The first issue of Trail Mail was emailed in May 2013 to Friends of the Little Miami State Park supporters. One hundred issues later, our newsletter list has grown from the 767 who received the first issue to over 2,800 contacts today. Here is a brief look back at some of the stories we’ve covered through the years. Scroll all the way down to see a photo from Trail Mail's first issue--it's my favorite. - Janet Slater, Trail Mail editor
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In 2013, Friends of the Little Miami State Park was four years old. That year, the Foster maintenance crew built our first kiosk next to the Foster restrooms. Later that year, Eagle Scout candidate Ray Bromen led construction of the Miamiville Rest & Information station, including kiosk, bike rack, and bench.
The big excitement in 2014 was the announcement from Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources that the Little Miami State Park would share in the $88.5 million that Ohio had just allocated for the State Parks. These funds would go toward new culverts, shoring up slippage areas on the trail, repaving some sections, and other needed improvements. That year the Friends completed the first-ever comprehensive count of trail uses in the Little Miami State Park. The counting program continued to be conducted for several years by FLMSP until it became part of the Miami Valley Trails organization. Look how trail usage has grown over the years--and the big surge during the pandemic in 2020!
In 2015, a full-time ODNR staff person was assigned to the Little Miami State Park for the first time. Since its beginning, the Friends have worked closely with ODNR to maintain and improve the park. This was also the first year of the big trail closing at the Grandin Rd. intersection as EPA remediation work began on contaminated soil at the Peters Cartridge Factory. Work continued into 2016, inconveniencing trail users traveling the trail at Kings Mills. The biggest single project of FLMSP in 2015 (continuing into early 2016) was severing tree roots at the edge of 40 miles of trail. Volunteers used a rented tractor fitted with a special cutting blade to prevent roots from pushing up and making bumps on the trail surface.
In 2016 Trail Mail featured some artifacts trail users have found from the old railroad days along our trail, asking readers if they could identify them. Here are a journal box, a U-bolt, and some vintage glass bottles with a railroad spike. 
Our fence crew removed a fence no longer needed at Camp Dennison, salvaging 150 posts, 300 boards, and 300 pounds of hardware to be stored for future bridge repairs along the trail. Our readers have often seen the various members of the fence crew through the years of Trail Mail, especially enjoying Cody, the canine member of the crew, who has now gone to his eternal rest.
The year 2017 was especially eventful! Trail users enjoyed new smooth pavement and widening at Loveland, one of the projects funded by ODNR's budget allotment in 2014. FLMSP bought its own tractor (no more rentals!) with money donated by our supporters. The Trail Taste Adventure kicked off with volunteers traveling up and down the trail to sample the food at nearby restaurants; reviews were published in Trail Mail. Erick Wikum began his "Safe Trails" series in Trail Mail, which he has faithfully continued, addressing FLMSP's number one priority with practical information and tips. The Tree Blitz launched in the fall, a mammoth joint project of ODNR and FLMSP. Over 2,000 trees killed by the Emerald Ash Borer were felled, cut up, and moved off the trail by revolving teams of park staff and volunteers. Friends volunteers logged a whopping 6,000 volunteer hours for the year.
In 2018, trail rerouting was completed a Fort Ancient, another project funded by the 2014 appropriation. FLMSP established the Trail Sentinel program, recruiting volunteers to regularly ride sections of trail looking for safety hazards or trail users needing help. Taking Root presented the 2018 Peaslee Award to Rick Forrester and Friends of the Little Miami State Park for the reforestation team's work over the last two years in potting, tending, and planting hundreds of new trees along our trail.
The Little Miami State Park celebrated its 40th birthday in 2019, and FLMSP sponsored 6 trail rides and 3 festivals throughout the park. The Friends celebrated a birthday, too--10 years of maintaining and improving the park and trail we all love. This year FLMSP focused on intersection safety by making significant improvements at all 41 of the trail's road intersections, including clearing sight lines, providing signage and pavement paint for both trail users and vehicles, and flashing solar stop signs at the most dangerous intersections. These improvements were funded by a grant from a local foundation and by FLMSP supporters.
In 2020, the pandemic hit, and with few other places to go, people hit the trails--some for the first time. Trail uses in 2020 soared to 2.2 million! Even with pandemic restrictions, FLMSP stayed busy, keeping the trail maintained for all those visitors. Volunteers fitted children and teens with new bicycle helmets donated by children's safety organizations at its first Helmet Giveaway event in Loveland's Nisbet Park.
In 2021, despite the pandemic, work on the trail continued, and three crumbling trail bridges were replaced by ODNR. A new shelter for the picnic area at Corwin was erected, a joint project of ODNR and FLMSP. The Friends reforestation team planted 300 native trees and shrubs along the trail, replacing the dead ash trees and invasive honeysuckle. FLMSP sponsored a second helmet giveaway, this time along the trail in Morrow.
In 2022, the long-awaited Beechmont Connector opened, allowing off-road access to the Little Miami Trail from areas of Cincinnati. The trail closed again at the Grandin Rd. intersection, this time for replacement of the King Ave. bridge. Three years earlier, FLMSP had submitted a letter to the Warren County Engineers office advocating for the construction option that included an underpass for the trail, thus eliminating the dangerous road intersection for trail users. This is the option that was chosen. Although the project calls for a lengthy trail closing, in the end the park will benefit from the safer intersection and a larger parking lot to access the trail. Reminders of the trail's railroad history were erected in the southern end of the park. Led by Bruce Cortright, two railroad signal towers were restored and mounted with replica lights at Terrace Park and Miamiville.The park won well-deserved recognition in early 2022 when it was officially designated a National Recreation Trail. This honor was largely the result of the efforts of FLMSP founder and president Steve Murphy, who left a legacy of service when he passed away at the end of the year.
Friends of the Little Miami State Park has been honored to receive recognition for its work from local, state, and other nonprofit organizations. Below are a few of these awards.
So those are some of the highlights of the last ten years. But it's the less impressive stuff that is really the heart of FLMSP--the ongoing maintenance, the drudge work, the stuff most people don't notice. It's volunteers hunting for long-hidden culverts and digging ditches to keep water off the trail, board members persistent in phoning, writing, and networking to get problems solved, debris blower operators who drive the trail after dark so they won't inconvenience trail users, chainsaw crews that leave what they're doing and descend on the trail after a storm to make sure trail users won't get stopped by fallen limbs.
That's why this little picture is my favorite. It was featured in the very first issue of Trail Mail in an article called "The Tale of the Gloves." One of our dedicated volunteers took a picture of his gloves before he threw them away, well worn after hours and weeks and months of work to maintain and improve our trail. Now imagine the dozens of pairs of gloves just like these that have been worn out by FLMSP volunteers in the 10 years since, and you'll have a good idea of what Friends of the Little Miami State Park is all about. Here's to many more pairs of threadbare gloves.
