Our creamery tour lasted two hours, which one might think is milking it, as it were, but it was one interesting fact after another. When we began our tour outdoors, Stock explained how cows feeding on juicy grass produce lower fat milk. As we moved inside the plant, he explained how the milk needs to stay below 45 degrees to allow a longer shelf life. The temperature exception comes during the pasteurization process when it gets zapped at 170 degrees for a short period to rid the milk of any harmful micro-organisms.
We had to don hairnets before we were allowed to peer inside the milk storage vats. Stock took us through the entire process from where the raw milk is brought in and deposited, to where the final product is packaged and prepared for delivery. The company is in charge of distributing its milk to markets in Columbus, but works with other companies to get the milk to retail outlets as far away as Washington, D.C. Snowville employs 30 people including drivers.
Near the conclusion of the tour, we were given cups of fresh Snowville chocolate milk. It was the perfect ending of an outstanding trip around the creamery. It cemented our status as Snowville consumers.
We then followed Ohio Route 143’s winding way as it slowly descended toward the Ohio River. Before reaching water, we connected to Ohio Route 7, a stretch of road that runs along the west side of sandstone cliffs separating the river from the county seat of Pomeroy. At Bradbury Road, we turned northwest and shortly thereafter found Millie’s Restaurant and Bakery. It’s an unassuming, yet popular breakfast spot. As we entered, we were greeted by a high pitched child’s screech. Our waitress just rolled her eyes, signaling she and we were on the same page. Both Michele and I ordered “Millie’s Breakfast Platter,” consisting of scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, coffee, and a choice of hash browns (Michele) or home fries (me). We relaxed as we filled up on the first meal of the day. The front counter sported a huge cash register that would have looked at home in a restaurant a century ago.
We backtracked on Bradbury Road, crossed Ohio Route 7, and sliced through a section of cliffs that hide the community of Middleport from the rest of the county. We turned onto 2nd Avenue, the main business route through town, and headed north. Somewhere near the Pomeroy-Mason Bridge, the cable-stayed span that crosses over the Ohio River, 2nd Avenue becomes Main Street and Middleport gives way to the county seat of Pomeroy. We passed through town quickly, knowing we’d be back later for further investigation.
At its east end, we followed Chester Road northeast to its intersection with US Route 33. It was somewhere in that vicinity that I’d been informed I could find the Meigs County Bicentennial Barn. It was by pure chance that, after crossing under the highway, I happened to look up and over and spot the logo.
The late 19th Century gable-roofed barn almost didn’t survive to see the state’s bicentennial. It was slated for destruction when Route 33 was expanded, but a last minute rerouting spared the barn. It now sits back atop a hill where it can be easily missed. After a quick photograph, we returned the way we came.
We headed north on Flatwoods Road and then up Rocksprings Road to the turn off for St. Clair Road, which we missed the first time by. St. Clair is a “no outlet” gravel road leading up to the Fur Peace Ranch, a guitar camp built by Jorma and Vanessa Kaukonen in 1989. Jorma gained fame in the 1960's as the lead guitarist for Jefferson Airplane, and later as half of the blues band Hot Tuna. He conceived of the spot as "a ranch that grows guitar players," where budding and seasoned musicians can “immerse themselves for several days, and emerge with renewed inspiration and tangible progress in their music.” (Click Here For Info on Fur Peace Ranch)
Neither Michele nor I are budding musicians, neither would we want to the pay the $1500 tuition for a weekend stay, but fortunately, the ranch has an attraction for non-musicians: the Psylodelic Gallery. The name is taken from the authentic grain silo in which the two-story museum is housed. Inside, one finds artifacts from the 1960's such as clothing from Woodstock and such esoteric items as “the actual typewriter that served as background ‘percussion’ in The Typewriter Tape, an eight-song collaboration between Jorma and the late Janis Joplin.” There are also photographs and video from the hippie era as well as a round second floor containing tie-dye beanbag chairs and an array of classic ‘60's concert posters.
The gallery isn’t typically open on Saturdays, but an earlier exchange of e-mails with Vanessa Kaukonen and her assistant, Brett Thompson, assured us that they’d be on hand to open the gallery if we should decide to drop in. Vanessa was sitting outdoors with her laptop at a picnic table when we drove up. Even before she knew we were the ones who’d e-mailed, she greeted us warmly and gave us a mini-introduction to the ranch before leading us to the metal silo.
Along with the small permanent collection, the gallery had recently opened “The Art of Jerry Garcia,” an exhibit of over 30 pieces of the late musician’s art, made possible by The Jerry Garcia Foundation. Prints for eleven of the works were available for purchase, ranging from a low of $550 for “Barnyard View,” to a high of $2,800 for a Foundation Edition giclee (a fine art digital print made with an inkjet printer*) of “Wisteria.” I’d left my checkbook in the car, so I had to pass on the prints, but I had enough cash on hand to purchase a couple of stickers and a tin of "New Song in the Morning" tea bags in the FPR Company Store.
(* The word giclée was adopted by Jack Duganne and is based on the French word gicleur, which means “nozzle.” (the verb form gicler means "to squirt, spurt, or spray”) An unintended consequence of Duganne's choice of name was its modern French slang for male ejaculation.)
As we returned to our car, we could hear the weekend music campers’ repeated guitar strumming emanating from the ranch buildings.
We drove back to Route 7, but turned north in order to find the town of Chester. Overlooking the village sits a two-story brick building that holds the distinction of being Ohio’s oldest standing courthouse (and one of only three Federal-style courthouses still existing in the state). It was constructed in 1823 to serve as Meigs County’s first courthouse. It held that position for nearly two decades until 1841, when the county seat was moved to Pomeroy. Adjacent to it is the Meigs County High School and Teachers Institute, another early brick building dating to 1839. We stayed just long enough for a photograph before turning around and returning to Pomeroy.
The county seat of Meigs is rather unique when compared to its 87 siblings. With only a couple thousand residents, the village isn’t more than a narrow strip of land between high cliffs and the Ohio River. Its population grew after coal mines and salt works were established inland and their products brought to the town’s port for transport. Pomeroy’s narrow geography is responsible for one of its two inclusions in Ripley’s Believe It or Not! It is said to be the only village in the country with no four way intersections.
Pomeroy’s other appearance in the franchise of strange and unusual claims has to do with its courthouse. Despite being three stories high, each of its floors can be accessed from ground level. Built in the late 1840's, it’s Ohio’s fourth oldest continuously used courthouse. One can get a nice view of it looking up Court Street from the river.
We parked our car in the large public lot that separates the Ohio River from the facing business district. We perused a few of the shops including the Hartwell House, a combination antique store and craft shop. Michele purchased a few pairs of socks with off-beat sayings stitched into them. One showed a wholesome little girl and pony with the words, “I hate everyone too.”
It was a warm, sunny day, just the kind for lazy shopping and a cold beverage, so after our consumerism, we stopped in at the Court Street Grill for a couple of beers. We were the only patrons at the time, but we sensed it might get busier later, so we made a reservation for dinner.
We drove south along the river and back to Middleport, the location of our overnight lodging. We pulled into the drive at 232 North 2nd Avenue around 4 PM and found a middle-aged man out working in the yard. He turned out to be Ron Carpenter, one of the owners of The Downing House Bed & Breakfast. He and his wife, Linda, and family friend, Mary Lou Naftzger, purchased the property in 1998. At that time, it was a rather down in the mouth private residence that had a lot of history behind it, but not much life ahead of it if it didn’t get some tender loving care. The trio gave it that and then some in order to open it as the beautiful hostelry it has become.
The house’s past began with its construction in 1859 by the Downing family. Major John B. Downing, who lived in the house at the turn of the 20th Century, was a riverboat captain who was said to be a friend of Mark Twain. Downing opened an insurance agency that was later run by his grandson, Rodney Downing, the last of the family to live in the house. He passed away in 1993.
We checked into the Becky Thatcher Room on the second floor, a comfortable space that contained an unsettling array of stuffed animals, all dressed as brides and grooms. We spent some time in the first floor sun room reading and looking through photo albums containing “before” and “after” pictures of the B&B’s renovation. It was a dramatic change and a testament to the hard work that Naftzger and the Carpenters put in before The Downing House’s grand opening in 2003.
After a short nap in our room, Michele and I found ourselves driving back to Pomeroy for dinner and the evening’s entertainment. We made reservations at the Court Street Grill because of its popular monthly “Saturday Night Showcase” where host Brent Patterson introduces some of the finest musical talent in the Mid-Ohio Valley. We were also told the evening would feature the best of the tavern’s Tuesday open mic nights.
The Court Street Grill was established in the 1930's and is one of the longest operating taverns in Pomeroy. It’s not too big though, so it only takes about 30 or so customers to pack the place. When we arrived, we discovered that the afternoon bartender mistakenly had made our reservation for the following night, but our kilt-clad waiter did a little finagling and managed to seat us at a round high top table. We just had time to settle in and place our food order before the first act took the stage.
Everything about the evening was congenial and enjoyable. First off, the food was good. Michele had a grilled chicken club while I opted for the Bungtown Burger, “a Grill original!” according to the menu. The latter was a cheeseburger with cole slaw and grilled onions on Texas toast. Its moniker came from the nickname for Burlingham, a nearby village that had a reputation for housing Prohibition-era distilleries.
