Little Egypt Heritage Articles Stories of Southern Illinois © Bill Oliver 16 July 2006 Vol 5 Issue: #22 ISBN: pending Osiyo, Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen of Little Egypt The pamphlet said that a drive through Hocking Hills [Ohio] was a “Best of the Road Trip.” I’m pleased that they said “a” best road trip. Our children remember a ride from Ouray, Colorado south to the “Four Corners” area through some of the highest roadways in the United States. Or, the western coastal drive through Oregon and California to cross the Golden Gate Bridge – a real two decker bridge with more lanes than Interstate 80 through “Chicago”. Or, Interstate 80 with its change of topography from east to west through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska – to where the “inch deep mile wide” river runs. Or, .......... well, you know, the little word “a” becomes “Best” anywhere you are at any moment and whom you are with. In my youth, one of the treats on a Sunday afternoon was a “ride in the country”. Uncle George would pile as many of the family as possible in his vehicle, and [Great] Aunt Nell, sitting by the front window seat would signal a right turn by sticking her arm out the window. Or, “Aunt” Edie, who would drive along a back road and see folks sitting out on their porches. She would honk the horn in that friendly way and wave like crazy. Then she’d say, “That’ll keep ‘em guessing awhile.” Well Friday last, with a daughter’s family, we left highway 33 at Logan [Ohio] and traveled south on a very scenic, winding, roller-coaster two lane road. “Hollar Folks Heaven!” Home territory of Larry Mitchell, my friend Sandy’s Father. We’ll walk some of these beautiful gorges in the coming week. Yesterday was another “ride” of “a” best kind. Since tomorrow is my birthday, we all took a two and a half hour ride on a train. Our nine and eight year old grandchildren have ridden on a train – called the “Blue Bird Special” – in northwestern Ohio, however, this one was a nice long one through pristine landscapes and industrial plants pioneer and modern. Well, maybe the narrow gage road in southern Colorado is as thrilling as any for traveling on a “ledge”. Still there is something thrilling about feeling the “clickity-clack” along railroad tracks. It was my great pleasure to remember the rhythmic movements of trains; not just the clickity-clack, but the swaying back and forth. We used to walk through the cars to get to the diner, etc and walking was tricky. Unexpected movements would throw one off balance. And, my poor Mom – she often got “motion” sickness. Trains and boats in particular. It was noticeable that our grandson was susceptible also because he had a headache soon after we were underway. Our “conductor” with his modern public address system filled us with many facts of local history and some folklore as we traveled. One place about five miles east of Logan was an old abandoned brick home which was in need of repair. It was pointed out that it was once used as a “station” in the “underground” railway system prior to the Civil War. It was also pointed out to us that there was a group who were going through a financial campaign to renovate the property. We thought it certainly a great idea to preserve it and open it with many other attractions of the area. The rail line, called the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway, is a part of the original Hocking Valley Railway and is listed in the National Register of historic places. One of their engines, the EMD GP-10 #701, was built in December 1957 for the Illinois Central Railroad. After the merger of the Illinois Central and the Gulf Mobile & Ohio in 1972 it was sent to the Paducah, Kentucky shops in 1973 to emerge in January 1974. It was acquired by the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway from the Ohio Central as the GP-10 #70. Since there is no way for me to post this article until we return home, the remainder of the article will be a general summary of some of our activities and some history of the area. You’ve heard the old saying – when life gives you lemons, make lemonade! This railroad going defunct was purchased by a preservation group and turned into a Hocking Valley Tourist train running between Hocking College and Logan. At the one end of the line, located on the college campus is a collection of original log cabins moved there and being restored. Like the saying which began this paragraph, the Hocking Valley folks have had to “make lemonade”, which is to say that they keep trying to find viable ways to sustain their economy. The area was first a large supplier of coal for industry; then charcoal and when that failed they made clay products – brick and pottery and garden ornaments. Today there are products from lumber and quarry sand for concrete. However, the Hocking Valley area does a brisk business in tourism with spectacular hollows and gorges. The area has been inhabited for more than 7000 years, as there is evidence of the ancient Adena culture in the area. Also, there is evidence that Wyandot, Delaware and Shawnee Nations used the area. They named the area “bottle river” or something which sounded like Hockhocking. The Hocking valley resembles a bottle due to the one-time blockage by the last glacial ice. The most famous and popular location is Old Man’s Cave. A hermit named Richard Rowe came to the area from Pennsylvania, years before Ohio’s Statehood, to establish a trading post. He had dogs and traveled through southern Ohio along the Scioto River hunting. On one of his travels he went up Salt Creek and found the Hocking Valley. He then lived out the remainder of his life here and is said to be buried off the main cave; thus, gaining the name. The children always like Cantwell Cliffs because of the passageway called “Fat Woman’s Squeeze”, which is on our way to the rock shelter of which we storytellers tell embellished tales about “outlaws” who supposedly inhabited the “Rock House” and the “treasure” that is said to be buried there. The family spotted many, many deer daily. Other wild creatures we saw included marmots, a “black” snake, rabbits, birds of many species, ground hogs, hawks, an eagle, and some wild turkeys. The most wonder of the week was the fact that the grandchildren basically forgot there was television – they read and read and read in addition to walking up and down deep gorges. They read about butterflies and birds. They listened to bird call identification on CDs. What a learning experience they have to tell their friends when they arrive back. e-la-Di-e-das-Di ha-wi nv-wa-do-hi-ya nv-wa-to-hi-ya-da. (May you walk in peace and harmony) and Wado, Bill -=- PostScript: Other sites worth visiting: PostScript: = = = = http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/SOIL http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/ILMASSAC http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/state/BillsArticles/LittleEgypt/intro.html