Not many 100-year-olds are able to enjoy hearing their praises sung by literally hundreds of well-wishers during their birthday celebration -- but then not many 100-year-olds are a red covered bridge.

This year for each day of the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival, "Happy Birthday to You!" will echo throughout Billie Creek Village as the venerable Leatherwood Station Covered Bridge gets a party like no other bridge (or person) in the history of Parke County.

"We wanted to do something special for the Leatherwood Station covered bridge," said Doug Weisheit, general manager of Billie Creek Village and patron saint of the Leatherwood Bridge's birthday bash.

"So we decided to serve up 100 pieces of cake each day at 11:30 to visitors in the village who join in singing happy birthday to the bridge.

"Most of the birthday singers will be schoolkids as they come here on school days by the thousands."

The celebration will take place in the village gazebo at about 11:50 a.m. each day, whenever the group Vickie & Crew finishes its daily musical performance.

Weisheit says the bridge's birthday also will be commemorated by the Rockville Post Office. During the Covered Bridge Festival, all letters coming out of Rockville will be canceled by a special "Leatherwood Station 1899-1999" cancellation marker.

The Leatherwood Station Covered Bridge was originally built in 1899 over the Leatherwood Creek northeast of Montezuma. It is of Burr arch construction and is 72 feet long, 16 feet wide and has a clearance of 14 feet. It is the longest of Billie Creek Village's three covered bridges.

The bridge was originally built near land a Montezuma man named Harry Wolf owned, and occasionally some people still call it the Harry Wolf bridge.

The bridge's builder was Joseph A. Britton. Britton underbid rival bridge builder J.J. Daniels, who had offered the county to erect the bridge for the sum of $680. It is not known for sure exactly how much Britton was paid for his bridge-building.

"At the time the bridge was built there were not yet any horseless carriages in this area," Weisheit said. "Of course, that all changed, and the ravages of the many kinds of motorized vehicles, together with age, led to the Leatherwood Station Covered Bridge being condemned as unsafe for public traffic in the early 1970s.

"A concrete bridge was built near the Leatherwood Station Bridge, which meant that people passing through the area by car along the Yellow Route had to look at it from a distance."

In 1981, members of Parke County Inc., together with members of Billie Creek Village, raised the money to have the bridge moved onto Billie Creek Village's property.

Then in a long, grueling day an experienced southern Indiana mover named Elmer Buchta brought the bridge in one piece from its location along the Leatherwood Creek to its current home in the village.

The bridge was then essentially reconstructed when it received a new floor, roof and sides. The $43,000 cost of moving and reconstructing the bridge was more than 60 times the original building cost.

"The Leatherwood Station Covered Bridge essentially got a new lease on life when it came to Billie Creek," Weisheit said. "It now sits by itself at the back of the village property in the woods and it is the second least-visited bridge in Parke County (the least-visited bridge is on private property).

"On the other hand, it is one of the most photographed bridges by professional photographers because no power lines, telephone poles, or other modern contraptions intrude on pictures of the bridge crossing the 'crick.'"

Weisheit says that the Leatherwood Station Bridge's out-of-the-way location back in the forest has made it a romantic hot spot. Many couples young and old can be seen wandering around it holding hands and even kissing.

The bridge can lay claim to inspiring at least one engagement. Two years ago a couple from Indianapolis had their first real date on a day trip to the Covered Bridge Festival that included a mule-drawn wagon ride across the bridge. Then last year the same couple revisited the bridge and took the same wagon ride.

During that trip the young gentleman had much more serious plans than on his first date and these were aided and abetted by the staff of Billie Creek Village.

This time as the young couple approached the bridge on their mule-drawn wagon, a banner was hanging by it: "Will you marry me? Please say yes!"

The delighted -- and astonished -- young lady agreed. Now the young couple are married.

Weisheit hopes that during the next 100 years the quiet charm of the Leatherwood Station Covered Bridge may inspire other couples to step forward toward the altar.