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A paddle with a purpose
Event helps raise river awareness

Mike Moser headed for shore yesterday with other kayakers taking part in the Great Ohio River Revival near Waterfront Park. The festival, part of the Great Ohio River Paddle, raised money to educate students and the public about the river. (Photos by Keith Williams, The Courier-Journal)

Sheila Nicholas tuned her mandolin before playing with Big Muddy String Band at Waterfront Park. Dan Burton pulled his daughters Jessica, 3, and Andrea, 5, in his kayak. After having thought of the river as a "place where barges hang out," Burton said yesterday's trip taught him that "it's not all commercial. … You can actually have fun out there."

By Gregory A. Hall
ghall@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

ith a wide-brimmed straw hat, a deep tan and bare feet, Don Messer exited his kayak looking like a character from Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea."

Except Messer's sea was the Ohio River.

Arriving at Waterfront Park 14 days and 240 miles after leaving Portsmouth, Ohio, Messer completed the third annual Great Ohio River Paddle.

"It's been a real interesting trip," Messer said. "Plus a challenge."

Messer was one of four participants who paddled the entire journey.

About 50 people took part, with most joining for shorter jaunts on the river.

The paddle, sponsored by the Cincinnati-based Ohio River Foundation, sought to raise awareness about the waterway's ecology, to promote conservation and protection, and to celebrate the river.

"The idea (for the paddle) was to find a way to link as many communities together in a common interest regarding the protection of the river," said Rich Cogen, the foundation's executive director.

Some two dozen canoes and kayaks stretched almost the length of Towhead Island around noon yesterday as they arrived at the park's upriver docks. A smattering of applause, whistling and the toot of a horn greeted them.

Messer, 63, of Franklin, Ohio, appeared relieved to be done with his journey. The Pineville, Ky., native said he grew up on the Cumberland River.

"My first watercraft that I ever had was a cut-off top of a 1936 Plymouth," he said.

Messer has spent decades on various streams and has kayaked for three years, but he said he'd never spent any significant time on the Ohio.

The paddle was a "learning experience," teaching him about ecology and the history of life along the river, he said.

Around Moscow, Ohio, where he battled high temperatures, humidity, wind gusts and choppy water, the journey was its most tiresome, Messer said.

Camping at night, he said he would shower in his nylon jacket and one of his two sets of clothes -- washing them as well as himself.

Messer said he went barefoot yesterday because of blisters.

Among those joining Messer and others at Prospect, where yesterday's paddlers connected with the group, was Dan Burton of Goshen.

Although Burton grew up in Covington, Ky., where the Licking River empties into the Ohio, he said his trip to Waterfront Park was his first venture on the Ohio.

After having thought of the river as a "place where barges hang out," Burton said that yesterday's trip taught him that "it's not all commercial. … You can actually have fun out there."

Burton was greeted at Waterfront Park by his wife and two young daughters.

After his vessel was removed from the water, Burton pulled the girls in his kayak as they "paddled" along the grass.

At the conclusion of the paddle, the foundation held its first Great Ohio River Revival, an afternoon festival with food and music, in the park.

The paddle and revival raised more than $6,500, Cogen said, for a foundation program that seeks to educate students and the public about the importance of the Ohio River.

The foundation conducts educational, conservation and recreation programs to protect the river, improve water quality, and aid the ecology of the Ohio and its tributaries.

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