By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor
Don Clare was laid to rest at East Bend United Methodist Cemetery Monday, fittingly, in a barnwood coffin.
A memorial to Don Clare inside the Scalded Hog in Rabbit Hash (photos by Mark Hansel).
Following the graveside ceremony friends, family and even a few who had never met Clare, came together to remember the life of the ER nurse, historian and musician that made preserving the history of Boone County a big part of his life’s work.
The General Store and the Scalded Hog in Rabbit Hash were popular gathering spots to listen to live music, raise a glass and share stories of the man that friends say, “never met a stranger.”
Wesley Petzinger, Clare’s nephew, said his uncle was just a wonderful person.
“He was my number one supporter, no matter what it was, but definitely when I got into music and performing, a little later in life,” Petzinger said. “His encouragement and wide range of knowledge was just awesome and he was an amazing, outgoing guy. He would pull you aside and ask you how you’re day was going and how you’re week was going and he really seemed to care about the answer.”
Clare, 67, died October 23, at UC Medical Center after a fall in his home. He had been in poor health most of the summer, but recently had a pacemaker installed and seemed to be doing much better.
Inside the Rabbit Hash General Store with Don’s daughter, Callie Clare, and her friend Steve Cramer, who came to Rabbit Hash from Minnesota for the memorial service.
He is survived by his wife, Sue, daughters, Callie Clare and Caitlin Clare (Joe) Daines, sister Beth (Doug) Tillery and grandchildren Joey and Clare Daines.
Bobbi Kayser, whose, dog Lucy Lou, was once the symbolic “mayor” of Rabbit Hash, is president of the Rabbit Hash Historical Society, a post Clare held for years.
Kayser said Clare’s passing is a loss for all of Boone County and for anyone interested in historic preservation.
“Don was an inspiration and following in his footsteps is not going to be an easy task down here,” Kayser said. “I’m just going to make myself a little plaque with four letters “WWDD” (What Would Don Do) and I’m going to have to take my inspiration from that.”
An overflow crowd at the Scalded Hog in Rabbit Hash pays their respects to Don Clare.
Throughout the afternoon, a steady stream of visitors poured into the General Store and the Scalded Hog, where a potluck dinner was served and musicians played and sang in tribute to Clare.
Matt Becher, Rural/Open Space Planner with the Boone County Planning Commission and a Northern Kentucky historian himself, recalls his first meeting with Clare.
In the late 1990s Becher was working as a consultant during discussions about the Western Wastewater Treatment Plant.
“I was one of the enemy at the time because I was a consultant,” Becher said. “I remember thinking, ‘who is this guy that is so passionate about the heritage and history of Boone County.’”
A few years later, Becher started working for the Boone County Planning commission and was the staff member for the Boone County Historic Preservation Review Board, on which Clare served for 25 years, until 2011. It was during this time that Becher earned Clare’s respect, and friendship.
“We would take site checks and I would say, ‘Don we need to let the Board know there is going to be a building demolished, or we just found out about a cemetery,’” Becher said. “He would join me on trips to check those things out and in retrospect, I wish I would have documented them a little better. I’ve had a hard time getting though this because he was one of my mentors and I’m really going to miss him.”
Left to right, Tommy Feldhaus, Bobbi Kayser president of the Rabbit Hash Historical Society, Ronda Lanham and Stephanie Lanham, now of Niagara Falls, New York, share memories of Don Clare in Rabbit Hash Monday.
One thing that people should know about Clare, Becher said, is that his interests extended far beyond Rabbit Hash.
“If there was a square nail in the ground, he wanted to preserve it – every cemetery, every artifact, every sign that had some type of historic function – he wanted to preserve it,” Becher said.
Steve Cramer was among those who had never met Clare, but he has been friends with Don’s daughter, Callie Clare for more than 10 years. He made the trip from Farmington, Minnesota to comfort his friend and pay tribute to the man he had heard so much about.
“You hear about people randomly throughout your life and you really don’t realize the gravity of the impact they had until something like this happens,” Cramer said. “I’ve always heard stories about Rabbit Hash and Don Clare and I always planned to meet him. It’s one of those things, you’ve never been here, but you are part of it and I should have come down here years ago, but I just never made it.”
Clare narrated the movie Rabbit Hash, “the Center of the Universe,” which shone a spotlight on the riverfront enclave and afforded him a measure of celebrity.
Becher said Clare’s passing leaves a sizeable hole in that universe.
“I used to ask him how he was doing and he would always say ‘still taking nourishment,’” Becher said. “I guess we are the one’s taking nourishment now from the gifts he made sure were left here for all of us.”
Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com
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