Transcript

11.21.25 · History Hour

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Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome. This is Radioized History Show and I'm
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your host and reader for today, Joseph Bolt. So happy
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All right, let's get to reading today. I'm going to
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talk about a couple of Kentuckians and you may or
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may not have heard of them. I hadn't until I
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started looking into these folks. And their names are Harlan
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and Anna Hubbard, and they were from up in the
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Cincinnati area. But let me get the story started here
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and we'll get into it and see what all they've done.
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In October of nineteen forty four, a middle aged, newly
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married couple with refined taste in art, literature, and music
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left their comfortable house in northern Kentucky for the rough
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Muddy riverbank. For two months. The woman kept house immaculately
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in a lean to, while the man built a flat bottom,
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square ended hull with a ten y sixteen cabin on it,
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in other words, a shanty boat. Two years later they
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cast off in their shanty boat on what became a
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long drifting journey down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Far
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from leaving anything behind, the woman wrote some years later,
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we took with us all that was most worthwhile out
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of our previous living. Their names were Anna and Harlan Hubbard.
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The trailhead at the end of the rural drive near Milton,
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Kentucky doesn't look like much, but this spot, about fifty
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miles southwest of Cincinnati, is where Anna and Harlan would
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have hiked in and out of the woods while living
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at their beloved Pain Hut homestead. Hundreds of people made
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the trek down the mile long trail by foot or
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came up from boats on the Ohio River, the only
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two ways into pain Hollow. Friends and strangers alike came
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to see the world created by the unconventional couple who,
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as Harlan put it lived on the quote fringe of
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society end quote. I don't know exactly how to describe it,
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says Bob can Ida, who was a young man when
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he first visited the Hubbards in nineteen seventy two. You
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left feeling there was something inherently good and different here,
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he later said. The hike became a time of meditation,
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where Kenaida would clear his head of the outside world
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and spend time with two people living like anyone he'd
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ever known. The Hubbards met in Cincinnati. Anna wonder Elkenhout
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hailed from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Born into a Dutch family,
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Anna's parents were concerned with respectability, and moreover, they had
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the means to provide Anna with comforts and niceties, such
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as piano lessons and pretty clothes. She graduated with honors
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from Ohio State University and taught German and French before
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taking jobs as a librarian at the Cincinnati in Hamilton
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County Public Library. Harlan Hubbard was born in nineteen hundred
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in Bellevue. His father died when Harlem was seven years old,
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and he and his mother moved to New York City
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to live with his two older brothers who were working there.
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He grew up in the Bronx and studied art for
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a bit at the National Academy of Design before moving
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back to Kentucky with his mother. Harland resumed his studies
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at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, but didn't complete a degree,
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giving up on traditional art instruction and instead just making
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his way on his own, says Kentucky historian Jessica Whitehead,
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who's currently working on a complete biography of Hubbard. Their story,
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along with Harland's art and writing, have enjoyed sustained regional devotion,
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says Whitehead, who thinks there are whole new generations of
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people primed for their particular strain of the American experience.
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The Hubbards met at a downtown library where Harlan was
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a regular patron. Both were musicians, and after several years
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they started dating and eventually got married in nineteen forty three.
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It was the first marriage, a midlife marriage for both
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of them. They had in common their love for the
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arts and the outdoors, and above all, their talent for
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unconventionality straightway, the couple chose an uncommon path, spending their
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first two years together living in a shack on the
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banks of the Ohio River down the hill from their
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home in Fort Thomas, they built a shanty boat that
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they'd eventually live on for over six years as they
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floated down the Ohio to the Mississippi River and all
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the way to New Orleans. Two of those years were
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on the northern Kentucky shore of the Ohio where it
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had been constructed, Three years and four months were spent
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drifting down the Ohio and the Mississippi, and fifteen months
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on the intra Coastal Waterway in the Bayous of Louisiana.
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Thus they came to the beginning of the great adventure
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that they made possible for one another, says Wendell Berry,
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who wrote this in his nineteen ninety biography Harland Hubbard
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Life and Work. Harlan's attraction to the river went back
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as far as he could remember, Barry writes, while Anna's
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began only after she had met him, her enthusiasm for
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it gave legitimacy to his that it had not had before.
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She gave a necessary permission years later, pain Hollow was there.
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Shanty boat life come ashore, as Barry puts it, without
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electricity or modern conveniences. They built an existence in tune
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with nature and enriched by art and satisfaction of hard work. Creativity,
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self reliance, beauty, industry, and quietness are the kinds of
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value ues that resonate with those who love the Hubbards,
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says Whitehead, who also serves as board secretary of a
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new non profit organization called Pain Hollow on the Ohio.
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This organization recently purchased the property with plans to make
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it accessible to the public. It would be impossible for
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all of us to chuck everything and build our own
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pain Hollow, but these kinds of principles can apply to
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whomever we are and wherever we are in the world.
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On December twenty second, nineteen forty six, after two years
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of construction, Anna and Harlan Hubbard drifted away from Cincinnati
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on their shanty boat and began their downstream journey. They
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named the boat Driftwood, but somehow the name didn't stick.
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So it comes down to us as simply the shanty boat,
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because that is how the Hubbards spoke and wrote of it.
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The boat was loaded with canned goods stowed away during
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months of gardening and foraging, clothes for all weather, musical instruments, books,
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painting supplies, fiddle strings, rope, anchor, foghorn, and their little
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dog Skipper, and a hive of bees. Writes Barry, there
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were times of free drifting when the Hubbards could simply
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let the boat go in the hold of the current
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while they cooked, made music, or read inside. The boat
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often required guiding, and Harland would redirect it with a
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small John boat powered with oars. When river currents were
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particularly troublesome, Anna would help with long oars on the
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Shanny boat's deck while Harlan guided the John boat. In
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the warmer months, they set anchor and tied up somewhere
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for the growing season, in places like Bizle's Bluff on
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the mouth of the Cumberland River in western Kentucky and
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Bislin Bayou near Natchez, Mississippi. They would grow garden, fish forage,
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restock supplies, and prepare a rig to drift again. They
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lived on what they could barter for and on a
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bit of money Harland made selling his paintings. He journaled constantly,
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leaving us with a lot of life insights and daily details.
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The trip included some close calls. One day early on
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the Ohio River froze solid around the boat, threatening to
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crush it. All could have been lost had it not
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been for kind people on the shore who helped the
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Hubbards pull their home up on land with ropes. Once
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the couple reached New Orleans in nineteen fifty, they bought
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an outboard motor for the shanty boat in order to
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explore the Louisiana byous for another year. It would be
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one of the few motorized tools they ever owned. In
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July of nineteen fifty one, they sold the shanty boat
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for six hundred and seventy nine dollars to a Louisiana
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rancher who planned to remove the cabin and use the
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hull for ferrying cattle and farm implements on his water
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locked property. The Hubbards bought an old dodge with the
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rebuilt with a rebuilt motor, and pulled a handmade trailer
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with all of their possessions back to Kentucky. While away
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on their adventure, the couple had been collecting rent at
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their Fort Thomas home, and after a short trip to California,
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they decided to put down roots. Payne Hollow had been
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their first long stop on the river, voyage, and they
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had a good feeling about the place. They bought seven
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acres there for three hundred dollars. The homestead they built
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came from a culmination of skills tested on the water
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and mastered on land, what Harling called quote a free
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and hearty life end quote. Katherine Turcott was twelve when
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her parents told her they'd be visiting people who built
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a house on the river with out electricity and running water.
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I thought it would be a shack, but it was not,
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she said. Anna and Harlan's home was beautiful, welcoming, well
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designed and refined. They had candles on their table, a
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grand piano in the living room, a cistern system for water,
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and a bed that folded into the wall. End quote.
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The way they lived was clever and comforting, says Turcotte,
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remembering a fire wood bend built into the house without
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letting in cold air, and a big, lovely window overlooking
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the ohio and studio and music space for creativity. She
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loved to watch Anna cook. One meal described by Barry,
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shared with friends on the Shany boat, was described as
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quote small catfish dressed just before frying, mashed potatoes, kale
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just brought in salad and choice tomatoes, cottage cheese, and
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bean sprouts, hot biscuits made with our own grind of
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wheat flour and containing toasted sunflower seeds with maple syrup
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and wild strawberry jam. Only the milk for the cottage
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cheese hadn't been grown, caught, or produced by the Hubbards.
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Turcott grew up in Carmel, Indiana, a typical suburban neighborhood
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where everyone I knew was like us, except the Hubbards.
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She said. The connection came through her parents' friends from Madison, Indiana,
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who introduced them to Anna and Harlan. The Hubbards visited
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Madison regularly, paddling upstream for supplies at the hardware store
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and sometimes art supplies. They made frequent stops to the
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public library in town. Turcotte's family stopped at pain Hollow
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on summer trips. When they would trailer their boat for
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long weekends to cruise the Ohio River. They'd write the
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Hubbards to announce their arrival. I loved that they were
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happy with their lives and that they designed them rather
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than just living like everyone else, says Turcott. They were
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thankful for the little things like the roll of paper
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that washed up on the shore and became their stationary,
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and the fruits of their garden, and the goat's milk.
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They did not need a car or even much money.
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But I never once had the idea that they were poor.
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According to written and oral accounts, the Hubbards welcomed all
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of their guests graciously to pain Hollow, whether they were
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the news media, a gaggle of college students, or curious neighbors.
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When Turcotte arrived with her family, Anna and Harlan were
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usually tending the garden, hand washing laundry, er dishes, cooking,
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or cleaning, but they'd stop what they were doing to
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show people around and have a proper visit. Harland hung
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large metal bells for visitors to ring upon approach, one
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on the trail a little ways from the house, and
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another across the river on the Indiana shoreline. When visitors
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rang from Indiana, he would paddle over, collect them and
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provide a return trip. Each guest was asked to sign
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the Hubbard's Guest Book. Ted Steinbach, another pain Hollow on
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the River board member, spent a week end with the
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Hubbards as a teenager in the nineteen sixties, and their
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elegant lifestyle in closeness to nature never left him. I
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was simply in awe of Harland, he said. I spent
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more time talking with Anna on the stone steps outside
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their simple home on a beautiful fall day, with leaves
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falling and the last of their garden being harvested. Steinbach
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spent much of his childhood in teenaged years outdoors with
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his family, tent camping and visiting places like Yellowstone National
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Park in the Canadian Rocky Mountains in a converted school
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bus his father had outfitted with bunk beds. Harland's writings
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and way of life resonated with his own belief that
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spending time in the outdoors is not about the destination,
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but about the personal experience that can be had in
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the journey. The Hubbards accepted many visitors, but truly valued
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their solitude and time together, where they tried to blend
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in with their surroundings and relax in the joy of
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nature and quiet. Today a fresh wind was blowing up
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the river, but I felt none of it as I
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hoed and chopped. Harland Wright's in pain Hollow Life on
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the Fringe of Society, published in nineteen forty four, one
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of his several books that he had published about his
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and Anna's unique lives. What greater joy is there than
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in rather to refresh oneself after labor, to get hot, dusty, thirsty,
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hungry and weary, then at the call of a sweet voice,
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to lay down my tools, go to the river, to
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bathe and swim, enter a clean, cool house, put on dry,
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light clothing, and eat the good food we gathered together.
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The Hubberd's love for wilderness and for the river resonated
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with them. David Wicks, who was working as an outdoor
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educator for Louisville's Jefferson County Public Schools and Outward Bound
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where he first became aware of them. Before he moved
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to Kentucky, Wicks had fallen in love with exploring the
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waterways of New Jersey in New York, where he grew up.
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Wicks led youth groups to explore nature and directing environmental
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education camps at Blackacre State Natural Preserve in Louisville, where
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he lived with his young family. I have spent my
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life drifting now over sixty years in a canoe, he says,
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But I only became aware of a mister Hubbard's art
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in writing. When I moved to Kentucky, his words and
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drawings called to me as if they are, as if
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they still do today. Wicks is an adjunct professor in
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the Honors program at the University of Louisville and planned
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to teach a seminar on pain Hollow. He's board chair
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of Pain Hollow on the Ohio. That organization has the
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goal of preserving pain Hollow and protecting and promoting the
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legacy of Harland and Anna Hubbard. By the end of
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their lives, Harland and Anna had grown pain Hollow to
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about sixty acres. They became expert foragers, planted several gardens,
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raised goats, kept bees, and dogs. The two main buildings,
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the house and Harland's studio, were constructed entirely by hand,
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with only hand tools. Even as they got older, Harland
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could not be convinced to buy anything electric or gas powered.
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He found the tools unnatural and rights of them as
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being noisy, smelly, and unreliable. Most construction materials were scavenged
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for such as river that became part of the building's
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foundations and tree trunks that became thick ceiling beams. Materials
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they couldn't find on their land were barded for with
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things like honey or homemade jam, or purchased with money
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Harlan made from his art. The Hubbards built stone terraces
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into the hillside at various levels where they could sit outside, read,
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play music, or simply watched their beloved river. The Hubbards
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were often alone, but they weren't recluses. They had friends
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in Milton and Madison. Were patrons of the arts, and
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attended several cultural events around the area, including at Hanover
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College just west of Madison. Harland painted murals for local
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churches in Milton and held art exhibitions. Later in life,
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he began reaching out to area institution and museums to
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see if they wanted a donation of his art, including
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the bear Ringer Crawford Museum in Covington. The director at
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the time quickly said yes and found his way to
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Paying Hollow, where the artists donated many pieces. Jason French,
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who was the bear Ringer's curator at the writing of
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this article, accepted many of those pieces. The Hubberds have
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shown people that a simpler life can be rewarding, even
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with all its hardships, says French. It takes very dedicated
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and highly skilled individuals to be successful in a world
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of their own making. Harland and Anna were dedicated to
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living deliberately. Though they may have spent years floating down
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a river, they didn't float through life as so many
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of us do. Harland's studio in Fort Thomas is also
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kept open to visitors, maintained by the Fort Thomas Forest Conservancy.
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If you go, just keep looking around because there's always
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little artsy touches to his buildings. Says Bob Connecticut. It's
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just fun to look around and see where the artist
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has been. In nineteen eighty six, at the age of
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eighty three and a diet of kidney cancer. Harland died
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two years later at age eighty eight of coalon cancer,
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discovered after he was hospitalized for a copperhead snake bite.
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They left the property to a long term time friend,
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Paul Hesferter. Payin Hollow On the Ohio was able to
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acquire it in October of twenty twenty two. After the
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nonprofit stabilizes the property, it plans to create an artist
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and residency program there and find other ways to preserve
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the Hubbard's legacy. Turcott is glad the property has been preserved,
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saying the Hubbard's way of life can inspire others as
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it did for her, that less is more and there
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is peace and simplicity. If you had asked them, they
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would have told you that they weren't trying to prove
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anything to anyone else. They never sought attention or accolades.
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They were just living the way they wanted to the
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way they felt true to them. They were partners, bringing
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out the best in each other. Their love was sweet
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and productive and harmonious. They valued their lives on the
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river enough to write about it, welcome guests, paint and
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sketch it. Turcotte says she and her husband don't live
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without electricity, running water, are automobiles, but they do challenge
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one another when they see themselves tending toward excess or complications.
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It wasn't until Harlan was almost eighty that he allowed
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Caneida and some younger men to help him chop firewood.
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After Anna died and Harland could no longer live at
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pain Hollow, he moved the Canidas House, or rather he
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moved into the Canadas house overlooking the Ohio River. For
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the last six weeks of his life. He painted, accepted visitors,
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and read with the family. They didn't own a television
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because of the Hubbard's influence, and Caneida thinks Harland liked
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the place for its quietness. Harlan once wrote, no accomplishment
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can offset bad living. He and Anna's lives offered plenty
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of examples. Part of the process is just evaluating every
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choice that we make. Do we need this thing or
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that thing? He wanted us to look at the world
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through the eyes of an artist who saw beauty everywhere
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around him. Sources for this reading came from cincinnatimagazine dot
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com Thriving on the Fringe of Society, written by Kris
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Blackmore in May of twenty twenty three, and the book
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Anna Hubbard, Out of the Shadows, written by Mia Cunningham,
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published by the University Press of Kentucky in two thousand
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and one. Well that does it for today's Radio Eye
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History show. I'm your host, Joseph Bolt. I hope you
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enjoyed today's reading as much as I did researching it
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for you, and I'll be back with another chapter of
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Radio Eye History. Until then, Happy trails to you.