Well, it was great while it lasted...

Since the closing of PLUM RUN QUARRY in the fall of 2000, many efforts have been made by many different individuals and concerns to get it reopened.  Rumors and misinformation have been rampant and no one really seems to have the true "low-down".

In the interest of setting the record straight, as well as saving us a BUNCH of time in answering the hundreds of emails and phone calls regarding the status of this once popular dive site, following please find an abbreviated but up to the minute story on the whole sordid affair:

Plum Run Quarry was originally opened as a commercial dive site in October of 1998.  The real estate, which is an abandoned limestone quarry, was owned by DAVON CORPORATION. 

(It was actually a company known as STANDARD MATERIALS CORP. which began the quarry back in the mid 1980's.  DAVON, who was a competitor of STANDARD, purchased the property somewhere around 1990 and promptly ceased all quarry operations at the site.  DAVON was at the time operating two separate and much larger operations a very short distance away. In the ensuing years prior to it's opening as a dive site, the big hole in the ground was allowed to fill with over 70 feet of the clearest water this side of Heaven!)

The property was leased to Mr. Rob Harris, who operated his business as a LLC, which he called PLUM RUN DIVING, INC.   All was going well and the popularity of the site grew continually through the end of the second season of diving, in the autumn of 2000.  It was at this time that things began to take a turn for the worse, for a variety of unrelated reasons!  First of all, Rob Harris began to suffer the effects of "burn-out" due to the horrendous, near round the clock attention that operating the dive quarry required.  This, coupled with the fact that he lived over 2-hours away in Lancaster, OH, caused Rob to seek someone to assume his lease and take over the operation of the Quarry.

A group of local investors, most of which had been very instrumental in assisting Rob in getting Plum Run up and running in the first place, successfully negotiated with Rob to purchase the business and all of his assets on site (Dive Shop Contents, Compressor, etc.).  Then, this group, along with Rob Harris, met with the Chief Financial Officer of DAVON to work out the details of the lease in October of 2000.  After a lengthy meeting with DAVON, an agreement was reached, and the new lease was to take effect on 1/01/01 between DAVON and the new owners.

During this meeting, the CFO for DAVON, Mr. Larry Wendling, mentioned that he was anxious to have this new lease signed as soon as possible because negotiations had been under way, and it appeared as if the entire DAVON company was to be purchased.  The prospective buyer was a huge European concern by the name of HANSON AGGREGATES.  As fate would have it, officials from HANSON made an appearance at the DAVON HQ within days of this meeting to finalize the purchase of the company.  This stopped any deals which were in the works, including the lease which had been negotiated, but not signed with the new owners of the Plum Run Dive business.  

Now here is where some real dirty dealing and underhanded conniving took place!  Officials at HANSON made it clear that their company policy absolutely forbade the leasing of HANSON property to outside concerns.  While the original 10 year lease with Rob Harris would technically still have been valid, during the October meeting at DAVON headquarters, Mr. Larry Wendling, the CFO of DAVON, requested that no further lease payments be made by Rob Harris to DAVON.  It was decided and directed that the first lease payment from the new owners would not be due until 1/01/01, and that the new lease would take effect at that time.

By the time that the smoke had cleared after the purchase of DAVON, Rob Harris was informed that he was in "default" on his lease since no payments had been received, Larry Wendling was no longer employed, and the fact that the October meeting had even taken place was disavowed by anyone at Davon/Hanson!

Now, basically starting from square one with the new owners, and with the goal being to try to get PLUM RUN reopened for diving, efforts were made on behalf of the original investors to contact the proper people at HANSON.  Company officials reiterated the fact that they would not even consider leasing the property, but expressed a willingness to sell it instead. As many as six or seven other groups in the mean time also threw their hat into the ring and it appeared certain that PLUM RUN would be opening before too long in some form or fashion.  Officials at HANSON made it known that they would accept sealed bids on the property up until the date of 9/01/01.  On that date, all bids were to be opened, and the property sold to the highest bidder.  After that date came and went, no word was forthcoming.  Numerous phone calls were placed by the parties placing the bids as well as by dozens of local dive shops, Adams County officials, and individual divers, all interested in getting the property reopened for diving.  Various excuses were given by HANSON as to why the bids were not opened as promised.  In one such conversation between a bidding party and MR. JAMES SMITH of HANSON, Mr. Smith said, "If we can't get out of the property what we feel it is worth, then it will be locked up and forgotten".  In a future phone call the question was asked regarding an approximation as to what HANSON felt the property was worth and no answer would be given by Mr. Smith. 

It has become the opinion of many that HANSON has no intent, nor did they ever have an interest in actually selling the property.  At least seven totally unrelated business people or groups have independently evaluated what they felt the real estate was worth, many based upon local professional real estate appraisers opinions.   None of the seven, according to HANSON, have even come close to landing in the "ballpark" of what they feel the property is worth, nor will they divulge where that "ballpark" even is!  One would have to assume that either HANSON has grossly overvalued the property or, as earlier stated, do not intend to sell the property at all.  But then, they are holding the deed on the property and can do as they will!  They are merely concerned with their public image and did not want to appear cold or callous in this, their first appearance on the local business scene.  

From information which is posted on the official HANSON web site, they purport to be a very philanthropic and community minded organization, but this is obviously not the case.  Otherwise, they would have not caused one of the fastest growing and most popular recreational facilities in the area to cease to exist.  If they do not wish to sell the property, they should simply make that known and let the chips fall where they may.

This once beautiful and busy destination for hundreds has degraded into a local eyesore.  Further, it has reverted to it's former use: as and haunt for the local crack-heads, and an attractive nuisance to the youth of the area looking for a place to hide,  drink their beer, and conduct all manner of activities which are bound to occur when ready access to a place such as this is available. Hopefully, it will not take a tragedy to open the eyes of certain individuals at HANSON as to the merits of turning loose of this property.  How ironic it would be to have the precious HANSON image tarnished as a result of their efforts to preserve it!