Kosti Ruohomaa documented several town meetings all over New England, and not only captured democracy at work, but also the variety of people in the town, the weathered faces of the hard-working folks that he loved to focus on. In this series, Kosti documents a particular controversy being discussed at the Town Meeting of Enfield, New Hampshire in 1954. Wooden covered bridges are iconic, but they are expensive to rebuild, and many at this time were being replaced by concrete. The last remaining covered bridge in Enfield was built in 1862 on Main Street, crossing the Mascoma River. Kosti documents both old and new bridges and the people on both sides of the discussion at Enfield.

“At Enfield, New Hampshire, the town which has been fighting the issue of whether or not to destroy its beautiful covered bridge for a year, the issue finally came to a head last week, and a long fought-out session at the town meeting. The bridge is to be destroyed next year.

Showing the controversy at Enfield, the photographer captures the humor and sentiment of the small towns-people of Enfield.”

(From Kosti Ruohomaa’s notes)