A public meeting is scheduled for the Rabbit Hash Historical Society to provide an update and information on the progress of the rehabilitation of the historical General Store which was destroyed by fire in February.
The meeting is Monday from 6:30 to 7:30 at the Boone County Cooperative Extension Service at 6028 Camp Ernst Road in Burlington.
Representatives from firms assisting with the rehabilitation will provide information and answer questions about the rehab plan as well as information on upcoming volunteer opportunities.
Space is limited so registration is encouraged.
Don Clare, president of the Rabbit Hash Historical Society, reported on the organization’s web site that a general community clean-up of the site has been done by a large number of volunteers to prepare for the next phase.
He wrote:
It is uplifting and cathartic to be rid of all that charred wood, ashes, melted this-and-that. Especially that acrid smell that hides up in your nose and on your hands and clothes. There has been a lot of painstaking planning and preparation to get us to the actual planning and preparation of the next and upcoming phase. If that sounds redundant, it really isn’t.
We actually had to meticulously research, plan, get approval for, recommendations for, permission to, meet with, place calls to, send pictures, compare similar needs for, review and study precedents and take inventory of all our tools in our Historic Preservation Toolbox before we could actually begin planning and preparation for the actual restoration.
All of this was possible because of the highly talented and professional services offered us by Gray and Pape, a nationally recognized Heritage Management and Cultural Resource Management Company, which has one of its branch offices right here in Rabbit Hash, Kentucky. And since they are a part of our community, they graciously donated their services in the form of Mike Striker, one of the senior partners in the firm, who is acting as Project Manager of the historic restoration of the National Register Rabbit Hash General Store. Mike is a proven veteran in this field and we are so fortunate to be benefitting from his experience and expertise.
Mike will be leading our public meeting at the Boone County Extension Service meeting rooms on Rt. 18 Burlington Pike in Burlington on Monday evening, May 16 at 6:30 -7:30 p.m. This is called a stakeholders meeting because we were all negatively affected by the tragic loss that the fire caused and we all have a stake in the place that meant so much to all of us, our families and our ancestors. The Rabbit Hash store was part of our collective state and county history and heritage. We want you to know what is going on with the project and answer your questions and concerns and be a part of its successful outcome. . .
The architectural drawings are entering into their final steps of revision and will soon be ready and available to our expert team of building professionals. Harry Sparks, retired owner of the prestigious regional architectural firm, AGI, has also offered his expertise and professional services in preparing the precisely accurate and historically exact renditions of the structure. Harry is also an industry iconic luthier and professional bluegrass guitar player who has performed on the Grand Old’ Opry stage, many years after serving his musical apprenticeship in the Rabbit Hash General Store as a member of the original Rabbit Hash Ramblers. So he knows the importance of that acoustically mellow wooden interior that makes music sound so good and pleasing inside those walls.
Harry will turn over the completed drawings to Ed Unterreiner who will serve as our General Contractor for the project. Many of you know Ed as one of our long time neighbors and expert builder with many, many Rabbit Hash structures under his belt. If you are old enough to remember ‘that modern solar house half way up that hill’, that was Ed’s doing. I am referring to the Peter Schwartz house (now the Licis’) which was one of the Rabbit Hash wonders in the early eighties when the old-timer skeptics were highly amused with the thought of harnessing solar power for anything other than the growth of a tomato plant. Ed also built Foals Paradise ‘up on the hill,’ now Beacon House Farm for baby doll sheep. He can also add the Mutt Mitt campus to his list, as well as the owner’s private residence, just up the hill and behind our town. And when Ed is not building major regional BMW showrooms and complexes, he is content with handcrafting his own showcase ‘little house in the country.’ Ed is an instrumental founding member of the Rabbit Hash Hunt Club, affectionately referred to as the Knife and Gun Club.
A number of fundraisers have been held to raise money for the rehabilitation of the General Stores. Among those coming up: a ride, a B&B Riverboats event, a Restore The Store event at Southgate House Revival, a Smokers Revival Ride, a Treasure Lake bash.