By Vicki Prichard
NKyTribune contributor
Even a hardy little hamlet like Rabbit Hash is not immune to the foils of nature. But still, as ever, its people – and canine mayor– prevail.
By late June, after weeks of pounding rain swelled the hillside behind the Rabbit Hash Ironworks building, a landslide plowed its way down to collapse the building’s back wall, buckling its roof, and threatening the structural integrity of yet another historical building in its path.
But for “Mayor” Lucy Lou, concerns go beyond wood and nails – lives are at stake.
Rabbit Hash “Mayor” Lucy Lou searches for kittens that live beneath a damaged building.
“There are a bunch of kittens under the building and she’s always looking for them,” says Bobbi Kayser, secretary of the non-profit Rabbit Hash Historical Society [RHHS], a group of volunteers who own the three and a half acres of property that is Rabbit Hash, and pay for its upkeep and repairs.
She is also the proprietor of the mayor’s home.
As is the nature of a border collie, especially one on official duty, the mayor is tenacious in her efforts to sniff out the safety of her tiniest constituents that live beneath the Hacienda – the 100-plus-year-old building that sits in front of the Ironworks structure. The building houses a bed and breakfast, a Kentucky Crafted artisan center and a winery. The kittens have yet to emerge.
In addition to its broad appeal as a step back in time to a centuries-old ambiance, much of Rabbit Hash’s quirky charm, and certainly national attention, can be credited in part to its unique mayoral elections, which, since 1998, have resulted in a canine at the helm. One might think that, as the hill slides in, there could be no one better-suited to dig them out of trouble.
When the earth moves
The Ironworks building, which took the first hit of moving earth, once housed a feed and seed store, which also sold farm implements. It functioned in that capacity until the 50’s or 60’s.
“When the building was built, apparently it was supposed to have included some steel beams that would act as a natural retaining wall in case that ever happened,” says Kayser. “Apparently, that wasn’t incorporated and as a preventative measure, when we noticed the hill starting to slide, we hired a local person to come in and build a retaining wall. He had it mostly done and all the rain we’ve had just caused the wall to fall and he was using large concrete blocks that tumbled and just smashed in. “
For Don Clare, president of RHHS, nature’s assault was nothing short of tragic.
“It was a tragedy,” says Clare. “I think that the hillside got so much rain, like eight inches in couple of weeks, and it couldn’t take any more water. It seemed like lava, it was so powerful. It actually toppled the wall through and into the building.”
Some of the damage done by the landslide in Rabbit Hash
Kayser says the Ironworks building was ceiling to floor with artifacts of Rabbit Hash, and Rabbit Hash’s history, along with antiques that were collected over the years.
She estimated the loss of at least three antique glass-fronted sales cabinets and an antique Coke machine. And that, she said, was “Just at first glance.”
Clare, Kayser, and the group’s fellow volunteer members, have spent weeks dealing with insurance companies, engineers and field reps.
“We’re just now able to get into the building because there was a lot of internal damage,” says Clare. “We’ve had to assess what was damaged on the inside, which we’re doing now. We had to wait to get permission to start work, which we can do now.”
But repairs will require money – a significant sum – which Kayser fears will likely exceed what the group’s insurance will cover.
With a little help from friends
For Rabbit Hash, whose appeal has long been far-reaching for travelers who are charmed by it’s quaint throwback to a simpler time – it’s 184-year-old Rabbit Hash General Store and its historically canine mayors – a contemporary means of raising funds might save the day. The RHHS established a gofundme site seeking donations to help the RHHS with an estimated $100,000 in repairs.
“I hope it works,” says Kayser. “A lot of people love Rabbit Hash. The people that live closest and visit most often, we really feel like this is our home. Then we have visitors every weekend, and I mean hundreds and hundreds of visitors every weekend, that have a partial ownership because they come here a lot…and Harley riders, bikers come down. Previously they’ve expressed an interest in helping out with things that need to be done around Rabbit Hash, and I’m hoping they’ll jump on board with this campaign.”
The RHHS generates money from renting buildings to different tenants, but that doesn’t bring in substantial sums that would cover the significant and urgent repairs.
“We have, at this point, six buildings, and the rental of the property is what generates the majority of our income,” says Kayser. “It’s not that much because these places are rented to local people who are not paying city prices for our little spaces in here. So it’s a limited amount that we get every year and the expenses of utilities, sanitation, insurance – is a real big one – and unfortunately, recently, we’ve had to use a lawyer several times and that’s a huge hit to our budget.”
The Rabbit Hash Hacienda
That, she says, leaves them to depend very heavily on the public for donations, and when something major comes along, “It hurts,” she says.
Preserving the past with an eye to the future
Currently, the gofundme site has raised $3,530. A swell of generosity would go a long way to maintain the historical integrity of tiny Rabbit Hash.
“If we go beyond our goal, then we will put any extra money towards another major repair,” says Kayser. “One that needs to happen is one of the beams under the store is in very bad need of replacement, so that would be our next major repair. We have some pretty serious erosion issues. Our [river] banks are creeping inward by a foot every year. We had a retaining wall that was built and that seems to be holding really well, but on the other side of the store, where the retaining wall ends, that’s starting to erode as well, due to run off from the hill. These are all issues we need to address.”
Last December, the historical society held a re-release of the 2004 DVD, “Rabbit Hash: Center of the Universe,” at the Madison Theatre in Covington.
“We had a really good response. I think we made a little bit of money off of that. And honestly, that’s about the last big thing we tried to do,” says Kayser.
But if history holds true, Rabbit Hash, tiny but mighty, will persevere.
“It’s a nail in the tire for us,” says Clare, in the spirit of a survivor. “The town has survived numerous floods, ice and everything, and we’re planning on keeping up that tradition.”
