Being a farm boy raised on rolling ridged lands and about as removed from the world of aquatics as one could be, going to these places was always fascinating for me and continues to be. As a little boy in the 50s and a teen in the 60s, getting to go to Chilo dam was a big outing. This was still in the era of family picnics where mom packed a picnic basket with a meal of homemade fried chicken and the side dishes and desert along with a cooler of iced tea and, yes, a checkered table cloth (maybe). The family went for an afternoon of fun and relaxation along with the opportunity to watch the barges as they were taken through the locks. All for only the cost of the gas it took to get you there.
Several times a summer the ladies aid from our church or the Eastern Stars Order or the school PTA held picnics that could bring more than 100 folks into the park. At least a third of that was kids. The kids organized into groups and activities that never stopped even when it was time to go home. To me a trip to the park wasn’t complete until I had climbed on top of the huge anchor that sat on the bank of the park that overlooked the dam and locks. As easy as that may sound, it wasn’t, as every kid that was there had the same thought and one had to keep their eyes peeled for that moment of opportunity to climb it.
These days are some of the things that great memories are made of and we each have our own I am sure. But at the end of 1964 a new dam a couple miles downriver was constructed and opened in 1965, thus causing the close of the park in Chilo. The new dam had a nice new park with new state-of-the-art rest areas, shelter houses, picnic tables and more acres to play on. It was all new but the park was set back a distance from the dam so visitors couldn’t really watch the boat locking and activity around the dam. Also since it was new there wasn’t a tree to create any shade for a visitor to lounge under. There were many new saplings but saplings take years to grow. Many wished for the old Chilo Park and all the shade and peacefulness.
In the late 60s the Clermont County Commissioners’ convinced the Corp of Engineers to sign over the Chilo Park to Clermont County with the agreed understanding that the county would maintain and pay for all upkeep and repairs so it could still be used by the public. My dad was one of the commissioners at the time and this was one of his most prized achievements he gave to Clermont County. He seldom spoke of it but we always went to the park for a picnic at least once a year. He wanted to see how the park looked and sit in the shade and enjoy that it was still there. To make sure it was cared for Dad nominated Charlie Benjamin to be hired as superintendent of the first Clermont County owned park and he was a perfect selection. From his first day until the day he retired the county never worried that the place was cared for at the lowest possible cost.
While all this was going on those trees that had been planted at Meldahl were growing and with their growth the park was developing character. Each year it seemed harder and harder to secure a shelter house, as the number of visitors was increasing.
With the park came the visit to the observation tower where a person could look at the boats locking, and you could actually look down into the locks and get a getter idea of just how big they were and what an engineering marvel they are. Now there are two quality parks in approximately of two miles of each other. The part that is interesting to me is they both are needed to hold the visitors that come to them in the summers.
As a little boy I grew up maybe learning more about the river and its surroundings than anywhere else. As a young man I came with family and friends and a wife. As the attention changed to the new park my wife Sharon, children and I would some evenings go there so our kids could learn to ride bikes or roller skate. I am also certain that my wife would take the kids and her sisters to Meldahl so they could play in a bigger area and have a much longer sidewalk to ride or skate on. The southern side of Clermont and probably Brown County are so lucky to have these two parks resting right in their back yards. They are so convenient to get to we forget they are there.
To travel from out on Fruit Ridge down to Chilo or Meldahl is a journey from all land to all water and an entirely different way of living. I fished in small ponds and my friends that lived along the Ohio fished from a boat or on the rivers banks. When I think back to how I liked going to the dams I have wondered just why am I so fascinated, but there is one thing bigger and more fascinating and harder to really get a grip on than the locks and dams. That is that both parks have the Ohio River as their backdrop. It always is intriguing and it just keeps rolling along!
Rick Houser grew up on a farm near Moscow in Clermont County and loves to share stories about his youth and other topics. He may be reached at houser734@yahoo.com.