The Lakeside Life - Lewis Smith Lake - Summer Issue - 2020-QTR2

LEWIS SMITH LAKE

The Hollis

Nashville trio of sister singer-songwriters came home to quarantine on Smith Lake

KT Signature Homes with Southern Accents

Designer and Builder Kevin Thomas debuts his talents in a beautifully executed lakeside project, his own home

Iaconni & Hunnicutt

Professional wakeboarders bring their talent to Smith Lake to coach local riders this summer

PARTNER | EDITOR IN CHIEF

Syndi Sumner Hanna

MANAGING EDITOR | CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Sandra Slate

PARTNER | MANAGING EDITOR | SALES DIRECTOR

Scott Hanna EXECUTIVE EDITOR

John David Palmer

MARKETING DIRECTOR

Cathy Wolfe CREATIVE ADVISOR

Emma Doss

COPY EDITOR

Tylar Hanna

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Auburn University Bass Fishing Team

Reb Baker

Justin Brouillard

Shane Cook

Chris Grillis Photography & Fine Portraiture | Chris Grillis

Amick and Christy Cutler

Scott Eric Day Photography and Videography | Scott Eric Day

Darien Harris

Hollis

Cody Hunnicutt

Tony Iaconni

Hope Jacobs

JWB Photography | Jennifer Beckman

Kyle Carpenter Photography

Jamey and Amy Makemson

Bryan Miller

Oh Snap Photography | David Bean

Natalie Runnels

Spencer Till

Craig and Shannon Terry

Terry Turner

Wild South

The Lewis Smith Lake Community

The Lakeside Life Team

CONTRIBUTING EDITORIALS

Cindy Bryant

Peggy Hill

Stephanie G. Lepore

Jamey and Amy Makemson

Saige Rozanc Petski

David Palmer

John D. Palmer (@longjohnpalmer)

Ellen Roberts (@ellenroberts1)

Natalie Runnels

Ben Stansell

The Lakeside Life Team

CONTRIBUTING GRAPHIC DESIGN

Shane Cook

Slate Design Inc. | @slatedesigninc

Sparta Creative | SpartaCreative.com

Matt Tanner PRINTED BY Freeport Press Inc.

PUBLISHED BY

The Lakeside Life – www.thelakesidelife.com

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A summertime view over paradise from the Tucker Home COVER PHOTO BY DAVID WARREN

Smith SOMETHING ABOUT

many of us, it’s felt like one long day.

As things began to ramp up around the nation in March and schools began to release students ahead of scheduled spring breaks, Smith Lake swiftly became an oasis of escape for all who needed a place to quarantine. What could be a better location for social distancing than to stow away here in a lake house or on a boat - the perfect places to try and forget about it all. As a community, we decided to look at the bright side and consider the stay-at-home and safer-at-home orders necessary reasons to stay put, stay safe, and deem it an imposed long vacation time with loved ones, an opportunity for bonding and making memories.

Together ASurvivingPandemic

Oddly enough, the lake was busier this season than we’ve seen it in years. We heard rumors that marinas in our region were selling out of boat inventory. The real estate market here in the lake area seemed extremely busy. No one would have guessed all this would happen in the middle of a pandemic. But while some of us may have been in a bit of a bubble here for the last few months, we cannot forget there are businesses that have struggled and still need our support desperately. They will need us for quite some time to fully recover from this ordeal. This is why we decided to release only three issues this year. So here we are releasing in late summer, and we’ll do a combo issue for the end of the year. Like so many other small businesses, we too are struggling, but we felt giving our advertisers a break for one quarter was the right thing to do despite our need to work as usual. We felt like it was a small way of doing our part.

You can also do your part. Shop local, shop small. Ask for a local referral instead of grabbing the laptop first to shop online. Our website is very extensive and constantly in growth, and if we don’t have the information you need there, just message us and we’ll help you. Our readers contact us all the time for referrals for nearly anything and everything you can imagine. Even though we never thought that would be part of the job, it makes us proud to see that they are choosing local first. Tons of people are joining our “Smith Lake Community” group on Facebook and getting great local advice from one another. Don’t be afraid to call a local business and ask if they have any current discounts, if they can match pricing, or if they offer other conveniences like delivering to your car or home. Just communicate. They will be glad to try and help you, and they will appreciate your effort.

It goes without saying that just a few months ago, nobody could’ve imagined the strange way this year would unfold. Few, if any, were prepared for the challenges presented, and fewer still knew how to traverse it unscathed. For all too

Even when finances are tight, you can do many supportive things that cost you nothing. Follow a favorite local business on social media, and comment on their posts or share them. Give them your heartfelt support. They need to survive, and these things make a huge difference. True for us, true for all small businesses in the immediate area.

With the 2020 lake season essentially kicking off in late winter, just before the onset of Spring’s Vernal Equinox, and the pandemic affecting most of our lives, this year will be remembered by Smith Lakers as very unusual to say the least.

PHOTOGRAPHER TERRY TURNER

THE LAKESIDE LIFE TEAM

We have been proud to witness our lake community doing their part to stay safe. We were pleased to see neighbors properly social distancing. We observed countless community efforts expand to help support both nonprofits and small businesses that needed them. Groups like United Way in Cullman stepped up their efforts and have gone above and beyond. Restaurants offered safe take-out. Small shops that normally relied on foot traffic took to the Internet to sell goods. Collectively, everyone seemed to be pitching in to lift one another where they could. Even in isolation, we remain a community. Let’s keep doing this, but ramp it up as we head into a tough end of year holiday season, which is slower economically for our lake community than the long, fruitful summer months.

Let’s also not forget there are those who have suffered serious illness due to coronavirus/ COVID-19, or know someone who has, so there has been much concern and worry beneath the surface for most. Stress can take a toll.

Many of us are taking a deep breath as we prepare to grasp some

kind of new normal and send students back to school, whether in person or online, and many others have begun to go back to jobs in a more regular routine. But most of us are truthfully still in limbo as to how we navigate what’s ahead as we bravely march together into the unknown.

Lucky for us, we have all gotten through this seemingly endless summer HERE… at beautiful Smith Lake, a place where there is a sense of peace, and it is common for neighbors to greet you with a smile, a kind word, or a friendly wave from a boat, and where our people take pride in lending a helping hand. We hope to see this spirit of hope and charity continue long into the future, as it has gotten us this far and has kept us protected as a community.

Our team wishes you all the health and happiness in the world as we go forward into the last part of 2020. Together, we can and will get through this. We are proud of this place we call home, and the people of Smith Lake. Remain safe, prayerful, mindful, healthy and supportive. We’ll see you lakeside! t

A Blessing in Disguise at

WRITER SAIGE ROZANC PETSKI PHOTOGRAPHY JENNIFER BECKMAN (JWB PHOTOGRAPHY)

nestled in the expanse of foliage that comprised Sandy Walker’s plot of land. That is, until, May 30, 2019, when Sandy got the call that changed everything.

Though much of the property remained unharmed by the fire, the building that housed so much history finally met its end.

“The house was so old, when we went in there, it had termite damage, water damage, there was no insulation in the walls because it was built in 1911.” Sandy said. “I hated doing that, losing an old house, but it just wasn’t financially beneficial.”

Sandy and her husband originally purchased the land just off I65 on Exit 305 in 2009, after leasing land for 10 years. The new nursery quickly gained traction with the help of Sandy’s loyal customers that followed her to the new property.

“I love my customers, because I have a lot who have been with me for years,” Sandy said. “Plant people are usually really nice people.”

In 2015, The Sunflour Bakery also took up residence in the historic home on the Mustard Seed land. Amanda Quattlebaum told Sandy about her dream of opening a bakery while working with her at the Nursery in the Spring. Soon after, Amanda and her husband opened their small take-out bakery in two rooms of the old house, but quickly expanded.

“When it burned, it was like ‘well, we could take the money and build us a little building and not worry about them, but, we wanted them to have a place to come back to also,” said Sandy.

By May of 2019, Sandy moved the bulk of her store out to her “she-shed” so Sunflour could expand their dining space throughout the building.

“It [the fire] got me to build a bigger side and it gave them a little more room too, a little bit more open floor plan.”

The rebuild that allowed for more room for Sunflour Bakery and Mustard Seed has further enabled them to expand their selections and services.

Since they recently moved into the new building, Mustard Seed has

Mustard Seed Nursery previously lived in a beautiful home that wore it's 100 years of history with grace,

started carrying house plants and various pots to replant them in. Sandy said they’ve also recently diversified their selection with new items like iron and metal goods, as well as more bird houses and bird seed, and there are more new products arriving weekly.

“We can also help people landscape, if they bring some pictures and measurements, and we see what they like and what will work best.”

Sandy always advises people to get their soil tested if they’re worried about landscaping, especially since “on the lake is a little trickier, because most lake houses are on the top of a hill that doesn’t have good soil anyway.”

Mustard Seed also sells goods from other small local businesses like hand-made soaps, and peanut brittle from Seven Winds Kitchen (another local staple). Sandy’s newest additions include convenience items like landscape rock and propane services for people heading out to the lake from the Interstate 65 location.

Sandy is excited about the continued growth of the nursery, even during the pandemic, when they had a “record-breaking” spring. Mustard Seed and Sunflour Bakery both keep their social media pages up to date with new information about products and operating hours for interested customers.

A true wellspring of positivity, Sandy simply looks back on the fire that destroyed her nursery a decade in the making as a “blessing in disguise but a pain in the rear.” During our visits to purchase plants this spring while they were still in construction, we definitely saw firsthand how the impressive new building is going to be a huge blessing for them. Go by and tour the grounds when you can, there are always beautiful things popping up! t

Follow Mustard Seed Nursery on Facebook as @Mustard Seed Nursery, and on Instagram as @themustardseed_nursery or call 256-737-7333. They are located off I-65, Exit 305, at 324 County Road 222, Cullman, Alabama. Visit soon!

Nashville-based sister singer-songwriters Holli, Hannah, and Halla Jacobs are among the many musicians and artists who come to the lake to write and develop their music and art, and for this group of rising stars who grew up on its banks, Smith Lake provides them with one of their greatest sources of inspiration.

Hollis, the pop trio’s band name, is even named after their late great grandfather, Hollis Tidwell, who owned property on what is now Smith Lake before it was filled. While they never got the chance to meet him, they felt a deep connection to him having grown up in the very house he built on the Houston side of Yellow Creek hearing moving stories of his upstanding character.

“We grew up in a house that he built, and we just always felt a connection with him and to the lake because he cherished it so much,” Holli said.

The sisters were just about to release their latest single, “Hung Up,” when quarantine time came around due to the ongoing pandemic. With their plans put on hold, they decided to spend the summer creating and reconnecting at their family lake home.

“Like so many other artists and entertainers during this time, a lot of the plans have been derailed, so we just decided we would take this time to invest in relationships and in each other,” Hannah said. “We grew up spending our summers on Smith Lake, and so we just felt like this was such a good time for us to really reconnect with ourselves, with our loved ones and be in a place we love so much. It’s made quarantine so much better.”

When not making music at the lake, the sisters enjoy boat rides, family cookouts, basking in the sun, swimming, and most recently, fishing.

Holli, Hannah, and Halla credit their parents, worship leaders in their church, with introducing them to music and helping them learn to harmonize.

“We grew up singing together,” Holli said. “Our parents are very musical, and they’ve always been singing and songwriting throughout our lives growing up, so we just kinda followed suit. And when we got to a point where we decided we all wanted the same thing, we decided to go ahead and form our group, Hollis.”

Each sister sings, switches out leads, and plays at least one instrument. Holli plays keys, Halla plays bass, and

Hannah plays keyboard and guitar. Their musical style is influenced by the rhythms, cadences and melodies of a variety of classic and modern pop artists from Michael Jackson, the Carpenters and Mariah Carey, to Khalid, Drake, and Maggie Rogers.

The band puts considerable time, effort and thought into their background music. Their breakout song, “Sway,” took them a good year to develop, but it established their sound, which they describe as chill, laid back pop.

“It’s got vibe you can settle into, simple,” Halla said. “You can definitely move to it.”

The three sisters, all in their early to mid 20s, have lived in Nashville for over a year and a half now. They made the move from Florence, Alabama, where they all attended school at the University of North Alabama. While in Florence, a longtime hub for musicians, they played many shows at local venues and met their producer Phillip Towns. But eventually, the sisters set their sites on the mecca of musicians, Nashville, Tennessee.

This move, the band says, has been beneficial to their musical careers. They are proud of the amount of progress they have made in the last year, during which time the band released four singles. Up until the quarantine they had been touring all over the Southeast. They particularly enjoy playing smaller venues that allow them to meet and talk to more people in an intimate setting.

In Nashville, the band lives and works together in a single dwelling, which can be simultaneously rewarding and challenging.

“Staying on the same page as we get older is the biggest challenge but we’ve also grown together in really interesting ways too, learning how to have boundaries with each other,” Halla said. “With three people trying to do the same thing, its like you’re business partners. You have to talk about and plan your days if you’re going to get anything done, and that can be so difficult, especially when we’re all busy dating and getting to know people.”

“We have sister fights daily, but they don’t go too deep, mostly about our clothes,” Holli laughed. “It’s funny because we posted a sister fight one time and people loved it, so its kind of like our theme now. But that’s the beauty of sisterhood, you can have a fight one minute and then you’re sticking up for each other the next. That’s the beauty of what we have going on with our music and our band.”

The band is active on social media, preferring Instagram, Facebook and TikTok to reach fans. They find that they get the most exposure on TikTok, where they post funny, often random, video clips. As independent artists without the backing of a major record label, self-promotion is vital to their success.

“We’re very open on social media, we like to share the journey,” Hannah said. “We feel like a lot of our fans want to see the journey we’re on and how this is a process and nothing happens overnight. You really have to work hard for your dreams and what you envision you want your life to look like, and that’s the journey we’re on.

It’s really cool being an independent artist because you have total creative control, and if you have any type of entrepreneur mindset at all, you can be pretty good.”

To keep up with this band of songwriting sisters, follow them on social media: @hollistheband. Also be sure to

check out their new single, “Hung Up,” on Spotify and most other major streaming sites, along with the other great songs they’ve released recently. They have already become a regular on our playlist. We can’t wait to watch their music careers continue to bloom! t

Future of Iconic Bridge SECURED

WRITER BEN STANSELL | PHOTOGRAPHY SCOTT ERIC DAY

205-435-4240

www.scottericday.com

scottericday@icloud.com

Facebook & Instagram: @scottericday

Studio Instagram: @scottericdaystudio

State and local legislators announced in June that possession of Smith Lake’s iconic Duncan Bridge was turned over to the state of Alabama and the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT).

The move to transfer possession of the aging bridge from Winston County to the state was heralded by legislators because it will remove the financial burden of upkeep of the bridge from Winston County.

“What many people did not know and understand was that Duncan Bridge was completely the responsibility of the Winston County Commission, since it was a part of County Road 41. Recognizing that to maintain a bridge that is that old and do the things necessary to keep things in top shape, it was going to continue to be more and more expensive for Winston County,” Alabama State Senator Greg Reed said. “At some point the county was not going to have the resources available to continue to do what was required to take care of what is now an iconic symbol in the community.”

With ALDOT becoming the owner and caretaker of the bridge, Winston County will have more funds to use elsewhere.

“All of the elected officials in the community and Winston County were very excited because resources that would have been spent on the bridge could be used in other needed areas in the county,” Reed said.

Built in 1967, the 1,035-foot bridge has allowed locals and visitors to travel to and from Smith Lake for decades. Before the bridge existed, travelers relied on a single-cable ferry to take them to or from Jasper. Duncan Bridge changed that, allowing easier means of travel. Duncan Bridge has also proved crucial in current times. Several thousand people traverse the bridge every day and even more drive over it during the summer on their way to Smith Lake.

But as time has worn on and the bridge has aged, maintaining it has become expensive.

The cost to simply repaint the bridge exceeded $1 million 17 years ago, Winston County District 2 Commissioner David Cummings told the Daily Mountain Eagle. Cummings said that Winston County could no longer afford to repaint the bridge, much less fund a full repair of the bridge if it needs it in the future.

By taking ownership of the bridge, ALDOT has ensured the future of one of Smith Lake’s most important pieces of infrastructure.

We have noticed that the community has generated interest on social media regarding the restoration of lights on the bridge for both safety and beauty. Others prefer not to encourage more “light pollution” in the area. However you stand, we direct our readers if there are any concerns, questions, or requests, please contact ALDOT directly. t

If you would like to receive a print of this stunning photo of Duncan Bridge, please contact our local photographer, Scott Eric Day. He has many gorgeous photos in the lake area that you might be interested in for your home. You may reach him as follows:

WRITER STEPHANIE LEPORE

PHOTOGRAPHERS DAVID BEAN AND SCOTT ERIC DAY

AFTER YEARS OF FARAWAY TRAVEL FOR WORK (HIM) AND PINING FOR A LAKE HOUSE (HER), KRISTEN AND KEVIN THOMAS JUMPED IN WITH BOTH FEET TO MOVE THEIR LIVES AND BUSINESS TO THE WATERFRONT.

Most people spend years planning their dream house on the lake: the ideal location, the perfect layout, the best lot orientation for catching the sunset. Most people, yes. But not Kevin Thomas.

His wife of 20 years, Kristen, is a Cullman native who always wanted a place right on Smith Lake. But Kevin wasn’t really interested. “We have five kids, and they’ve always been doing other things [like sports],” he says. Plus, as owner of a commercial/industrial construction company since 2000, Kevin spent close to nine months a year in North Dakota working. “I used to fly myself home,” he says. “I learned how out of necessity.” He really had no time to enjoy a lake house, staying busy with projects that included a Coca-Cola distribution center and the private

EXTERIOR: AN ANTIQUE OXBLOOD RED ON THE EXTERIOR TRIM LENDS A RUSTIC, MOUNTAIN FEEL TO THE HOUSE. “THAT’S MY FLAVOR,” SAYS KEVIN. “IT REMINDS ME OF BIG SKY, MONTANA, WHICH IS CLOSE TO THE PROJECTS I WORKED ON IN NORTH DAKOTA. THAT STYLE FITS SMITH LAKE--IT’S KIND OF LIKE A MOUNTAIN, BUT INSTEAD OF SNOW ON THE SIDES OF THE HILL, THERE’S WATER.” KEVIN COLLABORATED WITH LOCAL BUILDER TYLER FRANKLIN AND HIS TEAM AT FRANKLIN HOMEBUILDING ON THE HOME’S TRIMOUT IDEAS AND EXECUTION.

KEVIN DESIGNED THE CUSTOM DINING TABLE, INCORPORATING AN OLD CHURCH SHUTTER FROM PHILADELPHIA; THE BASE WAS CONSTRUCTED BY BRANDON BROWN OF HANCEVILLE.

portion of an airport there, as well as projects for the US Air Force and some of the largest oil companies in the country.

A couple of years ago, however, Kevin was ready to live full time in Sweet Home Alabama again, where he had called

DINING ROOM: THE STAINED GLASS WINDOW BUILT IN TO A WALL OF THE DINING ROOM IS THE SISTER PIECE TO THE ONE IN THE MASTER BEDROOM DOOR; IT PREVIOUSLY RESTED AT FIRST BAPTIST OF DECATUR UNTIL ABOUT FOUR YEARS AGO. EXPOSED BRICK HERE AND IN THE LIVING ROOM AND KITCHEN IS OLD CHICAGO-STYLE SOLID BRICK PURCHASED FROM ALABAMA BRICK.

Cullman home base since 1994. “I remember exactly when it was,” Kevin says. “We started this lake venture on Super Bowl Sunday 2018. It was raining, and I woke up and said to Kristen, ‘Hey, get dressed. We’re going to look at lake lots.’”

Kevin had plans for this lake house that reached beyond a weekend escape. He’d been talking to Garlan Gudger, Alabama Senator and owner

KITCHEN: THE UNIQUE KITCHEN ISLAND IS ACTUALLY COMPRISED OF FOUR DARK WALNUT PIECES HELD TOGETHER WITH STEEL BOWTIES; BLUE POLYURETHENE RESIN CREATES A STREAM OF “WATER” FLOWING ACROSS THE TOP. THE ENTIRE PIECE, CALLED THE “RIVER TOP TABLE,” WAS FABRICATED BY JOSH HOWELL IN GARLAN’S WOODWORKING FACILITY AT SOUTHERN ACCENTS. “I’M A GUINEA PIG FOR A LOT OF IDEAS I HAVE. IF IT DOESN’T WORK, OKAY, WE’LL JUST START OVER,” SAYS KEVIN.

KEVIN COLLABORATED WITH BRANDON BROWN OF HANCEVILLE TO GET THE RAW STEEL, MEDIEVAL, FRENCH-STYLE VENTHOOD HE WANTED IN THE KITCHEN. “I BOUGHT THE VENT AND KNEW I WANTED SOMETHING BUILT,” SAYS KEVIN. “SO I DESIGNED IT AND EXPLAINED WHAT I WANTED TO BRANDON--WHO SAID HE’D ONLY EVER DONE ONE VENTHOOD AND IT WASN’T LIKE THIS ONE--BUT HE DID IT.”

THE KITCHEN FLOORS ARE POLISHED CONCRETE THAT HAVE BEEN GRINDED OFF, A PROCESS WHERE HEAVY-DUTY SANDPAPER EXPOSES THE AGGREGATE, WHICH IS THEN FLATTENED WITH A DIAMOND SANDER. THE FLOORS ARE THEN VARNISHED AND POLISHED IN A 13-STEP PROCESS TO GIVE THEM A SHINY SEALED GLOSS.

KEVIN DESIGNED THE EYE-CATCHING METAL FURNITURE BOTH HERE AND IN THE BEDROOMS; HIS IDEAS WERE BROUGHT TO LIFE

BY BRANDON BROWN.

of Southern Accents in Cullman, tossing around ideas that would end Kevin’s long stretches of out of town work. Kevin and Garlan, friends for more than a decade, bonded during Kevin’s many trips to Southern Accents over the years, as Kevin hunted for one-of-a-kind pieces to use in his homes and projects.

“I got to know Kevin as he came in the shop while he was building his local house,” says Garlan. “Then, as he did projects up north, we would take pieces up, and we discovered that we have the same mindset and just work really well together.”

LIVING ROOM (MANTEL/FIREPLACE): THE WOOD BEAM MANTEL IN THE LIVING ROOM CREATES A WARM, RUSTIC COUNTERPOINT TO THE SHINY FIREPLACE. THE HAND-HEWN PIECE WAS SALVAGED BY GARLAN FROM THE OLDEST HOUSE IN CULLMAN WHEN IT WAS TORN DOWN. “I CHOSE IT BECAUSE IT’S ATTACHED TO CULLMAN AND IT HAD A STORY,” SAYS KEVIN. KEVIN DREW THE FIREPLACE PANEL DESIGN, AND BRANDON BUILT THEM. THE THOMASES SHOPPED LOCAL RETAILERS LIKE SEIBELS, WHITE WILLOW, CULLMAN FURNITURE MARKET, AND VINTAGE WEST FOR FURNISHINGS.

“I have a little touch of Southern Accents custom everywhere. People love it because they’ve never seen it,” Kevin says, referencing the Coca-Cola distribution center he designed and built in North Dakota, as well as his own custom home there and another in Jones Chapel. He’s used everything from vintage wood to stained glass and old doors from Southern Accents to create focal points in new commercial construction. “I told Kristen, ‘I think we’re gonna build a custom lake house and show people what we’re capable of, and that [home] is going to be the marketing piece that gets me back home,’” says Kevin.

That serendipitous Sunday outing laid the groundwork for the purchase of a lot, a distinctive custom home build, and a new business--KT Signature Homes with Southern Accents--that would land Kristen the lake house she dreamed of and Kevin a

MASTER BEDROOM DOOR: A STAINED GLASS WINDOW MADE IN FRANCE IN THE LATE 1800S WAS CRAFTED INTO A DOOR FOR THE MASTER BEDROOM BY SOUTHERN ACCENTS.

job that didn’t require a constant plane commute. Within 10 days, the couple found land. They broke ground a couple months later in March, using plans Kevin dashed off on a sheet of notebook paper and treasures he hunted down at Garlan’s store.

“I’m really proud of my husband,” Kristen adds. “I didn’t have a vision for the house at all, but I watched Kevin walk the property that day, and I saw his head start working. We went home, he’s still thinking, then all of the sudden he grabs a piece of paper and starts drawing. The next thing I know, we have house plans and then it’s being built. It’s impressive, watching him work. He doesn’t use a computer; his vision just comes to life from head to hand to paper.”

CEILINGS: EVERY CEILING IN THE HOUSE IS COVERED WITH KNOTTY CYPRESS FOR A SOPHISTICATED WOODSY FEEL, A NOD TO THE HOME’S LOCATION. THERE ISN’T A SINGLE PIECE OF SHEET ROCK IN THE ENTIRE HOUSE. “KEVIN WAS WILLING TO WORK WITH US ON INTERIOR FINISHES AND OTHER DESIGN ELEMENTS UNTIL WE ALL GOT IT RIGHT,” SAYS TYLER. IT SHOWS IN THE FINAL PRODUCT, LIKE THE KNOTTY CYPRESS CEILINGS. “THOSE WERE FUN TO WORK ON,” HE SAYS OF THE DESIGN FEATURE, WHICH GIVE A SOPHISTICATED WOODSY FEEL, A NOD TO THE HOME’S LOCATION.

Kevin called on local talent to facilitate his custom lake home project, collaborating with Tyler Franklin and his team at Franklin Homebuilding in Cullman. “I really enjoyed building this style home—the modern aspects and clean lines,” says Tyler. “Kevin and I put our heads together, and we just clicked. So executing the project, with Kevin’s design and our commitment to the quality, was probably my favorite part. We were dedicated not just to the production of the house, but also to doing it right. We take pride in our craftsmanship, the way our grandparents did.”

COIN-OPERATED PONY: AN ANTIQUE COIN-OPERATED PONY FROM SOUTHERN ACCENTS SITS REGALLY AT THE FOOT OF THE STAIRWAY. FOR A PENNY, GUESTS CAN TAKE A RIDE ON THE STILL-WORKING HORSE.

Now that their home is complete, Kevin is eager to show future Smith Lake homeowners what he can do for them, too. “Combining my architectural background with the construction side gives us unique opportunities to do everything in-house for our customers and not lose their vision by having too many hands involved in the

STAIRWAY: OLD CANVAS MAPS OF SMITH LAKE WERE PURCHASED FROM WHITE WILLOW.

UPSTAIRS: SEVERAL METAL AND GLASS DOORS ON THE SECOND FLOOR WERE SALVAGED BY SOUTHERN ACCENTS FROM A COMMERCIAL DAIRY.

process,” says Kevin, who worked as a project manager for a Birmingham architectural firm prior to starting industrial construction and “speaks the language.” That way, he says, there’s no loss in translation from owner to architect to contractor to subcontractor.

UPSTAIRS LIVING AREA: KEVIN DESIGNED THE STAIR RAILING TO BE ARCHITECTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL, THE IDEA BEING THAT HIS GRANDSON CAN’T CLIMB OR FALL THROUGH IT.

“I SAW THE MESH IDEA ON A MOUNTAIN HOME IN UTAH,” SAYS KEVIN. “I ASKED MY FRIEND WESLEY LAWRENCE, WHO OWNS CUSTOM IRONWORKS, TO FIND THE WELDED WIRE MESH, AND I DESIGNED THE PATTERN.” THE ELEMENT IS REPEATED ON THE PARKING PAD AND PATIO, TOO. ALSO, KEVIN COLLABORATED WITH BRANDON ON THE HANDBUILT CONSOLE BENEATH THE TELEVISION.

BEDROOMS: THE HOUSE INCLUDES THREE BEDROOMS, ALL WITH A VIEW OF THE LAKE. AT THE FOOT OF EACH BED IN THE MAIN ROOMS IS A HANDMADE WALNUT BENCH WITH STEEL FRAME BUILT BY BRANDON; THE SLABS ARE FROM SOUTHERN ACCENTS.

BUNK ROOM: “AN ACCIDENT,” SAYS KEVIN, THE BUNK ROOM WAS ORIGINALLY PLANNED AS A STORAGE CLOSET BUT WOUND UP BEING TOO BIG. TO MAKE BETTER USE OF THE SPACE, BUILT-IN BUNKS WERE ADDED FOR THE GRANDKIDS. THE ROOM HAS ITS OWN DOOR BUT ALSO CONNECTS TO ANOTHER BEDROOM, SO “THE KIDS WITH THE KIDS GET TO SLEEP THERE,” SAYS KEVIN. WESLEY LAWRENCE OF CUSTOM IRONWORKS BUILT BOTH THE SHIP’S LADDER AND BUNK GUARDRAILS.

The actual building process is what he loves most, when he can achieve a space that comes to life for its intended purpose. “I love when someone sees their dream come to life, and I can say, ‘We got it right!’” says Kevin. “I hope people will call before they ever

even have a lot. That way, we can work together from the beginning. I can sit down and personally design their house, then find the lot based on the drawings, or vice versa. It’s a totally custom experience--we can even do interior design and furniture buys.” He can even plan custom landscaping to make a particular home design and lot combo work. And, of course,

a big part of the personalized experience includes repurposed treasures from Southern Accents.

“Garlan and I think the same way when it comes to brainstorming ways to use the pieces he brings in, or collaborating on what to look for,” Kevin says. “We can work together for the customer--and if Garlan doesn’t

already have it, he can find it.” In addition, Garlan runs a custom door manufacturing business inside Southern Accents, a service Kevin utilized in his and Kristen’s lake house.

“We have the same taste, and we look at things the same way because we both love that tailored industrial look,” agrees Garlan. “I know if I’m in Baltimore or Philadelphia, and I see something I like, Kevin’s going to like it, too. And we want to sprinkle those architectural artifacts all around homes at the lake, too.” “Our goal for KTSH is to create an experience for the home owner that brings every aspect of their home together seamlessly--from lot to home design to landscaping to the boat dock,” says Kevin. “And then we’re going to find them the fun stuff that no one else has, the kinds of things that have a story attached to them. We’re going to give them a little leatherbound booklet with all the history, and it’s going to be theirs, and then those repurposed pieces can live on to tell another story for the next hundred years.”

DOCK: KEVIN SAYS HE LEARNED A LOT DURING THIS BUILD, INCLUDING “THINGS TO KNOW, QUESTIONS TO ASK, LIKE BOAT TRAFFIC, WATER LEVELS, SUNSETS, SUNRISES.” THAT HELPS TO EXPLAIN THE LONG WALKWAY TO HIS DOCK, BUILT OUT OF NECESSITY WHEN HE DISCOVERED HIS DOCK WAS BUILT IN LOW WATER. “I BUILT THE DOCK BEFORE THE HOUSE,” HE SAYS. “WHEN THE WATER WENT DOWN, IT WENT OUT LIKE A BEACH. I HAD TO PUSH THE DOCK OUT INTO THE WATER. I UNHOOKED IT FROM ITS ORIGINAL PLACE AND ADDED THE FIRST TWO SECTIONS OF THE WALKWAY TO MACGYVER A REMEDY.” WHILE THE WATER WAS DOWN, HE DUG HOLES, BUILT CONCRETE BRIDGE PIERS, AND THEN EXTENDED THEM UP WITH FABRICATED METAL (MADE BY WESLEY), AND REATTACHED THE BOAT DOCK. THE RESULT IS A DOCK THAT STAYS WET YEAR-ROUND, AND A CUSTOM WALKWAY THAT LOOKS AS PLANNED AS THE REST OF THE PROPERTY.

Four Ways to a

PERFECT DAY ON SMITH LAKE

About the Homeowners

Asked to describe their idea of a great lake day, Kevin responds, “Well, there are three different versions...” “Four!” adds Kristen.

So in no particular order, here are four great water dates recommended by the Thomases.

1. Exploring the lake when it’s just the two of them. “During the week, no one is here,” says Kevin, “and we jump on the Sea Doos in the evening and ride around, checking out the back coves that are too small for the boat.”

2. At day’s end on the boat. That’s when Kevin prefers to be slalom skiing while Kristen captains the boat.

3. All day on the water. “We love

having all the kids [there are 5, plus 3 spouses], grandkids [ages 2 and 4 months], and us just being together floating and boating, then grilling hot dogs and hamburgers,” says Kevin, who also adds that Kristen does a killer job in their outdoor kitchen. “Cooking, grilling--she can do it all.”

4. With a crowd. Kristen reminds Kevin about the “house full” they had on the Fourth of July, when all of his childhood friends came over from Natchez, Mississippi, to celebrate the holiday. “So much fun,” Kevin says. “My friends have adopted Kristen. They’ll choose her over me now!”

But back to his own lake house, the one filled with history and vintage charm and one-of-a-kind finds that took nearly 20 years to come around to: “I am officially a lake person now,” says Kevin. “I haven’t had socks on in a minute.” t

PROPAGATING MOUNTAIN LAUREL

PEGGY

I’m blessed to own lake property rich in our native mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), and I often share the bounty by gifting plants to friends and neighbors. Occasionally, when I offer someone a plant, they respond, “I thought you couldn’t transplant mountain laurel.” While I agree that transplanting a large, full-grown mountain laurel is nearly impossible, I usually find small plants growing near my large mountain laurel, and

I’ve had great success transplanting those small plants. The baby plants are the result of a natural reproduction process called layering. It happens when the lower branches grow long enough and heavy enough that they bend down and contact the soil. Often, roots form where the branch touches the ground, and after several seasons, the branch will have enough roots that it can be dug up, cut from the mother plant, and transplanted. Here’s how it’s done.

Next, dig the baby plant out of the ground, and cut it from the mother plant.

Pruning is a critical step. Plants are like a water pump. They take water in through their roots, pump it through the stems, and it evaporates through the leaves. The process is called transpiration. Healthy plants have a root system that is large enough to provide the water necessary to support all the leaves. When you plant or transplant, you damage roots, and the only way to restore the balance is to remove leaves. This is true for any plant, not just mountain laurel. When you plant something grown in a pot, you damage the roots slightly, and you need to prune lightly. Transplanting, on the other hand, usually does extensive damage to the roots, and you should remove about half of the leaves. BEFORE

The more roots there are on the baby plant, the higher your chances of successfully transplanting it.

WRITER

HILL | PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS GRILLIS (CHRIS GRILLIS PHOTOGRAPHY)

Step one is to find a branch that is rooted. Tug on the lower branches of a mature mountain laurel. Most branches will lift. Search for a branch that is anchored to the ground.

PRUNING DURING PRUNING AFTER PRUNING

Prepare the planting site by digging a hole large enough to spread the roots, and loosen the soil on the bottom and edges of the hole.

Layering is a natural reproduction process, but you can give Mother Nature a hand and encourage layering by following these steps:

1 Find a branch low enough that you can push it down to the ground. Notice where the branch will contact the soil and wound the lower side of the branch at that location by removing the bark with a sharp knife. Make the wound shallow, like peeling a potato.

Put the plant in the hole at the same depth and orientation it was growing when you dug it up. If the branch was growing at an angle, don’t try and straighten it; plant it at the same angle.

2 Loosen the soil where the wound will make contact and bury the wound an inch or two deep.

Cover

Mountain laurels produce seeds, but the seeds are very, very tiny, and short-lived. They die if they don’t find a suitable environment quickly. Most of the mountain laurel seedlings in my garden sprout from this little patch of moss. It’s like a mountain laurel factory. Moss is acidic, it holds moisture, and it provides a place for the seed to lodge.

The time of year you transplant is important. Although the pictures for this article were taken in May, Fall is the best time to transplant, and where we live, the ideal time to transplant is between Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Your success also depends on how you water a newly transplanted shrub. Watering can be tricky. You must provide adequate water, but you do not want to drown your plant. My best advice is to water every day for the first week; water every other day for the next three weeks; water twice a week for the next eight months; and then finish off the rest of the year by watering once a week. However, each situation is different, and you may need to adjust the amount of water you provide due to your specific weather and site conditions.

3 Weigh down the branch, but don’t cover the soil directly above the wound. That is where the roots will form, and they need water and air. Place the weight between the mother plant and the wound. Give the branch time to develop enough roots to support a new plant. Wait at least a year before you attempt to transplant.

Propagating is fun. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t, but most of the time I’m able to reproduce mountain laurel using the method I’ve described in this article. Many other plants with low-hanging branches can also be propagated using this method. However, if your plant doesn’t have any low-hanging branches, you might try a different layering method. In addition to the simple layering process I describe here, there is also tip layering, compound layering, mound layering, and air layering. To learn more about propagating by layering, visit North Carolina State University’s website, ncsu.edu, and search for ‘Plant Propagation by Layering’.

So, the next time someone tells you that mountain laurel can’t be transplanted, tell them, “That’s not true. You just need to know the proper technique.” t

Peggy Hill is a trained Master Gardener and Garden Consultant. She has written over a hundred garden-related articles for various magazines, and she is an award-winning speaker and writer. To contact Peggy, visit her website, hiddenhillsgarden.com.

the roots with soil, water thoroughly, and stake the plant.

When pruning live plants always use bypass pruners like these. The blades of bypass pruners work like a pair of scissors and cut the wood.

Anvil pruners like these work like a knife against a cutting board. They pinch and crush the wood, and they should not be used on live plants.

BEFORE BEFORE AFTER AFTER

For Birmingham-based Interior Designer, Reb Baker, approaching his family’s lake house bathroom renovation was like any other project. Like always, his driving force was to “listen to the bones of the house.”

Reb got his first taste of design recognition at just six years old when his treehouse graced the cover of Southern Living Magazine. In his college years, he nearly graduated from The University of Alabama with degrees in English and Psychology before transferring to a design school in Atlanta to complete his bachelor’s degree. After spending some time in Atlanta, Reb returned back to his hometown in 1996, and has lived and worked in his native Birmingham since. Reb says as an interior designer he gets the most joy out of helping people realize their dreams for their homes.

Before the bathroom renovation in the lake house, the design was frozen in the time of the home’s original 1967 construction. Reb, who describes the house as “Frank Lloyd Wright-ish,” drew inspiration from the original log and stonework to design the new bathroom so it would blend with the home’s original aesthetic without looking outdated.

“The materials reflected that, but also practicality, like I used porcelain tile for the floor that looks like hardwoods, and then the tile on the wall is kind of a rough, almost subway tile, but more uneven,” Reb says.

Everything used in the design is meant to tie into the natural elements and architectural features that already inhabit the house.

“It was functional before, and still is, because nothing changed as far as the layout.”

Looking ahead, Reb is excited to make more gradual changes throughout the house to match the same timeless aesthetic he achieved in the bathroom.

“Anything I would do would be done to enhance what’s there, naturally…more of a breath of fresh air in a space that really needs updating.”

Stay tuned for more about this beautiful home near the Duncan Bridge area. We’ll be visiting with Reb again for more in the future. You will love the rich family history of this very loved lake home built by his parents in 1967, and treasured by the family ever since. t

WRITER SAIGE ROZANC PETSKI | PHOTOGRAPHY SCOTT ERIC DAY

Reb

Arrowhead Bar and Grill

Arrowhead Bar and Grill

A New Lakeside Restaurant on Crooked Creek on the grounds of the Arrowhead RV Park in Crane Hill. Easy drive from I65 o of Hwy 222.

Serving Mouthwatering Steaks, Chicken and Seafood plus sandwiches, appetizers, side orders, and a children’s menu

We often have live music! Check out our Facebook page for weekly events, food specials, and live musical guests. Also o ering Karaoke and Trivia Nights

1159 Co Rd 941 | Crane Hill AL 35053 | 205-275-7519

HOURS: Open 7 Days a Week 8am – 9pm

Serving Breakfast Daily 8am - 11am

All packed and ready for a journey across the country, Amick and Christy Cutler planned a quick stop at Lewis Smith Lake.

While not initially familiar with the massive lake, the Pensacola, Florida family––by the rapid onset of COVID-19––became residents for more than two months at Hidden Cove RV Resort in Arley, Alabama.

What seemed at first an inconvenience for the Cutlers and their three sons became an experience they will never forget. In fact, they plan to return by autumn to the calm waters and new friends they discovered during spring.

“We literally had just left Florida and were planning two days at Smith Lake,” Christy said. “As soon as we arrived the coronavirus hit the fan. We couldn’t go anywhere. But we look back and it was a blessing. If you’re going to be stuck anywhere, what could be better than Smith Lake?”

What the Cutlers found was a welcoming community and new friendships gained around an evening fire pit where Amick’s multiple talents as a songwriter and guitarist were often displayed.

While music has been a lifetime passion for Amick for more than 20 years, most of his work has been focused on design and graphics for businesses.

“I sold those businesses and still do some freelance work, but music is something I’ve enjoyed a long time. My dad was a pastor, so I grew up around music and in college did the coffee houses and house or yard parties mostly for fun.”

Amick’s songs are typically in the classic singer/songwriter genre, but he has scored some notable success writing music for television shows such as the Outdoors channel and others. He hopes one day to have his music on platforms such Disney and Hulu.

“I write my own music and lyrics which often have messages of hope, and another side is writing for television and movies,” he said.

In fact, Amick has his own record label, Chief Wild Records, and a partner, Eric Andrew Taylor, in Portland, Oregon, who is also his producer. While traveling to scenic locations across the country, Amick takes inspiration from all their surroundings to write songs. But the main focus for Amick and Christy is their sons -- Isaak, 11, Jude 7, and Brooks, 6.

“We made the decision to home school, and in doing so you can work from anywhere,” Christy said. “This is our first year to home school and live in a camper. Our oldest son is an outdoor, animal-loving kid. We kind of did this for him.”

Amick said Isaak didn’t take well to formalized education in the classroom. But his love of nature and the opportunity to home school in nature has resulted in a noticeable turnabout.

“He just loves everything outdoors,” Amick said. “We’re gaining great experiences by making this change.”

Now that the journey is under way again in the western United States, the Cutlers are seeing some of the country’s

natural wonders. But by fall, they anticipate the planned reunion with friends at Smith Lake.

Smith Lake and Alabama, though not far from the family’s Florida Panhandle home, were full of surprises. The state’s lush landscape along the hills, forests and waterways was unknown to them.

“We had no idea something as beautiful as Smith Lake was so close. When we thought of Alabama we were familiar with Birmingham or Montgomery. But now we have been learning Alabama is one of the nation’s most incredible places for nature,” Christy said.

Smith Lake appears to be a new, regular stop for the family, something good that has come out of the pandemic that initially sidelined their plans.

“The people and the setting are just wonderful,” Christy said. “We enjoyed the music at campside and I’m sure we’ll be doing that again.”

If you would like to know more about the Cutler family traveling adventures, follow them on Instagram as @chiefwildcrew. t

In addition to their own songs, the record label includes several other artists with wide-ranging styles and talents, including classic singer/songwriter compositions to contemporary pop.

Cutler and Taylor, when not working on solo material, also record and perform together as the storytelling duo, Leroy Wild. You can find out more about their band online at leroywild.com and on Instagram as @leroywildmusic .

To check out the artists on their label and sample their music, visit wildrecords.com.

Hidden Cove RV Resort has expanded in the last year to include many more campsites at the lake’s shoreline. The grounds are very well kept, family friendly, with plenty of amenities, and the staff is hospitable, helpful and knowledgeable. Now that the property is an Encore RV Resorts and Thousand Trails site, there are more and more people across the country finding out about this hidden treasure, Smith Lake, and traveling here to enjoy the escape that it offers. Learn more about what’s going on at Hidden Cove RV Resort by checking them out online through their website rvonthego.com/alabama or on Facebook as @hiddencovervcampground and contact them at 205-2217042 for more information.

Amick Cutler and Eric Andrew Taylor base their record label, Chief Wild Records in Portland, Oregon.

Local Inventor Creates a Remarkable Wake-shaping Device

AFTER A SUMMER OF TIRELESS WORK AND PLENTY OF TRIAL AND ERROR, BRYAN THOMPSON CREATED A TYPE OF MECHANICAL BALLAST THAT REPLACES SOME, AND SOMETIMES ALL WATER BALLAST CREATING MAGNIFICENT WAVES. THE DEVICE HAS QUICKLY BECOME A MUST-HAVE FOR WAKESURFERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND WORLD FOR ITS REMARKABLE VERSATILITY FOR MANY TYPES OF HULLS.

WRITER BEN STANSELL | PHOTOGRAPHY KYLE CARPENTER PHOTOGRAPHY

It was one of the last weekends of the 2019 summer lake season and Bryan Thompson was running out of time. He arrived at Smith Lake on the first day of September the same way he’d arrived the weekend before and the weekend before that – with a truck bed full of prototypes. All summer, he’d spend Saturdays and Sundays out on the lake, driving his boat with prototypes attached. Every time, the prototypes would snap off, another failed test run. Weekend after weekend, Thompson left the lake with a truck bed full of broken plastic. He’d spend countless hours during the week making more.

What had started as a side project had turned into an obsession. Thompson – a lifelong inventor –was on a quest to create the perfect wave for wakesurfing, a relatively new watersport in which a rider surfs on the wave created by a boat. It was an idea that hatched in his brain not on the water, but in the air.

“I had a friend take me flying in his plane and I became a little obsessed with airplane wings,” Thompson said.

He was particularly interested in how he could take the concept behind the airplane wings and apply it to a component that could be attached to any boat. Thompson believed this component could replace the frustrating water system that he’d been using to create waves from the back of his old boat. In order to get his 2007 Supra to form a wave large enough for wakesurfing, Thompson was filling a large plastic bag with thousands upon thousands of pounds of water. But that way of doing things was giving Thompson a headache.

“It made the boat non-functional,” Thompson said. “Also, to put all that water on the boat it takes about 45 minutes to put it in and then another 45 to pump it out. I was constantly having boat trouble. The bags would break and you’d get water in the boat and my boat would overheat. It was just a freaking mess.”

Thompson decided he was going to build something better. And if he couldn’t, he was going to get rid of his boat altogether at the end of the summer. The clock was ticking.

Thompson, who has always been an engineer at heart, began designing and constructing prototypes. He drew the designs using

CAD software and constructed them.

His attempt to build the perfect wave maker started as a hobby, but it quickly morphed into Thompson’s primary focus. At the time, he was watching his cabinetry business fail. Inventing a wave making mechanism wasn’t only a distraction, it provided him with hope.

“All this happened as my other business, my day job, was failing,” Thompson said. “I just poured myself into it – I needed a good distraction in my life and this was it. I probably have 2,000 hours in research and development.”

But, as the summer wore on, his attempt to crack the code on the perfect wave making device started to wear on him and those around him.

“Nobody wanted to ride in the boat with me,” Thompson said. “I was miserable. I’d put my wings on the boat and they’d break and I’d get out another set and I’d move them six inches forward and try again. By the end of the summer, everybody was sick of it.”

He was nearly sick of it himself as he drove out on the lake on that September day with his last batch of prototypes in tow. Then, all of the sudden, when he put prototype number 347 on his boat, it didn’t break. Thompson experienced the sensation that all inventors crave.

“I was like ‘My Gosh. I figured it out,’” Thompson said. “As soon as that first prototype came out that didn’t break, it was like a cloud lifted.”

It immediately improved Thompson’s boating experience, but he wanted to see if it worked on other boats. He attached the wings to his father’s Triton Bass Boat and drove it out on the lake.

“It made a 20-foot long, beautiful surf wave,” Thompson said. “I posted it on Facebook and that video got 10,000 hits in a day.”

Then he attached the wings to his family’s Yamaha Waverunner. Once again, it worked, creating a wave big enough for his daughter to surf on.

“It will literally make anything surf,” Thompson said. “If it has a motor on it, it will make a surf wave and it will create its own displacement.”

Thompson posted several videos of his device in action on Facebook and it went viral. In a matter of hours, thousands of people in wakesurfing groups had seen the clip. Thompson realized that he was suddenly in a position to capitalize on his tireless efforts.

“[I was] dead broke, my business was failing. It was a bad summer,” Thompson said. “And all of the sudden, I had people clamoring to buy this product.”

Thompson had been so keen on creating the device that he hadn’t even thought about branding it. He came up with the name SurfMode and quickly built a website so that he could start selling.

“In the first nine days I sold a surf system to every single state in the United States, Alaska and Hawaii included – keep in mind this is the end of last summer, so people are putting their boats up,” Thompson said. “Within three weeks, I’d sold 100 of them.”

Thompson’s surf system was an overnight success, but he didn’t rest on his laurels. Over the fall and winter months, he continued to toil away on his product. By the time this summer arrived, he’d improved his initial design and crafted a sleeker, more polished product with better materials and stainless hardware. Business has remained solid, with Thompson shipping out orders across the country and even internationally.

“It’s crazy because I now have over 300 new friends all across the country – even though I have never met them in person,” Thompson said. “They’ve become friends.”

One customer even inspired Thompson to create a special discount program for war veterans.

“I had one customer last year who was a wounded war veteran from Afghanistan who had lost a leg and was getting back into surfing and his story just spoke to me,” Thompson said. “I’m here enjoying the freedoms they fought for and I wanted to do everything I could to make that guys’ day better.”

SurfMode’s military donation program allows people to donate $25 that will go toward a discounted surf system for a veteran. SurfMode matches that donation dollar for dollar.

Thompson created his SurfMode system to improve the wakesurfing experience for anyone and everyone interested in

the sport. As he continues to lead Surfmode, he also hopes to continue innovating.

“One of my personality traits is that I’m an inventor at heart. When I invent something and master it, I lose interest in it sometimes and I’m ready to move on to the next thing,” Thompson said. “I know that there is so much technology that can be deployed for wakesurfing.” One of the next things on the horizon for SurfMode is a system that will allow Waverunners, Sea-Doos and Jet-skis to create a surfable wave. As the article was going to print, final field trials on the PWC wake-shaping device were underway, and the device performed as expected. The product named SurfMode Viper is now working, producing a surfable wake and is actually ready to buy –please contact SurfMode. More than anything else, this invention stands to increase 10x the wakesurfing market, opening the sport of wakesurfing up to millions of people in this country alone. That is exciting! Be watching for new things soon from SurfMode. t

Find SurfMode on Facebook as @surfmodesystem, Instagram as @surf.mode, and on their website too: surf-mode.com

“We met Bryan last summer and took his device out on our 2014 boat to see if SurfMode could truly help us to not have to load extra bags of ballast to boost the wake. Usually our wake is no problem for us, we actually enjoy it with stock ballast, but it’s always fun to have more wake in the right circumstances since we surf more than one surfer at a time tandem and we wakefoil as well. And, it’s true that we also generally have a good bit of folks in the boat which naturally helps enlarge or lengthen the wake as they move around the boat. When there are only a few of us, though, it’s a bit of an aggravation loading additional ballast or weight and moving it around for a family member who surfs a different side of the wake. But after working with Bryan for just a little while figuring out placement, the device worked wonderfully for us, and we became immediate believers! We now consider Bryan a good friend and we have become the local dealer for this device through our local shop (see us on Instagram & Facebook as @lakesidegear) and have several ready to hand deliver locally to those interested. Just call 205-470-8250 and we’ll make it happen!”

–Scott Hanna, The Lakeside Life

WRITER ELLEN ROBERTS AND THE LAKESIDE LIFE TEAM

This year, local wakeboarding dad and Renasant Bank mortgage lender Bryan Miller has helped bring some world class wakeboarders to Smith Lake to train, inspire and coach not only his son, Zac Miller, but also other interested boarders in the area.

In separate visits wakeboarding heavyweights Cody Hunnicutt and Tony Iacconi worked on Smith Lake with local groms like Kane Ward, Shae Cooper, Bay McCarty, River and Rider Mayo plus additional riders from our region like Preston Justice, Payton Gross, and Rivers Hendricks.

We are lucky that our small community of wakeboarding enthusiasts throughout the state and southeast region are very tightly knit, supporting one another, connecting often and always finding ways to keep each other in the groove of the sport year round. That community comprised of parents, various veteran riders, regional coaches, sponsors and supporting businesses ensures area athletes receive the coaching, direction and inspiration they need.

“Smith Lake is a breeding ground of young talent, and the coaches coming in are helping develop what is already here,” says coach and rider Shane Cook of WakeFactory.

Many of these young riders recently competed in an important competition in Waco, Texas: the 2020 Nautique Boats WWA Wakeboard Nationals presented by GM Marine Engine Technology. The assistance that the young riders received over the summer from the visiting pros helped elevate their skills and give them the confidence to tackle a big tournament, despite the fact that this year did not

pan out to be a normal season due to the pandemic. Most local and state level tournaments were called off for 2020. Those tournaments are vital in preparing competitors for the larger year-end competitions.

There was a time in the beginning of the pandemic progression when many competing wakeboarders might have been fearful of how they were going to advance in the sport without the usual rituals of practicing, riding with other boarders, attending tournaments and competing. Luckily, having their own supportive community and some fresh perspectives from incoming professionals early enough in the year helped secure each rider’s motivation and progression during such a difficult and unexpected time.

The extra coaching produced results for the Nationals event, as Kane Ward ended up placing 1st in his division, and Zac Miller placed 3rd in his division. Payton Gross also placed 1st in her division, with other riders just missing out on podiums but all rode well and saw improvements over last year.

Next stop, the 2020 Nautique WWA Wakeboard World Championships are being held in Pine Mountain, Georgia, at our region’s famous watersports mecca Callaway Gardens on August 28-30, 2020. We wish the best of luck to all the riders who are competing for the 2020 titles. For now, here’s a little background on both of the professional wakeboarders that had a hand in keeping the local riders fired up and ready for late season competitions.

Austrailian Boarder, Tony Iaconni, also known as “The Wolf of Wakeboarding,” has been spotted ripping the waves, shredding the gnar, and inspiring the love of the sport on the waters of Smith Lake.

Like many father-son combos, Tony grew up on the water with his dad, Rob Iaconni. Rob bought his first boat when he was about eighteen and loved the water so much that he spent almost every weekend on it. He went from kneeboarding and skiing, to wakeboarding, which he then introduced to his son, Tony, at the age of eight. With dedication and passion passed on, an amazing wakeboarder began to form before his father’s eyes. As most watersports enthusiasts are aware, helping someone get up for the first time, and getting up for the first time are both lifelong memories. There is something special in that moment that creates a bond. A memory snapshot to carry throughout the years.

“My favorite memory would either be getting up on a wakeboard for the first time or winning my first pro event,” Tony said.

Rob Iacconi coached the Olympic team at Taekwondo and learned how to break down movements for coaching. “He watched me wakeboard, studied the pros before me, and transferred his coaching style from TaeKwonDo to my wakeboarding,” Tony said. “It was beyond helpful and definitely the reason I am where I’m at today.”

That being said, Tony is quick to give credit to his mother, Ungelina Iacconi, as well. “She’s pretty much a superhero,” Iaconni said. “She helps dad run his excavation business back in Australia and works really hard seven days a week doing that and also manages to raise my two younger sisters, cook, clean and look after our two dogs.”

Like a wolf, Tony is a beast on the water, but his love and respect for his pack runs deep. He met his wife, Diana, while wakeboarding in Orlando. “She is a huge part of my professional wakeboarding career as well as my wakeboard coaching business,” he said.

Tony already holds the titles: #4 WWA World Ranking Men 2019, 3rd World Championship 2019, 3rd World Series 2018, Overall 2nd World Series 2016, five-time Australian World Champion, 1st Place National Championship and 1st Place Factory Pro. He is sponsored by Nautique Boats, Rockstar Energy, Jobe Watersports, Jetpilot and Fuse Lenses. So, needless to say, if you see him on our lake, you are witnessing one of the best in the sport.

“My favorite spot is Brushy Creek because the water is always smooth,” he said. “The tall mountains and the beautiful water, and of course the Millers draw me to Smith Lake!”

It’s inspiring to watch him in action, and even more inspiring to watch him pass the handle to the younger generations. “I’d like to thank Bryan Miller for having me come up and coach his son, Zac, and his friends,” Iaconni said. “Every time I have come up. I have

coached anywhere between 3-8 kids with the Miller crew.”

In addition to staying at the top of the sport, he also wants to be a top-tier coach. “I want to be known as the best wakeboarding coach in the world and spread my love for the sport as far as possible to families and riders everywhere,” he said. “I didn’t just start coaching for the money. It is a true passion of mine.”

He tells his students that it’s ok to be scared, but it’s not okay to stop trying, and that everybody has to start somewhere, no one ever learns without a wipeout. Before teaming up with Jobe, Tony broke over 100 boards and said he still has pretty bad wipeouts on a regular basis. “Giving up is easy, but nothing great ever comes easy, so you have to keep trying.”

The next great legend, he says, could include one of our own. “Watching how good the upcoming riders are getting helps me stay on top of my riding and it reminds me that they will be coming for my top spot one day,” he said.

When he was younger, Tony looked up to Australian pro wakeboarder, Josh Sanders. Now, however, he inspires others. “I just have to keep a look out for the other pros who I compete against as they are always trying crazy stuff and pushing the limits of the sport.”

Tony prefers the ballast of his boat 100% fully loaded, rides at 72.5 feet and 22 mph. The most spins that have ever been done in a trick is a 1260. Tony has landed a 1080 but definitely wants to get to that 1260 soon.

The best trick I ever landed would either be a Crow Mobe 720 or a 1080,” he said. “Right now, I am just trying to keep my contest run consistent and adding more style to my run because that is where the sport is heading.”

In addition to competing and coaching, Tony and Diana plan on making a big impact on the sport in the years to come. “The athletes don’t get nearly the recognition that is deserved,” he said. That is something they want to change in the future.

As far as Smith Lake: “It’s one of the coolest places I have ever ridden and coached,” he said. “The water is always amazing and the people are great!”

If you are interested in learning more, Iaconni says it would be a good idea to watch some of his videos, which can be found on Instagram and Youtube, but the best advice would be to reach out and have him show you the ropes. He offers all kinds of different coaching packages. If you’d like to know more, you can email him at TiWakeAcademy@gmail.com. You can find him on Instagram at the following tags: @tonyiacconi and @tiwakeacademy.

“My favorite spot is Brushy Creek because the water is always smooth,” Tony said. “The tall mountains and the beautiful water, and of course the Millers draw me to Smith Lake!”

“I like the geography of Smith Lake,” Hunnicutt said. “It’s probably my favorite lake of all time.

Brushy Creek is super glassy, the spring water is refreshing, there are a lot of cliffs to jump, and the people are super nice.””

Cody Hunnicutt of Nashville, Tennessee was another incredibly skilled pro wakeboarder who shared his shredding skills with young riders this summer, joining the list of greats like Iaconni and Darin Shapiro who can be seen catching air, pulling tricks, and spreading their love of the sport around the lake.

Hunnicutt began boarding around the age of eight behind his dad’s runabout boat and has been breaking records and setting new limits in wakeboarding since the age of 16. He was the youngest person ever to be in the Junior Pro Tour.

Nowadays he enjoys coming to Smith Lake to ride and show others the ropes whenever he can. He recently worked with Bay McCarty, Rivers Hendricks, River Mayo, Zac Miller, and Shae Cooper to help further hone their skills.

“I like the geography of Smith Lake,” Hunnicutt said. “It’s probably my favorite lake of all time. Brushy Creek is super glassy, the spring water is refreshing, there are a lot of cliffs to jump, and the people are super nice.”

Times, technology, and techniques may change, but the love of watersports will be passed down from generation to generation. Wakeboarding turns strangers into friends and competitors into fans. Hunnicutt particularly enjoys this aspect of wakeboarding.

“No matter your skill, when you land a new trick, or see someone else land a new trick, you feel happiness and joy,” he says.

Hunnicutt also has a passion for capturing the moment on video and film. Much like when he’s riding, his unique style and passion can be seen in his creative work.

“Wakeboarding is an art,” he said. “It is all about making it your own, putting your own style on it, and doing tricks that no one else does. That is the future of the sport and one of the many reasons it continues to thrive. It’s about having fun and progressing yourself.”

Some of his favorite tricks are: “The Indy, Roll to Blind, Wrapped Melon Cab 7, Landing Funny Wrapped, and Moby Dick 5.”

He is sponsored by Hyperlite, Mystique Wake, TNT Watersports, SayIWontClothing, Music City Autoplex and OJ Props.

Legendry pro wakeboarder JD Webb of the Hyperlite team is one of Hunnicutt’s greatest heroes.

“The biggest inspiration to me in my whole life is Mike Dowdy,” Hunnicutt added. He strongly encourages anyone eager to learn to check out Dowdy’s online coaching at TheWakeUniversity.com.

Hunnicutt, however, has become an inspiration in his own right. “Don’t get discouraged if you fall or fail, for there really are no failures when you try,” he says. “It’s all okay. Don’t think about it too much and always keep a positive vibe about it. Keep a positive energy, keep your head up, and always have fun with it.” t

WITH AUBURN FISHING’S Logan Parks Q & A

WRITER JOHN D. PALMER | PHOTOGRAPHY JUSTIN BROUILLARD AND PROVIDED BY THE AUBURN TEAM

Back in late February, the Auburn Fishing team showed up strong for the 2020 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series tour stop at Smith Lake Park, with Logan Parks and Cody Griffith securing fifth place in a tournament with over 250 participants, and another of the team’s boats made the number 12 slot.

Logan, a junior who serves as president of Auburn Fishing, says the team’s regular practice sessions in the clear and deep waters of Lake Martin gave them a “definite advantage” fishing the similar and sometimes challenging conditions at Smith Lake. He and his teammates employed a combination of light lines, finesse lures and a slow retrieve speed to consistently land fish throughout the event.

Under the direction of Parks, the Auburn team has been doing some new and exciting things recently, like successfully organizing a rather large online fishing tournament. They worked closely with fellow Auburn grad and one of their trusted sponsors, John Calagaz of Fishing Chaos, a computer software company and one of Auburn University Bass Team’s main sponsors. Fishing Chaos developed software that specializes in charter management, tournament management, logging catches, and boat security. In the past, Logan says, the software has been mostly utilized by big saltwater tournaments, but they thought this would be a great time to introduce it to freshwater bass fishing. In just the first week alone, they had a little over 100 anglers submit their catches across 22 different states and had a significant amount of participation specifically among the high school and college level with over 44 different schools participating.” See the sidebar article for more about the recent tournament.

Beginning last year, the team rallied support of many favorite sponsors for the application of bold wrap graphics for several of their team boats. That’s actually how The Lakeside Life team first met Logan. “We noticed his bright newly

wrapped boat at a local gas station near Duncan Bridge,” says publisher Scott Hanna. “We followed him to the Duncan Bridge boat ramp so our son could say hello and we could see the boat up close. As he was loading in for practice for an upcoming event, we had a short conversation about the wrap, the team and Logan himself. We really enjoyed Logan’s company, he was highly intelligent, approachable, respectful, just an all-around great guy, the kind of guy you want your own son to be like.”

We’re excited to announce that Logan will be helping to provide future fishing-related content for The Lakeside Life, so to better introduce him to everyone, we asked him a few questions:

HOW AND WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN COMPETITIVE FISHING?

“Growing up, I lived to fish. It’s all I did when I got home from school. Every single day it would drive my mom crazy because I would hop on my bike and be gone fishing at some golf course pond before she could even ask me what homework I needed to work on. Fishing has always been something I have been super passionate about, but it wasn’t until I started getting older that I got into fishing competitively. When I was in 8th grade I got cut from the school baseball team and I was devastated. I really enjoyed baseball almost as much as fishing so this was a really big deal to me. I decided to devote everything towards fishing and decided to make a fishing team. Myself and a buddy of mine got together and formed the Auburn High School Bass Fishing Team. This was the first time Auburn City schools had ever had anything like that, and it was a huge step in sparking my interest in tournament fishing. We founded the team in 8th grade and fished high school tournaments all the way through our senior year.”

“I would say the turning point for me was in 10th grade. My partner and I qualified for the Bassmaster high school national championship and we went on to place 3rd in it. That

made me realize two things: one, I really loved fishing tournaments and being able to take a passion of mine and turn it into something I can compete at, and two, I was actually pretty good at this and it’s something I wanted to pursue after high school. And here I am fishing at Auburn University on my senior season.”

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT BEING A MEMBER OF AUBURN FISHING?

“I love how our team is so much more than a team, we are more like a family. We have a very large team but everyone knows everyone and we all hang out together. Tournaments and traveling together is one of my favorite things to do, it’s just all around good company. Not to mention Auburn University Bass Team’s history of producing quality anglers, some of who are now very successful professional anglers. It makes me proud to wear the Auburn logo and represent a school that I care so much about.”

HOW DO YOU BALANCE FISHING WITH SCHOOL?

“This is definitely one of the hardest things to do at Auburn

University. School is not easy, and when you miss 20 plus class days every spring it makes it all that much harder,” he said. “I try to get as much done as I possibly can ahead of time if I know I am about to miss class for an event. I try to talk to my teachers the week before I’m gone and see if there is anything I can do while I’m away. I also try to take online classes when they are offered so that I am able to complete them in the hotel room at night. Oftentimes I have to study on the way home from tournaments. Balancing fishing with school is probably the most challenging thing our team has to deal with, but we manage it.”

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO GET ON THE TEAM AND HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE ON IT?

“There are only a few requirements to be on our team. You have to be a full time student, pay your dues to join the team, complete two community service events, and raise a set amount of fundraising dollars for our team. Besides that anyone is allowed to join and we encourage everyone to go and compete. We currently have around 70 members.”

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR ASPIRING COLLEGIATE AND COMPETITIVE ANGLERS?

“I would say to give it your all and to learn from your mistakes. I made a lot of mistakes in high school that probably cost us several tournaments. Every day you go fishing is a learning experience. I would do all that I could to get out on the water and learn as much as I can if I was interested in fishing in college. Transitioning from having a boat captain driving your boat to being on your own is a really big transition that I feel like a lot of kids have trouble adapting to. That is why it is so important to get out there and fish on your own or just with a friend in high school. I strongly encourage fishing other events that require you to make the tournament day decisions that a high school tournament often wouldn’t. You will have to make these decisions in college so it is important to get a feel for them as soon as possible. Time on the water separates a good angler from a great one.”

WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO FISH SMITH LAKE FOR THE FIRST TIME?

“I fished Smith Lake for the first time several years ago, and I

thought it was an extremely good fishery. It can be tough at times, but it does have a lot of quality fish in it. It is very similar to my home lake, Lake Martin, but the spotted bass are way bigger. It also has some really big largemouth. It is just an all around quality fishery, and I await the opportunity to come back and fish it again.”

WHAT IS YOUR PREFERRED TACKLE (RODS, REELS, LINE, ETC.)?

“My preferred tackle are Dobyns Rods, Abu Garcia Reels, and Seagaur fluorocarbon line or Power Pro braid.”

WHAT IS YOUR MAJOR AT AUBURN, AND DO YOU WISH TO CONTINUE FISHING COMPETITIVELY AFTER GRADUATION?

“I am double majoring in Supply Chain Management and Information Systems Management. I plan on trying to make a career as a professional fisherman after college. It has been a life long goal of mine to fish professionally. It’s something I have dreamed about and I plan on pursuing it after graduation.” t

ONLINE TOURNAMENT DURING THE PANDEMIC

With all of the coronavirus issues going on, the Auburn University Bass Fishing Team thought having a recent online tournament would be the perfect opportunity to get people outside safely enjoying the great outdoors. The idea was a great success!

“I don’t know about you, but being out on the water on a boat by myself is about the best form of social distancing I’ve found,” said the team president, Logan Parks. “We wanted to create something that would allow everyone to be involved and be able to compete, yet still be safe and follow the guidelines the government had put in place for us. I also wanted to give our seniors another opportunity to be able to compete as one of them had commented that they had fished their last tournament without even knowing it. I know it was not as good as a normal competition, but it was better than nothing. The online tournament was a great way to continue to add value to the sponsors during these tough times by promoting their products as prizes in the tournament as well as random giveaways just for participating.“

Logan says the event was completely free unlike some online tournaments, and everyone was encouraged to participate no matter who they were or where they were. The tournament was run on the Fishing Chaos app, so participants downloaded the app from the app store and made an account. Due to the tournament not being in person, they opted to use length as the winning factor instead of weight. There were five different categories that everyone picked from and prizes for each - the overall “Longest Bass” category, in which they were awarded prizes for the top 5 in, an overall “Longest Largemouth Bass” category, an overall “Longest Smallmouth Bass” category, an overall “Longest Spotted Bass” category, and an overall “Longest Redfish” category.

“We wanted to give everyone a fair chance to win no matter

where they were in the country and even included the redfish category to give people on the coast a chance to participate. Even if you didn’t catch one long enough to get on the leaderboard, just for submitting your catch you were eligible for a random drawing for some awesome prizes,” explained Logan.

As far as rules for the tournament, there were only a few, he says. Due to the tournament not being in person where everyone weighs in using the same scale, they opted to use length as the winning factor. For the catch to be eligible it was submitted by photo, with the fish lying flat on its side with its mouth closed and pushed all the way up against a measuring border or right even with the start of a measuring tape. The measurements were also legible and easy to read so that they could determine the fish was measured accurately, and the pictures had a code word in them written on a piece of paper. The code word was ‘WDE.’ Multiple pictures were allowed through the app so participants were advised to show one of the measurements and one of the fishermen holding it so that it could be shared on social media.”

Carson Winn, the overall winner of the longest bass caught a 25” Largemouth. Carson won a deep-sea red snapper fishing trip for two, 2nd place (Garett Sanders) received a Dobyns Champion XP Series rod of choice, 3rd place (Hayden Bass) received a Dobyns Sierra Series rod of choice, 4th place (Cole Sands) received a Dobyns Fury Series rod of choice, and 5th place (Madison Stephens) received a Dobyns Colt Series rod of choice. Dobyns is one of the title sponsors. On top of that, the longest overall fish from each category (Largemouth, Smallmouth, Spotted Bass & Redfish) all received a pair of sunglasses from WileyX and a pair of fishing boots from another one of the sponsors. Even if folks didn’t catch one long enough to get on the leaderboard, just for submitting the catch, they were eligible for a random drawing for some awesome prizes. t

“I don’t know about you, but being out on the water on a boat by myself is about the best form of social distancing I’ve found,” said the team president, Logan Parks.

Lake Days with Talented Watersports Enthusiasts #howilake

Here on the lake, it was easy to obey social distancing recommendations this summer while still having fun with family and friends. Due to maximum occupancy ratings on most watercraft being within the suggested limit for quarantine groups, boaters easily stayed in small squads of their choosing and found ways to get out there and continue enjoying lake life and the joy of watersports.

On Smith Lake, what usually kicks off as a “normal” lake day often turns into a wake extravaganza when the right folks show up and show out. Watersports is all about having fun, joining up with others, and trying new things. Lakes days get particularly exciting when a group collectively have that same super positive “go big or go home” kind of attitude along with some excellent athletic capability.

We happened to meet up with the Runnels and Johnson families and their friends quite a bit this summer, and they proceeded to blow our minds with their athletic abilities and expertise in all facets of watersports. It seemed there was nothing they couldn’t do!

In the Johnson family, father Bill Johnson is a long-time watersports lover, and his family follows right in his footsteps, especially sons Will and Ben. Some time ago, the Johnson family introduced the David Runnels family to their brand of “try it all” watersports, and they are all hooked now and have become quite talented themselves.

We’ll tell you more about these individual families in the future, but on these pages, you’ll find photographs from an exceptionally

First, they kicked-off the day pulling up seven skiers: one wakesurfer carrying a passenger, two wakefoilers carrying passengers, plus a hydrofoiler. Next, two hydrofoilers skied behind three boats. By the end of the day, the activities had graduated to four boats making wakes in “V” formations that held three wakesurfers simultaneously.

The fun event was thoughtfully executed on a stretch of wide water where there were no houses or docks, mostly forested shorelines, and with well over a hundred years of boat driving experience and talent between the participants. It was a truly spectacular show.

We can’t wait to see what this group does next - they never disappoint with their skills and are absolutely a joy to watch. t

WRITER THE LAKESIDE LIFE TEAM PHOTOGRAPHY SPENCER TILL AND NATALIE RUNNELS

fun summer day of watersports and what has become known among the talented group of friends as the “Triple Surf/Quad Boating Day” – “Callaway Gardens” style.

Stretching nearly 200,000 acres across North Alabama’s Lawrence, Winston and Franklin counties, the beautiful Bankhead National Forest and the scenic Sipsey Wilderness area that lies within the forest’s parameters are among the state’s most treasured natural resources, overflowing with rich cultural and geological history, bountiful wildlife, and seemingly endless outdoor recreation opportunities. And as if these places weren’t valuable enough, it is also here in this land of cascading waterfalls, swift streams, sandstone cliffs, deep gorges, and ancient hardwood trees that the famously clean waters of Lewis Smith Lake originate.

Like all precious natural places today, however, the Bankhead Forest and Sipsey Wilderness require a great deal of protection and stewardship to preserve them from harmful human activity. Working diligently to fulfill this duty is Wild South, a nonprofit forest protection organization that serves as a much-needed watchdog for

these places and other natural treasures in the Southeast. As the only dedicated forest protection organization in the state, Wild South’s accomplishments since its formation nearly 30 years ago have been impressive to say the least, like securing the protection of 180,000 acres in the Bankhead Forest and more than 12,000 acres of critical habitats, including more than 1,800 miles of streams. These are just a few examples among their many notable hard-fought victories won in several states. Additionally, Wild South annually educates approximately 3,000 children in the woods and in classrooms and contributes over 4,000 hours of volunteer service.

“Protecting our forests and our water is essential to the health and well-being of humans and all the rest of life,” says Janice Barrett, who has been with the organization since its formation and currently serves as its Alabama outreach coordinator.

“Public land belongs to all of us and we are all responsible for its care.”

WRITER JOHN D. PALMER

Janice says Wild South protects the Bankhead Forest by: monitoring Forest Service activities; serving as a member of the Bankhead Liaison Panel; educating forest visitors about Leave No Trace and how to protect the land and water through its Volunteer Wilderness Ranger program; public presentations, hikes and programs; and remediating destructive activities through the Volunteer Wilderness Ranger program and the Helping Hands Volunteer Program. And in a very direct way, the work they do helps keep the Smith Lake reservoir clean.

“Because of being situated at the southern tip of the Appalachian chain and on the southern edge of the Cumberland Plateau and the geology of those formations, the Warrior Mountains, in which the Bankhead and Sipsey are set, contain amazing diversity of plant, animal and forest types,” Janice says. “The landscape is varied with ridgetops, sandstone canyons, limestone outcroppings and glades and an abundance of streams that carve their way through the Pottsville sandstone formation. Water flowing out of the Bankhead National Forest and Sipsey Wilderness form Smith Lake. The headwaters of the Sipsey Fork of the Black Warrior River, Alabama’s only Federally designated Wild and Scenic River, begin in the Sipsey Wilderness and flow through the Bankhead. They are joined by Brushy Creek, Clear Creek and all their tributaries to form Smith Lake, so the waters of Smith Lake are born in the Sipsey Wilderness.”

all those industrial-based pollutants except airborne pollution. What happens upstream from Smith Lake really matters a lot.”

Luckily, she says that as of the 2004 Forest Revision Plan, the Bankhead Forest is managed by the Forest Service in a way that is less threatening to water than in the past. Nowadays, in partnership with the Forest Service, Wild South and its volunteers monitor and combat the aforementioned environmental threats on a regular basis. They fix erosion problems on trails and banks, pick up truckloads of trash, keep hiking trails in good shape to prevent user-made trails, and perform ecosystem restoration.

Throughout the year, Wild South also hosts “Helping Hands” volunteer workdays. During these days, which typically require several miles of hiking, volunteers undertake various projects such as privet removal. Privets are a species of nonnative invasive plant that wreaks havoc on the native ecosystem. The invasive shrubbery stays green all year and can grow to the size of a tree. It is recognizable by its woody stems and big clusters of purple berries. Privet pulling is physically demanding work that involves stooping, pulling privet plants out of the ground and hauling them out of the flood plains. Chinese privet is the most threatening non-native invasive species in the Sipsey Wilderness because it has no competition and keeps native plants from establishing themselves.

According to Janice, the health of these areas directly

the Sipsey Wilderness area, the largest designated wilderness

According to Janice, the health of these areas directly correspond to the health of Smith Lake since the headwaters of the Sipsey Fork are entirely sourced from the Sipsey Wilderness area, the largest designated wilderness area east of the Mississippi River. She says that while this area has the highest level of protection from human activity, threats are not so controlled outside of it in the surrounding Bankhead Forest. Most of these threats come from terrestrial actions such as logging – mostly on private land holdings – which can cause sedimentation and adversely affects the aquatic animal species that live in the river and creeks. Meanwhile, inappropriately placed campsites, creek crossings, and trails can cause erosion, trash and contamination.

“Threats to our water come from all directions - mercury in the air and rain from coal-fired power plants, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and a long list of other pollutants from industries and mining operations,” she says. “The Sipsey Wilderness offers the best possibility for clean water because it is protected from

volunteer workdays. During these days, which typically require native invasive plant that wreaks havoc on the native stooping, pulling privet plants out of the ground and privet the Sipsey Wilderness because it has no competition and keeps native plants from establishing themselves. attending Bankhead Liaison Panel meetings when they restart. Volunteer programs are still ongoing but minimized groups are currently much smaller than they were previously. As another temporary precaution, the popular Summertime

If interested in getting involved, Janice recommends starting by learning about Leave No Trace at lnt.org and attending Bankhead Liaison Panel meetings when they restart. Volunteer programs are still ongoing but minimized due to COVID-19 at the time of this article’s release, and groups are currently much smaller than they were previously. As another temporary precaution, the popular Summertime Wild Wednesday nature hikes for kids and families are now being videoed rather than being led by an in-person guide. The first video, released in early July, features Maggie Johnson with Camp McDowell exploring the forest with Janice. They go over safety practices and identify native plants, wildlife and geological formations. Throughout the year, Wild South usually hosts a variety other activities including documentary screenings. Donations to the organization keep all these activities going.

Most Wild South events, including hikes, require making a reservation because of limited spaces. For more information, visit wildsouth.org where you can sign up for their newsletter. You can also find them on Facebook and Instagram @ wildsouthorg . t

Bankhead. They are joined by Brushy Creek, Clear

A life-changing service, traveling at the speed of light, will soon race into homes in rural areas of Cullman County, including Smith Lake.

The Cullman Electric Cooperative is running fiber optics to all 17 of its power substations, which will send the most reliable, fastest internet service to all areas, including portions of Winston County, particularly in the Addison and Houston areas.

While new, high-speed internet will be a valuable enhancement for students and educators, there’s also anticipation of a new era of business opportunities.

“We’re looking at what should open up great opportunities for small business and industry. We will see areas that will

be able to better recruit businesses that simply struggled in the past because internet service was not available,” said Brian Lacy of the Cullman Electric Cooperative.

Phase 1 of the project will impact about 12,000 Co-op members by the end of the year and early 2021.

“When we get through the first phase and see how that is working we can continue on,” Lacy said. “We have about 37,000 members and 44,500 meters. This represents a huge portion of the population in Cullman County and the residents we serve in a portion of Winston County.

The first phase is moving toward Berlin, Fairview and Holly Pond and will loop south toward the Hanceville and Good Hope areas and then to the many homes around Smith Lake.

“There are a lot of areas on the lake and everyone who is there wants internet,” Lacy said. “Our goal is to have it available to all of our members.”

The power of internet moving into small communities that have long watched opportunities escape to larger areas is unchartered territory where business and residential life are concerned.

“It will create a new playing field in business and residential development,” Lacy said. “Everyone needs it. So, this means new opportunities for establishing businesses and future expansion. For residents, it makes life easier, particularly for students needing reliable and fast internet service.”

The arrival of the coronavirus accented the need for high-speed internet. Concerns about attending classes versus working from home will be in the future easier to decide, once the system is in place.

“It just highlighted that need. School campuses have internet, but many students go home and don’t have access. Even under normal conditions without coronavirus, that is a disadvantage,” Lacy said. “With this service you will also see more potential for medical professionals to operate in small communities, as well as the job and investment opportunities that are possible.”

With the initial phase moving east and eventually looping around the county to the west, Cullman County’s already successful economic efforts are expected to become even better.

Smith Lake is both a year-round residence and vacation destination. Developers may well see more people willing to move to the area with the emergence of the Co-op’s internet service.

Expansion of reliable cost-effective internet service is a statewide issue where education and the economy are concerned.

Lacy said Cullman County should find itself in a strong position for expansion with the move to expand high-speed internet.

Customers will be offered different packages of the service, with one beginning at $59.99 per month and another at $79.99. t

“What’s good about what we are providing is that your service will not slow down because there is no shared service. You get the speed because this is running directly through fiber optics,” Lacy said.

The Cullman County legislative delegation has been among lawmakers who have pushed for more creative ways to provide expanded internet service.

“They have done a lot to make this possible,” Lacy said. “Being able to have fiber optics will also help us to locate or pinpoint problems in our service area quickly so that we can restore power when a problem occurs.”

Billing for internet service will be separate from customers’ power bills. For additional information about the internet program the Co-op website has complete details about the service and how to purchase it: cullmanec. com. Also, be sure to follow them on social media as @cullmanec on both Facebook and Instagram.

Recently we picked up a quart of fresh “Smith Lake Honey” from our local beekeeper, Cindy Bryant. Cindy is a former president of the local Arley Women’s Club, and still a member of this celebrated group of ladies. When we asked Cindy if she had a particular favorite recipe featuring her honey, she didn’t hesitate to offer up a secret family BBQ Sauce recipe. She attached the recipe to our jar. We couldn’t wait to give it a try. We picked up some smoked meat for the weekend from a favorite local BBQ restaurant in Arley, Frog’s Bootleg BBQ, so it was a perfect time to try it out. All we can say is that we sure wish we’d made MORE! Give this recipe a try and we highly encourage you to contact Cindy for a jar of fresh honey whenever she has stock. You can find her on Facebook or contact us and we’ll help you connect.

INGREDIENTS

• ½ of a 22 oz bottle of ketchup

• ½ of a 10 oz bottle of Worcestershire Sauce

• ½ cup of vinegar (white)

• 1 T Smith Lake Honey

• 1 T black pepper

• 1 ½ T lemon juice

INSTRUCTIONS

Dissolve honey in vinegar and mix well with all other ingredients. Store covered or sealed in the refrigerator.

NOTE: We’ll likely double our recipe next time to feed the extra teenagers or neighbors that stop by for something off the grill or smoker.

Serve with your favorite smoked meat, on a sandwich, or it’s also great with a loaded baked BBQ potato or home fries. Endless possibilities! This sauce is now a staple in our house.

If you post a photo of your results on any of the recipes you find in the magazine, be sure to tag us for repost. If you have a recipe you’d like to submit, please just contact us by email at thelakesidelife@gmail.com t

Also, speaking of Arley Women’s Club, we’ve got one of their cookbooks in our kitchen, and enjoy trying out new recipes quite often. Everything we’ve attempted has been wonderful. We’ve even bought a few of these cookbooks to give away as gifts to friends who visit. Pick up one of these recipe books soon, especially knowing they support such a great local organization that does so many incredible things for the lake community and Alrey, AL, “The Heart of Smith Lake.” Just contact the Arley Women’s Club through their Facebook page.

This recipe is a favorite in our house. The recipe was tweaked from one given to us by a family member. We love the ease of preparing the night before and quickly throwing the skewers on the grill after a long day of boating. A convenient dish that both adults and kids will enjoy.

INGREDIENTS

• 4-6 boneless chicken breasts (depending on size or yield you desire), and cut into 1-1.5” cubes

• 1/3 cup honey, local fresh is best – we use Bryant’s Smith Lake Honey

• ¼ cup of oil (favorite vegetable, olive, or cooking oil)

• 1/3 cup soy sauce

• ½ t spices or to taste (use your favorite – we use a combo of Bully Sauce’s Sweet Slobba Rub and some McCormick Grill Mates

Montreal Chicken or Weber Kick’n Chicken)

• 2 cloves of garlic, raw, minced

• 2 large purple onions (or white onions), raw, cut into 1” cubes

• 3-4 large raw bell peppers, sweet - green, red, orange, yellow or purple for nice color (cut into approx. 1” squares or slightly larger)

• 3 medium zucchinis cut into ¾”rounds

• Coarse salt & pepper to taste

• Skewers

DIRECTIONS

In a bowl, whisk together honey, oil, soy sauce, garlic and spices. Reserve some marinade to brush on the kabobs while grilling. Place the cubed chicken, zucchinis, onions and peppers in the bowl and marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours (we did ours overnight in a gallon freezer style bag so we could easily keep turning and coating).

Preheat the grill for a high heat. We cooked ours on a Weber charcoal grill.

Drain the marinade from the chicken and veggies and discard. Thread the chicken and veggies alternately onto the skewers in a pattern. Salt and pepper to taste (light on the salt, remember the soy sauce has sodium in it).

If needed, lightly oil your grill grate. Place skewers on the hot grill and cook for approximately 15 minutes or until the juices run clear or you get a desired temperature read. Turn and brush with reserved marinade frequently. Serve quickly, best warm on the skewers or remove the meat and veggies and plate up for children.

Serve with your favorite side dishes. Sometimes we make rice bowls with this. This time, we opted for long grain wild rice on the side and steamed broccoli, with garlic and butter toasted bread. t

Need something different to spice up the weekend grilling routine? Cullman’s Brickyard Meats gave us this great recipe for a delicious easy marinade for flank steak. Give it a try at your next afternoon grill session, and let us know how you like it. If you post a photo of your results on any of the recipes you find in the magazine, tag us!

INGREDIENTS

• 1-1 ½ lbs of flank steak (bought local from Brickyard Meats of course!)

• 5 green onions, chopped

• ¾ cup avocado oil or grapeseed oil

• ½ cup soy sauce or coconut aminos

• 1 ½ t ground ginger

• 1 ½ t garlic powder

• 3 T honey (NOTE: our favorite local honey is provided by Cindy Bryant of Arley Women’s Club, “Bryant’s Smith Lake Honey”)

• 2 T apple cider vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS

Place steak in a large shallow dish. Combine the remaining ingredients, mixing well. Pour over the steak, cover and let marinade for at least an hour. Turn the steak at least once. Grill the steak over hot coals 5 to 10 minutes on each side or until done to your taste. You can baste the steak with the marinade while grilling. Remember to slice the flank steak across the grain to serve. Serve with your favorite summer salad or side dish – we enjoyed ours with roasted potatoes (seasoned with sea salt, ground pepper, garlic, soy sauce, olive oil and diced rosemary sprigs), steamed broccoli and fresh sliced local tomatoes. t

OUTLAW MUCHACHOS

This recipe is a true Smith Lake original. Born from long, fun but tiring days of wakefoiling and wakesurfing with dear friends on Rock Creek. We wanted to create a signature drink, a perfect refreshing concoction to help our wake tribe wind down nicely after a day of watersports and wake shenanigans. The challenge was made, and our friends Jamey & Amy Makemson delivered in spades. It has now become a favorite among our extended group of friends as we watch sunsets from the deck or chill out around the fire pit on summer evenings.

INGREDIENTS

1 DRINK FOR 6

Sprite 2 oz 12 oz

Sweet & Sour 2 oz 12 oz

Curacao ½ oz 3 oz

Tequila ¾ oz 4.5 oz

Rum ¾ oz 4.5 oz

Vodka ¾ oz 4.5 oz

DIRECTIONS

Pour all ingredients in a glass over ice cubes (or mix in a pitcher if making a batch) and stir lightly. Be warned, just one of these is enough to take the edge off a long day of hard watersports.

Drink responsibly and enjoy… CHEERS!

RECIPE AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMEY & AMY MAKEMSON

BREED: Netherlands Dwarf Rabbit

HOME BASE: Brandon, MS HUMANS: Natalie Runnels (and her parents)

LAKE

PASTIME:  She loves to lick and play

FAVORITE

LAKE TREAT: Lettuce

OTHER FUN FACTS: She is really sweet and besides playing and licking, she also plays like a cat and is ticklish on her belly. Follow her on Instagram as @lola.the_bunny12 .

BREED: Golden Retriever

HOME BASE:  Upper Brushy Creek

HUMANS: Shannon and Craig Terry

LAKE PASTIME:  Fetching and Boat Rides

FAVORITE LAKE

TREAT: Steak (Can you say spoiled?)

OTHER FUN

FACTS: I need no toy, rocks from the flower bed are sufficient. In the summertime, you may see me looking like a lion after a fresh cut. I am so spoiled, I won’t eat my food when it’s given to me. Instead, I wait for leftovers from the grill.

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