Why Stay With Us

Chapter 1

The Beginning

The story begins when a close personal friend of mine told me about property for sale in the Hocking Hills Region of SE Ohio. He saw an ad in the newspaper – Farm 4-Sale and invited me to go with him to look at the property.

A few days later we visited with the owner of the property, then in his 70’s, and learned about his family’s passion for the land that they had owned for almost 40 years. They lived in 100+ year old farm house which now serves as the gateway to our property.

Following lunch with the owner my friend and I, with topo maps in hand, struck out to see exactly what was for sale. We spent the next 4 or 5 hours hiking the property looking for remnants of old line fencing and cornerstones.

Farm was somewhat of a misnomer as the property was principally ravine acreage surrounded by heavily forested private property. At the end of the day we felt reasonably certain as to the property boundaries and my friend asked me if I wanted to go in on buying the land. His idea was that we would each pick out a building site and build weekend getaway cabins for our personal use.

I liked the idea but had one major concern – there was a beautiful pond on the property but it didn’t have any fish in it. The problem was adjacent property that had been strip mined in the early 70’s – it was shedding water into the pond that was highly acidic and therefore unsuitable to sustain aquatic life in the pond.

Chapter 2

The Deal

Since I knew what the problem was I began looking for a solution. I started with chemicals and quickly discovered that which I had already learned in my high school chemistry class – changing the PH of water is an exponential problem. If 7 represents neutral (neither acidic or basic) on a PH scale and my pond water tested well below 7 (highly acidic) and I desired to move the PH towards neutral then I add something called soda ash. But here is the problem – if it takes 100lbs. of soda ash to move the PH from 6 to 6.1, then it takes 10 times that amount to move it to 6.2 which is 1,000lbs. and 10 times that or 10,000lbs. to move to 6.3 and so on. Clearly this was not a solution and even if it were practical the problem would be ongoing, i.e. I would always be dumping chemicals into the pond.

Next, I contacted the Ohio Department of Mines and Reclamation and learned that some of my property but mostly adjacent property had been strip mined in the early 70’s. When the mining was completed the land was reclaimed (returned to natural). Unfortunately, reclamation work in the 70’s was not state of the art and most of those early efforts to return the land to the way it was failed which is very evident today as seen by deep erosion ditches with exposed coal. The person I was speaking with at Mines and Reclamation not only helped me to understand the problem but then suggested a creative solution. He put me in touch with the Mead Paper Corporation/Pulp Manufacturing Division that produced ByPro, a byproduct from pulp manufacturing. The material is highly organic – I liken it to Miracle Grow and when applied to soil creates an amazing substrate to grow plants and grasses. The Mead Corporation, during this time frame, was applying ByPro at Mining sites to help reclaim strip mined land. Up to this time Mead had never worked with private land owners but several of their executives agreed to meet with me to explore the possibility of applying their product to re-reclaim those areas that had been striped and reclaimed improperly. After several meetings Mead agreed to the reclamation and at no cost to the land owners!

It turned out that pulp manufacturing produces a number of byproducts that need to be disposed of. This material generally ended up in landfills at great expense to the paper company. Fortunate for us that it was cheaper for Mead to truck it to our property as over a three month period following our agreement, 20-30 semi-tractor trailer loads/day were delivered and graded over the scarred land. Following application of the ByPro, the land was seeded with grasses and then mowed for the next two years.

The result of this monumental effort is green pastures and the elimination of acidic runoff into our pond. Yes, the pond is now stocked, the fishing is good and we bought the farm!

Chapter 3

The Early Years

Following our purchase of the property in Hocking Hills my friend and I would rotate weekend stays in the old farm house. Being over 100 years old it lacked many of today’s creature comforts but provided a roof over our heads and a place to rest our weary bodies after a day of hiking and clearing trails on the land.

This is probably a good time to introduce my wife Karen and stepson Keith, both of whom are owners. They, along with my father and myself, spent many a weekend cutting/clearing for trails throughout the property. Hardwood trees like Red and White Oaks were topped and the logs were dragged to a staging area to eventually be sawn into lumber and used to build some of the structures that now exist at Cherry Ridge Retreat. Tree tops were processed into firewood and the large stumps eventually became structures in the ponds we were to create.

Our goal in clearing for trails was to make the entire property accessible thus allowing us to fully enjoy nature’s beauty. At the same time we were scoping out the land for a future building site and pond. We decided to start with a pond because the other pond mentioned in chapter 2 was still a work in progress at this point. By studying topo maps I determined a location on the property whose watershed was comprised from acreage that had never been strip mined thus no potential for acid runoff. The pond took 2 months to build – 1 month to remove the trees and stumps in one of our ravines and another month of excavation to build the dam. Once completed and before any rainfall I created a large lily pad garden area at the inlet end of the pond by placing concrete blocks on the bottom to create an oblong containment area about the size of 2 large backyard swimming pools. I then filled the space with topsoil and cow manure – can’t believe I did that but I really wanted the lily pads to thrive and figured if this stuff is good for tomatoes it can’t hurt the lily pads. Low and behold – the lily pads took and soon began to multiply!

I also located a source for wooden pallets and anchored nearly a 100 of them near the lily pads prior to the pond filling with rain water. The intent was to create more structure for the fish that would soon inhabit the pond. Any of you reading this that have fished this pond can attest to getting hung up in my artificial reef but I am sure they would also attest to the great fishing!

The last step involved stocking the pond. The pond construction was completed in the fall and then stocked the following spring. The initial stocking consisted of 400 Hybrid Blue Gills, 80 Large Mouth Bass, 400 Shell Crackers (also known as Sun Fish), 40# of Chubs (also known as minnows) and 2 Grass Carp. The Grass Carp are now huge (15#’s plus). They feed on algae which helps to keep the water clean and clear. The Chubs reproduce several times in the spring and summer providing forage for the game fish. Anybody know what a Hybrid Blue Gill is? I’ll call it a genetic mutation, but it is basically a population of fish where 99% of the Blue Gills are female therefore very little reproduction. At any rate, the by-product of this anomaly is “dinner plate” size Blue Gills for those that avoid getting eaten by the Bass.

The last thing I will mention in this chapter, for any of you that might be thinking of building a pond, involves pre-planning for pond-side decks/gazebos. Prior to Mother Nature filling our pond, I had the foresight to sink treated wooden piers into the bottom of the pond thus providing a foundation from which to build a future deck/gazebo.

Chapter 4

The Early Years Continued

With a “living pond” completed for our first home, I turned my attention to the design and building of a second home on the property. I already had a vision in mind – this new home overlooked one of the larger ravines on the property and lent itself to a lower-level walkout along the hillside. I spent countless hours looking through magazines for ideas, and I finally settled on a log cabin design simply without the logs as I was concerned about maintenance. I sent for the plans, modified them to my specifications, and begin looking for a builder.

Ultimately, I decided to act as my own general contractor, so I began hiring subs. I started with a good excavator who provided access to the site and then dug for a foundation followed by pouring footers, laying block, and so on. The entire project took 9 months, and when I look back on it, I can honestly say there is nothing I would have done differently. By the way, our second home is the Lake House, and it is available to rent.

Shortly after the completion of our home, I was approached by one of the carpenters who helped build the house and asked about my intentions for the farmhouse. I really hadn’t given it much thought as we were very comfortable just leaving it vacant. Each time we would visit the property, we would close and lock the gate behind us and never worry about any wandering strangers. What the carpenter had in mind was renting the farmhouse and becoming our gatekeeper of sorts. Although we enjoyed our privacy, what ultimately tipped the scales was an old oil well on the property that seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of natural gas as long as you pumped the well on a somewhat regular basis. This, of course, was difficult for me to do consistently, so the decision was made to allow the carpenter and his wife to move into the farmhouse. This decision ended up being a good choice as the carpenter and his wife occupied the farmhouse for several years, and instead of paying us rent, we bartered for many enhancements to the property. In the next few chapters, I will expand on some of the unique things we built.

Chapter 5

Early Projects

The first project was a wraparound deck for our home and then a barn with a hayloft.  The barn was such a cool project as it was made entirely from wood that had been cut on our property.  That structure today is called the Boat House and it is one of our most popular accommodations.  In a future chapter I will expand on the remodel of the barn and why we decided to make it a rental.

Next we built a large deck on the pond that was mentioned in chapter 3.  When the pond was 1’st excavated I augured 6×6 treated posts into the bottom of the pond before it filled with water.  This became the foundation for the deck – obviously a lot easier to build the deck with the posts already in place.  The deck and benches are painted every 2 years to help preserve the wood and add a bit of color at the water’s edge.  With the deck in place I created a swim platform to make it easy to get in and out of the pond and in these early years Karen and I spent many a hot day floating in our private swimming hole.  Imagine the feeling of swimming in this private pond in the middle of the forest.  I will tell you we never had to worry about swim suits!

The summer following the construction of the pond deck my tenant/carpenter living in the farmhouse and I built the pond gazebo.  It took us 2 weeks to complete.  I trenched electric from our house (almost 500’) to the gazebo thus allowing for lighting and ceiling fans.  The gazebo is 30’ long and roughly 12’ wide with a gable roof over 2/3 of the structure and lattice over the balance.  The lattice gable allows dappled light to penetrate the structure making for the perfect environment for the huge ferns we hang in the spring and summer.  The interior of the gazebo has a tiled 2-tier bar and is a favorite spot for our guests to enjoy a sunset cocktail.  Next to the bar I constructed a large stone barbecue.  We first used the barbecue in the spring of 2003 while hosting a picnic to celebrate Keith’s graduation from Ohio University.  The grill can easily accommodate 50 burgers at a time and today serves as a favorite gathering place for families that enjoy picnicking at the pond.

During these early years I was still working as a life insurance salesman and always looked forward to spending most weekends in our new home.  We entertained family and friends frequently and always enjoyed our peaceful retreats to “The Farm”.

Chapter 6

The Boat House

As mentioned in the last chapter, the Boat House was such a cool project.  Built entirely of wood milled on our property, the exterior is 1” thick red and white oak constructed in a batt and board finish.  For those of you non construction types, batt and board refers to wide plank boards that are nailed vertically.  Where the wood planks come together there is an open seam (crack between the boards) and this is where the batt is nailed, i.e. on top of the two boards.  The result gives depth to the wall and is, in my opinion, much more attractive than just a flat wall.

When the Boat House was built our resort didn’t exist.  The idea behind this project was to create a rustic “barn like” structure where I could store my tractor, smoke cigars with my pals and pursue a few of my hobbies.  As such, amenities were minimal – half bath, no kitchen, poorly insulated but heated and air conditioned so that I could use it year round.  As is the case with most barns, I built a hay loft and stocked it with 200+ bales of hay that has always come in handy for our various landscaping projects.  If you have the opportunity to stay at the Boat House and look closely at the front of the building you will see where the large hinges hung to support the large barn door.  That elevation is now a framed wall with large windows that replaced the doors.

Years later, after several cabins had been built, we remodeled the Boat House into a rental.  I can’t tell you how many times I have wished that I had built it as a stand-alone home as opposed to a barn.  As a barn I set poles (6×6’s) in the ground and then framed to the poles – this basically means built on the ground with no foundation.  The result is a structure that is, to say the least, very challenging to remodel.  The remodel consisted of adding a kitchen in a long narrow space where I once had a work bench adjacent to the half bath, installing a paver floor in that portion of the barn where the tractor was parked, turning my cigar room into a family room with a wood burning fireplace and adding a full bath with heated floor as an addition to the building.

The Boat House is now one of our most asked for accommodations.  Below the Boat House is a 2.5 acre lake that is accessed via a staircase to a private dock with bar and sauna building attached that extends 40’ over the water and includes a dining table at the end of the dock.  There is also a seasonal flat bottomed “John Boat” included as part of the Boat House rental that is docked in front of the sauna building – perfect for fishing our stocked lake or just lazy paddling around the lake. For you Dads reading this – perfect spot for a father/son or daughter getaway and teaching them to fish!