. They include
- Strawbery Banke (www.strawberybanke.org) in Portsmouth, NH (just down the road)
- a well preserved 1860s barn in Brave Boat Harbor
- a unique blockhouse at Fort McClary (www.fortmcclary.org) that features squared log, cut granite and a scribe ruled hexagonal roof.
Schedule of Events
This year's Conference will open on Friday afternoon at 4 PM with registration at the Union Bluff, with dinner at 5:30 PM and evening presentations beginning at 7 PM. Presentations from a variety of speakers and demonstrators will take place Friday evening and Saturday and Sunday mornings. Saturday afternoon will feature tours of historic buildings in Old York Village, demonstrations on hewing and slate roofing, and Saturday night will be highlighted by the annual Slide Show when everyone gets a chance to show their work. The Conference concludes with lunch on Sunday.
On Saturday afternoon we will break up into smaller groups to explore some of the buildings at Old York Village, seven of which are on the National Register of Historic Places. These include the Yankee-style Remick Barn (1834), the Old Schoolhouse (1745) with its unique pyramid-roofed privy (sorry, not in service), the Emerson-Wilcox House (1742), the Old Gaol (1719), and the John Hancock Warehouse (1740), the only remaining commercial building in the area from the Colonial era, and once owned by the famous American patriot.
On Saturday evening we will return to the Union Bluff Meeting House for dinner and the annual slide show. Everyone is encouraged to bring ten images of their work related to traditional timber framing. Guidelines will be included in your registration confirmation material for submitting your slides or digital photos.
Summer Beam Books will bring their extensive bookstore, including hard-to-find titles and timber framing books, as well as those authored by our presenters.
Presenters
Our slate of presenters includes:
- Louise Abbott and Niels Jensen. Louise specializes in documenting the history of farming communities in Eastern Canada. She is author of The Heart of the Farm: A History of the Barns in the Eastern Townships of Quebec and two other books and she wrote and directed three films. She will show a new film documenting some of the construction methods and styles (which include round, log, Dutch and English barns) of these barns and profiles of the colorful timber framers who built them. She produced this humorous and insightful film together with her husband, Niels, an award-winning photographer, furnituremaker and designer. They will be available to answer questions and sign books after the presentation.
- Keith and Alison Kanoti have a combined 20 years of experience working in the forest service sector investigating and working to improve forest health. After receiving their respective Masters degrees from the University of Maine, they both took positions with the Maine Forest Service. Keith will discuss the conditions of New England's forest health in regard to harvest levels, regeneration, the quality of timber being harvested and the quality of the timber to come. Alison will discuss the threats to New England forests including, most importantly, what pests are on the horizon, what pests are here now, how to spot them and what you can do about them.
- Dr. Emerson "Tad" Baker is a professor of history at Salem State College in Salem, Massachusetts. He is an authority on the settlement of the York area and is knowledgeable about the early building styles. He will provide an introduction to the region Friday night to give people a background on where they are and what they will be viewing on Saturday's tour.
- William Bunting. Author of the book A Day's Work, William will be showing his extraordinary collection of pictures that depict the work done throughout Maine from the 1860s to the 1920s; the collection includes many photographs of timber framers and boat builders. His research has uncovered fascinating details about the history of our craft, including innovative tool building. Bunting builds a fascinating and irrefutable case for the vibrancy, ingenuity, and diverse nature of Maine economic life in the pre-petroleum economy.
On the Wassataquoik, probably 1910. River drivers armed with pick-poles
and peaveys struggle to uncover the "key log" of a "center" jam of
spruce. When a jam "hauled" with a rush, the batteau's flaring sides
made a good target for leaping drivers. George H. Hallowell photo, Maine
State Library, from A Day's Work: A Sampler of Historic Maine
Photographs, 1860-1920, Volume I, by W.H. Bunting.
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A train of log sleds being pulled by a wood-burning Lombard steam "log
hauler" pauses for refueling. Steering a Lombard towing a heavy train of
sleds down an icy hill focused a man's attention, since as it took
nearly a full turn of the steering wheel to begin to move the runners.
Photo courtesy of Maine State Museum, from A Day's Work: A Sampler of
Historic Maine Photographs, 1860-1920, Volume II, by W.H. Bunting.
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- Jennifer Wellock Murdock is an architectural historian and tax credit
reviewer with the National Park Service's Technical Preservation Services
branch, and will explain opportunities for barn preservation through
the Farm Bill and other Federal programs. She is responsible for reviewing Federal rehabilitation projects
for conformance to National Park Service guidelines. This activity
includes certifying historic properties for those wishing to receive a
charitable deduction for conservation purposes. Her previous employment
involved working at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources as an
architectural historian responsible for tax credit review of both State and
Federal projects. Formerly she served in West Virginia's State Historic
Preservation Office as both the tax credit coordinator and senior
structural historian for review and compliance. A native of Long Island, Jennifer is a graduate of Columbia University with a Masters
Degree in Historic Preservation and is a member of the Vernacular
Architecture Forum and the Washington, D.C., Chapter of the Association for Preservation Technology.
- Tom Wessels. Author of Reading the Forested Landscape, Tom will give examples of how the forest can tell us about what happened on the land in the decades past. He serves as an ecological consultant to the Rain Forest Alliance's SmartWood Green Certification Program and helped draft green certification assessment guidelines for forest operations in the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. Tom has conducted landscape level workshops throughout the United States for more than 30 years, and leads the Conservation Biology Department at Antioch University, New England. His other books include: The Granite Landscape, Untamed Vermont, and The Myth of Progress: Toward a Sustainable Future.
- Austin Parsons is on the faculty of the Architecture Department at Dalhousie University. He will bring his expertise about the timber frames of Nova Scotia, and will discuss the immigration patterns and building styles, and the importation of timber frames from the Boston area. He will also discuss how, in areas of Nova Scotia, the craft of timber framing was never lost.
- Arron Sturgis and Greg Paxton. The current vice president and Executive Director, respectively, of Maine Preservation will explain how using tax incentives and statewide non-profits can improve one's business opportunities. They will also give examples of Maine towns that have opted to preserve historic buildings and, through adaptive re-use, have succeeded in saving these buildings. They will talk about the challenges of bringing an 18th or 19th century building up to 21st century code.
- Scott Stevens, who is the Executive Director at Museums at Old York (www.oldyork.org), will give a history of the museum and the buildings that we will tour on Saturday.
- Victor Wright is a fourth-generation slate and copper roofing specialist. He is the owner of the Heritage Company in Waterboro, Maine, which specializes in the historically accurate restoration of slate and copper roofs, and the preservation and teaching of the craft. He will give a presentation about installing slate and copper roofs and flashing at Old York Village during the tour on Saturday.
- Mike Beaudry is author of the hewing Bible, The Axe Wielder's Handbook, and the head of Mud Pond Hewing and Framing. Mud Pond Hewing is dedicated to the preservation of the art of hewing with the broadaxe, traditional timber framing and traditional log building. He will be giving an on-going presentation on hewing during Saturday's tour.
Check back for updates to the final schedule and sequence of presentations. A detailed schedule will be included with your confirmation packet.
Hotel & Meals
Meals are included in your conference fee, but lodging is not.
We have reserved a limited block of rooms for our group at the Union Bluff Meeting House (www.unionbluff.com). Our room block at the special rate expires March 1st.
The room rate at the Union Bluff is $60 pp/night, including tax for double or triple occupancy rooms. These are non-ocean view rooms; ocean view rooms are $70 pp/night, and oceanfront rooms are $85 pp/night. All single rooms are $120 /night, including tax. Make your reservations early to be assured of a room of your choice. To make a reservation, contact the hotel directly at 207-363-1333 or 800-833-0721. Mention the Timber Framers Guild to get the special rate. If you don't have a roommate to reserve with, the hotel will assign one upon request on a space available basis. If you do not choose to have a roommate, you will be charged the single room rate.
Your conference fee includes admission to Old York Village and all of its museums for the entire weekend, all seminars and meals commencing with the dinner at 5:30 on Friday evening and continuing through breakfast, lunch and dinner on Saturday, and breakfast and lunch on Sunday. There is a one-day commuter option for those attending only Saturday's events.
Education Credits
Scholarships and Continuing Education Units are available for this and all Guild conferences. Call the Becket office at 413-623-9926 or see the website for details.
For those looking to share rides to the Conference or share a room, please let us know.
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