Historic retirement

BURFORDVILLE, Mo. -- Jack Smoot has made it his life's work to ensure a two-century-old mill, the state's oldest covered bridge and a 43-acre park that make up one of Southeast Missouri's greatest treasures will be enjoyed by future generations.

Now, after 24 years as director of the Bollinger Mill State Historic Site, he is retiring.

Smoot says he didn't take a direct path toward his work as a historic preservationist. He graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in 1975 as an art major and a philosophy minor and joked he was, "pretty much useless on the job market."

After graduation he took a position with the State Museum in Jefferson City, Mo., but nursed a lifelong passion for "tinkering with things."

"When I was a kid I wore out a set of tinker toys, erector sets, built hundreds of models -- all that stuff. Things mechanical just always interested me," he said.

Jack Smoot, administrator of the Bollinger Mill State Historic Site, talked about how the mill has been transformed over the years (Diane L. Wilson)

So in 1981 when a job opened at the Dillard Mill in Davisville, Mo., Smoot jumped at it. "I was like, 'you're going to give me this toy to play with and pay me for it? Sign me up,' " he said.

Smoot said the 100-year-old mill in Davisville was remarkably well preserved and his job was mainly to ensure machinery stayed oiled and the water powering the turbines stayed clean. But the experience tinkering with antiquated mill equipment would prove useful.

In 1983 the site director's position came open at the Bollinger Mill in Burfordville. Smoot moved again, happy to return to the area where he spent his college years. But this mill presented a new set of challenges. Most of the original machinery had been removed over the years, and there were no definitive documents detailing exactly what the mill looked like when it was running.

"There has been a mill on this site ever since 1800. This is actually the third mill here. So the milling process has changed drastically over that time, and we don't really have good documentation as far as what was in this mill or how it looked at any particular time," Smoot said.

So instead of just restoring the mill, Smoot and others decided to transform the site into a milling museum. Smoot acquired items long forgotten by those outside of the industry, like separators, scourers, rollstands, mill-stones, bolters, purifiers, bran dusters, conveyors and chutes -- everything needed to allow water-powered turbines to grind, press and package the grain, wheat and corn passing through the mill.

Jack Smoot, Administrator of the Bollinger Mill State Historic Site talked about how the mill has transformed over the years while on the 2nd floor of the mill in Burfordville, Friday, March 30, 2007. (Diane L. Wilson)

"The whole process, it's really a lot to take in, so you can see why our guided tour lasts about 45 minutes," Smoot said.

Smoot also made certain the mill's most important component, the mill-stones, would stay fresh and sharp. He helped secure funding to pay a professional millwright to sharpen the grooves on the 1-ton stones. The stones are laid on top of one another and spun by water-power to grind grain or corn.

Other projects have replaced exterior gutters, awnings and chimneys to make the outside of the mill historically accurate.

"We've tried to restore the outside of the building as close as we could to what it looked like when it was built. But the inside part we've kind of gone in a different direction of a museum. I think it works well," he said.

In 1998, Smoot helped lead a major restoration of the 140-foot covered bridge spanning the Whitewater River beside the mill. The restoration project replaced most of the wooden trusses, which had become damaged after years of being soaked when the river reached its highest stages.

Jack Smoot, Administrator of the Bollinger Mill State Historic Site talked about how the mill has transformed over the years while outside the mill in Burfordville, Friday, March 30, 2007. (Diane L. Wilson)

"Bridges are covered because wood lasts a lot longer if it either stays dry all the time or stays wet all the time. The covering is to protect the wood from the elements," Smoot said.

In upcoming years, several projects will make the bridge more flame retardant, remove sand and silt from the river below the mill through dredging and add a new picnic pavilion.

And though Smoot won't be directly overseeing these projects, he won't be absent either.

"I actually just submitted my application to be hired on as a seasonal worker. I'd like to come back for some of the bigger school groups and some of the other projects," he said, adding he and his wife will move to property they own in western North Carolina.

But those who work at the mill say they'll miss Smoot.

"I'm going to miss his knowledge," said Donna Allen, a guide who's worked at the mill since 1990. "He was always patient and willing to train you. And you knew if you had any questions on anything, you could always go to the source."

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245