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Friends of the Little Miami State Park is a non-profit group of volunteers dedicated to restoring and maintaining safety on the park's scenic trail. Working under the sanction of the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources, the Friends provide almost all maintenance on the trail. We depend on your support and invite you to join us in serving our community.
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From Then to Now: 35 Years on the Trail
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 by Tom Wallace
Bill Taphorn is not only one of the most articulate supporters of our Trail, he's also been present for all of its history. Bill served as Director of Finance for the City of Loveland for 32 years, longer than the Trail's entire history. Thus he has an insider's perspective on how the Trail came to be.
The photo is Bill on a different type of bike and on a very different "trail." TRAIL MAIL: Bill, what was your first exposure to the Trail? BILL: Years ago I would occasionally take my bike down to the trail (we live a few doors from Beech), after they removed the train rails but prior to paving, and ride the bumpy track bed. TM: I won't ask what your speed was. Have you continued to use the Trail after it was finished? BILL: Not just me, but our entire family (4 children) have jogged, dog-walked, bike-ridden and just strolled the Trail along the river for many years. When my son Daniel was attending Wright State he rode a bike from Yellow Springs down to our house in Loveland. During my years with Loveland I watched the Trail come to life, extend, widen and evolve into a destination point for many communities along its path.
TM: In your mind, what's the best thing about the Trail?
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| Great Outdoor Weekend |
When: September 27-28
Where: 40 locations throughout the Tri-State!
Don't miss this annual opportunity to participate in any of over 120 FREE outdoor events spanning eight counties in and around Greater Cincinnati, all offered by member organizations of Green Umbrella.
Children and adults can sample everything from ziplining to guided hikes, climbing, gardening, fishing, and paddling. Visit GreatOutdoorWeekend.org for a search menu of events near you.
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Setback for Fence Crew
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The Friends are proud of their efforts to make the most of limited funds and resources, and the fence repair crew is no exception. Rich Easterly, Tom Creasman, and Ray Jacobson have spent many hours removing and disassembling unneeded fences along the trail, reserving materials still in good shape to use for repairs and additional fences in other trail locations. So it was a sad day when they discovered their carefully stacked posts and fence boards had disappeared--apparently stolen.
But this setback has not stopped them. "Right now we are still able to reclaim un-needed fence material from sections of the trail," says Rich Easterly. "Mile Marker 25, for example: this is a flat section of the trail with no need for culverts or fence. So, we disassemble the fence and use the boards and posts where needed. This takes about three hours to reclaim enough fence material to use at another location along the trail. When we exhaust this process, we will be forced to purchase new fence material."
In the above photo, Ray Jacobson disassembles a fence that was removed to allow a state ODNR backhoe to clean a culvert near Morrow. Photos below show the crew's work on a major repair at a culvert just north of Grandin Rd. (mm 35), before and after.
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The Friends is a nonprofit organization devoted to the preservation and enhancement of the Little Miami State Park. We assist the Ohio Department of Natural Resources with development planning, routine maintenance, capital improvements, and safety concerns.
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But it can't fly:
Wingstem | |
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