Taking Care of Neely Henry
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Story by Elaine Hobson Submitted photos
ish habitats, marine patrol, increased depth, Renew Our Rivers, educational programs for school kids, Water Wars with Georgia — phew! The Neely Henry Lake Association is involved in a lot of programs to preserve, protect and improve the quality of life in and around Neely Henry Lake. “Quality of life, the environment and safety are our chief concerns,” says NHLA president Dave Tumlin. “But we like to have fun, too.” Some of that fun comes from their annual two-night Christmas Boat Parade, which began in 2018 and skipped last year due to COVID concerns. It will be back full throttle Dec. 3 and Dec. 4. Friday, Dec. 3, the parade will be held in Gadsden along the Coosa Landing marina area. Sunday, Dec. 5, it will be held in the Rainbow City/Southside area, between Rainbow Landing and the Southside Marina. Details (contact person, start times, parade maps, etc.) for both parades will be posted on the NHLA website (neelyhenrylakeassociation.com) and Facebook page. The Great Alabama 650, a 650-mile paddle race across Alabama that passed through the Coosa River again in September, is another fun time for lake residents and more. Billed as “the world’s longest annual paddle race,” it starts in Northeast Alabama and ends at Fort Morgan in Mobile Bay. The NHLA was formed in the mid-90s with 15-20 members, but gradually grew larger and was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 1999. Today, it boasts more than 250 members. “We were formed for two reasons,” Tumlin says of the NHLA. “The first was a safety issue. We wanted Alabama Power to cut trees along the eastern side of the river because they were rotting and falling into the lake, and boaters couldn’t see them. APC responded and had the trees removed. 72
Also, APC was dropping the lake three to five feet every winter to prevent flooding in the Gadsden area. The flooding was caused by heavy rainfall and a narrow section below Gadsden known as Minnesota Bend that restricted flow. In 1999, the NHLA petitioned Alabama Power, the Corps of Engineers and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to establish a fall and winter elevation of 507 feet above sea level on the lake. This is two feet higher than the 505-foot elevations previously allowed. After a number of meetings with the various entities involved, the request was approved in 2001. That improved boating safety and access to the lake and significantly increased property values and recreation/tourism, according to an informational brochure published by the NHLA. Alabama Power started the dam-building project that created Neely Henry and Logan Martin lakes in 1966, the same year Tumlin’s father began building his lake house. The elder Tumlin had purchased a 160-acre farm with 1.5 miles of frontage on the Coosa in 1962, sight unseen. Completed in the spring of 1968, his house was one of the first ones built along that waterfront. “You used to see pastures on the banks of the Coosa,” Tumlin says. His dad sold off lots through the years, and The Farm, as his family calls it, is down to 30 acres, including a small cemetery that has become the burial grounds for the Tumlin family. “I bought out my siblings’ shares after dad died in 2014,” Tumlin says. “I just sold a lot to a couple from Georgia, who chose Neely Henry after much research because of the lake’s quality of life and stability of water level.” He says the NHLA focuses on sharing information for the people on the lake by having monthly meetings, addressing
LAKELIFE 24/7 MAGAZINE Logan Martin & Neely Henry | November and December 2021
