Discover St. Clair April and May 2019

Downtown Renaissance • First Families of St. Clair • Sam Jones Protectors of the Lakes • Big Canoe Creek Outfitters • Reeves Grove Baptist

April & May 2019

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Features and Articles Discover

The Essence of St. Clair Let the Season Begin!

Special Coverage Page 47 First Families of St. Clair Page 8

Sam Jones’ Legacy Foundation for success Page 18

Pell City Downtown renaissance Page 38

Reeves Grove Baptist

Downtown Pell City Page 24

New life for historic church Page 42

LakeLife Water toys

Guardians of the river Defending fishing title Back Porch Grill Pelican Palooza

Rooftops & Retail Page 84

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Business Briefings

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April & May 2019

www.discoverstclair.com

Carol Pappas

Writers AND Photographers

Carol Pappas is editor and publisher of Discover St. Clair Magazine. A retired newspaper executive, she served as editor and publisher of several newspapers and magazines during her career. She won dozens of writing awards in features, news and commentary and was named Distinguished Alabama Community Journalist at Auburn University. She serves as president/CEO of Partners by Design, the multimedia group that publishes Discover.

Linda Long Linda Long has worked in communications for more than 25 years in print, broadcast, nonprofit promotion and special event planning and implementation. Her writing has appeared in Business Alabama Magazine, Technology Alabama, Mobile Bay Monthly, Birmingham News, Huntsville Times, Partners Magazine, Birmingham Magazine, Alabama Alive, Cahaba Talk, Hoover Outlook and Shelby Living. She served as news and special projects producer for NBC13 News, where her work won national, regional and state honors, including two Emmy Award nominations.

Joe Whitten Joe Whitten was born in Bryant on Sand Mountain. When he arrived in Odenville in 1961 to teach at St. Clair County High School, he found a place to call home. He and his wife, Gail, taught across the hall from each other. He continues to live in Odenville in a 1904 house they called home for 36 years. Joe was active in the Alabama Writers’ Conclave and the Alabama State Poetry Society. The society named him Poet of the Year in 2000. Joe has also published a number of St. Clair County local history books.

Mike Callahan Mike Callahan is a freelance photographer who resides on Logan Martin Lake in Pell City. He specializes in commercial, nature and family photography. Mike’s work has been published in Outdoor Alabama Magazine, Alabama Trucking Association and Alabama Concrete Industries magazines. Publishing his work to the internet frequently, he has won many honors for pictures of the day and week.

Susan Wall Susan Wall moved to Logan Martin Lake from Birmingham, where she worked as a critical care nurse. Alongside the nursing career, she owned Dreamscapes Photography, a portrait and wedding studio. Winner of the 2010 August Moore award at the Bluff Park Art Show, with numerous publications in magazines and the Kodak Instructional Magazine, her passion now is digital painting and portraits.

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Elaine Hobson Miller

Elaine Hobson Miller is a freelance writer with a B.A. in Journalism from Samford University.

She was the first female to cover Birmingham City Hall for the Birmingham Post-Herald, where she worked as reporter, food editor and features writer. A former editor of Birmingham Home & Garden magazine and staff writer for Birmingham magazine, she has written for a variety of local, regional and national publications.

Paul South Paul South, a native of Fairfield, is an Au¬burn graduate with a degree in journalism and a double minor in history. He also has a Juris Doctorate degree from the Birmingham School of Law. Although sports writing was always his first love, he had a versa¬tile career as reporter, columnist and first full-time sports information director at Samford University.

Jackie Romine Walburn Jackie Romine Walburn, a Birmingham native and freelance writer, is an Auburn journalism graduate who has worked as a reporter, editor and corporate communications manager. She’s had recent writing published in the Birmingham Arts Journal and Alalitcom. Jackie is currently seeking an agent and publisher for her first novel, Mojo Jones and the Black Cat Bone.

Leigh Pritchett

Leigh Pritchett has been in the publishing field 30 years. Early in her career, she worked for a New York Times Regional Newspaper. Since the 1990s, she has been a freelance writer. Her work has appeared in local, state and national publications in print and digital form. Mrs. Pritchett received the Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Montevallo.

Wallace Bromberg Jr. Wally graduated from Auburn University where he graduated in 1976 with his BA in History and minors in German and Education.

Wally’s skills in photography blossomed during college.After a 30-year career, he decided to dust off his camera skills and pursue photography full time.

Scottie Vickery Scottie Vickery is a writer with a degree in journalism from the University of Alabama and was a reporter for The Birmingham News.

Her first assignment was covering St. Clair and Blount counties. She has more than 30 years of writing and editing experience and her work has appeared in a variety of publications. She also has worked in the nonprofit industry.

From the Editor

Of life and legacies

As I looked over the content for this issue of the magazine, I couldn’t help but reminisce. After all, a common theme seems to emerge from each of the stories. Their very core is about life and legacies.

Every Saturday in April, native born and newcomers will stroll the streets of downtown Pell City, learning about the history of this place they call home. They are historic walking tours, begun by the Alabama Department of Tourism in towns and cities across our state to introduce or reacquaint citizens with their community’s history.

In Pell City, the walking tours take on a dual meaning. For they are not just a remembrance of what has come before it for the city’s downtown center, but a celebration of the renaissance now taking place within the historic district’s borders.

New life has been breathed into what once was the city’s thriving commercial district. Shops, professional offices and even a restaurant or two now line the main street named for the town’s founder. And downtown is becoming the bustling hub of activity reminiscent of yesteryear once again.

Another of our stories tells of the foundation laid by a longtime hospital administrator whose love of community was ever present and a precursor for the burgeoning medical center residents are enjoying today.

In Ashville, an historic church has new life thanks to a congregation that believed as solidly in preserving its past as they do in the lessons of the Good Book.

And then there’s the legacy of St. Clair County’s ‘First Families,’ an initiative to remember and honor the early families who settled the territory.

Turn to present day, and we feature the legacies of the Coosa River – Logan Martin and Neely Henry lakes – St. Clair County’s gems of growth, enhanced quality of life and sources of just plain enjoyment by residents and visitors alike. Two massive lakes earning national reputations can’t help but build a powerful legacy for this county.

Yes, a day in the life of St. Clair County is indeed blessed with many a legacy worth lauding. Just turn the page, and you can discover them all – and more – with us.

Carol Pappas Editor and Publisher

Discover The Essence of St. Clair

April & May 2019 • Vol. 47 • www.discoverstclair.com

Carol Pappas • Editor and Publisher Graham Hadley • Managing Editor and Designer Mike Callahan • Photography Wallace Bromberg Jr. • Photography Susan Wall • Photography Dale Halpin • Advertising Toni Franklin • Graphic Designer

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First Families of St. Clair The foundation for generations

First Families receiving certificates at Ashville 8

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

Story by Joe Whitten Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr. Submitted photos In 2017, Kathy Burttram and Rose Mary Hyatt had a bee of an idea buzzing in their proverbial pioneer sunbonnets.

Together, they developed the idea into a reality that is as satisfying to a lover of local history as honey on a hot buttered biscuit was to a family at breakfast in a log cabin. They called their project The First Families of St. Clair County, Alabama, and brought it to fruition during the county’s bicentennial year, 2018.

Having loved local history for years, the two women were knowledgeable and capable of accomplishing their goal. The aim of First Families is to collect and preserve the lineages of families who settled in the county by 1818 or earlier. To be accepted as a member of First Families, the applicant had to provide documented proof of descent from the settler-ancestor.

With plans finalized by late 2017, announcements appeared in libraries and newspapers, and soon requests for application guidelines began to arrive. As completed membership forms came in, the project team began vetting documentation, the number of names on the eligible list increased, and on November 20, 2018, First Families presented membership certificates to 51 descendants of early settlers.

Wendy Smith’s documentation as a descendant of James Ash arrived first. Later, four others joined under his name.

From Franklin County, Georgia, James and wife Nancy Martin Ash arrived in this area shortly after his brother John Ash had settled in Beaver Valley in 1817. James Ash prospered as a successful farmer and acquired much land. He died in 1860, leaving a large estate.

James’ son, William, born in Springville in 1819, also farmed and owned 357 acres in Branchville.

When the Civil War began, William and his sons, James Lafayette and William Gilbert, joined the First Tennessee & Alabama Independent Vidette Cavalry at Bridgeport, Alabama.

However, William’s brother, Gabriel Simon, fought for the Confederacy.

In August 1864, William and William Gilbert, with a unit that had loaded cotton for Union use onto wagons, had stopped for the night near Woodville, Alabama. That night, Confederate troops ambushed them, killing all but 14. William and son died.

The survivors were taken across the Tennessee River, where they were mowed down in a volley of shots. However, John Kenner survived to tell of the experience.

James Lafayette survived the war and returned to St. Clair County.

St. Clair County had a number of Union sympathizers. In her History of Steele, Alabama, Vivian Qualls noted that only 14 percent of St. Clair landowners owned slaves. Most farmers took care of themselves, with family members doing the work.

Mrs. Qualls wrote, “…brothers fought against each other, one with the North and one with the South.”

Twenty persons qualified for membership with ancestor Absalom Autrey. (The name came to be spelled “Awtrey.”)

Gerald Tucker, first to qualify as a descendant of Absalom, lives today on the farm that belonged to his great grandfather, James Monroe Awtrey, who was the great grandson of Absalom.

James Monroe had inherited the farm from his father, James Henry Awtrey. Gerald Tucker records that James Henry wasn’t a wealthy farmer, but that he gave each of his sons $2,000.00 and “…told them to go out and make their own way.” Tucker

Passion for the Truth Ministry, originally the Presbyterian Church built in 1879

Old Deerman’s Chapel Methodist Church around 1930 also stated, “James Monroe Awtrey, having fought for the North in the Civil War, chose to go to Missouri afterward. He and his wife both died of an illness within five months of each other. James Henry Awtrey brought the two children, Phillip and Zula, back to St. Clair County to live with him.” Frances Leona Awtrey, daughter of Phillip, was Gerald Tucker’s mother.

One Autrey/Awtrey family historian states that Absalom came into our area in 1806 or 1807, settling at the foot of Blount Mountain. Later he owned 153 acres at Greensport on the Coosa River.

However, in a November 29, 2018, St. Clair Times article, qualifying descendant James South stated that the Absalom Autrey family came here toward the end of the 18th Century.

“There was an Indian massacre that killed his wife and two or three of his children. He moved back to Georgia territory, and in 1800, he moved back into St. Clair County near Greensport.”

According to oral history, Absalom died November 13, 1833 — the night of the spectacular meteor shower which still lives in state history as “the night stars fell on Alabama.” He was buried near Greensport.

Mary Dearman is the only woman through whom a membership in First Families has come. Moving her family here from South Carolina around 1816-17, Mary is known as the founder of Dearman’s Chapel Methodist Church near Steele — a worthy remembrance by any measure.

Four joined First Families through Revolutionary War

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

9

Traveling the

BACKROADS John and Margaret Ash burial maker

John Ash house 10

veterans Noel Battles and Captain Edward Beeson.

Mattie Lou Teague Crow recorded that Noel Battles lived in Albemarle County, Virginia, in 1776 when he enlisted in “Captain Clough Shelton’s Company which saw service under Colonels Edward Stevens, John Green and Samuel Cabell, respectively.”

At the Birmingham Library, Mrs. Crow discovered on microfiche Noel Battles’ account of his three years in the American Revolution. In an article she wrote, “He fought in the Battle of Trenton and stated that the battle was brief and bloody. The enemy was soon overcome as many of them were drunk after the long Christmas celebration. …The Battle at Brandywine Creek was a painful experience as they were badly beaten by General Howe’s men. Seven hundred were killed or taken prisoner and Noel Battles received a flesh wound in his right arm.” Battles was wounded again at the Battle of Monmouth, June 1777.

After the war, Noel and his wife, Rhoda, moved to Georgia, and from Georgia, into what would become St. Clair County Alabama. He and Rhoda are buried in Old Shiloh Church Cemetery on Highway 11 between Steele and Attalla. This church’s location is now in Etowah County, although it was in St. Clair County when the Battles died. On April 19, 1998, the Etowah County Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution honored the memory of Noel Battles with a grave marker.

According to local records, Edward Beeson / Beason and wife, Ann, settled in today’s St. Clair County around 1814, where they built a log cabin and “…lived among the Indians until they were removed.”

Edward enlisted in the army in the spring of 1778, Guilford County, North Carolina. He was commissioned Captain in April 1779 and served in Captain David Brower’s Company.

Edward and Ann are buried at Union Beason Cemetery. His grave was marked by the Nancy Hart Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Edward’s son, Curtis Grubb Beason, participated in county and state government all his life. He served on the Alabama Constitutional Convention in 1865, according to The Heritage of St. Clair County, Alabama. The antebellum home he built (c1840) still stands, well-kept, in Beason’s Cove between Ashville and Oneonta.

Rev. Thomas Newton and wife Ann Martin Newton were the parents of Margaret Newton who married John Ash, of political renown in St. Clair County. In 1817, both families joined a westward bound caravan from South Carolina as it journeyed through Georgia. The caravan had stopped to rest in today’s Beaver Valley a few miles below present-day Ashville. When a tragic accident left Betsy Ann Ash dead, John and Margaret Ash and Thomas and Ann Newton chose to settle in Beaver Valley rather than abandon Betsy Ann’s grave.

The log home that Ash and Newton first constructed in 1817 stands — the oldest surviving structure in St. Clair County.

Both families lived there until John Ash built his own dwelling in 1818.

As years progressed, John Ash added to his home, until it stood a welcoming home in the county.

Some of our older readers will remember the white-painted home standing pristine in the sun; however, the home today

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

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Traveling the

BACKROADS Beeson House

Deerman’s Chapel United Methodist Church stands forlorn in Beaver Valley.

John Ash helped organize the government of St. Clair County.

Records show that he was the first elected judge in the county and that he served three terms as state senator. The naming of the county seat Ashville honored the legacy of John Ash. One person provided proof of John Ash lineage.

In his book, Branchville, Alabama: The History of a Little Town, 1819-2007, Kenneth Hodges wrote about Rev. Thomas Newton, stating that, as a minister of the Presbyterian church, “Thomas was an excellent, impressive, emotional preacher with the ability to deliver sermons that would often melt both the speaker and the listener to tears.”

In Georgia, Newton had been a circuit-riding pastor, preaching at a different church each Sunday of the month.

Hodges records that when the westward migration began, church membership dwindled as the population of communities decreased. Hodges gives this as a reason for the Newtons joining the westward caravan.

Both a Newton historian and Mattie Lou Teague Crow mention that the Newtons were instrumental in organizing the Presbyterian Church in Ashville. The denomination first met at Mount Pleasant Meeting House, which was also the place of worship for the Methodist and Baptist. In 1879, the Presbyterians erected their own modern Victorian church, still standing in Ashville today.

Three persons gained membership on Rev. Thomas Newton’s name.

Jeremiah Collins arrived here penniless in 1818—according to some accounts. However, Jeremiah Collins’ great great granddaughter, Barbara Goldstein Bonfield, stated in an email interview that Collins researcher, Kathie Collins Jones, “…

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

Springville Museum

Kathy Burttram and Rose Mary Hyatt

found land records from South Carolina with Jeremiah and William Collins listed on them, tons of them.” Great great grandson Jimmy Goldstein believes this indicates that Jeremiah didn’t leave South Carolina so poor he had to bring his possessions to Alabama on a sled instead of a wagon, as some researchers have written.

Writing for The Heritage of St. Clair County, Alabama, Bonfield said that Jeremiah settled along the Coosa River and announced his goal of becoming a landowner. Records show that he owned land in Easonville and Ragland in St. Clair County and substantial acreage in Talladega County. Bonfield tells of a deed, dated June 25, 1842, which transferred to Jeremiah 300 acres of land in the “Coosa Land District acquired by the United States in a treaty with the Creek Indians.”

President Tyler signed the deed.

Jeremiah achieved his goal of possessing land, but his son, Jesse Collins had other goals —preaching the gospel of Christ.

What a disappointment to Jeremiah, who desired his son to become prominent in Alabama politics. Bonfield writes that Jeremiah told Jesse “…he was not raising a son to be a ‘backwoods Baptist preacher.’”

Jesse returned to South Carolina where he continued to study theology, professed his faith in Christ, and became a minister of the Gospel. Jesse returned to St. Clair County with his bride and began pastoring Baptist churches in the county. During his ministry, he pastored several churches in St. Clair, Shelby and Calhoun counties and helped found a number of Baptist churches.

Jesse had obtained his goal of preaching the Gospel, but his father, Jeremiah, had never embraced Christ nor expressed interest in Christianity. Jesse longed for his father to accept Christ and be baptized. His longing was fulfilled, when at age 91, Jeremiah became a Christian and was baptized.

But who baptized Jeremiah? Mattie Lou Teague Crow wrote that “…frail Jeremiah was strapped into a small chair and the preacher son lowered him into the waters of the Coosa River in baptism.” However, Barbara Bonfield records that in a 1927 written document, Jeremiah’s granddaughter, Magnolia Embry, stated that “…her grandfather was baptized by Reverend Renfro in Chocolocco Creek near Schmit’s Mill in Talladega County. Such are the mysteries of family history.

Jeremiah died in 1873, age 94. Jesse died tragically of a pistol shot. The fact that accounts differ on how the pistol discharged doesn’t diminish the Gospel ministry of Jesse A. Collins and the spiritual legacy he left in St. Clair County. Collins was well-

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

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BACKROADS known among Alabama Baptists.

B.F. Riley, in his History of the Baptists of Alabama, recorded that “As financial secretary of Howard College, corresponding secretary of the East Alabama Baptist Convention, and pastor in St. Clair County, Mr. Collins rendered valuable service.”

One other minister must be noted. Hezekiah Moor settled in today’s Moody/Leeds area. Moor history is recorded at length in Leeds…Her Story. Hezekiah’s son, also named Hezekiah, was a Baptist minister who helped organize churches in St. Clair County. The record of his death and the vengeance of his son are matters of record.

Rev. P.S. Montgomery wrote in the Southwestern Baptist, February 4, 1864, that Hezekiah was murdered by a bushwhacker on Kelley’s Creek Road during the Civil War. “Having returned home on furlough, he found much mischief was being done by robbers in this county. …Bro. M. gathered a company of men and was indeed successful in catching them.

But alas! About the middle of May 1863, as he was returning home alone, a wretch secreted himself by the way, and committed the awful deed and fled.”

The Leeds history states that the man who killed Rev. Moor was Jeff Darty, a soldier who had deserted the company commanded by Hezekiah’s brother.

Hezekiah’s son, Joseph, was eight when his father was killed.

When he turned 14, he set out to find Darty in Texas where he had fled. Joseph joined up with a cattle drive, and within three years ended up in the same cattle drive as Jeff Darty.

The cowboys ended a long-day’s drive, and “…after all the cowboys had rolled up in their blankets for a night of wellearned rest, Joe slipped to Darty’s bedroll, took out his knife and slashed Darty’s throat, killing him instantly. Vengeance was his at last. Joe saddled his horse that very night and came back home to Alabama.”

The enchantment of St. Clair County family history lies in such stories as these.

In planning this project, Burttram and Hyatt took direction from First Families projects in other counties in Alabama and other states, Aware that Etowah County historian, Jerry Bartlett Jones, Sr., had assigned to the Northeast Alabama Genealogical Society any proceeds of his First Families of St. Clair County and Northeast Alabama, Burttram and Hyatt wanted the proceeds from this project to be shared equally by Springville Preservation Society and St. Clair Historical Society.

The Springville Preservation Society, formed in April 1992, helps protect and maintain Springville’s historic downtown and collects and preserves artifacts of the area’s history.

The Preservation Society owns three buildings in Springville: the Masonic Lodge, which serves as a museum and archives on Springville and the surrounding area; the Little White House, which also serves as the Springville Welcome Center and is rented out for special events; and the old Rock School, their current restoration project. Frank Waid is president of the society.

The St Clair Historical Society was organized in 1972 with the purpose of preserving the county’s history. The primary focus of the first years was restoring the John Looney double dog-trot log home, which is the only surviving example in Alabama. Published from 1993 until 2009, Cherish: The

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Steps to the old Deerman’s Chapel Methodist Church

Quarterly Journal of St. Clair Historical Society, focused on both history and genealogy. Cherish can now be accessed online at the Alabama Department of Archives and History. The president of the society is Sandi Maroney, librarian at Ragland Public Library.

There are African-American citizens in St. Clair County whose lineage goes back to the earliest years of our county, and Burttram and Hyatt are hopeful that some will make application for membership. Lineage can be hard to establish, but here are some sources. Antebellum church minutes list first names of slave members, and often gives the slave owner’s name.

Antebellum court records, accessible at the Ashville Museum and Archives, can provide avenues of research.

And don’t overlook obituaries of former slaves, for quite a number were published in county newspapers, as in the following.

“Mar. 2, 1899, Southern Alliance: Oldest Man in the County Dead. Dock Collins, colored, age 106 years, died at his home near Riverside on the 12th day of Feb. 1899. He was born in Lawrence District, South Carolina, in 1793, and was sold at public auction at Lawrence Court House when he was about 7 years of age, and bought by Jeremiah Collins, who was the grandfather of Attorney Jas. A. Embry, of our town. He was brought to this county just after the sale, where he continued to reside up till the day of his death.

“He was also the first Negro to own land in the county and a peaceable law-abiding man all his life. He was owned by the same Jeremiah Collins when freedom was declared, having had no other master since a boy. He was almost a life-long member of the Methodist church, and the good advice which he had always given to his race resulted in many of them securing

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

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Traveling the

BACKROADS

Sandi Maroney, President of St. Clair County Historical Society

Frank Waid, President of Springville Preservation Society

homes around and near him. The influence exerted by this old man among his people was wonderful, he never failing to advise them to be truthful, industrious and honest.

“During his life, he was married twice, and was the father of 14 children, 5 of whom are now living, and some of them property owners. He died within a quarter of a mile from the old home of his master, and the cause assigned for his death was old age. He passed away seemingly without pain and retained his mental faculties till the very last.” l Editor’s Note: St. Clair County history is rich and exciting. Discover hopes our readers will become excited as well and join in the task of preserving our treasured past. Since the First Families of St. Clair County is an ongoing endeavor, if your family has roots in our county from 1818 or before please connect with Mrs. Burttram or Mrs. Hyatt at firstfamiliesstclairal@gmail.com. Descendants of families settling here in 1819 through 1820 may apply for membership in First Families as a Founding Family member.

Union United Methodist Church 16

Captain Beeson’s memorial

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

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Terrell Vick, outgoing hospital CEO; Sam Jones, retired hospital administrator; Sean Tinney, incoming hospital CEO at St. Vincent’s St. Clair opening 18

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

Sam Jones’ legacy

A foundation for success

Story by Carol Pappas Submitted photos Take a look around Pell City and St. Clair County these days, and the quality and accessibility of health care usually reserved for much larger metropolitan areas can hardly escape notice.

A state-of-the-art hospital, cutting edge private medical practices, a bountiful supply of specialty providers and services would rival most big cities. But you’ll find it all in Pell City.

Talk to those who know the history, and they’ll quickly tell you this burgeoning medical community didn’t evolve by accident. Long ago, Sam Jones created a firm foundation as St. Clair Hospital’s first administrator in 1969, and layer upon layer of success stories have been building upon it ever since.

Jones, who died in June 2017, left a legacy of dedication and service to community and a vision for what could be in his adopted hometown.

His widow, Lila, talked of those early years when they met and the various turns in life that led them both to Pell City. His mother was the postmaster of Adger; his father, a salesman for Bradford Norton, the only milliner of ladies’ hats in the state of Alabama. “ ‘I was supposed to be a coal miner,’ ” Lila recalled his telling her. They met when he played piano in a Gospel quartet while attending Howard College, now Samford University. Those who knew him best say he was a gifted pianist.

“I was raised in singings,” she said, “and Daddy and I were going to a singing at Central Park,” Lila said of the first time they met – she, in her teens. His quartet was playing. A mutual friend introduced them, and he asked her if she wanted to go get an ice cream soda. “I told him that sounded good, but I’d have to ask my daddy.”

Her father apparently said yes, the two had that ice cream soda, she asked him to the junior- senior prom, “and the rest, as they say, is history,” she said, flashing what had to be that same smile that won him over in their youth. “It’s one of those things that you just know it.”

When they were first dating, he was in the National Guard and working for a funeral home while pursuing degrees in accounting and engineering. They married in 1958 and later had two sons – Bill and Stan.

While serving in the Guard, his unit was the 109th Evac Hospital, so he already had a

background in the medical field “and loved it” when a friend encouraged him to go on to graduate school in hospital administration, Lila said. He earned his masters at Georgia State, and served as assistant administrator of Cobb General Hospital in Austell, Georgia, where they had just built a new hospital from the ground up.

Once that formidable task was completed, Jones declared to Lila, ‘I’m never opening another new hospital.’ But as they traveled back and forth to visit family in their native Alabama, they would pass this hospital going up east of Birmingham. And as fate would intervene, it wasn’t long until then St. Clair Hospital Board Chairman Harold King, who served as president of People’s Bank (later Colonial Bank), called Jones and wanted to interview him for administrator.

He did interview for and secure the job that he would later mold into the standard others would follow. And despite his earlier declaration, he did open another brand new hospital – St. Clair Hospital – in 1970. He would hold that position for 25 years, a rarity in the hospital industry. His last five years before retirement were as a vice president at UAB, which was the management company for the hospital at the time.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

St. Clair County Hospital Nursing Service Director Helen Dykes, Administrator Sam Jones and Nursing Service Supervisor Patsy Loren in the early days

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Sam Jones’ legacy Throughout his career, he dedicated himself to being involved and staying on top of the latest trends in medical care.

He served as chairman of the Alabama Hospital Association and on the board of directors of Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Birmingham Regional Emergency Medical Services. He was a member of the Jefferson Blount St. Clair Mental Health Board from its beginning and was on the executive committee as well as serving as chairman for four years.

A mental health group home built in Pell City was a particular passion of his, and it since has been named in his memory. A dedication ceremony brought quite a crowd together to pay homage to the man who helped bring the home to fruition.

At the ceremony, Dr. Richard Craig, executive director of JBS Mental Health, talked of Jones’ “wisdom, guidance and inspiration” in his years on the board and his leadership in making the group home possible for the community.”

His love of community was evident. Former Mayor Bill Hereford, in attendance at the ceremony, described Jones as “one of the best leaders we ever had – not just at the hospital, where he was amazing, but in this town.”

Terrell Vick, who Jones hired, would go on to succeed Jones, but not before he could learn everything he could from his skilled mentor. “He took me under his wing and helped me learn what the hospital business was all about,” he said. “He ran it like a business and paid attention to cost control. That paved the way for us to do well financially.”

Because of his connections and contacts in the health care industry, “we were doing things other small hospitals didn’t even consider.”

Vick talked of his recruitment efforts, noting that not many people know that the “seed” for Dr. Larry Lemak, now a nationally known orthopedic surgeon, was planted at St. Clair Hospital. “He would come in on the weekends and perform surgery,” Vick said. Jones was masterful at recruiting skilled health care providers.

Jones was behind the rural hospital’s practice of nuclear medicine, a specialty usually meant for larger urban areas, but he was determined. He sent Vick to Montgomery to apply for a Certificate of Need. During the hearing, Vick said he had some personal doubts officials would grant the certificate to their small hospital, but they did. “I’m sure he (Jones) had a lot to do with it,” he said.

“He gave me a whole lot of opportunities that helped me through all the changes in the operation,” Vick said. All told, St. Clair was affiliated with five different companies before its eventual merge with St. Vincent’s.

“He claimed so much respect in the hospital community.

He was the type of manager who would give you what he expected you would be doing, but he already had it figured out.

I watched the way he managed. It was tremendous. It was huge for me,” Vick said.

On a more personal note, Vick related two anecdotes. “He was a big Auburn football fan. Late on Friday afternoons, we would get together and predict what’s going to happen that weekend. Then, we’d get back together on Monday and talk about what really happened.”

He recalled an unusual snowfall for Pell City one year. Jones and Vick got into the hospital’s company car, a Bonneville, to

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Sam and Lila Jones

Sam Jones, Harold King and Gov. Albert Brewer check it out. Jones drove it up the hill where Jack’s is now, but where Sutherlin Chevrolet was located then. “We came down that hill backwards,” Vick said.

Jones ordered chains to be put on the car, and “we ended up being the taxi for all the employees.”

Before becoming Pell City’s first full time mayor, Guin Robinson served as human resources manager at Avondale Mills. He was new in town, and he had become interested in health care through his responsibilities at the mill. One of

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

Sam Jones’ legacy

The Jones’ sons, Bill (left) and Stan (right) with Lila at group home dedication ceremony

the first boards on which he was appointed to serve was the Hospital Board. “I still look at that time as a learning experience, and Sam set the tone. The board universally trusted him. It was a pivotal time in health care with Medicare funding, and I give him credit for navigating us through those waters.”

He called Jones “one of those unsung heroes. I look back at that time, and much of the success was built on such a sturdy foundation. He left quite a legacy in the health care world and certainly, in St. Clair County.”

Robinson, now associate dean for Economic Development at Jefferson State Community College, talked of Jones’ “national presence. He seemed to know everybody. They universally respected him.”

Former Pell City Mayor and current chairman of the St. Clair Health Care Authority Lawrence Fields called him “the leader of the pack. He got everything established and going. Sam needs more credit and honor. Behind the scenes, he promoted Pell City’s medical community very well.”

Longtime friend and business colleague, Ray Miller, former president of St. Clair Federal Savings Bank, noted how meticulous Jones was in approaching his role as administrator. “He was all serious, all business, seeing to it that the hospital was all it could be. He put Pell City on the radar screen for prospective doctors.”

When St. Clair Regional Hospital finally became St. Vincent’s St. Clair, and a new hospital went up across the interstate, it was no surprise Jones was there to cheer them on. “He was a gigantic supporter,” Vick said. “He planted a lot of those seeds.” l

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Pell city OUR PAST AND PRESENT Story by Scottie Vickery Photos courtesy Pell City Library Photos by Graham Hadley

• What: 4th Annual Pell City Historical Walking Tours • When and where: Held each Saturday in April (April 6, 13, 20 and 27), the hour-long tours begin at 10 a.m., 11 a.m, 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. They start at City Hall, 1905, 1st Avenue North, and participants should arrive 15 minutes early for registration and information.

• Hosted by: The Heart of Pell City • Cost: Free

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Even the walls of the Maxwell Building in downtown Pell City have a story to tell, just like the others lining the blocks of Cogswell Avenue.

The first brick building constructed in town, it still bears the scars of a 1902 dynamite explosion at the nearby train depot. The accident killed two people, injured several others, and left a large crack in the building’s exterior.

The structure was built in 1890, a year before the city was incorporated, and has been home to a boarding house, grocery stores, post office and hotel over its 129-year history. It’s the only survivor of the handful of houses and buildings that made up the original eight square blocks of Pell City. Today, the building that boasts so much historical charm now counts art galleries and a martial arts studio among its many tenants.

“It’s a monument to the humble beginnings of town and stands as a testament to the resilient nature of its people,” Urainah Glidewell said of the Maxwell Building and its many lives.

The organizer of the 4th Annual Pell City Historical Walking Tours held each Saturday in April, Glidewell said the building is just one of many that participants can explore. “A lot of people who live in Pell City don’t know much about its history, and there are so many wonderful stories. This is a way for us to open the doors for the community and kind of invite them in,” she said.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

Pell City’s main street then and now

Pell city The old Rexall Drugs building now houses a Mexican restaurant.

Glidewell, who has called Pell City home for 13 years, researched the origins of the city, its founders and businesses for the tours, which average about 150 participants each year. Led by community volunteers, they are a project of The Heart of Pell City, a group dedicated to the preservation, revitalization and cultural development of the downtown historical district.

More than 30 cities and towns across the state, including Springville, are hosting tours this year as part of the Alabama Department of Tourism’s initiative to highlight the rich history of the state.

“Everyone who calls Pell City home, who has a business here, they’re now part of the history of Pell City,” said Glidewell, who serves as president of The Heart of Pell City. “We’re walking in the footsteps of all the people who came before us.

We thought the tours would be a wonderful way to educate people.”

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

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Pell city In its infancy

Downtown Pell City, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001, has a long, storied history. Founded by railroad investors, a town charter was issued in 1887, and the city was officially incorporated in May 1891. It was named for one of the financial backers, George Hamilton Pell of New York.

Pell City was nearly abandoned following the Panic of 1893, but it was redeveloped after Sumter Cogswell and his wife, Lydia DeGaris Cogswell, moved to town in 1901 and bought the city for the bargain price of $3,000.

“Mr. Cogswell influenced the location here in 1902 of the Pell City Manufacturing Company, subsequently Avondale Mills,” according to the historical marker in front of the courthouse. “The town’s prosperity was secured after that time.”

Much of Pell City’s growth over the years can be attributed to the construction of I-20 and

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The old movie theater

Businesses like Ron Partain’s World of Music and Toast Eatery draw people downtown now.

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Partners by Design’s LakeLife storefront was Singleton’s Barber Shop in the early 1900s.

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Here’s a look at some of the buildings and their stories, according to Glidewell’s research: Pell City Drug Company/Rexall Drugs, 1901 Cogswell Avenue, was built in 1903 by Dr. R.A. Martin. When Comer Hospital closed in 1931, he opened a six-bed clinic above the drugstore and started construction on the 42bed Martin Hospital, which was directly behind the store and now houses law offices. The drug store, which closed its doors in 2001, sold everything from prescriptions to school books during its nearly 100-year history and featured a soda fountain and lunch counter, according to Carolyn Hall, Martin’s granddaughter. Today, visitors can still enjoy a meal at El Cazador Mexican Grill, which opened there several years ago.

Singleton’s Barber Shop, which opened in 1905 at 1911 Cogswell Avenue, is now home to Partners by Design, a multimedia marketing company that publishes Discover,

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

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Today’s businesses Merle Norman, Artscapes Gallery and even a Brazilian Jiu Jitzu occupy historic buildings.

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The Essence of St. Clair, as well as other magazines. They don’t offer haircuts, but today’s visitors who are having a bad hair day can also buy baseball caps and visors there, as well as T-shirts, sweatshirts and other products promoting Logan Martin Lake. Partners by Design sells its brand of LakeLife™ products at its downtown office. The brand’s origin comes from a logo the company designed years ago and trademarked.

The Maxwell Building, which once housed a herd of goats, was originally built by John Maxwell, who was trained in the leather trade.

The original plans called for the building to be used as a tannery, but records are unclear as to whether or not that actually happened.

The building currently houses a number of businesses, including Merle Norman Cosmetics Studio, Artscape Gallery, Mission Submissions Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Dirk A. Walker Fine Art Gallery, Mila Le Beauty Bar and Lilly Designs.

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home to a furniture store and grocery in the front part of the building and a funeral parlor in the back.

Joe Kilgroe later acquired the funeral service, which is now known as Kilgroe Funeral Home and has locations in Pell City and Leeds. The building later housed Hagan Drugs and is now home to Judy’s PC Tees, which makes custom Tshirts.

Pell City Hardware Company was built in 1904 at 1910 Cogswell Avenue and sold everything from tools to guns, cutlery, and dishes. One of the original partners was Hardy Cornett, who at one point opened a hotel in the Maxwell Building.

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

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Pell city became Gossett Hardware Company. Today, the building is home to three businesses: Express Shipping, Toast Sandwich Eatery, and The Old Gray Barn, an antiques and collectibles store with finds that include cutlery and dishes of days gone by.

“I love history,” said Glidewell, who dresses in period costumes for the tours she leads. “I didn’t grow up in Pell City or have family roots here, but this is my home now.

I’ve loved looking back at all the people who helped build Pell City. Being able to preserve that and share it in this way has been very rewarding.”

Original Dairy Queen, a downtown gathering spot, now part of Henderson Builders Supply property

Gravette’s Café was located on First Avenue, near the railroad tracks.

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

From left, Urainah Glidewell, Greg Weber and Denise Olivastri, catalysts of downtown resurgence

Pell city

DOWNTOWN RENAISSANCE REMINISCENT OF DAYS GONE BY

Story by Scottie Vickery Photos by Graham Hadley Archive photos courtesy Pell City Library When Vicki Harmon was growing up in Pell City in the 1960s, downtown was the place to be. Before the interstate was built, all the traffic came straight through the center of town, and it was a place where everyone gathered to shop, eat and catch up with friends.

She has fond memories of the soda fountain at the Pell City Rexall, finding the perfect outfit in one of the many clothing shops, enjoying grilled cheese sandwiches at the drive-in, and spending Saturdays at the movie theater.

“Whenever they showed something with Elvis Presley or Rock Hudson and Doris Day, the lines would just go around the block,” she said.

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“Downtown was a fun, lively place – especially on Saturdays. The sidewalks were always full of people.”

Five decades later, an energetic group of folks is working hard to bring that same feeling of community back to downtown Pell City. In recent years, they’ve hosted community-wide events including walking tours of the historical district, Avondale Mills Day, and a Christmas tree lighting in front of the St. Clair County Courthouse. Each month during the 3rd Thursday Shopping Galas, downtown businesses keep their doors open long past closing time for themed sales events.

“There’s a lot of excitement and a positive vibe about the downtown area,” said Greg Weber, president-elect of the Chamber of Commerce. “We’ve come a long way, and we want to keep the momentum going.”

Much of that momentum has come from The Heart of Pell City, a group established several years ago with a mission of promoting the preservation, revitalization and cultural development of the city’s downtown area.

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Crowds gather for 3rd Thursday, even when it’s cold outside.

It started with a small group of business owners and has grown to include additional merchants, city leaders and community volunteers.

“The character of a town is in its historical district,” said Urainah Glidewell, president of the group. “That’s what makes it unique. We want to celebrate our historical downtown and make it a destination. It really is a community effort, not only to remember the history but to continue the growth of Pell City.”

The Heart of Pell City hosted Avondale Mills Day in 2016 and 2017, and the event brought hundreds of people downtown to enjoy live music, a pet parade and a Halloween costume contest. Last June, the group partnered with the Pell City Chamber of Commerce to present the Avondale Mills Block Party that featured a variety of food, entertainment, vendors and children’s activities.

“So many of us have a common vision of trying to make our community better,” Glidewell said. “It’s wonderful to see so many people want to get involved in the community and want to make a difference.”

That’s what prompted Weber and Denise Olivastri to form the 3rd Thursday Action Committee and start the monthly themed shopping galas in the historical district. Weber noticed that downtown got quiet after 5 p.m., and he wondered how to draw visitors to the historical district after the workday ended.

He spoke to officials in his hometown in South Carolina to see what worked there and then turned his sights closer to home and visited Springville, which hosts its own Third Thursday events.

After that, the committee was formed as part of The Heart

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of Pell City group. “We created a plan and put it into action,” Weber said, adding that the first event was held last October.

“Months later, it continues to get better and better.”

The stores stay open until 8 p.m. and offer discounts, door prizes, refreshments and giveaways, Olivastri said. “There is something for everyone in downtown Pell City, from meals, musical instruments and cosmetics, to boutique fashions, tanning, gold jewelry, haircuts, art and more,” she said. “We have all the shops and services you find in a larger downtown city, right here at home.”

Traditions are an important part of what makes a city feel like home, and that’s why The Heart of Pell City brought back the annual Christmas Tree Lighting event last year after a 15-year absence. Gail Benefield, a member of the group and the owner of Ami’s, got the idea while watching a Christmas movie in July. “We had people come out of the woodwork to volunteer,” she said. “They really wanted this to happen.”

A 25-foot tree in front of the courthouse was decorated with ornaments created by Pell City students. The Pell City Line Dancers and choirs from Pell City High School and Williams Intermediate School provided entertainment, and hundreds of residents enjoyed hot chocolate and Christmas treats.

“It was just a beautiful experience,” Benefield said. “It brought families downtown to experience a wonderful, joyous event and to celebrate the meaning of Christmas.”

Glidewell remembers feeling like the event truly brought the community together, which is the ultimate goal of so many in Pell City. “It was literally like watching a Hallmark movie,” she said. “All we needed was the snow.” l

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

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Reeves Grove Turning Baptist Church a historic church building into an event venue

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller Photos by Michael Callahan If the walls of the original Reeves Grove Baptist Church building could talk, what would they say? Maybe they would recall the pounding of feet on pine floors, the discomfort of members as they squirmed for two hours on oak-plank pews, or the warmth from the pot-bellied stove on a wintry day. Surely they would mention a lot of “amens” and “hallelujahs” shouted during hellfire and brimstone sermons that roared from the pulpit.

Members of the Reeves Grove Historic Church Committee like to think those walls would shout for joy over what’s happening to the old church these days. Formed in July of 2017, the committee wants to preserve the building and restore it to its original glory. They got it listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage, thanks to the efforts of Debbie Collins.

Committee members have replaced the leaky roof, deteriorating fascia boards and broken window panes. They have pressure-washed

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

The carpeting inside the sanctuary will come up, and the pine floors underneath will be refinished. the mold and fungus off the vinyl siding. Inside, they’re ripping up laminate and carpet, removing or repainting the wood paneling, and applying a fresh coat of paint throughout. They plan to remodel the bathrooms and kitchen, inspect the wiring, upgrade the plumbing, inspect and service the HVAC system, and anything else that’s needed to preserve the building.

Why the effort for an edifice that’s almost 150 years old? Call it nostalgia, but several of the 16 committee members have sweet memories of growing up in that church. They think it will make a fine community event venue when they are finished with the restoration.

“My family is all buried in the cemetery there, I was baptized there as a child, I married there the first time at (age) 19,” says Linda Moyer, co-chair of the committee. “It holds a lot of memories, and I just hated the thoughts of it being abandoned or torn down.”

Built in 1872, the church sits on four acres of land that was once part of the vast McCorkle plantation.

Beneath the layers of vinyl and Masonite siding are the original boards hewn from logs that were sawn at a mill above Gadsden and brought down the Coosa River by raft to Greensport, then hauled to the site by oxen cart. It wasn’t until 1878, however, that Louisa McCorkle Reeves, daughter of the plantation owners, deeded the land to the church. That deed included the small cemetery behind the church where the original six McCorkle family members

The old church bell preserved for history

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

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Reeves Grove Baptist Church

Memorial bricks make up the beginning of a walkway that could extend around the side of the church.

and their slaves are buried.

Later, a daughter of Louisa deeded another two acres across what is now US Highway 11, where the new cemetery is located.

The building has gone through many changes through the years. In 1912, a steeple and bell were added. Several improvements came during the 1950s, including Masonite siding on the outside, new pine pews and the addition of classrooms at the rear, along with a small kitchen. New front steps and a cover were added at the entrance. The sanctuary’s inside walls were covered in pine paneling, an old post was removed, and the pot-bellied stove was replaced with a floor furnace.

Moyer remembers that pot-bellied stove and the large post next to it near the front of the sanctuary, and the lively discussion about taking out the post. “People feared it held up the ceiling, but it and the stove were removed. The stove was replaced with a floor furnace,” she says.

In 1969, restrooms were installed, and in the 1970s, central heat and air were added. In 1976, a multi-purpose wing was added that could function as a fellowship hall or be partitioned to form three individual Sunday School classrooms. The kitchen was moved next to the hall. Around 1980, vinyl siding and a new front porch were added. And in 1981, a family donated a new steeple, so the old bell tower came down. That bell now hangs in a place of honor in front of the church.

In 2000, the stage was remodeled and a baptistry installed, sparking another discussion. “Some folks feared it was not a good idea structurally,” Moyer says. Before it was added, baptisms were held in nearby Muckleroy Creek.

An organ sat on the left side of the sanctuary until a few years ago, according to Moyer. “A piano was on the right side, and when the church vacated the old building, the roof developed a leak, and it ruined the piano,” she says.

Twelve years ago, when attendance was so high the walls were about to burst, the church voted to build a new sanctuary and classrooms next door. “The old classrooms were small, and maybe the congregation thought the building was too old for repairs and modernization,” says committee chairman Gary Hood, who attended church there for many years. His father was one of its 42 pastors.

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Committee members Macki Branham, Gary Hood, Linda Moyer and Jerry Payne want to hear voices ringing the rafters of the historic Reeves Grove Baptist Church’s original sanctuary once again.

Jerry Payne, one of the few committee members who is a member of Reeves Grove today, remembers the crowded days. “When I first started coming here in 2008, if you didn’t get here early, you had to sit up front,” he says. “We just outgrew this building.”

Some church members wanted to tear down the old girl and build a parking lot in her place, while others wanted to retain her alongside the new metal sanctuary. When the congregation moved into the new sanctuary next door, the original building was essentially abandoned.

The restoration committee got permission from the church body to restore the building and do what they wanted to with it.

“They came before the church and asked if it was OK to form that committee, and we gave them permission to do so,” says the Rev. Paul Alexander, pastor of Reeves Grove.

In ripping up the laminate in the foyer, Payne found hardwood floors underneath. He knows there are hardwood floors under the carpet in the rear addition. Recently, he refinished the foyer floor and is working on the others. The committee plans to rip out the carpet in the sanctuary, too, and refinish the origi-

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Reeves Grove Baptist Church Fundraisers have helped preserve and restore this historic church.

nal pine floors underneath. In addition, they plan to repaint the entire inside of the church.

Money is the biggest hurdle to their dreams of preservation and restoration. They want to buy a small historic registry plaque for the sanctuary. Joe Sweatt, another committee member, has donated the $400 for that. Another $2,000 is needed to get the large metal historic marker and pole in place in front of the church. The committee really doesn’t know how much money the total restoration will cost, but members know they’ll have to call in a professional historic preservationist at some point.

Fundraisers thus far have included a fall festival that they hope will become an annual event, a Memorial Walkway and donations. They staged the festival at Fishers of Men Farms near Whitney Junction in September. Featuring food, games, arts and crafts, bluegrass, gospel and country music, the festival raised between $5,000 and $6,000.

“Buy a Brick” is another fundraiser that the committee hopes will net $10,000.

People can purchase a brick for $40 in memory of someone who is deceased or in honor of someone still living. Names and dates of those honored will be engraved in the bricks, which will be set into a Memorial Walkway in front. As of the first of January, that walkway already had 90 bricks inlaid from the steps to the flower beds near the road. It will continue as far around the side as necessary to reach the $10,000 goal.

Other fundraisers on the committee members’ minds are a memorial garden featuring plants people buy in memory of loved ones, plus benefit singings, dinners and auctions. Rent from events will be extra income, with all monies going back into the restoration or operations fund.

Event possibilities are almost endless. The committee foresees weddings, reunions, local club meetings, historic lectures, gospel singings and other special services. “A local minister has expressed interest in having a series of Bible lectures on the Second Coming,” says Hood. The event sub-committee consists of Linda Moyer, Celia Hay and Macki Branham.

The committee is still working on a budget and more specific long-term goals, but it has faith that the old building can be rehabilitated. And once the project is completed, those old walls will have something new to talk about. l

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

Let the Season Begin!

Discover The essence of St. Clair

Special Magazine Section April & May 2019

l WATER TOYS: Page 48 l GUARDIANS OF THE RIVER: Page 54 l YOU GOTTA BEAT THE FISH: Page 64 l BACK PORCH GRILL: Page 68 l AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN: Page 72 l LAKEFEST: Page 74 l ACCESSORIZE: Page 78

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2017

Matthew, Maeva and Glover Pope enjoy the ride.

Photo by Matthew Pope

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Water Toys

So many ways to enjoy the lake Story by Jackie Romine Walburn Submitted photos A long way from the black inner tubes of yesteryear, today’s colorful water toys, floats and tow-behinds include floating docks, streamlinedfor-speed deck tubes and giant buoyant pads.

Ready to boost family fun on the lake in 2019 are the latest in water toys that range from a gigantic Smarties noodle for $14 to a 15-foot turtle-shaped water trampoline for $2,500. No matter the budget for the lake’s fun accessories, the current batch of water play toys offer fun options for lake lovers and boating enthusiasts.

Airhead Hot Dog

Top towables

Today’s towables offer colorful, creative options for multiple riders for thrilling speed or leisurely rides. Top recommendations for the latest in towable tubes include: • The Super Slice by Airhead designed for one to three riders, priced at about $160.

• The Airhead Hot Dog tow, a hot dog-shaped, 103-inch long Hot Dog-shaped inflatable for one to three riders, priced at $150.

• The Frequent Flyer by SportsStuff, with a patented aluminum quick connect with a reinforced tow system, for one or two riders, priced at $250.

• Race Sports Epic Ski Tube, built for three riders with 14 handles, priced at $300.

• The Fiesta Island by Sportstuff, with a 16-quart cooler and cup holders, the 11.5 foot square inflatable is priced at $379. This towable can also be a lounge or platform.

• Subwings are the newest awardwinning towable for boats. Priced at $199 each, the tilted wings are used to steer, dive and resurface.

Subwing manufacturers say the slow towing speed and the intuitive maneuvering of the Subwing make it a safe watersport for all kids and adults who are comfortable being in the water.

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Fiesta Island

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Maui Mat

Buoyant pads

One of the newest ways to float in the lake, buoyant foam pads, are available in a variety of sizes, from a single floater to giant pads designed to support up to 1,300 pounds. Top sellers include: • Maui Mat by Aqua Lily, a 6 x 20foot “portable playground” that rolls into a compact form with hook and loop straps. Priced at about $590, the Maui Mat is rated for up to 1,300 pounds.

• Goplus Floating Water Pad, a 12 x 6-foot pad designed for up to 650 pounds with a builtin reinforce net for increased toughness. Priced at about $290.

Goplus Floating Water Pad

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Water Toys Platforms and lounges

Modern platforms and lounges can be floating playgrounds, connectors to docks or boats. Some platforms can be towed.

• The WOW Water Walkway is a 6 x 10-foot floating mat made of 30-gauge heavy duty PVC. Stable and firm enough to walk on, each mat holds up to six adults and can be connected to each other to create a water walkway. Ideal for creating a walkway between boats or to make a huge island for a large group. Priced at $170 each.

• The AquaGlide Airport Classic Inflatable Swim Platform can be a towable tube for up to three people, a launch pad for water sports or an aquapark base. The 90-inch square platform is rated for up to four people and is priced at about $355.

WOW Water Walkway

Tropical Breeze

Floats – PLUS

Unique floats for people, play and parties are among the hottest items for water fun. These include large floats with shade and multipurpose floats, character floats and floats that double as coolers or floating game rooms. Popular items include: • CoolerZ Tropical Breeze inflatable floating island, with a removable sun shade, extra wide pillow backrests, six cup holders, a cooler bag with a mesh bottom. Rated for six adults, the 153 x 108-inch float is priced at $152.

• Sun Pleasure Party Bird float, a rainbow unicorn float, with room for six. Includes fast-speed blow up pump and carry mesh accessories, built in cup holders and cooler. Priced at $250.

• WOW Float Fridge, a 30-can inflatable floating cooler, priced at $35, with a grommet to attach it to floating island or lounge and four molded beverage cup holders.

• Island table, a $230 floating portable picnic table. With a large cooler, a draining port, cup holders and anchor bag, this floating table can be used on land or water for one to four people.

• Island Hopper Turtle Jump Trampoline, a 15-foot floating trampoline with nine anchor ties, and four step ladders. The floating trampoline-platform is priced at $2,500.

• Aqua Treadmill, an inflatable that is human-powered. Sprockets turn the inflatable into a human powered vehicle that can move across the water at speeds up to 10 mph. The Aqua Treadmill can be used as a floating island with shade.

Pricing begins at $250.

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Aqua Treadmill

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Luxury floatables

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Another emerging way to enjoy the lake combines the relaxation of a hammock with floating on water. Single hammock, like single-person floats, start at about $20. Hammock boats, made by manufacturers including Hammocraft and Melloship, mount hammocks on pontoons, kayaks or stand up paddle boards.

• Hammocraft offers fully functional kits to use on a boat or all sorts of floatables, including stand up paddle boards and rafts. Prices range from about $1,000 for the kits to $2,775 for a double kayak with two hammocks.

• Melloship’s hammock boats are solar-powered, motorized pontoon-based boats for two. Custom options include fishing pole holders, full sun block canopies, a cooler mount and even GPS. Prices start at $2,500.

For those with an unlimited budget for water toys, Hammacher Schlemmer offers a variety of inventive but pricey options in luxury floatables. These include: • The Amusement Park Dragon Pedal Boat, a human-powered fiberglass dragon boat like those you see at amusement parks. The six-foot serpent seats two riders and has a direct-drive stainless steel twin pedal system. Priced at $5,000.

• The Barbecue Dining Boat, with a built-in barbecue grill, umbrella and trolling motor that provides waterborne cookouts for up to 10 adults.

With lots of storage, a table with recessed plate holders, the dining boat is powered by a 30-watt electric trolling motor with four rechargeable batteries. Able to maneuver at up to 2 1/2 mph, charged batteries provide up to eight hours of continuous use. Priced at Hammacher Schlemmer at $50,000.

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Guardians of the River Coosa Riverkeeper and lake associations work to protect treasured waterways

Choccolocco Creek

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Story by Paul South Submitted photos

Even in the bleak midwinter, in a season of heavy rain and rising water, Gene Phifer, Linda Ruethemann and Frank Chitwood can almost set clocks by the nature’s magic on the Coosa River.

For Phifer, president of the Neely Henry Lake Association, the White American Pelican returns to entertain each winter, nesting near Phifer’s Neely Henry Lake home. For Ruethemann, a board member and past president of the Logan Martin Lake Protection Association, small black ducks – Ruethemann calls her feathered neighbors “diving ducks” – plunge for food under the Army khaki green water in the mornings, delighting a human audience.

And for Frank Chitwood, the Staff Riverkeeper and founder of the environmental watchdog group Coosa Riverkeeper, anytime is a good time on the river. But the special times are when the sun rises or sets, painting an ever-changing pallet, the moon is full and glowing, or in those seasons when colors, not crowds, clamor for attention.

The lake associations and the Coosa Riverkeeper are united in a singular mission – to protect the Coosa River system that runs through Alabama, downstream from the river’s headwaters at the confluence of the Etowah and Oostanaula rivers near Rome, Ga. The heart of the mission – to protect the quality and quantity of the waters of Coosa and its six lakes and by extension, the overall environment and economy.

Phifer calls Neely Henry, the Coosa and its sister lakes, “a treasure.” The three organizations are carrying on a love affair with the water.

“It’s really a treasure to have something like this, Phifer said. “There’s no other way to put it. We’re so fortunate. We have a river system that flows through the center of Gadsden and then on downstream. With a river like this with all the recreational and all the aesthetic and environmental benefits of it, goodness, it’s a treasure to have this. You don’t see this when you go across the United States.

Native peoples called the Coosa home long before Hernando DeSoto became the first European to see the river in the 16th century.

Neely Henry and Logan Martin were manmade bodies of water, the result of Alabama Power’s construction of hydroelectric dams in the 1960s. While these days, the river and lakes are in better health, there was a time in

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Guardians of the River Neely Henry Cleanup

the not-so-distant past when Logan Martin, Neely Henry and its parent river were a dumping ground for all manner of human refuse from beer cans to busted refrigerators.

“The river system years ago was a biological eyesore as far as the way the water was being treated at that time.

Something needed to be done,” Phifer said. “Things weren’t being done the way they should have been done by residents and the communities. Renew Our Rivers moved to the cities and counties, and a groundswell of law enforcement, schools, businesses and the media got involved, too. Etowah, St. Clair and Calhoun all got involved.”

The result was Renew Our Rivers. Started in 1998 on Neely Henry and quickly spreading to other Alabama waterways. On Neely Henry alone, some 500 tons to debris has been cleaned out of the river. On Logan Martin, the first year saw tons of debris pulled from the lake. The amount has decreased over the years, thanks to increased awareness throughout the water system.

Team work

LMLPA education booth

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Keeping the Coosa River system clean is only part of the story. For example, an all-volunteer army of trained Logan Martin residents take to the river monthly to test the waters.

The effort springs from an Auburn University initiative called Alabama Water Watch.

Since 1996, the water tests have been carried on come rain or sun, sleet or snow. Ruethemann is a trainer for the testing effort, which looks for warning signs in the water.

“You don’t have to be a chemist to be a tester,” she says.

“If you can follow a recipe, you can do this.”

Testers don’t worry much about weekly reports but search for trends in quality.

“When I’m out testing and someone sees me, they say, ‘Is the water good?’ And I can tell you what the numbers are today. But what you’re really looking for are the trends,” she says. “Is the water quality getting better? Is it getting worse? Do you suddenly see changes in certain areas of water quality that we need to take notice of and say, ‘Something’s changed here, what is that?’ Then you start going upstream to where the issue started.”

Like the associations, Coosa Riverkeeper is focused on water quantity and quality. Chitwood, founder of Coosa Riverkeeper and the retiring staff riverkeeper for the organization, patrols the waters in a quest to safeguard the river. He founded Coosa Riverkeeper in 2010 after volunteering for other Riverkeeper organizations around the country.

Like the Neely Henry and Logan Martin citizen groups, Coosa Riverkeeper is an advocate for the river system.

While unlike the other organizations, Riverkeeper has a small paid staff, the goals of the groups are the same.

“What we do is patrol the river, educate the public and advocate on behalf of the river. Citizen-based, nonprofit,” Chitwood said. “We do a lot of the work that people expect the government does, but they don’t. In a sense, we are a watchdog organization. We do things like monitor water quality to make sure it’s safe to swim and to fish. We respond to citizen complaints. We go and speak to school groups or civic groups about the river and its importance.

We monitor pollution sources and seek to reduce those sources of pollution.”

The public perception of the organization among river residents has changed since its early days.

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Guardians of the River “When we first started, not many people knew what the Coosa River was,” Chitwood said. “They thought of it as individual lakes. So, we talked to people on Logan Martin about the Coosa and they’d say, “We don’t know where that is, and we’d say, it’s right here.” That has changed a lot. They are more aware of the connectivity between systems and between the lakes and how we’re impacted by what people upstream of us are doing. That’s one big change.”

The other is changing the general perception that the Coosa is unsafe for swimming because it does have such a polluted history, especially on Logan Martin because of the PCB issue.

What we did was start a program called Swim Guide, where we do water quality testing all over the river every week in the summer. We post that information free so people can see if it’s safe or not to swim that week in their location, instead of just speculation and hearsay. That has been really huge. A lot of people have been reassured about the safety of swimming in the river. But a lot more people are assured about the safety of the water.”

And Coosa Riverkeeper isn’t shy about using the legal system to protect the waterway.

While the lake associations closely monitor water issues and advocate and educate on behalf of the river system to schools, civic groups and government agencies, Coosa Riverkeeper will put its legal muscle behind its efforts.

“That’s why I’m really proud of our group because we’re standing up and doing something about it. And we’re making progress. It just takes people to stand up against industry and the government that are insanely powerful in Alabama and say that’s not really how we want things to happen in Alabama,” he noted.

“There are people out there that they know what they’re doing is not right. And they know that what they’re doing has an impact. But if they don’t get fined for it and they’re not going to spend however much money it is to do the right thing, there’s no consequence. It takes more than one approach to really address all these issues. That’s what sets our group apart.

We’re willing to go toe-to-toe with industry, and we’re willing to call in the lawyers and file a lawsuit. There aren’t a lot of groups willing to do that. I think that we have to be willing to do that. If we don’t, we’re never going to change the status quo.”

Perhaps the dominant issue – one that would impact the three-legged stool of the lake associations’ mission to protect water quality, quantity and property values – are the so-called “Water Wars” among Alabama. Georgia and Florida.

In an effort to get more water for a thirsty, growing Metropolitan Atlanta area, Georgia wants to dam the waters that flow into the Coosa, which is downriver from the confluence of the Etowah and Oostanaula. Its impact reaches far beyond the Coosa, to the Tallapoosa and the Alabama Rivers. The Alabama is a navigable waterway, critical for barge traffic to the Port of Mobile.

Choking the flow of water to the Coosa, however, would damage a fragile ecosystem and parch the local economy. If you want an idea of how brittle the Coosa and its lakes are, consider indigenous beavers in the wake of February flooding.

While it’s the opposite effect compared to lower water levels, the lesson here is environmental impact.

“Any change in the water level is going to affect the

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Neely Henry Lake Association

Keeping Neely Henry beautiful

environment,” Ruethemann says. “While it’s the opposite of that, in the flood, beavers were wandering in people’s yards, and they were scared, not sure where to go.”

All of the Coosa advocacy groups are closely monitoring the mountain of litigation related to the water wars, Phifer said.

“We can’t continue to lose a lot of water without damaging us downstream in dry season. When nutrient levels in the water get too high, you have the potential for the nutrients to cause rapid algae growth and when the algae die, it sucks oxygen from the river system, damaging quality of life for the river.

When you have dissolved oxygen, it becomes a pollution problem.”

In the years ahead, if the waters of the Cahaba – from which Birmingham derives much of its water – begins to run dry – there is concern that a parched Magic City might turn to the Coosa for water, putting the Coosa in the crossfire of two fronts in the water wars.

“That’s not just a battle for Alabama, Florida and Georgia, but there’s going to be a battle between Birmingham and the Coosa,” Chitwood says. “It’s only going to be so long before Birmingham comes for the Coosa. They’ve talked about it before.”

“When I train people in these (water testing) classes, I tell

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Guardians of the River

them, water in not a limitless quality,” Ruethemann says. “You can’t make new water. People say, ‘Why don’t you go to the Birmingham Water Works and get more water? Well, where do you think they get that water?”

One of her water testing students took a biblical view, she says. “Yup, that’s the same water that floated Noah’s boat.”

Ruethemann adds, “As it gets more limited and as we have more people, and we start growing more in urban areas like Atlanta and in the outskirts of Birmingham, people are going to be fighting for that limited amount of water.”

Other development-related issues, like sediment runoff from construction sites, sewerage and stormwater runoff concern the Coosa River organizations of Weiss, Neely Henry, Logan Martin, Lay, Jordan and Mitchell that make up what Ruethemann calls, “The Coalition.”

But another point of advocacy for Coosa Riverkeeper and the Neely Henry and Logan Martin groups is the development of a statewide comprehensive water management plan. Currently, Alabama is the only state in the Southeast without a water management blueprint.

“In my opinion, (if) we get to a courtroom, it’s hard for us to say (water) is of utmost importance when we don’t have a plan together. I think that plays against us tremendously.”

What happens to the Coosa if Alabama loses the water fight?

“We always think the worst. I think human nature is (to think) that everything will fall apart. I don’t know.

There are many places on this lake that if the water stayed at 460 (feet), that a lot of people would not have waterfront property at all. You’d still see the diving ducks and the pelicans, but in these narrow sloughs, a lot of people would not have waterfront at all.”

Water quality and quantity should be on the minds of folks along the Coosa and across Alabama, as neighboring Georgia builds more reservoirs at the headwaters of the river.

“I would bet you if you talk to 90 percent of the people in this state, they don’t even think about water, Ruethemann says. “They turn on the faucet, and it’s there. They go to the beach or lake or river of their choice, and it’s there. We have a lot of water in Alabama – today.”

Should they think about it?

“Oh yeah,” she says. “At some point in time, it’s going to become an issue.”

Meanwhile the groups collaborate, educate and advocate for the river system, pushing for clean, ample water, effective policies and responsible development.

The reason is simple. “Anyone who spends time on our waterways in Alabama is going to appreciate them,” Chitwood says. “You’re not going to go kayaking on Big Canoe Creek and say, ‘Who really cares about that creek? ‘You’re going to say ‘Wow, that’s something worth protecting.”

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Logan Martin Wetlands Project

Logan Martin Lake’s beauty preserved

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

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‘You gotta beat the fish’ Bain, Colley set to defend the Alabama Bass Trail Series title

Colley (left) and Bain hoist the big catch on Neely Henry for the camera 64

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Story by Paul South Submitted photos When it comes to fishing, Adam Bain and Kris Colley hold to a simple truth, the same flame that burned bright in classic literature and on classic TV. Whether it’s Melville’s Ishmael, or Mayberry’s Andy and Opie Taylor, it’s not about victory over another angler. It’s man vs. fish.

“It’s kind of like a little puzzle. You have to figure out what the fish are doing and the time of the year, the depth they’re in and what they’re biting,” Bain says. “It’s just you and the fish. It’s not necessarily you against everybody else, it’s you against the fish. There’s as much competition there, as there is to figuring out if you can beat everybody else. You gotta beat the fish.”

Bain from Pell City and Colley of Ashville beat the fish and everybody else in 2018, capturing the Alabama Bass Trail Championship in their home county on Neely Henry Lake.

They’ve won twice on the ABT circuit over the years, once at Pickwick Lake on the Tennessee River, and the ABT title on Neely Henry last year. The pair finished second in 2017, narrowly missing the ABT title on Logan Martin, their day’s catch losing by slightly more than two pounds.

Sanctioned by the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society, the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series features two divisions.

Each division –North and South – includes five tournaments on five different lakes. As many as 225 two-man boats can compete in each tournament.

Bain, a Realtor and Colley, who works in the railway industry, have made waves on the ABT circuit with their winning ways that combine old-school fishing techniques with high technology in the ever-evolving world of competitive angling.

While the ABT is considered an amateur circuit, each tournament champion wins a $10,000 grand prize, with $47,000 in prizes going to the top 40 teams. In recognition of Alabama’s Bicentennial in 2019, the 200th-place finisher will earn a $200 bonus. The total prize money for the 2019 ABT Series circuit is $568,000.

But for Colley and Bain, it’s not about the money. While they’ve knocked around the idea of moving to a higher level of competitive fishing, family comes first.

“There’s so much money at the local level now that you can stay around the house and win. But we don’t necessarily do it for the money, but for the competition. The money is an added bonus. The more money, the more competition.”

Colley agrees. The rush of the tug on a line is enough.

“We’re both competitive in that we always want to win. It’s not that we fish against each other, but we joke around and make fun of it. You know, fishing is fun. Between the both of us, we never take it to the point where it’s so serious that we take the fun out of it. Honestly, if it ever got to that point, I’d probably quit.”

That fun and love of fishing has helped hook a strong friendship. The two have fished together for about a decade.

And their fishing style, forged since childhood on the stained Army-khaki waters of Weiss Lake, Logan Martin and Neely Henry complements each other.

“He’s probably a little more patient than I am. I like to throw stuff and wind it in, Bain says of his angling teammate. “I use a spinner bait or a crank bait. He will take a jig or a piece of plastic and flip it. He thinks that if I’m up there and catching

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‘You gotta beat the fish’

Colley and Bain on the $45,000 boat they won for the championship fish that are active, he can fish maybe a different part of the water column.”

While most fishermen would probably never admit it, especially in the age of high-technology depth finders and trolling motors linked to smartphones and sonar-laced lures, luck takes a hand.

But when Colley is on his game, Bain has a simple strategy.

“When he’s on and when he’s getting bites and catching fish, I just stay out of his way. He’s kind of the same way with me. It may be his day a little more often than it is mine. He really does catch a lot of fish.”

Asked his own strengths on the team, Bain quips: “I run the dip net really well.”

While Colley can flip plastic lures into the tall grasses near the shoreline or under docks, Bain is the deep-water specialist, hooking big catches on spinner and crank baits. In the summertime, he generally does well because he catches them deep,” Colley says.

He adds, “We both kind of fish fast, but we do it different ways. When you have that and have two ways of looking at it, if one way’s not working, we’re really quick to switch to another. At the end of the day, you might fish the same, but

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it’s somewhat different.”

Like most kids who grow up near the lake, fishing has always been a simple pursuit. Joy can be had with a cane pole, a box of worms or a cage of crickets. But as with the rest of the world, technology snagged competitive fishing in its net.

The days of paper topographic maps of bodies of water are no more. Water temperature, depth, barometric pressure, the phases of the moon, all figure into fishing. And the new depth finders make learning an unfamiliar lake easier, “They call it video game fishing,” Bain says. “As you’re trolling around, and you see a fish directly below you on your depth finder, you can drop a little worm straight down and watch the fish bite on the monitor. There are people who fish like that a lot. We’ve never gotten into that. Because we’re from and fish predominately on the Coosa River, which is shallow, the water stays kind of stained and the fish, most of the year live shallower than in other river systems. So, to fish competitively, you don’t necessarily have to fish out deep the majority of the year. Obviously, there are times you have to go out (deep) to win, even on Logan Martin and Neely Henry, but not as often (on those lakes) as some of the others.”

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Colley is excited by the new technology.

“I think it’s great. It’s changed fishing. It’s sort of created a wide range of how to catch fish. You see people who fish on the bank and still win, and then you see people who grew up in the age of technology, and they know how to use it to their advantage, and they’re able to catch them offshore.

It’s changed the way that everybody fishes because at some point in time – we’re not the best in electronics – you’ve got to be able to read them to be competitive. Some of the lengths we go to, you have to know how to read them, or you’re going to get beat.”

Fishing, it seems, is booming. Bain, who learned angling from his father and grandfather, remembers fishing junior tournaments with only three competitive boats. Now fishing flourishes at the prep, amateur, collegiate and pro level. More than 200 boats compete on the ABT circuit, and some of the pros show up at those events. And amateurs compete in some of the professional “open” tourneys.

Bain believes the internet, technology advertising, money and media coverage have boosted the popularity of a sport that once seemed to be gasping for air on the rocks. And as a result, the competition is tough “The fishermen have gotten good. Your average fisherman is a lot better now than he used to be. Whether that’s the depth finders or the material that’s he’s able to get to and read about and see the new techniques and all this stuff, the average fisherman has gotten much better than he was 20 years ago.

It’s got to be the technology that’s doing that.”

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Defending champs

Technology aside, Colley and Bain are philosophical as they begin the defense of their 2018 Alabama Bass Trail Series.

Colley doesn’t see a bullseye on their backs as the new season began.

“It’s not. We look forward to being able to defend. We’re not going to change anything up. If we go out and do the best we can and if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”

He adds, “We both have our strengths as far as what we like to do and how we do it. If it’s a bait or a certain thing he likes to do, he runs the boat. It just depends on crank or jerk bait like Adam does, or flipping a bait, that’s more my kind of deal.

We try to keep each other up. You’re going to lose a big fish here and there, and when we do, we just try to make fun of it.

We don’t really get down, we just make fun of and nag each other the rest of the day.”

Asked if the fishing friends are like an old married couple, Colley chuckles.

“Pretty much,” he says.

The pair calls the ABT championship their biggest thrill and their biggest victory in fishing. But even in these days of tournaments and tough competition, where anglers on the ABT try to land five fat keepers, the story always circles back to childhood and the thrill of that first big fish, fun and friendship “We don’t do a whole lot different than anybody else,” Bain says. “Kris is an outstanding fisherman. I’m probably very lucky to be fishing with him. We’ve taken our lumps over the years, but we’ve put a lot of time in and worked really hard at it. We’ve paid our dues.

“Now that we do have families we aren’t able to fish all the time during the week, like we did growing up. But what success we have now, I can attribute to those days as a kid, fishing for hours, not knowing what you were doing, but just learning. Eventually, years down the road, that stuff does pay off.”

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Logan Martin destination point

Island feel from ‘the back porch’

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr. Submitted photos A concrete pelican stands sentinel by the front door. Next to him is a giant, ocean-blue beach chair that just begs you to have a seat, stick your thumb in your mouth and utter, “And that’s the truth,” like Lily Tomlin’s Edith Ann character from the 1960s television show, “Laugh-In.” Once inside, a wooden paddle hung vertically beside the hostess stand bids you “Welcome,” while a red parrot on a round sign at the register silently squawks, “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere.” Sea-glass balls dangle from a macrame holder, a “LAKE” sign is flanked by stuffed, open-mouth bass, threedimensional fish made of driftwood rest in nooks, and lighted Budweiser and Coors signs hang throughout the premises.

Yep, there’s no doubt about it. When you enter The Back Porch Grill on Logan Martin’s Clear Creek Harbor (Talladega side) you know you’re in a laidback, seafood restaurant. You can drive up in your car, truck or boat to this one. It’s also a full-service marina that sells gas on land and on the water. Should you choose to approach by boat, the dock boys, one of them possibly the owner’s son, will pump your gas and park your boat so you can go inside to eat. But if you come on a spring or summer weekend, you better have reservations, or you might not get a table.

“We do a high volume on summer weekends, but people tell us it’s worth the wait,” says owner Kristi Everett. “We have an all-day waiting list. People go out on their boats, and we’ll call them when their table is ready.”

A family-oriented dining spot, Back Porch Grill has water up to the top of the sea wall during warm months, but Alabama Power lets the lake down between October and March. When it’s high-tide, so to speak, kids feed the fish and ducks from bags of fish food they receive upon arrival. “We give them the fish and duck food,” says Kristin Caudle, front-house manager. “The same ducks come back each year, usually sometime in March. We recognize them.”

The fish packets are stacked in a wire basket to the left of the entrance, right in front of a peg board with a meager offering of lures, hooks and sinkers. After all, folks don’t go there for the fishing gear. “This family has been selling catfish and shrimp for many years,” says Caudle. “People come here for those, especially the Gulf Shrimp. Everybody raves about how big they are.” You can hear them sizzling in the fryer back in the kitchen, while strains of country music play over the audio system, and your mouth waters as you smell both the fish and burgers the chef is cooking up.

Kristi Everett got into the restaurant business when the housing market dropped in 2008 and sidelined the family’s construction business. She and her exhusband opened Fincher’s, also a seafood restaurant, in Pell City, and expanded to several more around north central Alabama. “His family had been selling

Matthew and Danielle Pope family in the big chair

catfish in Talladega for 30 years,” says Everett, who prefers using her maiden name. She also had a coffee shop in Sylacauga for a while, then opened Back Porch Grill in 2013.

Specials on the weekend include King Snow Crab, Steak and Crab, Shrimp and Grits, Crab Legs, each with one or two sides. Appetizers such as broccoli bites, corn nuggets, jalapeño peppers and the somewhat incongruously-titled Southwest egg rolls tug at your taste buds. On weekends, you’ll find fresh grouper and mahi-mahi, which you can get fried, grilled or blackened. “Our menu is fairly consistent, but we do add new items from time to time,” says Everett. “For example, we recently added mahimahi tacos.” Pond and pasture offerings, as the menu calls them, include chicken fingers, hamburgers and hamburger steak, ribeye steaks and catfish.

Caudle says people drive to the Grill every week from Rome, Georgia, and from Montgomery for the fish and onion rings. “We’ll cook homemade onion rings upon request,” she says.

As if on cue, a couple from Trussville walks in, followed by one from Helena. Jeremy Brooks and Leslie Crowe, the Helena couple, have a boat and fish the lake frequently. He had eaten at Back Porch Grill and raved about their burgers being the “best around.” It was Leslie’s first time, and both liked the

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Logan Martin desitnation point

Back Porch style Surf and Turf friendliness and cleanliness of the place. “It’s nice to sit and look at the water,” said Leslie. The couple from Trussville was delighted to find the Grill open in February. “We thought they were closed, but we called before coming to make sure,” one of them said.

Both couples sat in the glassed-in sunroom, which brings the outside in during chilly weather. Decorated like the inner portion of the restaurant, one wall is dominated by three fishing nets on handles, with wooden plaques where the nets should be.

The plaques contain three more water-related song titles: “Sittin’ On The Dock of The Bay,” “Rollin’ With the River” and “Motor Boatin’.”

Off the sunroom is an open deck built around a weeping willow tree planted in 1986. A favorite of customers who like to smell the water in nice weather, it overlooks the lake and landing. Signs on the willow deck continue the lake theme by telling customers to both “Relax” and to “Go jump in the lake.”

A varied dessert menu tempts customers to indulge a sweet tooth. “She’s good at sweets,” Caudle says of her boss. “She’s even more creative with the desserts than main entrees.” One day, Everett might make chocolate-covered strawberries, the next, a red velvet cake, or a key lime pie, to mention a few choices. The chocolate peanut butter pie is available every day.

The Grill also serves breakfast from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend (Saturdays & Sundays) from 8 a.m. until 10:30 a.m.

Caudle has worked for Everett about 10 years and says most of the six full-time employees have been with the owner for 8-10 years. “We like the atmosphere at the restaurant,” Caudle says. “We’re like family here. We work very hard and we are blessed and rewarded. Kristi is a great boss and works right beside us.”

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Marsheela Brasher

Enjoying a meal inside Part of the staff actually is family. Everett Fincher, Kristi Everett’s 23-year-old-son, is his mother’s main cook and helps run the business. Her 19-year-old son, Dalton, works on the docks during the summer when he’s not at Auburn University, and 16-year-old Lane lends a helping hand from time to time.

From mid-March until Thanksgiving, the Back Porch Grill is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m., and on Sundays from 11 until 7. It will revert to its winter schedule of Thursday-Sunday over Thanksgiving weekend. For more information or to make reservations call 245-268-9317. For those of you who like to use a GPS to find your way around, plug in 270 Marina Drive, Talladega, AL 35160.

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CHAPEL IN THE PINES AT LAKESIDE PARK

A ministry of Pell City First United Methodist Church

SERVICES EVERY SUNDAY AT 8:30 AM MAY THRU SEPTEMBER See our Facebook Page

American White Pelican

Newest wildlife on Alabama lakes

Photo and cover image by Susan Wall

One of North America’s largest birds has apparently found Alabama weather to their liking, and they brought friends.

Flocks of the American White Pelican, or Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, have found homes on Logan Martin and Neely Henry lakes as well as other lakes around the state over the past few years, and their numbers seem to be growing.

When lake residents first started noticing them in 2013, a spokesman for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology said, “We really don’t know whether the population is expanding or if the birds are just shifting their preferred winter habitat a bit further away from the coast. Though, actually, the range maps I’m looking at have the winter range clearly into central Alabama and Mississippi.”

According to Audubon, the birds have colonies from western Manitoba in Canada and Minnesota and Northern California. They winter along the coasts of California, Mexico, Gulf Coast and Florida.

“Migrating flocks of pelicans rest on lakes and rivers along the way.”

They weigh about 16.4 pounds and are more than five feet long. They can weigh as much as 30 pounds and have a wing span of eight to nine feet.

They differ from brown pelicans usually seen at the beach because they do not dive catch their prey. They swim on the surface of the water, dipping their bills to scoop prey into expandable pouches. They are noted

by Audubon for what is called “cooperative foraging — coordinated flocks of swimming birds encircle fish or drive them into the shallows where they become concentrated and are more easily caught.”

From the looks of it, these birds of a feather appear here to stay.

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LakeFest

Back bigger and better than ever 74

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Story by Leigh Pritchett Submitted Photos Logan Martin LakeFest & Boat Show returns in May with more entertainment, more vendors, more boats, impressive giveaways and even an extra day to enjoy it all.

The weekend of events May 17-19 will mark the ninth year for LakeFest, an event that celebrates lake life.

This year, a pontoon boat and an all-terrain vehicle are among the many giveaways.

The free, family-friendly LakeFest – to be held at Lakeside Park at the Pell City Civic Center complex – is the largest in-water boat show in the Southeast, according to event coordinators Eric Housh and Justin Hogeland.

To date, the annual fundraiser has generated $250,000 that has been given to about 40 different charities, said Hogeland, a board member of LakeFest’s parent, Logan Martin Charity Foundation.

This year, LakeFest will again have a three-day format after having a two-day schedule for a few years. “We’re adding back a Sunday this year,” said Housh, who is also a foundation board member.

The hours of LakeFest are noon to 9 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

During LakeFest, five boat dealers will display a total of 15 brands of vessels.

“Some of those boats will be in the water and people (who qualify) will be able to test drive, which is unique,” Housh said.

The personal watercraft vendor Speed Zone will have Sea Doos, Yamaha Wave Runners and Kawasaki jet skis that those who qualify can take for a spin.

“That will be a lot of fun,” Housh said.

In addition, Riders Harley-Davidson will show off motorcycles, and enthusiasts will get to experience the power, speed and thrill through a simulator.

On-site financing to purchase a land or water vessel will be offered by America’s First Federal Credit Union, LakeFest’s presenting sponsor.

In the beginning…

Jerry Woods of Woods Surfside Marina, Fred Casey of Tradesman Co., and Lee Holmes of Sylacauga Marine & ATV brought the first LakeFest to life, said Mark Hildebrant, Woods’ son-in-law.

“Jerry was one of the main forces behind the event,” said Housh. “... He was the brain of the original idea.”

The goal was to raise money for charitable causes, particularly Logan Martin Lake Protection Association (LMLPA), said Housh and Hogeland.

“Jerry’s dream was to give back to the community and have an event that showcased the lake and lake life,” said Hildebrant, a foundation board member and current owner of Woods Surfside Marina.

The event itself would be free, but sponsorship from boat manufacturers and local businesses would generate the funds that would go toward LMLPA projects and other community endeavors.

The inaugural LakeFest was held at a shoreline subdivision.

The event brought together three boat dealers, about 20 vendors and a crowd estimated at 2,000. Three acts provided entertainment, with no stage and only a small public address system. About $2,000 was raised for LMLPA, funds that went toward constructing the wetlands boardwalk at Lakeside Park,

LakeFest on the beach Hogeland said.

The early years of LakeFest were a struggle because it was a new event, and being outdoors, it was at the mercy of the weather. In fact, rain canceled it one year.

But Woods and the foundation board members believed in LakeFest and its mission.

More boat manufacturers and local businesses gave their sponsorship, and the event expanded significantly.

When LakeFest relocated to Lakeside Park, the celebration really blossomed, greatly increasing the number of acts, vendors, dealers, attendees and the amount of money raised for charities.

The upcoming LakeFest will feature more than a dozen musical acts, performing on a 24-foot stage with professional lighting and sound. On Saturday, comedian Darren Knight – also known as “Southern Momma” – will make a special appearance.

In addition to the motorcycle and boat dealers, auto dealers will be on site. The inflatables and water slides in Kid Zone will keep the younger set entertained on Friday and Saturday. As many as 50 vendors will sell all sorts of items – from jewelry, art and furniture to food, food and more food.

One vendor even comes from Florida to sell crab cakes.

“The food is always a highlight,” Housh said.

This year’s LakeFest is on target to be the largest in the celebration’s history.

“We have exceeded our growth this year,” Hogeland said.

“We actually have a waiting list of boat vendors.”

Housh added that the space for other vendors is at capacity as well. “We have to turn vendors away every year. We have to turn sponsors away every year.”

Even a place to dock a boat has become a premium, Housh said. His advice to those planning to go to LakeFest by water is to arrive early to secure a spot.

The appeal of LakeFest draws people from Birmingham, Montgomery, Anniston, Oxford, Huntsville and event Atlanta, Ga., Hogeland said.

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LakeFest

Aerial view of LakeFest crowd

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“I like to see people coming here from other places because this is an idyllic getaway,” Housh said.

He noted that Pell City is, first of all, fortunate to have a large and attractive Lakeside Park that can accommodate an event such as LakeFest. In addition to that, it is unique to have an in-water boat show where people may test-drive models, talk to experts, and get on-site financing.

“Having LakeFest at Lakeside Park has been a wonderful experience,” said Brian Muenger, city manager for the City of Pell City. “It is a great community-building event, as well as a means of promoting the city and the lake in general. Last year was the biggest event yet. ...”

Housh estimates the 2018 LakeFest attendance at 15,000.

“Any time you can bring that many people to the area, it’s a great thing,” Muenger said.

“The lake is our biggest draw in terms of new residents, and LakeFest provides a huge amount of exposure for the city.”

LakeFest has provided about $50,000 for charities each of the last three years and while many charitable causes have benefited from LakeFest funds, Hogeland said Lakeside Park and the City of Pell City are two of the main recipients.

“The Logan Martin Charity Foundation has ... been a generous supporter of (the) Fire and

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Police Departments, which we are thankful for,” Muenger said. “They have also partnered with the city to expand the docks at the park, which was a $50,000 project. We are working towards further improvements in the years to come, and with the continual growth of the event, I know its impact on the community will continue to expand.”

Tonja Ramey, LMLPA president, said LakeFest gives exposure to and promotes LMLPA’s work of keeping the lake clean and teaching about the lake’s impact upon humans, ecology and economy.

“The primary purpose of LMLPA is to educate the public on issues and activities that impact the use and vitality of Logan Martin Lake,” Ramey said. “... (At LakeFest,) we are able to set up a booth, mingle with the vendors and share information with the visitors about the importance of making improvements for the safety of swimmers and boaters, as well as protecting the quality of our lake. And it also gives us the opportunity to share information and possibly recruit anyone that may be interested in learning to be a water monitor. Events like LakeFest are also a great opportunity to sign up new members to LMLPA.”

A legacy remembered

Year after year, Woods’ influence continued to be a positive force in LakeFest.

Then, just four days before the 2017 LakeFest, Woods died, Hildebrant said.

Hogeland and Housh said it was very difficult to continue with LakeFest that year, but the group did so for Woods’ sake.

The activities this year will begin with a time of remembering Woods’ vision and commitment.

On Friday evening will be another time of remembrance, as LakeFest honors some residents of Col. Robert L. Howard Veterans Home in Pell City. The veterans will be transported in a procession to LakeFest, where they will be treated in the VIP tent (sponsored by State Farm agents Bart Perry and Brandon Tate) to dinner, followed by a fireworks spectacular (sponsored by Bennington, a maker of pontoon boats).

Speaking of pontoons, an 18-foot Avalon with a 50-horsepower Honda motor and an estimated value of $23,000 will be given away Saturday evening. So will an $8,500 Tracker ATV. “I think that’s going to be pretty popular,” Housh said of those two giveaways at 8:30 p.m. Saturday.

“Everyone who attends LakeFest gets a ticket free,” Housh said. The ticket allows each person to register at the LakeFest tent for the hourly giveaways.

Coordinating LakeFest is an undertaking that keeps Housh and Hogeland rather busy for many months. Nonetheless, “this is my favorite time of year,” Housh said, noting that it is gratifying to see the way the community shows support by attending LakeFest.

“One of the perks is the check presentations to charities,” Hogeland added. Giving those, he said, is reward for all the work.

Check out Logan Martin LakeFest & Boat Show on Facebook. To get sponsor and vendor information and applications, directions to the park, or a schedule of events, visit loganmartinLakeFest.com. In addition to Housh, Hogeland and Hildebrant, Logan Martin Charity Foundation’s other board members are Fred Casey and Lee Holmes. Judy Carr is the financial officer. The foundation is a 501(c)3 organization.

Boats of all kinds on display

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Accessorize

Boating goes better with ...

Story by Graham Hadley Contributed photos Every year, people take to the water on Logan Martin and Neely Henry lakes, the two bodies of water found in St. Clair County, in everything from sailboats to multi-engine, high-speed tri-toon luxury boats.

We have pontoon boats, bass boats, ski boats, catamarans, house boats — even a few cigarette boats trawlers and small yachts. The variety of what you see on the lake is endless, from a sailing regatta to a lovingly restored wooden Chris-Craft.

And the variety of accessories and add-ons you can have on your boat is equally as varied.

Like the boats, with marine dealers and retailers covering the map from Sylacauga to Gadsden, you can find everything you need to trick out your boat without leaving the St. Clair area from places like Woods Surfside Marina, Trident Logan Martin, Buck’s Island, Sylacauga Marine and ATV and Rodney’s Marine, just to name a few.

Here are just a few of the top recommendations from the people who know the lakes — and how to meet boat owners’ needs the best — the marina and boat dealers:

Depth finders and fish finders

Given that there is not a single naturally occurring lake in all of Alabama, every large body of water is created by damming up a river. Under the waters for Logan Martin and Neely Henry are everything from unexpected shallows to old road beds. And the levels of the lakes, especially Logan Martin, can fluctuate by many feet depending on the time of the year and recent rainfall totals.

So knowing what is under your boat is essential – especially for any boats that have v-shaped hulls, keels or anything else that gives them greater draft.

Brandon Davis, service manager at Sylacauga Marine and ATV, puts depth finders at the top of the must-have list.

Using the same technology, higher end models can also be used to spot schools of fish and other underwater objects in addition to the bottom of the lake bed.

And Rodney Humphries, owner of Rodney’s Marine, pointed out, many of the depth finders also include GPS and mapping to help you navigate the lake.

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Depth and fishfinder

Engel temperature control bait cooler

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The best depth finders come with built-in GPS navigation.

Coolers

This is Alabama, and in the summer months, nothing is better than having a cooler full of cold drinks while out on the water. Coolers also are a great way to keep food fresh for a gathering on the lake at one of the many spots, like Pirate Island.

Wile YETI and Orca are two of the top brands out there, Davis said Engel Coolers are also a great option. Engel even makes 12-volt coolers that are more in line with miniature refrigerators.

When it comes to purchasing a cooler for your boat, prices vary from $20 for a basic plastic cooler to the thousands of dollars for large, premium coolers that can keep their contents at a constant temperature for days and withstand all kinds of wear and tear.

YETI remains one of the most popular cooler brands.

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Accessorize

Towable fun

Towables

Almost as soon as people started putting motors on personal boats, they started towing other people behind them on water skis, wake boards, innertubes and more.

Back in the day, taking an old truck innertube and bouncing across the wake behind a motor boat was the way to go. And now is no different.

Davis said the most popular items for tow-behind are some variation on the old inflatable innertube.

The modern variants are designed to hold multiple people and have handholds, tow rings and other equipment to make them safer, easier to use and more fun.

Sound Systems

Just about every boat comes with a basic sound system – and even those are pretty nice, but according to Humphries, that is just the beginning. “We are installing premium sound from companies like Wet Sounds, Kicker and Power Base,” he said.

These new premium stereo systems include more than just the head unit – they can also mean adding extra speakers, amplifiers and subwoofers for that extra thump when you are out on the water. And like most boat add-ons, when it comes to pricing, it runs from under $100 to the sky-is-the-limit depending on how much of an audiophile you are.

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Ultimate boat sound system

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LED Lighting Kits

Just about all top-tier pontoon boats come with some sort of custom lighting. It has topped our list as one of the musthaves for boaters the past three years. And 2019 is proving to be no different. Humphries said, for boat’s that don’t come with the lights as part of the stock package, they are installing them – both inside the boats and on the outside. The LED systems can be controlled to do everything from change color and brightness to alternate and flash in specific patterns.

One thing Humphries said they are seeing more of this year is installation of LED kits on bass boats to help with night fishing, especially ones that have a black-light spectrum which will illuminate the fishing lines in the dark.

A reminder, there are specific regulations regarding how boats can use external lighting – the colors mean specific things when it comes to navigating and seeing other boats in the dark. External LED light kits generally are not to be used at night while the boat is moving.

Fishing boat equipped with black lights

Safety Gear

This is not just a should-have list, but many of the items are a must-have according to boating regulations in Alabama. Humphries said he – and this is true of pretty much every boat retailer – makes sure all the boats he sells come with the full complement of required safety gear.

All boats need to have the basics, like fire extinguishers, life jackets in sizes appropriate for everyone on the boat, flotation devices like throwable cushions, a horn or loud whistle.

That is just the start. Good boating practices mean safety comes first, so you also want to have first aid supplies, battery powered flashlights and signaling devices, a backup radio or cell phone, anything else that might be needed, and that includes a basic tool kit for simple repairs.

You can also carry a way to jump off the battery if it dies on the water – your options there run from carrying a spare battery to a jump pack. Solar charging panels are even an option now.

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Life vests are a legal requirement

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Accessorize Digital Charts

The days of chartbooks are not completely gone, but by and large, in the day of smartphones and digital devices like iPads, they are becoming a rarity.

Replacing them is a whole host of digital and online apps that contain up-to-date charts of every body of water in the country. These apps are designed to run on both iPhones iOS and Android platforms. Usually the application is free, but subscriptions to the chart service come with a fee.

That can mean a fee by the month or specific onetime expenses, often covering just one body of water or region of the state.

When the mobile device is equipped with GPS, these applications can often track where you are on the water, where you have been and also show points of interest and areas that might be dangerous, such as shallow regions or areas too close to the dam for boats.

Grill mount for your boat

Boat Grill

Though not appropriate for every boat, there are a number of companies out there making boat grills.

Especially suited for large pontoon boats, these grills really do make your pontoon a floating patio, ideal for entertaining and relaxing on the water.

For the Pets

Many people enjoy bringing their dogs along for the ride on the lake. And just like people, you have to take their needs into consideration when boating.

Making sure your dog is wearing a harness instead of just a collar is essential for keeping the dog safe in the boat and when helping extract them from the water.

Standard boat ladders don’t work very well for canines. And since many dogs enjoy swimming just as much as their owners, you can facilitate their getting in and out of the boat with special doggy ladders they can use to climb out of the water. This can be really important with larger dogs or boats without dive platforms or that are higher out of the water.

Remember, though all dogs can swim, just like people, they can tire. Keep an eye on your pets when they are in the water and make sure they are safe.

Let your pets enjoy the water, too

Dry Box

This could almost be listed under safety gear, but is also a must have for keeping things like watches and cell phones dry. Dry boxes come in a variety of sizes, from small ones designed to hold a single cell phone to large cooler-size boxes that can hold dry clothes, towels, cameras, and anything else you need to keep from getting wet.

Make sure you buy a good quality one that keeps a seal even in rough conditions and that will float if dropped overboard.

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Dry boxes keep your mobile devices safe.

St. Clair Alabama

Business Review

Work in progress at Fox Hollow

Louis

A new era begins at Northside

84 DISCOVER Essence St. Clair •••August & September 2013 of St. ClairThe •The Business Review 84 DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair October && November 2017 84• DISCOVER The Essence DISCOVER The Essence St. Clair •August February &July March 2016 DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair June & July 2016 DISCOVER The Essence ofof St. Clair & September 2017 2017 DISCOVER DISCOVER Essence The Essence of St. Clair of St. ••Clair Clair December June 2016 & 2015 2017 DISCOVER The Essence ofof St. Clair December 2017 & January January 2018 84 DISCOVER The Essence of St. •••April & May April May 2019

Story by Carol Pappas Photos by Susan Wall and Submitted

Rooftops & Retail

Upswing in new homes could mean boon to retail The saying goes, “Retail follows rooftops.” And if the recent flurry of new housing construction around St. Clair County is any indication, more retail offerings might not be far behind.

Commercial developer Bill Ellison, president and CEO of I-20 Development, knows more than most the importance of residential growth. He has been recruiting commercial business to the Pell City area for more than a decade.

“Retail does follow rooftops, and we just haven’t had enough rooftops to ignite significant growth in the national chain stores and restaurants people would like to see near Interstate 20 and US 231. We have had some successes with Publix, Buffalo Wild Wings and the new Premier Cinertainment movie theater, bowling alley and entertainment complex. But new rooftops coming in gives us an encouraging look at the future.”

St. Clair Economic Development Executive Director Don Smith agreed. “It is important for a community to continue to have a growing population base. Young families are an ideal demographic because they have upward mobility in there new careers, typically shop locally, and are in a high consumption phase of their life.”

He noted that young children require new clothes and supplies on an annual basis. “New residential developments that provide a safe neighborhood with good schools and convenient shopping is ideal in attracting young families.”

And that bodes well for retailers looking for a place to locate. “New retailers are attracted to communities with a growing population and increasing household income. Many times, it’s not the number of homes that are being built, but the quality of the development that will determine the type of future retailers a community will attract.”

In Pell City, upper scale, craftsman homes are being built in Hillstone Heights, and Fox Hollow is opening new sectors.

Dave Elmore, president and CEO of Crossings General Contractors, had actually gotten out of the construction business when he was building his own home on Logan Martin Lake. But he “saw an opportunity when not many homes were being built, and Realtors did not have an inventory.” He bought 21 lots in the Hillstone Heights subdivision off US 78 and began building speculative homes. Two have sold already.

“There was an opportunity or a need for more upscale homes,” and he created a gated

House going up at Canoe Harbor on Neely Henry.

Craftsman style homes under construction at Hillstone Heights

DISCOVER The Essence St. Clair •••August & September 2013 Business Review •July DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 85 DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair October && November 2017 85 DISCOVER The Essence St. Clair •August February &July March 2016 85 DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair June & 2016 DISCOVER The Essence ofof St. Clair & September 2017 2017 DISCOVER DISCOVER The Essence The Essence of St. Clair of St. ••Clair Clair December June 2016 & 2015 2017 DISCOVER The Essence ofof St. Clair December 2017 & January January 2018 DISCOVER The Essence of St. •••April & May 85 April May 2019

Business Review community there. “They are a little more expensive with more amenities, and the craftsman style trend is what everybody seems to want.”

Plans in Fox Hollow near Interstate 20 and US 231 call for 91 new homes to be built as the final phase of that subdivision. Twenty are already under construction.

According to Brian Muenger, city manager for Pell City, the City issued an average of 30 new home permits a year in the 2012-2016 calendar years. “In 2017 we saw 55 new home permits issued, and in 2018 it surged to 74. With the final phase of Fox Hollow and Hillstone under construction, we should see the trend continue throughout 2019, and hopefully beyond that point.”

He noted that the Horizons lakeside development, which has around 200 remaining lots, was sold last year. “I understand that they plan to begin construction in 2019 or 2020.”

Muenger called the economy in recent years “extremely strong, and the houses that are being built have been moving quickly. The supply of existing lots, specifically in the sub-$250,000 price range, will likely be depleted within two years, and there is a significant need for additional subdivisions to be developed in that price range.”

To encourage additional residential development, the city council enacted a substantial reduction of its impact fees and subdivision fees in 2017, lowering those development costs by more than 40%, he said. “This was done in recognition of the need our area has for additional rooftops, as well as the benefits that additional population has in driving our retail sector. Current thirdparty projections indicate that by 2019 there will be more than 44,000 people residing within 10 miles of the city center.”

While not all of that population is inside the city limits, “the entirety of that population is comfortably within our trade area, making the city an attractive market for additional retail development. The city’s existing retailers have seen substantial increases in sales in recent years, which is indicative of the market demand. Statistics show large opportunity gaps in our existing retail landscape, including a gap of over $50 million in the food service and beverage space.”

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Rooftops & Retail

Growth in Margaret

Rooftops tell a story.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

To the west, Moody is experiencing a sizable surge in new home construction. Mayor Bill Lee said his city is seeing a building boom in the new housing market with an estimated 500 new homes to be built in four new subdivisions. Also under construction is a senior living complex with 26 duplexes being built.

“The housing market does push commercial growth,” Lee said.

Moody has made sure it has a good mix of residential options over the years. What is being built now are larger homes, enabling those in starter homes to move up and stay in Moody. With the city’s proximity to the Interstate 20 corridor and the growth it is experiencing in the residential market, “retail is right behind it.”

Longtime Realtor and owner of Lovejoy Realty, Lyman Lovejoy, is seeing plenty of movement in the northern half of the county as well. In Moody’s Edgewater subdivision, “we are selling out fast.” There are several custom homes under construction at the present time.

There are several new homes going up in The Village at Springville, which has 20 lots left. “Spec houses are selling fast across the county, Lovejoy said. Magnolia Lake in Margaret is seeing its share of growth with several homes under construction, and the city of Margaret’s total of construction is more than 40 homes being built right now.

Lovejoy’s Canoe Harbor development on Neely Henry Lake, a joint venture with Freeman Land Co., has enjoyed much success since it opened for development a year ago.

There are 26 lots on the water and 10 off the water. More than half the lots have been sold in the lakeside development that sits between Ashville and Rainbow City. He credits the positive housing market plus no water level fluctuation at Neely Henry with the success in such a short time.

Lovejoy Realty Broker Brian Camp, who owns Waterstone Homes, built 20-25 homes in 2018 in Moody, Odenville, Margaret and Springville areas.

And just as the saying goes, Lovejoy concluded, “If we have enough rooftops, retail will come.”

Another Craftsman design at Hillstone Heights

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Business Directory

Business Cards

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

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Business Review ™ Flags for boats and docks

Brand grows across Alabama

Caps and visors

Boat totes, car tags, Tshirts and more carry the LakeLife™ and LakeLife 24/7® brand When the business partners behind Partners by Design collaborated and created a logo and website called Logan Martin LakeLife™, they had no idea it would grow into a cottage industry.

The Pell City-based company has just announced its expansion from one lake to 12 more plus a ‘parent’ site and nationally registered trademark called LakeLife 24/7®.

Newspaper veterans – Carol Pappas, a former editor and publisher of a daily newspaper, weekly newspaper and a magazine, and Graham Hadley, former managing editor for the same publications – joined forces in 2010 to create a new kind of company.

“The idea was to build a company around our skill set – writing, editing, graphic design, web design and marketing etc. – and locate it in an area where those skills could be used by companies, nonprofits and other organization but weren’t readily accessible,” Pappas said. “Since I live on Logan Martin

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Lake, we also had an idea about creating an online resource guide to the lake to fill a niche not being met.”

After naming it LakeLife™, now a trademark of the company, Hadley created the logo in a ‘wet paint’ kind of font.

Pappas suggested the “f” be made into a fish, and as is often said, the rest is history.

“Over the years, we built quite a following on loganmartinlakelife.com, promoted it on social media and in our magazine, and the audience just grew,” Pappas said.

“Pretty soon, people were talking about our ‘cool’ logo and how good it would look as a die-cut vehicle sticker.” So, Hadley created it.

“People started buying the stickers from our online store on the website, and we saw them going and coming all around us,” Pappas said. “As a business person and entrepreneur, I’ve always lived the philosophy of listening to your customer and finding a way to say ‘yes.’ So, when customers asked about

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

Business Directory

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

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Business Review hats, koozies and Tshirts, we answered in the affirmative.” And it grew from there.

The company now sells boat totes, boat and dock flags, coasters, koozies, hoodies, sweatshirts and performance shirts and have plans for more products.

“A couple of years ago, we moved our office into historic downtown Pell City as a creative space to do our multimedia marketing work, which includes Discover St. Clair Magazine, the company’s core product,” Pappas recalled. At the time, a limited amount of LakeLife™ apparel hung on a rack and was stacked on shelves in a back storeroom. “But as word grew, and we were leading more and more people all the way through our office to this back room to try on shirts, it dawned on us that we needed to move what was becoming a bonafide shop to the actual storefront.”

Now occupying the storefront designed by the company’s graphic artist, Toni Franklin, in an historic building on downtown’s main street, LakeLife™ and LakeLife 24/7® brands have made quite a splash. And to continue the metaphor, the company’s officers recently decided it was time to expand. “Sink or swim, is what we call it,” Pappas said. “So far, we’re swimming!”

Brandon Wynn, the third partner in the organization and its web developer, built lakelife24/7.com plus 12 other lake-specific sites in Alabama with the LakeLife trademark, complete with lake specific apparel and products.

Those sites launched on the heels of a successful stint at the Birmingham Boat Show to introduce the customized LakeLife™ line.

With the expansion, LakeLife™ now has a presence on Neely Henry, Lay, Mitchell, Jordan, Smith, Guntersville, Pickwick, Eufaula, Tuscaloosa, Weiss and Wedowee. And of course, loganmartinlakelife.com, the one that started it all, continues its role as an online resource and news guide to Logan Martin along with its own store.

In addition to the online stores, LakeLife™ and LakeLife 24/7® can be found in retail outlets, like gift shops, convenience stores, restaurants and marinas, around Logan Martin, Lay and Neely Henry. Interest in carrying the brand is now coming in from other lake-related businesses.

“The feedback has been great, and we have our fingers crossed the brand will continue its upward trend,” Pappas said. “This has been fun to watch and be a part of. We all love the lake. Graham grew up in Orlando around lakes and the family lake house. Brandon grew up on Weiss Lake in Centre, where his parents still live on the lake.

“And now, to be able to combine a business with our love of the water,” Pappas said, “it’s just a perfect match for us.”

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LakeLife Statewide Wooden coasters

Die-cut vinyl stickers

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

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TherapySouth is an outpatient physical therapy practice with a fun, family-oriented environment. For more than 30 years, Tyler McGrady and the experienced physical therapists in Pell City have built relationships with their patients and helped them achieve their physical goals. We know you have a choice for your healthcare, and we’d love for one of our great people to be your physical therapist!

Pell City | 205.338.6106 | 85 Plaza Drive www.therapysouth.com

It Pays To Stay Heart Healthy!

Northside Health & Wellness invites Northside patients during the month of April to get their blood pressure checked for free and receive a free gift!

It’s our way of saying thank you for taking the time to take care of yourself.

Did you know?

Blood pressure is important because the higher your blood pressure, the higher your risk of health problems in the future. Come by our office and learn more about getting healthy and staying healthy.

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205-814-7249

Business Review

Gargus Market

A smorgasbord of local goods and produce

Story and photos by Elaine Hobson Miller

Phillip and Dena Gargus have a knack for turning unusable items into useful ones.

This expertise was evident at the former Gargus Recycling, on Highway 231 South between Ashville and Whitney Junction. There, they bought scrap metal and turned it into cash.

Last fall, they built Gargus Market next door, where they turn produce that is no longer saleable into edible delights like strawberry bread and fried sausage with cabbage.

Bread and lunch sales make up only a portion of their market business, however. The primary focus is local produce and crafts. They also carry a variety of food products from the Amish and the Mennonites, as well as Mexican pottery and small pieces of antique furniture and machinery.

“We needed a place to sell our produce, so we started out at the recycling office on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays,” says Phillip, who owns the entire block where the former recycling center and current market stand. “Then, our daughter, Laura, put it on Facebook, and it grew so much we decided to build a small produce stand next door.” By the time the “small” stand was finished, it had become a 40-by-60-foot building that is now crying out to be enlarged.

The market opened last fall, selling fruits and vegetables grown all year on their Gallant farm and at other farms on Straight Mountain and Chandler Mountain. This spring and summer, their farm will supply squash, peppers, tomatoes, green beans, cantaloupes, watermelons, cucumbers and other warm-weather produce. During the cooler months this year, it was lettuce, collards, turnip greens, mustard greens and kale. “We try to mix our greens because it knocks the edge off their bitterness,” Phillip says. “We mix turnip greens, kale and mustard greens in a package.” They are supplemented with a few imported, non-seasonal items, like strawberries out of Florida and Honduran bananas.

From the time they opened, Phillip and Dena began visiting other produce stands and listening to the requests of their customers. That’s why they started carrying Amish Wedding brands and The Relish Barn canned goods, Crow’s Nest cucumber pickles and pickled okra. “We got calls for these,

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Food is just the beginning at Gargus Market.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

so we started stocking them,” Phillip says.

They get fresh eggs from a woman in Coal City, keeping them in a cooler that is also stocked with milk and butter. They will have local honey when it starts coming in about July, supplementing with honey from Georgia when it’s gone. “We try to stick as local as we can get, but we have to buy from other places when a fruit or vegetable isn’t growing here.”

Other food products on their shelves include jams and jellies from Mennonite communities, Red Hots Smoked Sausages, Dude Eggs (pickled quail eggs), pecans (shelled and cracked in shells), walnuts, peanuts, sweet and red potatoes and muscadine grape juice. They carry Blue Spring Living Water, which is bottled in Blount County, muscadine grape cider and elderberry syrup.

It didn’t take long for Gargus Market to add dry goods to the mix. “We wanted to appeal to a larger base,” says Phillip. Dena and Laura embroider on cloth purses and backpacks, so the women placed those in one corner of the market. “You can have them personalized,” Dena says. Their son has some horse shoe art displayed, while other area vendors supply craft jewelry such as hand-cut clay necklaces, along with dish towels, hot soup-bowl holders, wooden tables, benches, silhouettes, crosses and puzzles, candle holders, birdhouses, bowls (turned locally), soaps and scrubs, crocheted blankets, cowls and scarves, plus a few pieces of antique furniture and machinery. You’ll also find some Mexican pottery, such as chimineas and flower pots, along with small ironware, which Phillip picks up in Laredo, Texas.

What started as an outlet for homemade ice cream last summer at the recycling office grew into a carry-out kitchen that opened in February. Lunch is served from 11:30 a.m. until all the food is gone. Seasonal soups, meat dishes such as chicken-and-dumplings, vegetable beef stew and the aforementioned fried sausage and cabbage, are just a few of the meals Dena, employee Sharon Gladney, and sometimes Laura, prepare. Dena’s “waste not, want not” philosophy becomes apparent when she talks about the flexible menu. “When produce gets to the point that we have to pull it off the shelves, we get inventive, so our menu varies,” she says.

The kitchen often features salads and sandwiches, as well as homemade breads in flavors such as banana, strawberry, sweet potato and apple. They make muffins in the same flavors as their breads, along with fruit cobblers. “We knew fresh produce would not last all year, so we came up with the idea of local stuff and a kitchen,” Dena says.

As of this writing, you could find daily menu postings on the Gargus Market Facebook page (facebook.com/gargusmarket). A recent Monday offering listed *vegetable beef soup with corn muffin; homemade chicken salad on a sandwich or in a bowl; hamburgers; BLTs, turkey or grilled cheese on Texas toast, and fresh salads.

“We’re hoping to get to a point where we can post menus for a week at a time on Facebook,” Dena says.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

Gargus Market sells a little bit of everything.

Phillip and Dena Gargus and daughter Laura

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Business Review Kayak, canoe outfitters open on

Big Canoe Creek Story by Linda Long Photos by Susan Wall Contributed photos

The steady slap, slap of a canoe paddle barely ripples the water as a tiny vessel idly glides upstream. Bird calls from high atop the pines, oaks and maples at water’s edge are about the only other sounds detected as sunlight flickers through the leaves, sparkling like hundreds of gems cast upon the water Seems the only other living thing around is a web-footed mink (yep, that’s right, mink) trying to snarf up a tasty morsel from some unsuspecting amphibian.

That’s the kind of adventure visitors to Big Canoe Creek Outfitters can anticipate. Meg and Perry Hays are owners of the new kayaking and canoeing enterprise, located right on the banks of Big Canoe Creek in Springville.

Although the Outfitters have only been open since the first weekend in April, Mrs. Hays says the new business is a decade-long dream come true.

“Our property is right on the water. We have 18 acres, about a thousand feet creekside, that runs along the back of our property. We’ve been talking about wanting to do something like this for awhile.

Actually, for about 10 years, but the timing just wasn’t right, until now. Finally, we have it up and running.”

In planning for the business, Mrs. Hays said, “we always envisioned being able to share the outdoor experience with others. We talked about hiking.

We talked about camping. We talked about just getting people outside to enjoy the same things we experience on a daily basis.”

Doug Morrison is in complete agreement. As president of Friends of Big Canoe Creek and leader of the successful movement to have the area named a Forever Wild Preserve, Morrison said, “the beauty of the Outfitters opening up is giving people a chance to explore and see if they will stop and pay attention. They’ll see that when you paddle down a creek you tend to observe nature more than you would just walking outside in your backyard.

When you paddle down creek, you will see all kinds of creatures.

“The other day I saw a mink. I thought it was a river otter but later found out was it was a mink.

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

The Hays family at their new business

Loading kayaks for transport

LEARN IT 2 EARN IT

Kayaking on Big Canoe Creek

What’s the fastest way to $50K? That’s the kind of thing you wouldn’t normally see. In today’s society, there is just not enough outdoor recreation,” he continued. “People are too plugged into their electronic devices.” But with the preserve and its 4,000 feet of creekfront footage, it will provide that place where “folks can get out and enjoy nature.”

The struggle to get the area named Forever Wild began back in 2008. “We hit a lot of brick walls and ran into a lot of ups and downs along the way, but we stayed the course and kept at it and now, here we are.”

According to Morrison, “there are amazing creatures to be seen if we could just all appreciate them. They are all put there by God, but sometimes we just overlook their existence. When you get outdoors and experience the beauty of Alabama and all its diversity, it’s got to affect you in a good way. And in today’s society, we all need to be affected in a good way.”

Mrs. Hays says although the preserve is several miles up creek from the Outfitters, she would like to see it and all of Springville become a destination hub for outdoor recreation because it has much to offer. “I love it here. I grew up here and as a mother to four children, I can tell you this area and our property is a picturesque setting for childhood.” And it’s that setting the Hays family wants to share with fellow canoers, kayakers, and campers.

Launch times are at 8 a.m., 12 noon and 3:30 p.m. by reservation only unless visitors bring their own boats. Shuttles will be available to provide transportation to the launch site. The trip is roughly a four-mile paddle, taking approximately an hour and a half, but according to Mrs. Hays, it could take longer. “Folks might want to get out to see things along the creek, get a look at the wildlife, or maybe even have a picnic.”

The Outfitters have 20 boats for rent, the Jackson Rivera brand, which Mrs. Hays said is more comfortable with foot rests at different levels for different heights and a high back seat for added stability. Four primitive tent campsites are available, and they hope to have guided fishing tours in the future.

“Not only do we offer the kayaks to rent, but a place to safely park your care, enjoy a snack at a picnic table while you wait and a beautiful walk back from the creek through the woods,” she said. “It’s not a hurry up and get out of here kind of experience.”

Editor’s Note: Big Canoe Creek Outfitters plans a grand opening event June 1, with a band, food and conservancy groups, including Friends of Big Canoe Creek, distributing information.

Step inside our classroom and see for yourself. Learn from the pros and put those skills to work earning certification and a bigger paycheck by the time you finish high school.

1146 Industrial Park Drive Pell City, AL 35125

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

(205)-814-7159

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Business Review

Town and Country

Springville Chamber welcomes three new businesses with grand openings The Springville Area Chamber of Commerce hosted grand opening celebrations for three businesses on Saturday morning.

These businesses have opened their doors in the community over the past couple of months and are part of what seems to be a business boom in the community.

The morning festivities began with Parkway Motors located at 8195 US Highway 11 near Springville High School. You may find them on the web at parkwaymotorsinc. com.

“Parkway Motors is very excited to be a part of the Springville community,” said Parkway’s Robert DeRamus. “We made a very difficult decision to close our previous location after 20 years. We decided to relocate to Springville for a number of reasons, but the number one reason is the people.

“We look forward to not only serving the community and the surrounding areas, but also to getting involved in the community,” he said. “Come by and introduce yourself and check out our inventory.”

Hungry? Located at 85 Purple Heart Boulevard in Springville, The Gulf Seafood has a new location with a large menu of seafood options.

Also open is Raising the Bar Health and Fitness, located at 5813 US Highway 11 in Springville. It is a gym facility that offers gym membership for singles ($25/month), couples ($35/month) and additional family members (additional $10/month). It also offers tanning, childcare, bootcamp classes and strength and conditioning classes.

Open 24/7, military, fire, police and senior discounts are available.

“We are so excited to help the people of this wonderful community achieve their health and fitness goals,” said Heather Smith. “We offer something for all individuals, no matter what their specific goals and abilities may be.

We are truly humbled by the support shown by everyone. We love Springville and are blessed to be a part of this community.”

Springville Mayor William Isley has reason to be smiling these days as business continues to grow. “We are very glad to see businesses continue to make their home in Springville.

These new retail and service offerings provide new ways our community can stay in Springville to live, work and play.”

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Parkway Motors

Gulf Seafood

Raising the Bar

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • April & May 2019

Shop local. Save local.

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(256) 362 – 2334

Northside Medical Associates Congratulates Our CARE Team Winner of Circle of Care Innovation Award 2nd Place from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama

2018 Circle of Care Innovation Award

PRIMARY CARE DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOU In a comprehensive approach to health care, Northside Medical Associates mobilizes its CARE team to ensure that all needs of a patient are addressed. We are breaking down barriers to ensure quality health care is delivered to our patients when they need it, where they need it.

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