By Kevin Eigelbach
NKyTribune reporter
In September 2017, Fort Wright resident John Grote’s wife chanced upon a painted rock hidden by a member of NKY Hidden Rocks.
Jo Price Craven, left, and Karen Vanover with rocks painted by members of NKY Hidden Rocks (Photos by Kevin Eigelbach).
He Googled the group, and found that, according to its Facebook page, NKY Hidden Rocks is “a movement to spread joy and inspiration through painting and hiding rocks around the country and the world.”
Intrigued, he painted some rocks and hid them in his neighborhood. He soon saw a picture of one posted on the group’s Facebook page by someone who had found the rock.
Inspired, he began painting more rocks to hide. Grote retired from retail management four years ago, so he has plenty of time for hobbies.
Now, he’s one of the organization’s “rock stars,” said Jo Price Craven, who founded NKY Hidden Rocks in February 2017. He paints and hides a half-dozen rocks a day. Each takes about half an hour to paint.
“With all the negativity I see in the world today, a little bit of kindness may go a long way to promote happiness, and maybe just put a smile on a face or two,” he said.
The group now has almost 26,000 Facebook followers, Craven said. Most are from Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties, but some are from other countries.
A map on the group’s Facebook page shows similar groups throughout the United States and in Japan, Scandinavia and North Africa.
Craven, 58, a school consultant and retired teacher/principal who lives in Walton, started the group after reading about a similar group in northeastern Ohio. She painted three rocks, posted them on Boone County’s and Walton’s Facebook pages with a link to the news article, and asked if people were interested.
She hid the rocks at a local water tower, at the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport and at the Boone County Arboretum and left clues about where to find them. Someone found the arboretum rock within an hour, she said, and the airport rock the same afternoon.
She originally called the group Boone County Hidden Rocks but changed the name when residents of other counties wanted to join. Since then, she’s received requests from Cincinnati residents to change the name to Greater Cincinnati Hidden Rocks, but Facebook doesn’t allow a name change once a group reaches 5,000 members.
Karen Vanover, 47, of Florence, joined the group in March 2017 after her son found a rock hidden by a statue of the Virgin Mary at St. Paul Roman Catholic Church in Florence. He now keeps it in his box of treasurers, under his bed.
As the group’s events coordinator, Vanover oversees periodic “rock drops,” during which members look for hidden rocks at the same time in the same place. In October 2017, a rock drop attracted 500 participants.
A rock painted by John Grote, one of the “rock stars” of NKY Hidden Rocks.
That drop was called “I Got a Painted Rock,” in honor of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” the cartoon in which Charlie Brown keeps getting rocks while trick-or-treating.
Most events include some form of community service, such as raising funds for local non-profits, such as the Stray Animal Adoption Program.
The group also maintains painted rock “trading posts” at 19 local businesses, including Moonrise Donuts in Covington and Panera Bread in Florence. These posts feature a selection of rocks in a bookcase, which participants can trade for rocks they’ve painted.
If you want to take part in the group, you’ll have to follow a few simple rules:
* If you find a rock, let the group know, via Facebook, that you found it. You can re-hide it or keep it. If you keep it, you must compensate by hiding a painted rock of your own;
* Don’t hide rocks where a lawnmower might hit them;
* Don’t hide rocks on private property without asking the owner’s permission;
* Mention NKY Hidden Rocks on your hidden rock. The group can provide labels for this purpose;
* Don’t put any R-rated or X-rated messages on your rock and keep all messages positive.
When Craven starts asking herself why she volunteers 15 hours a week to administer the group, she finds answers on the group’s Facebook page. There, people write posts about finding a rock, with an uplifting message, at just the right time in their lives.
“It’s about randomly spreading kindness,” she said.
Contact the Northern Kentucky Tribune at news@nkytrib.com
Found a be you tiful. Rock at Cincinnati museum