Sat 15 June 2002 The Festival, at least what I saw of it was great! I walked into the Festival site as I had planned in the evening. I took my moped with me on this walk and it worked out great. I am able to see so much more from the openess of two wheels and the motor made getting up the hills easier. I saw a lot of the surrounding countryside that way. I shot some good video of the festival, met a lot of great people, and generally had a fine time. We (again, my mother) stayed at Lake White again, only this time I took my camper down. A little more hassle, but more comfortable. Jim Henry arranged for me to park it at a local farm so that I don't have to drag it each time. In a couple of weeks or so I'll try to hook up with Mr. Beekman, another local historian for a tour of Waverly and maybe Omega.
Sat 1 June 2002 Went to Pike County with my mother and finished up the stretch to Jasper. Didn't really do much else except to set the stage to walk the next 5 miles to Waverly. I have that planned for Waverly's annual Canal Days Festival on the 15th of June. Come walk at least part of the way with me and at least enjoy the Festival. We spent the rest of the weekend at the Bachochin's.
Sat 11 May 2002
| We met with Albert McClay and his wife Dottie. He had a lot of good stories and history. He showed me the milepost that I hadn't found earlier. It is somewhat hard to read, but at least it is there. In fact, it is the only one that I have ever seen. | | Jim Henry wasn't able to join us, so I'll share my video with him. This was also the weekend for TOSROV. It is amazing how many people make that trek. We stopped at Lockbourne on the way home just to get a feel for it. |
Fri 19 Apr 2002 It has been a busy winter and I did not do much with the walk. I had hoped to see the Phillip Moore House and the 1810 House dressed up for the holidays, but such was not to be. On this trip my mother and I met with Jim Henry in Waverly. He has written extensively about the history of the area and obviously knows quite a bit. We compared notes and I took him out to see some of the places that I had already visited and he filled me in on some of the areas that I will soon get to. We stopped to see Albert McClay. He was ill so we will reschedule. After having dinner at Waverly's Ponderosa, we spent the rest of the weekend with the Bachochin's.
Sat 26 Oct 2001 The weather was cooperative enough, so my mother and I made the trip. I started at the county line and worked my way north, almost to Jasper. Along the way we met Albert McClay. The McClay farm lies along the canal and shipped much of its grain via the boats. I hope to get back down and interview him over the winter. When Rt 104 was widened in the 1950s, there was a milepost stone for the canal that was removed. Mr. McClay's father had the stone returned to the farm. Although the original place for it was gone, he wanted it preserved and left as close as possible to it's original position. It is in the pasture near the road, but I couldn't find it. I'll have to see if I can't get McClay to show it to me.
Sat 19 Oct 2001 Well, I finally made it to the County line. I went down in the morning, but didn't get to the Towpath Ready Mix until almost 1630 (4:30). The construction on Interstate 71 was almost at a standstill and it took what seemed like forever to get through it. Then, when I reached SR23, the traffic around the pumkin patches was crawling. I travelled this trip alone, and didn't bring a bike, so I expected to walk both ways. Fortunately, I ran into a family that I had met on an earlier trip, the Bender's, and they gave me a ride back to my truck. I spent the night at my friend's, the Bachochin's. If weather cooperates, I'll go down on the 26th.
Sat 22 Sept 2001
| I went alone this trip, leaving early in the morning and returning the same day. It was past 11 before I started due to the fog. It is hard to get good pictures when you can't see. Just north of Crystal Dr in Rushtown is Boynton Farms and the most perfectly preserved lock that I have seen in the area. |  | Quite a bit of the canal is still intact in this section, although there are a few spots where it would be hard to tell. I took my GPS unit along and tried my hand at getting coordinates of some of the locks. I don't know how accurate it is, or even if I'm using it right, but hey, I won't know if I don't try! I parked a bike at the Towpath Ready Mix and my truck in Rushtown. That way I could walk up and ride the bike back. |
Sat 1 Sept 2001 We once again camped at Lake White, and managed to stay dry through Fri nite's rain. Originally, some of the other family members were going to camp with me, but family health problems precluded that. This was the weekend of the annual River Days in Portsmouth. I didn't know that and I never thought to check for scheduled events, so I walked alone. That was good in some ways since I travelled quite a distance, not only finishing up the previous section, but also along the approximate path that the canal followed to its original terminus on the Scioto. Here again, this was only approximate, but close enough considering how the landscape has changed. We did go into Portsmouth for the festival. It was just after noon on Sunday and the carnival part was just starting to get business. We stayed long enough to get some video and enjoy some of the sights. Then we went to the historic stadium area and shot some tape. Once a contender for the Football Hall of Fame, Portsmouth is a "must visit" for the sports enthusiast. Afterward, we finally made it to the 1810 House. Our guide was very knowledgeable (at least to those of us who don't know the area history!) and added an air of excitement. The historical society has done a fine job of preserving the atmosphere of the era. I bought a new digital camera and tried it out on this trip. I had an older one, but didn't like the pictures. I was going to post them here, but the quality was too bad. As soon as I work with this camera a little, I'll try pics from it here. The next walk will be 22 and 29 of Sept, weather permitting. I (we?) will walk about 4 mi from Rushtown to the Tow Path Ready Mix facility, or farther on the 22nd. The walk will resume on the 29th from whereever we stopped on the 22nd and proceed and least 4 more miles.
Thur 2 Aug 2001 My mother (she's a constant travelling companion because she's available) and I went to West Portmouth and Portsmouth. I wanted to see the 1810 House (which wasn't open) and the Phillip Moore House (which is open by appointment only) since I hadn't fit them into my travels yet. I figured that I would at least get video of the outside of each, and then walk a few of the short spots that I have only driven past. I might think that I might have to satisfy myself with just a drive by in some areas. We'll see. I didn't video the 1810 House, figuring that I'll still try to make a visit while it is open. But I did video much of the outside of the Phillip Moore House - and more! Although it is not normally open, this preserved example of a "Pennsylvania stone house" that was typical of the first settlers in the area was undergoing maintenance and thus we were greeted by it owners. Dr. Louis Chaboudy and his wife Ava gave us a quick tour of the place and narrated a wonderful history. If you can ever arrange for one of the rare tours, do so. It is well worth it. I will have the next public walk on Sat Aug 1. It will cover the distance that was rained out on the last walk. I guess that it was good that it rained, the feedback (from my daughter) was that the distance was too long considering all of the stops to look at things, take pictures, etc. So we will go from Lock 50 behind Union Mills to Trempter Mound, about 3 to 4 miles. I will advise on the meeting place in later updates. Maybe we can go to the 1810 House after lunch.
Sat 25 June 2001 The weather forcast showed only a possibility of scattered showers in the Portsmouth area, so the walk was on. We (me, my mother Sue, daughters Sharon amd Reme, and Naomi Bachochin) camped at Lake White State Park south of Waverly Fri and Sat nights. Since I had rented a van in Waverly, it was the most convenient site. The morning was beautiful, but promised to get hot later. We set up at Union Mills (Lock 50) and waited, but no one showed. It was just about 11 when Sharon and I decided that we weren't going to wait any longer. Then we spottod a car pull in the gas station across the road and one of the occupants pointed to the Union Mills Confectionary building. So, Tom Rush and his friend joined our ranks. They had run into problems on the trip down. We started just north of Rushtown and worked our way south. We encountered many frienly people on the way, especially a fellow name Dave who had cleared a section of the canal bed and built a fine campsite. He had heard about the walk on the local radio stations WPAY and WNXT. He led us to Lock 49 hidden in the dense bushes and woods. We never could have found it without his help. Thanks Dave! Finding the exact spot where the N&S RR crossed the canal was made difficult by all of the fill and vegetation. We continued south of the junction of Rt 104 and Rt 74 when we were advised by a passing motorist that we were about to get hit with a major thunderstorm. We had seen it in the distance but didn't think it was that close, but we took his advice and called for the shuttle to take us back Union Mills. Besides we started late, spent more time exploring that we expected, were ready for lunch, and Tom and Mae still had a long drive home ahead of them. We covered about four and a half miles. Richard Glass and his wife arrived shortly after we returned. They had car trouble on the way down. After lunch, we returned to the campsite and left Sun morning to drop off Naomi. I have not planned a time to finish up this section, but will probably just work it in to another trip. I have not yet visited the 1810 House in Portsmouth, so I want to have at least one more weekend in the area.
Mon 25 June 2001 So far it looks like about a half dozen people from the Akron area in addition to a few friends and family will join me in West Portsmouth on the 30th. Two radio stations interviewed me today, WCPN in Cleveland and WLGC in Geenup KY (Across the Ohio River from Portsmouth). I heard the one from WCPN. Eh, maybe next time I'll get the words out right. My family and I will stay at a local campground Fri night and perhaps Sat also. It is a great area for camping and just enjoying nature.
Monday 18 June 2001 The Akron Beacon Journal ran a very nice ariticle about my expedition. I have received several calls from people who wish to join me on 30 June. It looks like it will be a good crowd.
Sat 2 June 2001
| I made this trip alone. I want to invite the public to walk with me from Rushtown to Union Mills, an approximate 7 mile hike, so I needed to make some preparations. I obtained permission from Mr. Temple of the Union Mills Confectionary to use his parking lot. He also has a great restaurant (Mex-Italia) across the street.. |  | Thank you Mr. Temple. I also tried to line up a "promontional" use of a van and a donation or discount on lunch fixin's for whomever showed up, but Saturday is not a good day to do that sort of thing. I also started passing out Press Releases about the walk which is scheduled for 30 June. |
Sat 12 May 2001
| Another trip to Portsmouth. There will be a few more of these, as I am spending more time showing people around than I am walking and video-taping, but there is so much to see. (Once again, a visit to the Murals was a must.) On this trip I took my mother, Steve Bachochin's wife Cheryl, their son Ezra, daughter Lydia, and Lydia's friend Chelsie We started at the Ohio river and walked up to RT 52 following the canal/riverbed. . |  | Ok, I admit, I'm still not sure exactly what path the canal followed to Union Mills, even though it was shown to me on a map. Somehow I seems like the topography and the maps that I used aren't quite in sync. Flooding, roadbuilding, farming, and time sure can change an area. Rt 104 had a lot of bike traffic due to the annual TOSRV (Tour of the Scioto River Valley) that caught our attention. What a Turnout! I was so busy watching them that I didn't even think to get the camera out, so unless I come by someone else's videotape, this event won't be in the documentary.. |
Sat 5 May 2001
| I went to Portsmouth with a friend, Steve Bachochin, and his son Ezra. We examined a few sites before meeting with Mr. Throckmorton. His knowledge is quite extensive and he was able to direct us to the existing canal structures in Scioto Co. |  | We followed his directions to lock 55 on the Ohio River. The old River Rd that used to cross over it no longer exists, we had to drive along the edge of a farmer's field to reach it. The lock itself is in good repair, with only a few stones out of place. Of course, the gates are long gone as is the decking for the old road that crossed just before it. The lock is full of driftwood, etc from the normal spring high water.We did not walk along the canal itself at this time. |
| Next we went to lock50 behind Union Mills Confectionary. |  | It is the only one of three near the site of the old Union Mills in West Portsmouth that still exists, and it is overgrown and in rough condition. My thanks to the kind folks at Union Mills Confectionary for the use of their parking lot. |
Thur 3 May 2001 The Canal Expedition pages were put back on line at the att.net site.
Wed 11 Apr 2001 I discovered that these Canal Expedition pages must have become a victim of the dreaded "failed dot com disease," thereby necessitating rebuilding them and moving them to their current site. My apologies to all of you who tried to access them.
Thur 16 Mar 2001 I telephoned Mr. Throckmorton in Portsmouth. He operated a store for many years that overlooked the canal in West Portsmouth. He was also involved with the Canal Days celebrations during the 1980's and, therefore, was one of the people recommended to me by the folks at the library. He will be the area "guide" when we begin the walk.
Sat 10 Mar 2001 My mother, Sue Starcher, accompanied me on the trip to Waverly. We had a delightful visit to the Scioto Heritage Museum which is housed in an 1859 Church. The two staffers, one a high school student, and a patron were all helpful. They have an HO scale model of the town during the canal era, and a couple of pieces of wood cut from the huge beams that were used in the locks. These were unearthed when Route 23 was widened. Also, a listen to the restored church pipe organ is a a special treat when visiting the museum. Lunch was had at the historic Emitt House. Their parking lot is on a filled in section of the canal right on 23 (Emitt St) and N. Market St. We followed this with a trip to The Garnet A Wilson Library in Waverly. When visiting Waverly, be sure to go to the local history room. One whole basement wall of the library is canal stone. We were assisted by the children's librarian, Mary Beth. Although the local history room isn't her area, she did an great job of finding things for us. She also helped us with a couple of names of local historians. Armed with a little more knowledge, we drove around town tracing the path of the canal. The final stop before going home was at one of those diners that resemble a stainless steel railroad passenger car to meet Jim Henry. Jim is one of the local historians and he has agreed to assist with the project.
Fri 16 Feb 2001 I went to Portsmouth with my son Jeremy to begin the initial preparations for the project. After spending the night at a local motel, we visited the Portsmouth Library. The librarians in the local history room were most helpful. They not only helped to locate useful information, but they also provided names of local people who might be interested in participating in the Expedition. After lunch in a Portsmouth diner, we familierized ourselves with the area. Any trip to the Portsmouth area must include the murals on the flood wall. Fantastic! We returned home through West Portsmouth and Rushtown via Rt104 to Waverly, visually surveying the general condition of the canal as we went. 06/15/2002