Two Lane Adventure to Ohio – Friday, May 17th 2019

Our tour today included wine tasting at the Yellow Butterfly Winery and a horse-drawn boat ride. The Appalachian Foothills of Coshocton County serves as the backdrop for an eclectic spirt trail. Wine lovers can taste Ohio wines at a California-style bar, in a converted flour mill or in a big yellow barn. The Yellow Butterfly is part of the Three Rivers Wine Trail, along with other Coshocton County wineries. Besides the Yellow Butterfly, there is the Baltic Mill, Indian Bear, Rainbow Hills, Shawnee Springs, Raven’s Glen and Heritage Vineyards. There are several breweries and distilleries on the trail too. Hasseman Brewing, Killbuck Creek Distillery, and Wooly Pig Farm Brewery.

The Yellow Butterfly Winery is one of Ohio’s most unique and unusual wineries. The Butterfly is nestled in one of Ohio’s most beautiful country settings. Driving to it, we were sure we had to be lost, at least twice! But, oh, what you see on these back roads!

Your eyes are seeing things, yes that is a zeal of zebras! A group of zebras is called a zeal or a dazzle. These cute striped guys are located at the Miller farm and they are their pets.

Here are some interesting facts about Zebras. Zebra are part of the equidae (sometimes known as the horse) family along with horse and donkeys and every zebra has a unique pattern of black and white stripes. Zebras have excellent eyesight and hearing, they stand up while sleeping and eat mostly grass.

Oh, I digress … the reason for this adventure was the Yellow Butterfly Winery. We have been looking for the vineyards, all along the route and have seen none. Arriving at the winery, we only see a few grapes vines here, most of their wines are made from local Ott grape juice. The cost of the equipment to process grapes into juice is not cost effective for a small winery.

They purchase their grape juice from local vendors. One of the owners, Joann White, told us her husband, Michael, made the magic of Yellow Butterfly wine flavors. This year, they are celebrating the ten year journey with their visitors and guests at the Yellow Butterfly Winery, from 2009 to 2019.

We tasted about five or six wines while seated in a 100 year old barn. The White’s renovated the barn themselves, it was the first step in creating the Yellow Butterfly Winery.

We learned that they bottle about 20,000 bottles a year and each bottle is hand corked. Their bottling plant is located across the street from the winery and their home. That farm building was renovated by them too.

We had over 30 people from the rally on this tour. After sampling a little everyone was in better spirits! We purchased 2 bottle of wine, I am thinking of saving them for the ladies wine & cheese this fall … but Charlie liked them too … so, they might not last that long!

In an earlier blog, I talked about the Ohio Bicentennial barns painted by Scott Hagan. Well, we found barn # 20, right here in State Route 36 outside of Coshocton in Fresno, Ohio. The variations to this logo are the dates are split to either side of logo. The small Ohio state silhouette is omitted. The script Ohio "i" is dotted with a dot rather than a star due to a lack of room because of the barn door track.

Jack, from Texas Trails, rode with us again. So we stopped at the fairgrounds, as he has been on the canal boat ride before.

Geri, our Yankee RV traveling friend, stayed with us and we headed out to the docking station for the Monticello III Horse-Drawn Canal Boat Ride.

It is a horse-drawn canal boat replica that takes visitors on a 40 - 50 minute ride into Ohio's colorful past. You are traveling on a one and a half mile restored section of the original Ohio-Erie Canal.

Once you step aboard the Monticello III, you’ll feel like you are actually gliding right into Ohio’s storied history!

There is simple unspoiled natural beauty of the canal as it once was.

We watched the hoggee lead the team of Belgian draft horses as they pulled the canal boat gently along its way.

Our captain shared canal tales from life in the 1800's on the canal. It provided great insight into the lives of a boat captain, his family, the travelers and the hired help. A hoggee back in the 1830’s was a 14 – 16 year old uneducated male. He was homeless, shoeless and lacked the proper clothing for the elements. They walked for miles each day with the horses, stepping on rocks, getting cuts on their feet and stepping in horse dung. They usually never lived to see their 21^st birthday … Tough life.

Our captain’s granddaughter helps steer the boat and also gets it turned around at the dock. Now that is what you call #girlpower !

We still had not had lunch and the wine did not offer much subsistence, so we headed to Historic Roscoe Village. The Roscoe Village Foundation continue the tradition of linking the Canal era to the present, and enthusiastically carry on the Montgomery’s legacy. Roscoe Village is an effort to preserve, protect and promote an important piece of Ohio’s history and heritage along the banks of the Ohio and Erie Canal. Roscoe Village is a connection to a time when the canal system changed the course of Ohio history.

When you visit this unique and picturesque Village you step back into the story of Ohio’s heritage and are immersed in living history. The restored 1830s port town is a stage for costumed interpreters and crafters portraying the life of those who lived and worked here. Dining options include the Medbery Cafe, Uncorked or the Warehouse Steak n' Stein located in the center of the Village.

The shops of Roscoe Village offer a variety of unique gifts and several Ohio handcrafted items. Beautiful gardens and restored Greek revival architecture attract visitors from all over Ohio.

We, Geri, Charlie and myself, enjoyed a simple lunch inside the Mercantile Market at Medbery Café. We ate fresh made salads, subs and old-fashion sodas. All inside an old time mercantile shop. The building actually used to be the Roscoe Hotel. It was Arnold Medbery’s second hotel on this site. The first hotel, built around 1832 was destroyed by fire in 1855.

The hotel served as a stagecoach inn with businesses on the ground level and sleeping rooms above. The top floor was a ballroom. It is believed that the hotel was part of the Underground Railroad. Medbery was a grist mill owner and also owned the warehouse across the street. In 1838 he was appointed postmaster for Roscoe and was elected as County Commissioner.

On our way back into Coshocton, we passed a building that had “Carnegie Library” embossed in the stone on the front, that intrigued me. In 1904, Coshocton’s Carnegie Library was completed. The library was the 1,000th library funded by Andrew Carnegie. The Coshocton Library Association started in 1872 as a subscription library. Over the years, it evolved into a free public library. The trustees of the Coshocton Free School Library solicited a grant from Andrew Carnegie in 1902. Carnegie agreed, and a lot was chosen at Chestnut and 4th streets. It was designed by EW Hart of Columbus, and is constructed of granite-colored pressed brick, with a red tile roof. The main level was originally home to the book collection, while the upper floor was designed as an auditorium and the basement was used for various meeting rooms.

After an unsuccessful attempt to pass a bond issue to build a new, larger library in the 1950s, the Coshocton library eventually moved in 1973. Its current home is in an old post office building on Main street. Meanwhile, the old Carnegie building, sits vacant and unmaintained across the street from the county courthouse. Although the city has made attempts to purchase the building from the current owner, they have been unsuccessful.

We had a little time to rest before the Parade of Flags and introduction of the states and staff. The parade of flags is the same at most rallies. I did find some of the chapter flags very unique and well made.

Their theme is a “salute to the troops” … so they honored veterans from all eras. They asked for WWII veterans, there were none … most of them have already passed. They had four veterans from the Korean War era, one of them was Wade, our rider from the Pearl Valley cheese factory tour.

We enjoyed music by Lonnie Spiker, Perley Curtis and Hyrum Posey all from from Nashville. Lonnie was obviously the “ring leader.” He said tonight’s show was called “Lonnie Spiker, Up close and Personal.” Perley was “up close” and Hyrum was “personal.”

Lonnie was born in Pennsylvania, he grew up listening to Merle Haggard, George Jones, Hank Williams and Marty Robbins. In the early eighties, Spiker formed a country group called L-Passo. The band toured throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio and Virginia. During this time, Spiker also performed at various jamborees, including Jamboree USA. While there he worked with Loretta Lynn, Bill Anderson and Marty Robbins. In the early nineties, Spiker decided to pursue songwriting full-time and relocated to a suburb of Nashville. He hooked up with fellow songwriters, including Keith Norris and Karen Pendley. He also has songs recorded by Barry Lee White among others. In 2001, Spiker entered the studio to record his debut album. He had created five albums since then. He has a real talent for entertaining, from the opening notes of the first fiddle kick off to the final swell of the steel guitar it is a never ending symphony of music laughter and good times.

Perley Curtis, the steel player, developed his love for Country music and it's legends like Buck, Merle and Loretta, at a very young age. He started playing guitar at age eight and played his first paying gig at age nine. That performance, at his uncle's wedding reception, was the start of a lifelong journey, leading to the ultimate gig for a country musician, The Grand Ole Opry. Growing up in Maine, Perley played all around New England in country and bluegrass bands until his move to Nashville in 1988. He quickly became very much in demand as a touring and recording musician for many of the top country stars, including Ronnie Reno, Connie Smith, Holly Dunn, Charlie Louvin, Becky Hobbs, Trace Adkins and spent seven years as the steel guitarist for Loretta Lynn. 

While traveling countless miles with these artists, Perley made television appearances on Austin City Limits, Live by Request with Loretta and of course, the Grand Ole Opry. Although those years with major artists provided great opportunities and so many great memories, Perley has never lost sight of his original goal to be a solo artist. The increased demand on his time as a studio musician sometimes makes it difficult, but Perley has managed to release three CDs and continues to increase his tour schedule. Along with fairs and theater venues, 2017 included special guest appearances at the Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree and the Wheeling Jamboree, two of the longest running, and most celebrated radio shows in history.

Starting in the late 60’s in high school orchestra, Hyram learned to read music and apply it to the violin. He loved the southwestern lifestyle, and admired the local bands that came to town to play dance music every Saturday night in his hometown of Alamogordo, New Mexico. A friend introduced him to one of the best fiddle players in the state, and from that relationship Hyram became a champion fiddler, winning over his mentor and moving into the national champion spotlight. Playing with friends for fun and practice, Hyram became a recording artist at the tender age of 16 when he recorded his first album at Goldust Records.

Working for a railroad company for most of his adult life, Hyram spent most weekends in Nashville, traveling back and forth to keep both ends of the candle burning. As soon as retirement became an option, Hyram moved to Dickson, Tennessee and now spends all his free time composing music for sessions, movie tracks, and producing other artists to help them get recorded. Hyram is a respected session player himself, and has played on multiple stages with established recording artists. He has five collections of instrumental music ranging from traditional country/bluegrass to jazz and new-age stylings.

During the intermission, door prizes we awarded and popcorn was available. The night ended with another hour of music. Good night, until tomorrow’s two lane adventure.