Donald Clare - Rabbit Hash, Kentucky: River Born, Kentucky Bred

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2012 by Donald Clare

All rights reserved

Front cover, top right: The original round photograph of the Wilson and Riddell general store taken by nineteenth-century historian Reuben Gold Thwaites in 1894 during his travels down the Ohio River from Redstone to Cairo. His travel journal and photographs were later the basis for his book Afloat on the Ohio, published in 1897 and republished in 1903 under the title On the Storied Ohio. Photograph used with permission from the Wisconsin State Historical Society.

First published 2012

e-book edition 2012

ISBN 978.1.61423.632.0

print ISBN 978.1.60949.435.3

Library of Congress CIP data applied for.

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

In each case, had it not been for the passion and initiative of one long-forgotten individual, this country would not be blessed with the extant preservation of such historically and culturally important and significant places as Mount Vernon or Monticello. Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, is no exception.

This book is respectfully dedicated to Louie Scott, who saved Rabbit Hash one piece at a time.

CONTENTS

PREFACE

As of late, finding ones ancestors and roots has become all the rage, so to speak. Genealogy has become the latest pastime and industry on the World Wide Web and in social media, and a lot of folks seem to be taking an interest in something that heretofore was limited to their parents or grandparents family bibles.

Important ingredients of this search for who you are include where you came from and how you got there. People laugh when they are told that the population of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, is one. Thats right, one person lives in the town of Rabbit Hash. But hundreds upon hundreds of others claim to live there, and thousands upon thousands can trace their family roots back to this small Ohio River hamlet in rural Boone County, Kentucky.

For generations, Rabbit Hash has claimed a certain kind of fame and notoriety that other small towns cant. Obviously, this is due to the name of the town, and that will all be explained in the following pages. This name has been repeated tongue-in-cheek by authors, journalists, newspaper reporters, television and movie personalities, advertising people, musicians and persons of every other walk of life looking for that quick chuckle or smile. Since 1919, the Rabbit Hash General Store has been a backdrop of Coca-Cola advertising. Dont think that other soft-drink brands havent coveted that distinction, either! During the Korean War, Bob Hope opened several of his USO shows for the troops with Greetings from Rabbit Hash, Kentucky. Charles Kuralt wandered through once and did a piece on the town. Most recently, CBSs Bill Geist devoted one of his Sunday Morning news shows to covering the mayoral election taking place in Rabbit Hash during the national elections of 2008. He even asked Bob Schieffers opinion and prediction of that celebrated mayoral race. Hollywood producer Jude Prest and LifeLike Productions made a full-length documentary movie about Rabbit Hash and its unusual races for town mayor, and there was even a follow-up Animal Planet segment entitled Mayor Dog. You see, the past three elected mayors of this town have been dogs (actual canines). Robert Redford stopped in the store one Sunday morning to buy Rabbit Hash T-shirts and coffee mugs. No one saw him in town except the store clerk and one other older tourist couple, but it was definitely him. It seems he had been down to the Keeneland Horse Sales in Lexington and was driving back to the Greater Cincinnati International Airport for his flight back home. He said a few of his friends back home had Rabbit Hash T-shirts, and he wanted one, too.

In the early 1980s, a local Cincinnati radio station invented a spoof about a winery in Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, which continued for more than a year. It supposedly was operating underneath the store and was called the Hiney Winery, run by the brothers Thor and Big Red. It attracted so many people that the store proprietor had to come up with a brand of Rabbit Hashlabeled beer to sell to the visitors (beer because the store had a beer license; obtaining a liquor or wine license would have been almost impossible at that time). In 1984, parts of the PBS movie The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn were filmed in town as Rabbit Hash was turned into a movie set.

The town of Rabbit Hash was transformed into the set for several scenes of the PBS movie The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn back in 1984. The General Store became a nineteenth-century Mississippi River mercantile operation. From the Rabbit Hash Historical Society collection.

A scene from the PBS film The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn showing the Duke pitching the values of phrenology to the townsfolk from the porch of the converted Rabbit Hash General Store, 1984. From the Rabbit Hash Historical Society collection.

Many other stories like these abound. The popularity of the name Rabbit Hash is international. A German television commercial for Kentucky Fried Chicken was once filmed here, but it would never have been allowed to air in the United States. It was almost borderline pornographic or at least X-rated. It was a sure reminder that European television accepts much more risqu scenery than its U.S. counterpart. Recently, Rabbit Hash was voted one of the top ten funniest town names in the world by SmarterTravel.com! On and on it goes, but one thing is certain: Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, is an example of the importance and significance of every small town and community in our country. Its history is our history, and it is our responsibilityand should also be considered our privilegeto see that this history is recorded and preserved.

INTRODUCTION

Rabbit Hash, Kentucky. Now who in his right mind would ever name a town or community Rabbit Hash? That is just plain foolishness. No doubt, it was just a silly prank conjured up by some sort of hippie cult, rebelling against any and every authority possible and having no respect whatsoever for the proud commonwealth of Kentucky, much less for this great country of ours. It was surely a hallucinogenic epiphany of some longhaired Vietnam War protestor back in 1968 or 69.

No, not quite. Take a hard left at Big Bone Lick and go back at least 130 years. It was in 1879 that this little Ohio River hamlet in western Boone County, Kentucky, was officially named. Besides that, it was given its own post office, having the same authority, function and official governmental sanction as the New York, Chicago or Cincinnati Post Offices. Yes, Uncle Sam recognized Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, as an official U.S. town way back then. At that same time, the U.S. flag had only thirty-eight stars. In other words, Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, predates the states of Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.