A Star Discovered in New Richmond on the Ohio

 We just learned that young country singer, Tana Matz, will be playing at the Green Kayak tomorrow. Tana is fresh off of a performance in front of hundreds at a large college conference in Atlanta. Most significantly, Tana's big break was with the help of folks at the Green Kayak and a college agent who stopped by the Kayak to hear Tana play. He was so impressed with her charisma, stage presence and music that he signed her the same night and set her up with the Showcase. Tana took care of the rest! She now has at least 8 shows in several States. You better get to the Kayak to see this girl soon......her road to success travels right down Front St in scenic New Richmond on the Ohio but the road she is travelling is going to take her very far. Go Tana!!

The Green Kayak and Front Street continue to support the local music scene have hosted an eclectic mix of musicians and other performers this past year. Please frequent these establishments to support the music talent and the continued economic vitality of this hidden Village gem  on the shores of the beautiful Ohio River. The Ohio River, derived from the Seneca name ohi:yo', means "good river" and we agree that we have found so much good along the shores of this good river........

Maybe we'll catch you at the Kayak tomorrow for Tana. So if we meet at the Kayak, don't forget to "push out the boat"  (look it up...we're waiting!!!)
   
                                                                                                                                                     

So What Does The "100 Year Flood" Term Mean...

Each spring, as the shores of the Ohio River widen due to flooding, we hear the term "100 year flood" tossed around in the media and beyond. This term is used without explanation and is often misunderstood. Many folks labor under the belief that such refers to a catastrophic flood occurring once every one hundred years. Nice thought---but not accurate.

What the "100 year flood" term means is that there exists a 1% chance that the River will reach such level each year. That's right, we could have a "100 year flood" two years in a row without the term being inaccurate. The point is that there exists the same 1% chance of the river hitting the "100 year flood" level each year.

Another issue to point out regarding the "100 year flood level" term is that the National Weather Service has calculated such figure utilizing only  a century (or so) of data. As such, what is the "100 year flood level" today may well be different in the future as more data becomes available.

Just thought you would want to know.....

Entertainment Along the Ohio River...

Some of our folks headed out east of Cincinnati again to the New Richmond area. As is becoming expected, the Village and surrounding area was filled with music and other fun. From the Green Kayak, to Front Street to Andouilles, Saturday was happening. We are very excited to spend time in New Richmond over the summer months, as we expect the music, laughs and fun will continue. In fact, if you have any ideas for events please leave them as comments on our blog--- we hear folks in the Village are checking in regularly...

Friday and Saturday night showcased both the new and old on the music scene. The Green Kayak featured the Denver Young Band. This is a very fun, energetic, new-on-the-scene 3 piece band playing a mix of country music classics and originals. Keep an eye on these guys. They are going somewhere big....

Just down the road, on Saturday, at Andouilles were the Goshorn Brothers. These guys (formerly of Pure Prairie League) have been playing for decades and you can tell. There sets are tight and appear effortless. True professionals. In between the Kayak and Andouilles sits the Front Street Cafe who featured the 3 person version of Robin Lacey's band, "We Three." Like the Goshorn Brothers, Robin is a veteran and amazingly talented performer who calls this Village area home. What a night!

After enjoying the Goshorn Brothers for awhile, we headed back down to the Kayak for another version of Comedy on the River. As in the past, we were not disappointed. Led again by the person they call "D.O.C" (Loraine), her and three other comics (Mike Cronin https://www.facebook.com/bonesnake3/photos_stream#!/bonesnake3 , Mike Berlon https://www.facebook.com/MikeBerlonComedy?fref=ts  and Dave Hyden https://www.facebook.com/search/results.php?q=dave%20hyden&init=quick&tas=0.8279766252431346#!/hyden2 )  left people with countless laughs. If you haven't experienced Comedy at the Kayak then you are missing an incredibly great and affordable night out.  We were told that it's the third Saturday of each month, until further notice......

On the Kayak topic, next time we get down we will take some pictures. This place continues to evolve and reminds us of a visit to New Orleans. Old 1800's vintage brick, long beautiful bar (with great back story), great stage, excellent food and a real "laid back" feel. Contrasted down the road is the Front Street Cafe with a little more formal feel, great food and a view of the river equal to the Kayak. Just outside New Richmond sits Andouilles with excellent Cajun food and, as noted above, great entertainment.....Heading out east couldn't be much more fun!!

And The Water Rises Again....

Here we go again. As goes this crazy southern Ohio/northern Kentucky spring, the Ohio River is predicted to inch up towards the flood stage again this week cresting at over 40 feet. Here's the link to the National Weather service website which identifies the expected crest: http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=iln&gage=ccno1

There was also an interesting note on the National Weather Service site today regarding the potential lost of stream gauge sites. Although no sites are expected to be lost in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, West Virginia and Pennsylvania are anticipated to lose a few sites. These real-time stream gauges are used by the National Weather Service to perform the complicated calculation on expected flood levels on major rivers. The cuts are as a result of the much-discussed sequestration affecting so many branches of the US government.

As for kayaking, we are going to have to wait longer to safely get on the Ohio River. We do not recommend paddlers to go out on the waters under flood conditions like expected this week. In addition to the swift current, the concern is the debris that is swept into the river. Some of the debris is just below the water level and creates a real hazard condition. To get your kayak fix, we recommend that you hit one of the many inland lakes in the region.

Oh, The Wild River Levels Of The Ohio......

For so many people living near the Ohio River, they simply do not understand the wild fluctuations of the river level. While the river rises and falls all year long, historically, January-March have been the time period where the waters have risen to dramatic levels. The latest extreme flood of 1997  (64.7 feet) was in early March, as were the 1945 (69.2 feet) and 1964 floods (66.2). The combination of spring rains and melting winter snows to the north create a "recipe for floods" and all that come with such natural events.

So here we are having seen some heavy rains this week and blustery snow. As expected, this recipe for flood will result in just such an event. However, fear not, as we are not looking at any extraordinary event. The current projection for the Ohio River at Cincinnati/New Richmond is 36 feet (a good 10 feet+ above the approximate 25 foot "pool elevation"). We encourage everyone from the region to stop by and check out our beautiful river.

While visiting New Richmond last weekend for music at the Green Kayak, we were shown a cool picture of the Green Kayak building (Old Mason Lodge/Drug Store building). We were told that the picture was provided by Historic New Richmond archives. How cool is this?

The folks at the Kayak told us that a Historic New Richmond representative estimated the photo from the 1880s/1890s. According to the data on the NewRichmond.org website, the flood level of 200 Front Street (the address of the red 3 story building int he photo with the Drug Store sign) is 58.7 feet.  The following chart of Historical Floods was copied from the National Weather Service website data on historical floods of the Ohio River at the Cincinnati/New Richmond area . We bolded the historical flood data that appear to confirm the date of the photo provided by Historic New Richmond:

(14) 61.40 ft on 03/29/1898
(15) 61.32 ft on 03/03/1962
(16) 61.27 ft on 03/01/1962
(17) 61.20 ft on 02/01/1918
(18) 61.20 ft on 02/26/1897
(19) 61.00 ft on 03/10/1955
(20) 60.80 ft on 01/04/1943
(21) 60.60 ft on 03/28/1936
(22) 60.04 ft on 04/24/1940
(23) 59.90 ft on 03/23/1943
(24) 59.80 ft on 03/11/1967
(25) 59.70 ft on 04/27/1901
(26) 59.40 ft on 03/10/1963
(27) 59.20 ft on 03/25/1890

Enjoy the River and watch the flood waters rush on by......See you on the water.

Follow up on the Village of New Richmond....

Well, we said we'ld follow up and here we are. We stopped down to the Green Kayak last night and they had a duo playing called The Dishes. They were unbelievable. Amazing harmonies and a great selection of songs. As an added bonus, several folks joined playing throughout the night, including folks playing banjo, guitar and a cajone....A cajone is a cool box which the player sits on and hits it like a drum. We saw no microphone or anything, but the sound was so cool and loud. It appeared that different areas he hit produced different sounds--even a snare drum sound.  We never saw this before and the cajone added great depth to the music......WOW!!

The River is moving fast, but the temperatures of the water are picking up. It won't be long before the River temperature will be ready for all the kayakers.....We ran into a guy at the Kayak that everyone calls "Kayak Steve." He had just returned (still in dry suit) from a paddle from New Richmond to near Moscow. He said the current was a little swift, but it was fun to stay near the shore and paddle through the trees. A great afternoon adventure.

Finally, we also heard that someone may be writing an article on the New Richmond Canoe/Kayak ramp. We do not have any details, but we will update you when we learn more.....As we have said in the past, this little Village ROCKS!!!

A Beautiful Day....

What a beautiful day to get outside and play....After a week featuring cancelled schools, traffic snarls and cold, bitter, snowy conditions, today has literally been a breath of fresh spring air. We hope folks are getting outside to walk the dog, paddle a river or lake or otherwise take advantage of the great weather. The Ohio River is looking on the high side (at almost 34') but falling soon. We are so ready for many paddling trips on the Ohio and its tributaries this summer.

Tonight the plan is to visit the friendly Village of New Richmond to enjoy music and food. There always seems to be action in the Village these days on weekends. We absolutely loved the new stage that was constructed at the Green Kayak Market & Eatery. Very cool! We really hope this little Village can turn it around and become the much-needed nearby summer destination locale for the region. We will stop by the in-progress exclusive kayak ramp and see if any progress is being made and then enjoy a glass of local wine (probably Harmony Hill) at the Kayak while listening to whomever is playing on what they call "The Old Lodge Stage." (Hopefully that giant white truck and tractor aren't still  clogging up the entrance to the ramp). We will report back....'til then, "Get Out and Play!"

Grayson Capps Music About the Outdoors

Check out this cool video by Reggie Thomas, featuring a great Grayson Capps song, and serene images of  families sharing time together camping. We just discovered Grayson and encourage you to check out his music. As for the video, what a great job sharing the important things in life.....We just thought we'ld share...

Another Tough Date Along The Ohio River Near Cincinnati..

March 1 is widely accepted as the date of the beginning of the 1997 flood. March 2 is, without question, the date a tornado jumped the river from Kentucky and leveled a good portion of the river town of Moscow, Ohio. March 2 was an odd day in the Tri-State (Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky) as the weather began mild and then elevated to an outbreak of severe storms in very short order.  Shortly before 5 pm EST an EF3 tornado (with 160 mph winds) skated across the Ohio River from Kentucky and landed hard on the Ohio bank. The tornado ripped through Moscow in a matter of minutes leaving a path of destruction hard to imagine. Had we not seen it ourselves it would be hard to believe.

One of our friends had her rustic log cabin twisted on its foundation from the force of the mighty winds.  Months passed before the house could be repaired and the family could be back at home. However, they were the lucky ones. Many folks, due to FEMA rules and building regulations, still have not rebuilt and probably never will. If you live in a flood zone, you best  carefully read the FEMA guidelines and terms of insurance. We're not sure anyone really understands them-- Just try to rebuild and see what difficulties you will encounter with the local County building authority. There are many "appeals process," limitations and other pitfalls that stand more as government red tape than true value to the community.

That said, we spoke to some folks at the Green Kayak Market in New Richmond who had a friend's house hit by the tornado. The insurance company worked with the family to repair and in the process tore out a substantial portion of the knotty pine lining the wondrous riverside home. Destined for the burn pile, the beautiful wood was reclaimed and used to build the bar and other items at the Green Kayak Market. We will get a picture of the "reclaimed bar" and will visit the Kayak to toast all our friends in Moscow, Ohio.

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March 1, 1997..And So the Water Rises?

March 1, 1997 was the date widely known as the beginning of the 1997 flood that devastated so many villages, homes and people along the Ohio River near New Richmond and Cincinnati. Questions amongst the residents still linger on why this flood occurred. Was the raging river water being held near at the dam upriver from Cincinnati let out to quickly? Why did the River rise so quickly overnight? Despite the passage of years, these questions remained unanswered.

Here are a few photographs of the devastation. The volume of water is simply amazing.

 

The following link to the Cincinnati Enquirer provides an excellent day-by-day timeline on the rising waters. http://enquirer.com/flood_of_97/day1.html

 

In speaking through the years with those who lived the flood, the emotions still ring true. Indeed, buildings in New Richmond, like the Green Kayak Market and Front Street, had upwards of 5' of water rolling through them- hard to imagine.

 

March has been a rough month for the towns and residents along the Ohio River. More to come later...