Arthur Franklin Mapes

Arthur Franklin Mapes. The Covered Bridge. The Spencerville Covered Bridge inspired 13-year-old Arthur Franklin Mapes to write his first poem., His love of poetry never dimmed, although it took decades, and a determination to share his unique voice with the world, before he received widespread recognition for his work., Born March 16, 1913, on East Lisle Street in Kendallville, Indiana, he graduated from Kendallville High School and worked as a machinist at Flint and Walling for more than 30 years, penning poems after long days at the factory., He had the unwavering support of his wife, Ruth (Acker) Mapes. They married on December 12, 1936, and were parents of 10 children, including two consecutive sets of twins. When he sat down at his old Royal typewriter to write a poem, it was Ruth who made sure their children and grandchildren were occupied elsewhere so the poet could work., As a snowstorm raged outside the family farmhouse in 1961, he wrote the poem "Indiana," an optimistic tribute to the beauty and simplicity of the Hoosier state. It grew in popularity after a Fort Wayne radio station broadcast a recording of it. A grassroots effort was mounted to make it the Official State Poem, and the Indiana General Assembly adopted it as such in 1963., In March 1977, the Indiana General Assembly again recognized Mapes with a resolution declaring him “Indiana’s Poet Laureate.” , “Arthur Franklin Mapes has, by his poetry, given the state of Indiana far more than could ever be returned to him by acclamation or award,” stated the House Concurrent Resolution in his honor. Mapes read his state poem in both chambers of the Indiana Statehouse to standing ovations. , Mapes received the Golden Quill Award in 1961 and the International Association of Machinists Anniversary Award in 1963. He was the 1966 Kendallville Citizen of the Year and the 1980 Older Hoosier of the Year. He had three poems printed in the Congressional Record. In 1980, he realized a lifelong dream with the publication of a hardcover, limited-edition volume of his poetry, Indiana Memories. , He died Jan. 4, 1986, and is buried in Lake View Cemetery, Kendallville. Posthumously, his artistic contributions continue to be recognized, including during the Indiana Bicentennial Torch Relay in 2016. We invite you to read his poems, inspired by God, nature, his hometown and state, and the people he met along life’s journey, at www.arthurmapes.com., The Covered Bridge , By Arthur Franklin Mapes , I came upon a covered bridge, , Weather-beaten and old, , Where deep blue stream and wooded ridge , Were framed in twilight gold. , It was wonderful to see , A scene so old and quaint, , A rustic masterpiece , That only God could paint. , I stood by that old bridge, , And watched the stream flow by, , While gentle winds caressed the trees , That touched the Hoosier sky. , In that enchanted hour , My heart was deeply stirred, , Would God grant me the power , To paint that scene with words? , Could I, a humble poet, , Pass through the bridge of time; , And learn its treasured secrets, , Then put them into rhyme? , Could I, with words, portray , The sky, the stream, the ridge? , Would I, with words, betray , The secrets of the bridge? , The colors slowly faded , As the shadows crossed the stream; , Then, at last, the velvet darkness , Changed it all into a dream. , But God gave me a picture , To keep within my heart, , With all its rustic splendor, , A priceless work of art. , Yes, God gave me a picture , That can’t be bought or sold, , A picture of a covered bridge , Framed in twilight gold.