Canoe liveries are tribute  to Morgans’ love of outdoors

Five members of the Morgan family (from left) Hunter, Randy, Bob, Dirk and Hoosier sit at Morgan's Riverside Campground and Cabins in Morrow. Staff photo by Apryl Pilolli

Apryl Pilolli/Staff photographer Five members of the Morgan family (from left) Hunter, Randy, Bob, Dirk and Hoosier sit at Morgan's Riverside Campground and Cabins in Morrow. Staff photo by Apryl Pilolli

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By Emiko Moore, Contributing Writer 7:44 AM Thursday, July 8, 2010

WARREN COUNTY — Bob and June Morgan and their five sons have always loved the great outdoors.

For years, Bob took groups of young adults on camping adventures he named “Canoe Trails,” from the late 1950s to the early ’70s. Five times a year the groups would spend almost three weeks hiking, canoeing, and sharing stories by the campfire.

On one trip, they would canoe the Buffalo River in the Ozarks, another, West Virginia’s New River, among others. And the annual trips to Canada, which his wife, June, went on as well, were 31 days of pure adventure in the Ontario wilderness.

Bob’s youngest son Randy, now 45, says, “My best memories are every trip with dad.” Another son, Dirk, 51, who went on his first Canadian trip with his parents at age three, says, “To Dad, the great outdoors was a huge classroom.”

Bob, 77, recalls the time when well-known wildlife artist Charley Harper, who became good friends with the Morgans, went on all five of the trips in the early ’60s. The Ford Times, a former monthly magazine, commissioned Harper to write a story about the trips, along with the artwork for the cover. After that article, Bob said, “Every parent wanted their kids to go on the trip.”

In 1969, with June’s encouragement, Bob bought 24 Grumman canoes and built the first canoe livery on the Little Miami River in Warren County. Dedicated to preserving the river, the Morgans served on the advisory board of the Little Miami Inc. and were instrumental in getting the river designated as a national scenic river. To encourage canoeists to keep the river clean, they offered free canoe rides for those who picked up two full bags of trash along the river.

They both also garnered national media attention. In 1970, Family Circle Magazine chose June as the runner-up Homemaker of the Year, and in 1995, Bob and June were the feature story on the HGTV program, “The Good Life.”

Sadly, in 2006, June was diagnosed with lymphoma and she died, but her influence with the family is profound. Dirk says, “She was the core of the business. She had the business savvy and smarts and knew how to get things done. She was the hub and we were the spokes.”

Every year, friends and family canoe together down the Little Miami to a sanctuary on the Silver Moccasin Trail at Fort Ancient. There, just off the banks, is a large standing plaque with a collage of June’s pictures.

Today, the Morgans’ Canoe Livery at Fort Ancient on the Little Miami River has several hundred canoes and includes three generations of the Morgan family. The family also owns the Brookville Canoe Livery on Indiana’s Whitewater River and the Jungle Lodge in the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica.

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LOVE it!! Have been priveledged since the 80's to enjoy the experiences of Morgan's. Super nice campgrounds and activities and fun!! I live in Georgia, but Ohio is one of mine and my daughter's fave places to be and getting to go over to Dirk's and go down the river is one of the reasons it's a fave place. Great for families!

Tammy Lee
1:36 PM, 7/12/2010

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Not only is their service a good service, but their family is just as nice. Their business is local and they live local. I hope everyone takes the time to visit their place of business.

Dan Hennessey
10:00 AM, 7/9/2010

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