Lake Magazine October 2022

Lake Martin Pirate Day

Haunted Lake

Helen Krontiras, M.D. Surgical Oncology

Rachael Lancaster, M.D. Surgical Oncology

Catherine Parker, M.D. Surgical Oncology

Lily Gutnik, M.D. Surgical Oncology

Letter from the Editor

If you read this letter regularly, you know that I hold in high esteem anyone who makes life better at Lake Martin. I cannot say often enough how much we owe the people who turn out to clean up the shorelines and roadways; the water monitors; the dining and music venues; the tourism officials and the folks at our marinas and so many more whose focus always is to enhance your experiences at Lake Martin. And yet, I admit to having my favorites.

For more than 15 years, Lake Martin Resource Association’s president, John Thompson, has touted the importance of pick ing up litter and keeping our lake free of trash. He has called meetings, sent press releases, arranged art contests for grade school children, recruited sponsors, peddled memberships, organized volunteers and donned a safety vest to clean up road sides every day of those 15 years. And he’s at it again.

The annual Renew Our Rivers cleanup at Lake Martin will hit lake area shorelines and roadways Nov. 4 and 5. And in the article on page 36, John has provided everything you need to know to participate. Get your oversized trash bags and pickers ready. Gather your friends, neighbors and family and spend a day or two doing good. Follow an extraordinary example in John Thompson.

And then, there’s Jimmy K. Lanier. When Jimmy was looking for local ground on which he could train for the Appalachian Trail back in 2004, the gleam in his eye landed at what is now Overlook Park, where more than 7 miles of free, footpath-only trails have been built for the enjoyment of anyone with a hankering to hike. From that humble beginning has come the Cherokee Ridge Alpine Trail Association and not only the Overlook trails but also the Deadening trails, the Forever Wild trails south of Martin Dam, including the John B. Scott Trail, and the trails, fire tower and outdoor education center at Smith Mountain.

We’re very excited this month to announce that CRATA will build a second fire tower on the south side of Lake Martin, returning to the place where the trail adventures began. Jimmy found a 110-foot fire tower in Virginia that was slated for removal. So naturally, he rounded up the volunteers and set out to take it apart, piece by piece, and bring it to Lake Martin. Check out the story on page 20 for the details and time sched ule.

As favorite as these gentlemen are, they’re certainly not the only people making life better at the lake. On page 26, you’ll see how Shellee Smith dreamed up Pirate Day on the lake last month, and you’ll read of Melanie Shelton’s popular Halloween display near Goat Island on page 32. There’s all that and more going on at Lake Martin this month. Don’t just not miss it.

Come out and be a part of it. Join the fun. Join the favorites.

Staff

Chairman

KENNETH BOONE editor@lakemartinmagazine.com

Publisher STEVE BAKER editor@lakemartinmagazine.com

Editor in Chief BETSY ILER editor@lakemartinmagazine.com

Art Director

AUDRA SPEARS audra.spears@alexcityoutlook.com

Business & Digital Publishing Director

ANGELA MULLINS angela.mullens@alexcityoutlook.com

Audience Development Director

ERIN BURTON erin.burton@alexcityoutlook.com

Marketing/Advertising Director

TIPPY HUNTER tippy.hunter@alexcityoutlook.com

Marketing

RENEE TRICE renee.trice@alexcityoutlook.com

MARILYN HAWKINS marilyn.hawkins@thewetumpkaherald.com

JENNIFER WELCH jennifer.welch@thewetumpkaherald.com

SHERYL JENNINGS sheryl.jennings@thewetumpkaherald.com

Digital Success Manager

TAMINKO KELLEY taminko.kelley@alexcityoutlook.com

Contributors

KENNETH BOONE JULIE HUDSON BREANNA MANLEY

GREG VINSON

CLIFF WILLIAMS

PETE MCKENNY ERIC REUTEBUCH

LONNA UPTON JOHN COLEY WILL MARLOW KAITLIN FLEMING HENRY FOY MATT SHEPPARD

Betsy Iler, Editor-in-Chief

are copyright of: Tallapoosa Publishers, Inc. P.O. Box

35011 256-234-4281

Ahoy, mateys! Lake Martin was awash with swashbucklers Sunday, Sept. 18, for the inaugural Lake Martin Pirate Day. More than 30 boats joined in, as a precelebration of National Talk Like A Pirate Day on Sept. 19. Lake Martin Pirate Day originator Shellee Smith and her husband, Jared, decorated their pontoon boat and distributed bags of candy and booty on the lake.

Photo by Kenneth Boone

On

20. CRATA RESCUES ANOTHER TOWER Volunteers will refurbish a Virginia fire tower and install it near Lake Martin's south shoreline.

25. DON'T PACK UP JUST YET

The lake level remains at full pool for two more weeks of fun.

26. THERE BE PIRATES IN THESE WATERS

The inaugural Lake Martin Pirate Day was a resounding success.

29. TOWBOAT TO THE RESCUE A StillWaters family shares their towing adventure at sunset on the lake.

32. HAUNTED LAKE

An Alabama Power retiree shares her passion for holiday decorating with everyone at the lake.

36. DO YOUR PART FOR THE LAKE Gather friends and family for one more weekend to keep Lake Martin clean for next year.

38. LIVE THE DREAM Renovating an old cabin was a win for this couple whose dream came true.

47. ALABAMA ART COLONY RETURNS

After a two-year absence due to COVID, artists will paint again at Children's Harbor.

48. LABOR DAY LOVE Russell Lands hosted a two-day concert series at Crossroads on Labor Day weekend.

LAKE MAGAZINE’S MONTHLY FEATURES:

9. LAKE’S QUICK GUIDE TO THE LAKE

10. LAKE SCENES

LAKE AREA EVENTS

LAKE MARTIN NEWS

NATURE OF THE LAKE

LAKE PROPERTY

LAKE WATCH

61. FAB FINDS 62. HEALTHY LIVING 65. CHEF'S TABLE 66. FROM THE CELLAR 68. BIG CATCHES 68. PAR FOR THE COURSE 78. PARTING SHOT

Lake magazine also features an online, digital edition, available 24 hours a day, free of charge. This edition is perfect to share with friends and family and provides you complete access to stories, photos and advertisements from anywhere in the world with Internet access. View our digital edition today at www.lakemagazine.life.

Lake’s Quick Guide to the Lake

Lake Martin Area Real Estate Indicators

Lake Martin Tourism wins governor's honor

The Alabama Tourism Department held their annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Auburn Aug. 27-30. On Monday evening, they hon ored Lake Martin Tourism Association as Tourism Organization of the Year. The organization is still in its infancy but has been impactful in driving visitors to the area.

“Tourism marketing is an important economic driver to our area, and we are very proud to accept this award that shows the suc cess of Lake Martin Tourism Association,” said Ed Collari, who was president and CEO of the Alexander City Chamber of Commerce and president of the Lake Martin Tourism Association at the time.

The organization was founded in 2019 by a group of 12 passionate tourism professionals in the Lake Martin area. As an organization that was just getting started during a pan demic, in a time when many tourism destinations were expe riencing decreases in visitation, the Lake Martin area doubled down on marketing efforts and actually saw increased visita

tion. That momentum has continued, and year over year, the area continues to see more visitors and increased lodging tax col lections, despite more travel options open ing back up around the world.

Lake Martin and destinations across the state all contribute to Alabama’s tourism indus try, which has grown substantially over the last decade. Governor Kay Ivey spoke at the conference on Tuesday, noting that tourism will have a $24 billion economic impact this year.

Lake Martin Tourism Association is a legally registered 501(c)(6) non-profit organization located in Alexander City, Alabama. The LMTA is an economic enhancement tool for Alexander City and the immediate communities surround ing Lake Martin and is administered by a board of directors made up of professionals who are impacted by tourism.

Weather Outlook for October

October 2022 Forecast

Historically, the Lake Martin area experiences average high temperatures in the mid 70s with average lows in the lower 50s and just under 4 inches of precipitation in the month of October.The National Weather Service has predicted that temperatures will be above average, and rainfall will be normal this month.

Year-to-Date

Precipitation: 33.42 inches

Avg. high temp.: 76.6

Avg. low temp.: 53.6 Avg. temp.: 65.1

Information from the National Weather Service.

Our Normal October Precipitation: 2.86 inches

Avg. high temp.: 76.7

Avg. low temp.: 50.8 Avg. temp.: 63.7

Last Month's Lake Levels

Summer: 491 MSL

Winter: 481 MSL

Highest: 490.36

Lowest: 490.24

Lake depth is measure d in reference to mean sea level. For up-to-date water levels at the lake, visit lakes.alabama power.com.

Lake elevations are subject to change. Individuals who recreate below Martin Dam and those with boats and waterrelated equipment on the lake should always stay alert to changing conditions.

Staff report

Lake Martin Tourism board members Bruce Adams, Jodie McGirt, Vonzell Traylor, Ed Collari, Brandy Hastings, Steve Thomas and Roger Holliday attended the conference

READER SUBMISSIONS

(1) They say he landed this flip. (2) Abby waves at the passing boats from her spot on the shore. (3) Lydia Lawler was duly impressed with her first visit to Lake Martin this summer. (4) Dixie Hall's Yogi was very excited about getting to watch the Russell Marine July 4th Boat Parade this year. (5) Waylon Taunton, 4, goes for a swim at Beech Island on Lake Martin. (6) Cash Andrews, Pierce Wilson and Zach Koons catch the last of the sunset from the floating mat.

READER SUBMISSIONS

(1) Amelia Tampling and Lydia Ann Prince dressed for a spectacular day at the lake. (2) The 4th of July at the Mann place on Lake Martin just isn't complete without a jump in the lake. (3) Cindy and Pete Farrior watched this brilliant sunset at Trillium after wind and lightning moved across the lake. (4) Lillian Harris and Anthony Burgess took this drone photo of Kowaliga Bridge on a beautiful, clear day at the lake. (5) Brooks Adams takes a break from having fun at the lake. (6) Brantley Dunham sports the latest in Lake Martin Peanut Point wear.

Oct. 1

Car Show and Swap Meet

Spectators enter free from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at this Millerville event at Bibb Graves High School on state Route 9. The fee to enter a car is $20, and swap meet ven dors pay $10. Food items will be available for sale, as well hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and cold drinks.

Oct. 1

Anglers for Autism

Entry fee is $120 per boat, and fishing begins at safe daylight for this tournament to benefit The Learning Tree. Preregister at ogstournaments.org or the morning of the event at 4 a.m. inside the marina store at Wind Creek State Park. Prize money will be awarded for every seven boats entered with a $1,500 minimum for first place. Big Fish, Big Spot and Average Joe pots also will be awarded at weigh-in at 3 p.m. with drawings for other prizes. Event sponsorships are available as well. Visit Learning-tree.org.

Oct. 4

Antique Roses Seminar

Oct. 14-15 & 21-22

Taking the Old Man Home Tour

Dadeville Performing Arts Center will produce this read ers theater original Southern comedy at 7 p.m. Written by Alexander City’s Patti Smith, the play tells the story of an older woman and her three grown children who rent a motorhome to spread the ashes of her deceased husband at Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon and at their old home place, as he requested in his will, with hilarious results.

Oct. 15 Fall Festival

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

WHAT’S HAPPENING ON LAKE MARTIN

Dadeville’s annual Fall Festival is set for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. just off the courthouse square. Bring the kids to the fun zone. Shop with the arts and crafts vendors and enjoy delicious food from the food vendors. There will be live music, and Auburn University will be there with a raptor show. Don’t miss the 50/50 raffle. Contact the Lake Martin Dadeville Area Chamber of Commerce at 256-825-4019 for information.

Oct. 15

Fall Festival Open House

Tallapoosa County Master Gardeners will host Jason Powell of Petals of the Past from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at New Water Farms in Dadeville. Cost is $10, and registration is required. For more information, contact the Tallapoosa County Extension Office at 256-825-1050.

Oct. 8

Alabama Cotton Festival

Visit downtown Eclectic from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for this annual celebration of the town of Eclectic. Some 300 ven dors will display their wares, and there will be activities, games and inflatables for the children, as well as food, music, entertainment and fun.

Oct. 8

Main Street’s BBQ, Blues and Brews

This inaugural downtown event from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. will include music by Tyrone Moultry, lots of barbecue to sample, inflatables for the kids and a beer tent for adults. Think you’ve got a great barbecue recipe? Enter your cook team! Email sjeffcoatmainstreetac@gmail.com.

Stop in to get acquainted at Dadeville Performing Arts Center during the Dadeville Fall Festival from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to find out about arts opportunities in the community.

Oct. 15

10th Annual Fall Boogie

Standard Deluxe in Waverly will host American Aquarium, Mike and the Moonpies, Vandoliers, Sarah Lee Langford and Will Stewart at this year’s festival of music, art, food and Southern culture. Gates open at 12 p.m., and the show begins at 2 p.m. Tickets are $50. Kids 12 and under will be admitted free. Order tickets on the website at standdarddeluxe.com and choose “Will Call” under ship ping. Bring chairs and blankets. All tickets are general admission. No outside alcohol is allowed. No dogs.

Oct. 20

United Way Fashion Show & Silent Auction

Mark your calendar for this annual runway event at 5:30 p.m. in downtown Alexander City. General admission tick ets are $30. Reserve a VIP table for $500. Contact Lake Martin Area United Way at 256-329-3600 for details.

Take a guided walk to meet the animals that live in Russell Forest during the Turpentine Tales event Oct. 27 & 28

EINSTEIN!

Alexander City Arts will kick off its 2022-2023 season at the Central Alabama Community College Betty Carol Graham Center with a celebration of 100 years of gen eral relativity, an award winning and critically acclaimed solo show about Albert Einstein. Researched, written and performed by Jack Fry of Los Angeles, California, and directed by Hollywood’s Tom Blomquist, this play tells the story of a younger, pre-crazy-haired Einstein trying to prove general relativity against all odds.

Oct. 21

2nd Annual Ferst Readers Golf Tournament

Stillwaters Golf will host this event that provides free books to children in Tallapoosa County. Entry fee is $500 and includes boxed lunch, winner packages and prizes. Play begins at 10 a.m. Email paggen.susan@gmail.com.

Oct. 22

Holiday Arts and Crafts Market

Everything’s Art will feature local arts and crafts, sea sonal baked goods and food trucks at this holiday market from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For vendor applications, email everythingsartguild14@gmail.com or call 770-328-2094. Additional information may also be found on Everything’s Art and Pennington Park’s Facebook pages.

Oct. 25-27

Florals in Oils

Join Jeanette Herron’s three-day studio workshop at Tallapoosa School of Art and learn to paint using diver gent relationships, using vibrant colors next to muted grays and floral arrangements that come together harmo niously using planned compositions. For details and book ing information, visit tallapoosaworkshops.com.

Oct. 27 & 28

Turpentine Tales

Take a guided walk through Russell Forest from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. to get to know the forest animals. Meet at Russell Crossroads for this free event that is designed to entertain children and adults alike. Two narrators will begin the tour with a history of the Benson family, founders of the Dixie Industrial Company and what once was the Southeast’s largest turpentine distillery. Then, attendees will walk through the ruins of the old distillery and will be met by characters in animal costumes. They will talk about their lives in the forest. This year’s event introduces two new animals. At the end of the trail, enjoy s’mores around a cozy fire. Visit russelllands.com or email Karen Kison at kkison@russelllands.com for more information.

Oct. 29

Fall Family Festival

Visit Russell Crossroads from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a day of extraordinary fun. Visit a working blacksmith shop

and grist mill; choose a big orange pumpkin to take home. There will be games with prizes, wagon and pony rides, a petting zoo and a presentation by Naturalist Marianne. Win cash prizes in the canning and baking contests. Entry fee is $25 per family or $10 per individual. For more information, click the events tab at russelllands.com.

Oct. 29

Main Street Harvest Festival

Visit downtown Alexander City from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a day filled with fun activities for all ages. Join the Harvest Market at Strand Park for the final day of the Great Pumpkin Patch. There will be inflatables and face painting for the kids, as well as early Trick or Treating from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Take a living history tour through the Main Street of yesteryear with Alexander City com munity theatre actors and tour guides. And shop with local merchants, farmers, bakers, artisans and more.

Oct. 31

Halloween Night Hike

Bring the kids to a spooky, yet wholesome, Halloween night activity in Russell Forest. Meet Russell Lands’ naturalist at 5:30 p.m. at the Wilson Road Trailhead for a discussion about creepy critters in the forest before setting out into the woods with flashlights for spooky tales about things lurking in the woods. Costumes are welcome. The cost for this program is $10. Call Naturalist Marianne at 256-496-2710 to register.

Nov. 4

Founders Society Dinner

SpringHouse will host this Children’s Harbor event at 6 p.m. with Executive Chef Pete McKenny. Dress is resort casual. RSVP to franniemcbrayer@childrensharbor.com by Sunday, Oct. 30.

Nov. 4 & 5

Renew Our Rivers Cleanup

Join more than 400 volunteers who turn out every year to clean up roadways and shoreline at Lake Martin. Sponsored by Alabama Power and a host of local busi nesses and coordinated by Lake Martin Resource Association, this annual effort collected 16 tons of trash from the lake area last year alone. See the article on page 36 to find out how you can help.

Nov. 5

Fall Fun Finale Country Music Show with Brian Holder

Oldies, good ole Southern rock and outlaw country will be the evening’s fare from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Dadeville Performing Arts Center. Tickets available online and at the door. Visit dadevilleperformingartscenter.com.

5

St. James Annual Bazaar

St. James Episcopal Church will host its annual bazaar from 9 a.m. to noon. The bazaar will feature a variety of homemade goodies, including cakes, casseroles, soups, and other kitchen creations; crafts; and pottery bowls and plat ter, as well as St. James’s much loved pottery crosses and other items. The church is located at 347 S. Central Ave., Alexander City. All proceeds benefit local community out reach programs.

Nov. 12

5th Annual Farm Day

Bring the kids out to Meadows Farm from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for music, kids’ zone, pony rides, nature walks, arts and crafts vendors, games and farm animals. Proceeds from this event benefit the Meadows Scholarships for Children of Tallapoosa County. The farm is located at 3585 Dudleyville Rd., Dadeville. Corporate sponsorships are available. Call 256-269-8533 or email meadowsfarmal@gmail.com to sign up as a vendor or for more information or register online at meadowsfarmal.com.

Nov. 13

Main Street Holiday Open House

The Annual Holiday Open House is held the second Sunday in November with local shops opening up during the hours of 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to emphasize the beginning of the shopping season. Walk from store to store to pick up decorating items and gift ideas, along with special items on your holiday list.

Season-long Events

Artists Association of Central Alabama

AACA artists meet on the third Wednesday of the month at the Senior Center on the Charles E. Bailey Sportplex grounds. Meetings are followed by an open studio program, which also is open to the public. Club dues are $20 for the year.

Dulcimer Club

All levels of mountain dulcimer and blending traditional instruments are invited to gather at Dadeville Performing Arts Center from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Thursday to rehearse for performances at a variety of community events. Club fee is $25 annually. Performer memberships, patron memberships or quarterly memberships are $30. For details, email kim.walls@dadevilleperformingartscenter.com.

Dadeville Community Chorus

Rehearsals will be held from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Dadeville Performing Arts Center for a Dec. 13 performance. There also will be a performance at Pennington Park Nov. 27. For more information, email Kim Walls at kim.walls@dadevilleperformingartscenters.com.

Rhythm-Antics

Join this music exploration course with Kim Walls at Dadeville Performing Arts Center from 3:15 p.m to 4:15 p.m. on Thursdays. For all levels and ages, this class will teach students to read, write, play, sing and move to music rhythms. No need to know how to read music to start. The class will use a variety of classroom instruments, such as percussion, recorders and hand bells. No materials neces sary. Email kim.walls@dadevilleperformingartscenter.com.

Lake Martin Creativity

This group meets every Monday at 1 p.m. in the down stairs community room at the StillWaters Residential Building. Anyone interested in arts and crafts is encouraged to join. Bring something to work on or come see what oth ers are doing. A monthly fee of $5 is charged to help pay for the use of the space. For more information, contact Kay Fincher at 256-825-2506.

Fiber Fridays

Bring your knitting, crochet, needlepoint, embroidery and other fiber art projects to The Yarn Shop Around the Corner in Dadeville from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Fridays to meet fel low fiber artisans, share tips and techniques and talk with others who share your interests.

Library Storytime in Dadeville

Storytime for children aged 5 and younger is held at the Dadeville Public Library every Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Children’s Library in Alexander City

Mamie’s Place Children’s Library holds themed story time every Wednesday at 10 a.m. for preschool-aged and younger children. In addition, the children’s library hosts board games and puzzles every Thursday from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call Melissa Finley at 256-234-4644.

Children’s Harbor Treasures and Thrift Store

Located on state Route 63 just south of Lake Martin Amphitheater, the Children’s Harbor Thrift Store is open Thursday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. You never know what gems you might find – from clothes and house hold items to boats. Proceeds are used to help fund the activities at the Lake Martin campus of Children’s Harbor and the Family Center at Children’s Hospital. For more information, call 334-857-2008.

Tallassee Lions Club

The Tallassee Lions Club meets every Tuesday at Cozumel Restaurant, across from the football stadium in Tallassee, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. The public is welcome to join for an hour of humor, information, civic pride and patriotism. For more information, call Marilyn Speake at 334-283-6864 or email her at marilyn.speake@tcschools. com.

Lake Martin News

Dadeville couple named Tourism Superstars

Dadeville’s Steve and Julia Thomas, volunteers with Cherokee Ridge Alpine Trail Association,last month received the Lake Martin Tourism Superstars Award.

“Steve and Julia Thomas are CRATA volunteers that work tirelessly to keep CRATA hiking trails around Lake Martin,in tip-top shape for residents and visiting hik ers. Steve Thomas is president of the CRATA Board of Directors and the trail manager at Overlook Park. He and Julia spend countless volunteer hours every week to make sure visitors to the trails have a great outdoor experience,” the couple’s nomination letter read.

The Thomases were presented with a plaque of apprecia tion and $100 at Overlook Park on Aug. 30.

Staff report

State Park, deputies from the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, the Tallapoosa County Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross, along with troopers with ALEA’s Marine Patrol Division.

Staff report

BRHS fishing team takes second at Three Rivers tournament on Lake Martin

On the first leg of the Three River Throwdown, Benjamin Russell High School’s bass fishing team took home two top 10 finishes, along with a second place finish overall.

Alexander City’s BRHS finished the tournament with an individual second place finish, along with an individual sev enth place finish. Outside of the top-10, a third Wildcats’ boat finished 11th overall.

The tournament consisted of 89 boats from 12 schools in the Lake Martin area. Benjamin Russell sent 16 boats.

“I think it was a great start to the fall 2022 season,” said head coach Josh Williams. “Any time you can come out and compete and put yourself in a position to be successful and gain a lot of points, you have to be proud of that. We had three boats in the top-11 places and gained a lot of team points that will help us throughout the fall.”

The Wildcats’ best boat of the day was the angler duo of Slade Davis and Stihl Smith. Davis and Smith placed second in the tournament, with a scoring total of 299 points out of 300. The pair caught six fish with the biggest being 2.9 pounds. The team’s total weight was 11.26 pounds, just .52 pound shy of the first place boat.

In seventh place was the pair of Jackson Fuller and Davis Barnett. Fuller and Barnett also reeled in six fish, with the biggest being 2.84 pounds. The combined weight of their six fish was 10.19 pounds, good for a final score of 294.

The 11th place boat consisted of Jaxon Bradford and Kam Strickland. The biggest fish caught between the two was 2.57 pounds. The total weight of their six fish was 9.45, giving them a point total of 290.

Boater drowns at Lake Martin

The body of a man reported missing after his boat appeared to be abandoned near his campsite at Wind Creek State Park was found two days later. When an unoccu pied vessel was reported drifting near the park on Aug. 24, law enforcement agencies began a search for Jerry G. McKinney, 66, of Shelby. McKinney’s body was recovered from lake at approximately 10:48 a.m. Aug. 26.

According to a statement from Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, McKinney went missing and appar ently drowned in Lake Martin near the Wind Creek State Park between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 24. McKinney’s body was recovered approximately 200 yards from his campsite at the park.

The joint recovery effort was conducted by Alexander City Rescue Squad, Childersburg Rescue Squad, Houston County Rescue Squad, state park rangers from Wind Creek

Overall, between the three best boats for Benjamin Russell, the school placed second with a score total of 883.

The best boat of the day belonged to Jake Woodward and Lucas Mast from Evangel Christian Academy. The two had the highest overall weight between their six fish of 11.78 pounds, helping Evangel to a third place finish as a school.

Three other area teams competed in the tournament, including Horseshoe Bend, Reeltown and Dadeville.

Horseshoe Bend finished seventh overall, Dadeville fin ished 10th and Reeltown finished 11th.

Henry Zimmer

Julia and Steve Thomas spend countless hours keeping the Overlook Trail in good hiking condition

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The tower's owners offered it to CRATA for free if they would make the trip to Virginia to remove it

CRATA rescues a second tower

STORY BY BETSY ILER PHOTOS COURTESY OF CRATA

CCRATA expects to break ground this fall for the addi tion of its second fire tower at Lake Martin, this one to break the skyline just north of Overlook Park with stun ning views that stretch from Chimney Rock to Kowaliga Bridge. The 110-foot tower will complement the Smith Mountain Fire Tower, which 11 years ago was recon structed on Sandy Creek.

The new tower is 20 feet taller than Smith Mountain’s tower and will consist of 15 levels and 135 steps to reach the cab. The rails, crossbeams, cab roof and walls weigh some 8 tons, and its footings will be 7 feet deep. The property on which it will stand – 12-plus acres of Martin Dam project land – was purchased from Alabama Power to Cherokee Ridge Alpine Trail Association last month.

“This is high profile property,” said CRATA’s presi dent, Steve Thomas. “The tower will enhance an already great view of the lake and will attract people to our trails, making the lake even more of a great destination.”

Cherokee Ridge Alpine Trail Association raised $52,000 while building the Smith Mountain Fire Tower. The 501(c)3 nonprofit organization hopes to raise $70,000 in this new campaign. While the bulk of that amount would help to develop the area and construct the new tower, additional funds will be used to purchase and maintain equipment for the preservation and construction of trails at all of CRATA’s Lake Martin hiking venues.

The possibility of raising a second fire tower first came to light in early 2021, said Jimmy K. Lanier, who co-founded CRATA in 2004 with hiking friends.

“It all started with a conversation I had with David Vanna, who was the owner of a company called Fire Tower Restoration in New York. He told me there was a tower available, and CRATA could purchase it,” Lanier explained. “Vanna was going to ship it to Lake Martin.”

“We considered building it at the John B. Scott Trail, but in the end, the view would not have been as stunning as we hoped,” Thomas explained.

While CRATA searched for the appropriate tower location, Vanna took an opportunity to sell the tower to someone else, but he told Lanier of another tower he knew was available, this one in Virginia. Vanna had the original plans to the tower and sent them to Lanier.

“The tower’s owners had purchased the property and didn’t want the liability. They said we could have it for free if we came and took it down,” Thomas said.

With the ball already rolling, CRATA continued to pursue a location for a new fire tower while Lanier made a visit to Virginia to check it out. He returned from that trip in August 2021 and pronounced the project feasible.

“Everything but some of the diagonal ‘X’ braces were good. The tower was in good shape. The ground around it was flat, and the tower would be relatively easy to take down if we could avoid the power lines beside it,” said Lanier.

Conversations began in earnest about where to put the new tower. Some 12 years ago, CRATA had looked at the possibility of purchasing acreage north of Overlook Park to build a hiker information outpost, but when the Smith Mountain Fire Tower project came up, the board shifted

Volunteers used a manlift while loosening fasteners to dismantle the tower

CRATA hired a crane to take the tower down

its attention there.

Though a location had not yet been determined, six CRATA volunteers borrowed a 14-foot flatbed truck and a 20-foot trailer and headed to Virginia one year ago this month. Traveling with Lanier and Thomas were Mike Wilson, Walt Hutcheson, Fred Worsham and Roger Wolczek. They spent five days taking the tower down.

For the first two days, Thomas said, they loosened the fasteners on the 90-year-old tower to make its actual deconstruction go more smoothly on the third day when the crane arrived.

“We took it down in five stages, each stage consisting of two or three flight sections,” Lanier said.

The crane they’d hired was bid at $250 per hour for a minimum of eight hours.

“It took just three hours, and after the owner found out what we were doing, the final charge was only $1,000,” Thomas said.

With the more manageable crane sections on the ground, the CRATA crew spent the next two days dismantling them with the use of a manlift, as the indi vidual sections were unstable and not safe for individu als to climb on. Each piece was tagged and marked as it came off the sectioned structure and was loaded onto the flatbed or trailer.

“It doesn’t look like much laying in pieces on the ground,” Lanier said. “But it’s heavy.”

Plagued with flat tires on the trip home, the team bought five new ones on their way to deliver the tower parts to Lanier’s Eclectic home. There, the process of

reconstruction had yet to be identified.

“Each piece of metal has to be hot-dip galvanized. The treatment will extend the tower’s life,” Lanier explained.

Some parts were rusted through and not reusable as diagonal braces but could be cut down and used to make substantial handrails like those added to the Smith Mountain tower.

“For the original tower, the handrails were down by your knees,” he said. “Those guys who worked in the towers were used to running up and down, and they didn’t need more than that. But that’s not safe enough for our purposes. Safety will be our primary concern, just as it was on the Smith Mountain Fire Tower.”

The new handrails on the tower near Overlook Park will be higher, and 3-inch wire mesh will be added to the handrails and landings. These additional safety mea sures did not exist on the original tower and will require the drilling of approximately 2,000 holes through the 3/16-inch metal.

“Wendell Hornsby of Eclectic lent us the use of his water-cooled metal saw when we did the Smith Mountain tower, and he has again donated the use of his machine for the new tower. We just have to buy him a new saw blade,” Lanier said.

The CRATA board has found that outpouring of assistance in other aspects of this tower project as the refurbishing process continues prior to the actual con struction of the tower. Chris George, also of Eclectic, helped to punch the holes through the heavy metal at no charge, just as he did for Smith Mountain.

Logs that were donated for lumber needed for the

CRATA volunteers spent two days taking apart the tower sections on the ground

The crane lifted sections of three flights and placed them on the ground

new tower was cut at a sawmill owned by Jerry Bynum of Dadeville, a longtime member of the CRATA board. The wood is drying in various locations around the lake area, the space donated by supporters of the project.

When CRATA inquired to purchase 2 acres near Overlook Park for the project from Alabama Power, the utility offered to sell 10 acres to the organization instead of just two. Then, when the survey of the property showed it at 12.4 acres, the utility included the addition al acreage in the exchange for the 10-acre price.

There is still much to be done before construction can begin. The wood will be taken to Florida for a spe cial treatment beyond pressure-treating that will extend its use up to 50 years. The tower area and parking lot will need to be cleared and footings poured.

“We hope to get the footings in this fall, but we have a lot of work to do before we can start. Prior to hotdipping, we’ll have to bend all the angles and get holes punched in those,” Lanier said.

The stair flights will be pre-fabricated and installed, along with the landings, as the tower goes up. Each landing will be completed before the next one is built, Lanier said. One flight of stairs was missing from the tower when it was dismantled in Virginia but was pur chased from a man in Union Springs.

“We’ll use a manlift for everything but the cab. We’ll build the cab offsite and take it to the tower location on a trailer for installation,” Thomas said.

One set of stairs was missing but was found and purchased in Union Springs

Loaded onto a flatbed truck and trailer, the tower pieces weighed 8 tons

Once actual construction begins, the process could take a few months to complete, depending on weather and available volunteers, he added. The tower could be open as soon as next summer.

Once it’s finished, access to the south tower will be easier than Smith Mountain’s tower feature, as the Overlook area tower will stand just off Overlook Drive. No hiking will be required. A trail from the tower will connect to existing trails in the area, part of which already are on the new CRATA property.

It’s an ambitious project, Thomas and Lanier admit ted, but it’s entirely doable and is expected to draw visitors and hikers to CRATA’s free trails. And while the organization is pleased to accept, and truly needs, qualified offers of service from volunteers, there will be costs involved for the construction project and for supplies and equipment to maintain CRATA’s hiking venues at the Forever Wild property south of Martin Dam, the Overlook and Deadening trails and at Smith Mountain. Donations to CRATA are welcome. Visit crata.org to donate online and choose the south tower option or send checks to CRATA, c/o Jimmy K. Lanier, P.O. 240503, Eclectic AL 36024. See the donation form on page 28. Donations of $300 or more will be acknowledged on a permanent cast plaque at the south tower location.

“This,” Lanier said, “is just another great adventure.”

The cab will be rebuilt and delivered to the new tower site by trailer

Rhonda

Michelle

Don't pack up just yet

PHOTO BY AUDRA SPEARS

YYou still have a couple of weeks to tube, ski, surf and cruise at Lake Martin before the water level begins its descent toward winter pool’s 484 mean sea level feet, and that could bring some welcome changes for local anglers. Alabama Power declared the extension of summer pool on Sept. 1 when conditions in the Tallapoosa and Coosa river systems met the criteria for an additional six weeks of summer pool at 490 feet msl.

The fall extension provision of Alabama Power’s license to operate Martin Dam allows the summer pool level to be maintained through Oct. 15 when reservoirs throughout the river systems indicate water flow is suf ficient to supply navigational depths downstream in the Alabama River. If this criteria is not met on Sept. 1 of each year, the drawdown to winter pool would begin.

Historically, water temperatures hover near 80 degrees the first few weeks of October but are in a pronounced decline by Oct. 15. That means swimming, skiing, surf ing and pulling the grandkids behind the boat on tubes could still be on the agenda for weekends at the lake for a couple more weeks.

While the fall extension puts a bit of pressure on the

annual Renew Our Rivers cleanup volunteers (see the article on page 36), Alex City Guide Service Capt. David Hare said it won’t affect striper fishing at Lake Martin.

“It doesn’t make any difference on the fishing in October. It should be good regardless of whether the lake is full or down. Personally, I like the winter pool level because you don’t have as much water to cover to keep up with the fish,” he said.

The fall extension has a more direct effect on bass fishing, said Major League Fishing bass pro angler Greg Vinson.

“The bass on Lake Martin are accustomed to a fall drawdown, and unlike other times of year, it can help the fishing,” he said. “With the end of the fall extension, Alabama Power is pulling a large amount of water out of the reservoir, causing some extra current in the lake. Then, the water falling out of the shallows concentrates the forage, like shad and bream. The bass know it’s time to feed up for winter.”

So don’t put up the lake toys just yet but get the fishing gear ready. The fall extension could be a bonus for recre ational and fishing seasons on Lake Martin.

There Be Pirates in these Waters

Dadeville's Shellee Smith came up with the concept of Lake Martin Pirate Day when her kids learned that National Talk Like A Pirate Day was Sept. 19, and they wanted to do something fun with the idea. Smith declared the preceding Sunday a Lake Martin holiday and began a social media campaign to enlist others on the lake to celebrate. Clockwise from immediate right: Smith and her family dressed up their pontoon and distributed booty to passersby on the lake; Bluffs Daiquiri celebrated with contests and drink specials; Jim and Sherry Watkins dressed the part and brought their pup along; Jim Hovey loaded up the essential weaponry, a small cannon, and fired it off for Kenneth Boone's camera.

PHOTOS BY KENNETH BOONE

TowBoat to the Rescue

STORY BY BETSY ILER PHOTOS COURTESY OF KIM NYMAN

TTowBoat Lake Martin turned a potential disaster into an exciting adventure that the Nyman family could retell for years to come.

“We were cruising to The Landing for dinner one Saturday night in August with six hungry adults and four toddlers, but we broke down about five minutes away,” said Kim Nyman, who moved to Lake Martin fulltime with her husband, Ned, five years ago.

The Nyman’s have three children and eight grandchil dren. Their son, Eric, and his wife and children were visit ing from Marietta and one of their daughters, Becca, and her family were visiting from Denver.

“The Landing is everyone’s favorite spot, so we saved it for the last night of their visit,” Nyman explained. “We were passing the Willow Point Golf Course on our way there for dinner when we heard a clunk; and then, the engine kept conking out.”

They later learned the water pump on their Chaparral had failed. As the family was heading out for their evening meal, the sun drew closer to the horizon, and the children – ages 3, 2, 1-and-a-half and 1 – grew ever more hungry.

“My husband and son-in-law looked at it and saw that something was really wrong, so we called TowBoat. We’ve had a membership for years, but this is the first time we’ve had to use it,” Nyman said. “Capt. Jackson Kelly was there in about 15 minutes, and he towed us all the way back to our dock in StillWaters.”

The tow home took about an hour.

“We found two pretzel sticks in a purse to help with the hunger a little bit. But everybody was hungry. To keep the kids entertained, we sang songs and played games all the way home. We told the kids Capt. Kelly was like Superman,” Nyman said.

Eric kept baby Rowen laughing on the way home with

a taste of the wind in his hair, and Becca snapped a selfie of the whole family taking the tow in stride.

Nyman discovered Lake Martin on a lake-finding mis sion while she worked for The Home Depot’s catalog divi sion in Atlanta.

“I had worked for the company in St. Louis, but when The Home Depot bought the company, they moved it to Atlanta. So I had an apartment in Atlanta while Ned was still in St. Louis. I would go look for a lake to retire on,” she explained. “I loved Lake Martin. The water was so clear and beauti ful. The people I met were very nice.”

So they bought a home in StillWaters and love to host their family all year.

“Eric and his family are close, so they come pretty often. The girls are in Denver and can come two or three times a year,” Nyman said.

Eventually, the family discovered their favorite place to dine – the Landing at Parker Creek – in the lake’s northwest area. All during the family visit this summer, they looked forward to their spe cial meal there on the last night.

“We never got to The Landing again before they closed for the season,” Nyman said. “When our TowBoat captain delivered us to our dock, the kids had leftovers and mac cheese, and the adults called Niffer’s, and that was very good. We missed our last meal at The Landing, but we got to have a great adventure.”

Eric Nyman plays with his son, Rowen, during the tow home

Playing games kept spirits up

Haunted Lake

Alabama Power retiree shares her passion for holiday decorating with everyone on the lake

STORY BY BREANNA MANLEY & PHOTOS BY KENNETH BOONE

MMelanie Shelton has been col lecting holiday decorations since she was a teenager, leaving her with a massive collection of deco rations to expand on now that she’s retired from Alabama Power after 35 years and living full time on Lake Martin. Shelton retired just last month and with her new found free time, she can focus on something she loves – decorating her shoreline and backyard with holiday decorations.

Melanie Shelton has collected Halloween decorations since her teenage years

Though Shelton loves decorating for every holiday, Halloween has long been her favorite time of the year. With decorations by the dozens at her fingertips, the Coosada native spends weeks at a time decorating both the inside and outside of her cabin.

“I’ve always loved Halloween and Christmas. I dec orate for Easter. I do patriotic stuff. I just love decorat ing,” she explained.

With her backyard facing Lake Martin, Shelton’s decorations are on full display for boaters passing through the area. Following her retirement, Shelton was able to take her time setting up each display and even had help from a friend.

Before her departure from Alabama Power, Shelton was living in Coosada and regularly decorated for Halloween and other holidays. Trick-or-treaters enjoyed the unique displays when making their way to her door, and she always enjoyed seeing the joy the displays brought them.

Though she’s called Coosada home for quite a while, Shelton’s family has had the cabin on Lake Martin since the 1970s. She moved into the property full-time in 2010 and has been sharing her love of decorating with residents on the lake ever since.

“When I moved here in 2010, I asked myself if I should decorate or not. I mean I knew I wasn’t going to have any trick-or-treaters because most people only live here part time, but I wanted to see the decorations myself. I spent all this money, and I have so much of it, so I decided to put it out. I put some of it out; and then, the next year I put out a little more. Each year, I

kept dragging more and more out,” Shelton explained.

One of the most beloved pieces by both spectators and Shelton is the flying ghost strung between two trees. It’ll move from tree to tree and immediately grabs the attention of passersby. Included in the yardlength display is a graveyard complete with headstones and skeletons coming out of the ground, three Day of the Dead inspired blow-ups and twinkling lights strung across every bush or tree in sight. There are interactive displays scattered throughout the yard, and the entire display is lit up with Halloween-inspired colors when it starts to get dark outside.

With more time to dedicate to her love of decorat ing, Shelton decided this year she was going to start decorating for Halloween before Labor Day. The holi day was her opening weekend, and she will keep her spooky decorations up through September and October until it’s time to put up the Christmas decorations.

“I wanted to have it ready by Labor Day weekend because a lot of people stop boating around Labor Day. Kids are back in school, or they have ball games, so they don’t come to the lake as much. I really hustled it, so people would be able to see it,” she explained.

Though lake-goers have seen the decorations in passing over the years, this year has brought on a whole new audience through the use of social media, causing Shelton to develop a schedule for the display to be in its full glory each night.

Shelton plans to take her decorating to the next level with her free time, and she hopes to bring even more elaborate decorations to the shores of Lake Martin.

Gauzy spirits seem to float on air at the dock

Along with a seemingly endless display along the yard, Shelton’s dock is also decorated with twin kling lights sporting Halloween colors while ghosts hang from the top of the dock. If visitors peer past the displays blanketing the yard, they may see Shelton’s covered porch, which sports spooky neon signs, as well as more blowups.

Shelton’s Halloween décor spreads further than just the backyard. Before worrying about outside decorations every year, she pulls out her indoor decora tions and takes care of them first. In her den, dozens of pieces of Halloween-inspired art cover the walls up to the ceiling. On various surfaces throughout her kitchen and entryway, she displays cherished memorabilia perfect for the season, including small skeleton statues and stuffed characters from her favorite Halloween movies.

With a large quantity of decorations for every occasion, Shelton’s shed serves as her personal décor warehouse. The building is filled from top to bottom with shelves and storage bins filled with decorations for every holiday. Though a number of her Halloween decorations are displayed proudly in her yard with the approaching holiday, Shelton still has half a wall full of plastic pumpkins, Halloween masks and vintage costumes.

When it comes to enjoying holiday displays, it doesn’t get better than taking your boat out to Shelton’s house just south past Goat Island and enjoying what she’s collected over the years from yard sales, antique stores and even dumpsters.

“It seems to make everybody happy, and that’s why I do it. It makes me happy, but I love see ing people enjoy it. It warms my heart,” Shelton said.

FEELING THE CALL OF FALL?

MAKE SURE YOUR HEART IS HEALTHY

As the heat of summer fades and cooler temperatures come calling, we look forward to that feeling of fall. It’s the perfect time to be outdoors with family and friends, and a great time to be alive.

Make sure your heart is ready for the season with an appointment at the UAB Heart & Vascular Clinic at Russell Medical.

Kevin Sublett, MD, is board-certified in cardiovascular care and offers the latest in prevention, testing, and treatment for keeping your heart healthy.

Our clinic is backed by the knowledge and expertise of UAB Medicine, including:

• Advanced ultrasound testing

• Nuclear medicine imaging in fully accredited labs

• Management of cardiac rhythm disorders

• Interventional cardiology care

Our expanded clinical team is ready to serve you. Schedule a visit today by calling 256-234-2644.

HEART

3368 Highway 280, Suite 130 • Alexander City, AL 35010 (256) 234-2644 • uabmedicine.org/HeartRussell

Do your part for the lake

OOne lucky volunteer next month will win the Golden Picker prize, a large trash bag filled with gift items from local businesses and individuals, in gratitude for picking up trash during the Renew Our Rivers cleanup. Originated by Alabama Power and coordinated by Lake Martin Resource Association, this year’s ROR event is set for Friday, Nov. 4, and Saturday, Nov. 5. The clean up collected 16 tons of trash from lake area shorelines and roadways last year when Tiffany Sanders won the Golden Picker bag valued at nearly $1,000.

Last year’s Golden Picker bag included gift cards from local restaurants, T-shirts, beach towels, coffee mugs, a Bluetooth speaker, Tervis tumblers, hats, picnic blankets, home décor items and more. To be eligible for the Golden Picker prize bag, send a photo of yourself at the cleanup to editor@lakemagazine.life by Nov. 15 or post the photo on Instagram @ #goldenpicker or #cleanuplakemartin.

Local businesses and individuals may donate Golden Picker prize bag items by emailing Lake magazine Editor-in-Chief Betsy Iler at editor@lakemagazine.life or delivering items to Tallapoosa Publishers, Inc., at 548 Cherokee Rd., Alexander City.

While the fall extension of the summer pool level on Lake Martin is not expected to hinder cleanup opera tions in November, it does present some challenges, said LMRA president John Thompson, the lead man on the cleanup team.

“Usually, we like to get some people out there doing some preliminary bagging of trash and that sort of thing as the water level goes down, so the lake levels staying up does hamper that some. To help with that, we’ve asked Alabama Power’s shoreline crews to report in

any areas they see that might need cleanup,” Thompson explained. “If we can get those places on a list, we can go right to them just a few days before the cleanup weekend.”

The broad scale emphasis on organized cleanups by neighborhoods will continue this year, Thompson said. A subcommittee of LMRA volunteers is working to get the word out to areas of the lake where dumpsters will be available for neighborhood volunteers.

“If we can clean up the roadways, we prevent trash from being washed into the lake when it rains. Then, that’s trash we don’t ever have to pick up out of the lake,” Thompson said.

Picker tools and trash bags will be available for free to volunteers during the event, and T-shirts will be given to volunteers that drop collected trash at designated dumpster sites between 8 a.m. and noon on both days of the cleanup. The custom designed T-shirts for the cleanup will feature artwork from the Renew our Rivers art contest held annually at Stephens School.

Dumpsters will be located at the Kowaliga pub lic boat ramp, Wind Creek State Park Marina, the Union public boat ramp, Real Island Marina, Siggars Crossroads and county Road 34. Volunteers will be stationed at the dumpster sites to help with unloading boats or vehicles during the cleanup hours. If transport ing the bagged trash proves difficult, arrangements can be made to have it picked up, Thompson said.

Volunteers are encouraged to pick up supplies at dumpster locations beginning at 8 a.m. on both days of the cleanup.

Collected trash should be deposited in the designated dumpsters between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. each day.

On Saturday, volunteers will focus on areas inside Wind Creek State Park. Local youth groups that volunteer to clean up at the state park on Saturday will be pro vided with snacks and cold drinks.

Renew Our Rivers is an Alabama Power initiative to protect the environ ment and clean up litter and trash from reservoir areas near the power company’s licensed projects. The program started in 2000 when Alabama Power employees volunteered to clean up a heavily littered area near their work site. Since then, more than 16 million pounds of trash and debris have been collected in more than 30 loca tions across the Southeast through the ROR effort. Learn more about Renew Our Rivers at apcshorelines.com/recreation/ renew-our-rivers/.

STORY BY BETSY ILER & PHOTO BY KENNETH BOONE

Trusses were built on the property to accentuate the newly vaulted ceilings

Live the Dream

STORY BY LONNA UPTON & PHOTOS BY KENNETH BOONE

DDavid and Amanda Simpson met in Auburn dur ing their college years. While Amanda Simpson grew up in Auburn and visited Lake Martin in the summer, David has always dreamed of having a home on a lake, so after they got married, they began looking for the perfect place. In 2018, they found a cabin they thought just might work for them to purchase, renovate and enjoy with their two children. A great lot, massive oak trees and good bones in the house lined up perfectly, and they were ready to go.

“I grew up coming to the Dadeville side of the lake with my family since we were coming from Auburn, and this cabin was in Alexander City but before the River Bridge. I wasn’t sure about that location, but we love it. We are not on big water, so we don’t have a lot of boat traffic, and we are so close to Winn Dixie. That is a plus,” Amanda Simpson said.

The Simpsons thought they might just update

the kitchen to begin with but decided to go all the way with a full renovation at the end of 2020. The footprint of just over 2,000 square feet, plus a base ment with almost 600 square feet, gave them the space they needed, but a couple of walls obstructed lake views and ease of movement in the main rooms. Also, the ceiling was only 8 feet high, and the basement was unusable. They also wanted to update bathrooms, the kitchen, windows and doors.

The renovation process began by hiring J. Manifold Construction, a design and build firm in Auburn that does custom builds but specializes in renovations.

The old cabin is no longer recognizable after the renovation. The green siding was replaced with brick and painted White Duck. Other exterior walls were replaced with HardiPlank. Gray shutters and a metal roof, along with clad windows and doors, updated the entire house. Now, gas lanterns flank double glass doors to welcome guests on a flag

The cabin exterior was transformed by raising the roof, painting the house and enlarging the front porch

The sun porch offers year round living space with windows on three sides for perfect lake views

stone porch.

Pre-renovation, an island with cabinets above it separated the main living room and kitchen, and walls on both sides of the kitchen area allowed only small entryways. So the Simpsons removed the cabinets and walls to allow an open concept.

“Jack has 35 years in structural experience, and he was pleased to discover that this roof could be raised. We vaulted the ceiling to 22 feet in the liv ing room and master bedroom, and the space just seemed to double. Amanda has great taste and natural talent, so she was very easy to work with. She knew exactly what she wanted,” said Melissa Manifold, who works with her husband, Jack, in the construction company.

Van Nostrand Cabinets in Opelika designed the floor-to-ceiling kitchen cabinets, and Simpson selected Sherwin Williams’ Retreat for the cabinet color, which pops against her Swiss Coffee shiplap walls and trim. The backsplash is a white brick tile by Arto Brick, and the stove hood was overlaid with shiplap to match the walls. Countertops were replaced with quartz, and new appliances were

selected from the General Electric Café series. The island is white oak with pop-open cabinets all the way around for extra storage. Simpson chose brass fixtures for all the cabinets and large brass pendants over the island. Gabby acrylic barstools provide seating at the island.

The pine floors in the living area were installed to match the pine floors in the sunroom, which just needed to be refinished. The ceiling was white washed. The brick fireplace was updated with stone in both the living room and sunroom, and the Simpsons opted to leave the old cabin’s fireplace insert for its nod toward the original house. Beams from a tobacco barn in Tennessee were built into architectural trusses for the main room.

Furnishings in the living room are neutral with a creamy, sectional sofa and a heavy, concrete coffee table from Arhaus anchoring the space. Simpson found many of her accessories and design ideas from Joy Easley at Affirmation Interiors in Auburn.

“I love to look for things in stores and online. I have prints I found on Etsy that I had framed at The Gallery in Auburn. I have original art from

Simpson selected a dark green Retreat to pop against creamy colors throughout the home

The renovation included new decking, stone steps and paths leading to the water

Neutral colors anchor the peaceful family room

A cane bed from Arhaus was a new addition to the master bedroom

Wetumpka and antiques from Angel’s Attic in Opelika. I might have linens from Pottery Barn mixed with something else from Target. I just know it when I see it,” Simpson said.

The glass sunroom is an additional living space with beautiful views of the boat house and water. Again, neutral colors keep the space open and airy. Beams are mirrored from the living room. Old slid ing doors were updated to French doors. The deck areas on each end of the sunroom were completely replaced, including the addition of a walkway to connect the two areas.

The master bedroom ceiling was vaulted, from 8 feet to 22 feet, and then stained. Two windows were added to the room, and sliders were replaced with French doors that open onto the deck. The cane bed is from Arhaus, and the side tables are

from Painted Fox Home online. The blinds in all the bedrooms are rattan, installed by Phil Lynn at Blinds and Designs in Auburn.

The master bath was reconfigured with a new vanity and large shower with white subway tile. Custom cabinets with a bamboo finish added a bright, modern look.

For the two upstairs guest rooms, Simpson selected light colored, plaid carpet and khaki and cream linens accented with colorful throw pillows. An old wicker chair from the original cabin adds a pop of pink to one of the rooms. Simpson hung antlers, oars and turtle shells in the rooms for a whimsical lake look.

The staircase leading to the basement has the refinished pine floors and a heavy iron pipe hand rail. Flooring in the basement is a wood-look

The old dock and pier were resurfaced and a bar with beer taps was added upstairs

porcelain tile for easy care, as the room opens to the lake level. An original brick wall was left as an accent to new shiplap in the now functional basement. Three bunk beds were built on the long wall, with two sets of steps dividing them. Full-sized beds on the bottom and twin-sized on top are covered in navy and white ging ham check linens. A small bathroom was reconfigured to take in a bit of the garage space next door to allow a larger, more functional bathroom with a shower room.

The basement opens into a large garage, which also holds lake toys and a boat with space to spare.

Outside, a screened porch was added under the deck above. A gas grill and Big Green Egg are downstairs for cooking fun. The two-story dock was resurfaced, and a roof was added to the top. The couple added a bar with beer taps on the top level. The walkway to the dock now has hog-wire fencing for safety.

“The old boat ramp only allowed the boat to be pulled up by a winch from the water into the garage. We added the driveway to make the ramp usable from the street. Our children love to jump off the top of the dock, but they also like to play on the boat ramp, espe cially in the winter when they can walk out into the lake a little bit. They love to be here,” Simpson said.

Creative Habitat planned and installed the landscap ing, plants and sod, as well as adding a river rock flume for drainage and flagstone pathways to the lake.

“I love seeing the transformation of old to new, to take a home that is tired and doesn’t meet the function of the family and make it exactly what they need. It is possible to find a small house on the lake and trans form it to be yours, like the Simpsons did,” Manifold said.

The previously unusable basement was repurposed into a bunk room for six and a bathroom

White subway tile and bamboo cabinets updated the master bathroom

Alabama Art Colony returns to the lake

AAlabama Art Colony’s Sunday evening Art Walk returns this year to its original home at Children’s Harbor on Lake Martin after local COVID-19 restrictions forced a move to Opelika’s Art Haus in 2020 and 2021. Dress is casual. Colony board mem ber Barbara Grimes said instructors and artists are looking forward to the refreshing retreat atmosphere at the lake Sept. 30 through Oct. 4, though the gra cious hospitality of the Opelika community during the pandemic was very much appreciated.

“The Art Walk on Sunday night is something we all look forward to. We’ve had sometimes as many as a hundred people there,” Grimes said.

The Art Walk, which is free and open to the pub lic, honors Alabama Art Colony patrons with an open air exhibit of each year’s artists’ work. From 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., art is on display on the Harbor House grounds, weather permitting, and art lovers are invited to stroll, peruse and discuss the works. In the case of inclement weather, the works are displayed under cover at Harbor House Lodge.

Some of the displayed artworks are available for sale at the event.

“All of the artists look forward to sharing their art at this event,” Grimes said.

For the last two years, the Alabama Art Colony board of directors successfully kept the Colony thriving with quarterly one-day workshops and an annual four-day art instruction event at the Opelika art gallery. The one-day events at the Art Haus gal lery offered instruction with one accomplished artist four times a year. A different artist was invited to teach at each of the UNO workshops. The four-day gallery events hosted just 12 to 15 artists and one instructor instead of the usual 30 attendees with three or four instruction opportunities.

“For example, this fall we brought in Perry Austin, and he taught landscapes,” Grimes said. “The one-day UNO workshops have helped us to keep the scholarship program going. We raised

STORY BY BETSY ILER

between $1,500 and $2,000, which is enough to help two upcoming, inspiring artists who are dedi cated to doing something with their art.”

Each UNO workshop focused on a different medium, opening the opportunities to a wider spec trum of artists.

“Art Haus was so wonderful about hosting us,” Grimes said. “Children’s Harbor was closed to out side use during the pandemic, and Art Haus let us go over there without any penalty if we didn’t have the full class.

“The whole Opelika community just supported us. It was wonderful how the citizens of Opelika stepped up to help us out. They sponsored meals, too. We flew the instructor in and found housing in Opelika for the artist instructor. They really helped us to bounce back after COVID. They helped to make sure we would be thriving when the pandemic was over.”

Seemingly then, Alabama Art Colony will pick up at Children’s Harbor very near where they left off. When artists gather on the grounds at the Lake Martin campus for seriously ill children on Sept. 4, the schedule will pick up as if they’d never had to leave two years ago.

The first-night gathering will be hosted by board members, who will provide heavy hors d’oeuvres. Dinners will be donated by Stonehenge Gallery in Montgomery and Red Hill Gallery in Tallassee. On the final night of the four-day event, artists will exchange original, business-card-sized works of art.

Artists pay $750 to $850 for the all-inclusive Alabama Art Colony experience. The fee includes instruction, supplies and room and board. Alabama Art Colony is a nonprofit organization, and dona tions or funds raised through UNO workshops and other activities are applied to scholarships for art ists. The Sunday evening Art Walk is designed to celebrate the participation of donors and patrons who make the programs possible.

Labor Day Love

Russell Crossroads hosted 2 nights of music over the Labor Day holiday

PHOTOS BY KENNETH BOONE & WILLIAM MARLOW

Clockwise from Above: Mark Tucker was with The Bank Walkers at Russell Crossroads on Saturday night; The Stew headlined the Friday night concert for a crowd; Boys tumble on the grassy lawn at the Town Green; Hotel Fiction closed out the concert series on Saturday; Hotel Fiction kept the energy up to the very last song; Auburn's The Stews played a rock-based repertoire.

Clockwise from Above: As darkness fell on Friday night, the stage danced in lights; Supper Club opened the festivities on Friday; based in Athens, Georgia, Hotel Fiction brought a unique sound to their indie, pop and rock platylist; Listeners were on their feet for the talented musicians; The Bank Walkers are a local favorite.

White Oak Landing

is a collection of attractively priced, turn-key lakefront cottages. With nine cottage-style plans to choose from, the large, wooded, waterfront homesites are conveniently located on the north end of Lake Martin offering easy access to Highway 280, golf, dining, shopping, marina and medical care.

MODEL HOMES now under construction by

The scientic name of the Eastern Bumble Bee is Bombus impatiens, a nod to its fondness of the garden flower impatiens.

NATURE OF THE LAKE

BY KENNETH BOONE

IIf you have flowers around your house – wildflowers or a planted garden – you have bumble bees nearby. They are among the most important pollinators in our environ ment, responsible for moving pollen around from plant to plant and keeping our forests and fields healthy.

North America is home to 46 different species of bumble bees that are typically identified by the color pat terns – black, yellow and orange/red – on their bodies. In the world, the number of species jumps to 250, which live in mostly moderate cli mates in the Northern Hemisphere.

But the most com mon bumble bee here in the Lake Martin area is called, appro priately enough, the Common Eastern Bumble Bee.

These furry insects have black hairs on their head, abdo men and legs and pale-yellow hairs on upper body or thorax. Queens, which are the only female bumble bees that mate, are the largest at about 4/5 of an inch long. Males, which have yellow fur on their faces, top out at about 1/2 of an inch in length. The vast majority of each colony is made up of worker bees, females that are about 1/3 of an inch long. Both types of females –queens and worker bees – have black faces.

These bees are native from North Dakota to the eastern seaboard and from Canada to Florida, but they are most common in the eastern United States. Eastern Bumble Bees are very adaptable, living in grasslands, cities, for ests, marshes and the suburbs throughout their native range.

When foraging, they move fast – “busy bees” is more than just a catchy phrase – from flower to flower search ing for sugary nectar to drink and for pollen, which is packed with protein, to eat.

Eastern Bumble Bees identify flight paths to reliable patches of flowers, and follow the same paths over and over in a process called “traplining.” By following the same path, they can save time and energy when foraging.

These native bees visit a wide range of flowering plants including asters, beggar lice, rhododendron, mountain laurel, goldenrod, clover and many others found in the Lake Martin area, as well as lots of garden vegetables and flowers. This insect’s scientific name, Bombus impatiens, is a nod to its fondness of the garden flower impatiens.

Back in the nest, foraging worker bees regurgitate their pollen and nectar, combined with saliva and stomach enzymes, which cre ates honey that feeds the queen and the young larvae. The younger worker bees tend the brood while older worker bees forage for food. That pollen sticks to the hairs on the bodies, and so as they make their rounds they pick up some pollen here and leave some there, fertilizing plants as they travel.

Male bumble bees do not work – their one job is to mate with the queen. They have reproduc tive organs where the females have a stinger.

Eastern Bumble Bees communicate like other social bees, using wing vibra tions, pheromones, vision and touch to spread the word about where flow ers are blooming or threats to the colony.

Common Eastern Bumble Bees live in underground nests. Unlike the Honey Bee, which was imported from Europe, Eastern Bumble Bees don’t make lots of honey because they do not need it to survive the winter – each generation of bumble bee dies in fall as the frosts come and the flowers fade.

Only the newly hatched and mated queens survive by spending the winter months in hibernation. When the spring comes the new queen – carrying the future of the colony – searches for a suitable location like an aban doned underground den made by other animals and con verts it into a nest. The nest is usually 1-3 feet beneath the soil’s surface. The entrance to the nest is connected to the main room by a tunnel that can be 1 1/2 to 9 feet long.

Inside the nest, the queen begins laying eggs. Over the course of the spring, summer and early fall, she will lay

Eastern Bumble Bees visit a wide range of flowing plants.

between 300-500 eggs that will become the next genera tion of the colony. The first eggs to hatch each year – after roughly a month of incubation – are the initial wave of worker bees. Males and the new queens emerge in early fall. The queen can live up to one year, the workers and males have much shorter lifespans, as short as one month.

Common Eastern Bumble Bees can sting when they feel threatened. While Honey Bees have a barbed stinger that pulls out of their body when they use it, killing the bee, the Eastern Bumble Bee females have a smooth stinger that can be used multiple times. It is said that a bumble bee sting hurts less than a wasp sting, more like a honey bee sting. Most of the time, the site of the sting becomes irritated and can sometimes remain so for several days. Some people have allergies to bumble bee stings, so if you don’t know whether you do, it’s best to not handle bumble bees.

Common Eastern Bumble Bees are raised commercially for use as pollinators in large greenhouse operations, espe cially those growing blueberries, tomatoes, pumpkins and raspberries.

So next time you see a flower shaking as an Eastern Bumble Bee collects for pollen and nectar, take a moment consider how important their work is for all of us.

Some information for this article came from The National Wildlife Federation, www.bumblebee.org, The Animal Diversity Web from the University of Michigan,

Eastern Bumble Bees identify flight paths to reli able patches of flowers, and follow the same paths in a process called "traplining.".

Male bumble bees do not work, their only job is to mate with the queen.

Screened in Simplicity

TThere are lots of people around who say that America is getting soft and not in a good way. It’s a criticism. The inference is that if we had to face the huge challenges of prior generations, like the Great Depression or World War II, we would just give up.

Let’s face it: Some think America is so soft now that we can’t cope with anything beyond the range of a good Wi-Fi signal. We can’t stream our favorite reality show du jour? Forget about it.

I’m not here to make any pronouncements on our country’s collective toughness or grit. I don’t think there has been any generation in history that thought, “Wow, kids these days are way tougher than we were.”

But as a real estate agent, I do sometimes won der about how we live when I notice a difference in homes built even 40 years ago versus those that are built now.

Screened porches, to me, serve as a great remind er of this concept. They stare at us as time capsules. They tell us not only when they were built, but also the priorities and concerns of those who built and used them. Since Lake Martin is a vacation home market where many of the first homes were built in the 1950s and ’60s, we have a chance to peer back in time as we squint through the screen.

The very first image that comes to my mind is the screened door itself. Is there anyone among us, who, having heard the sound of a screen door opening and registered the telltale creak of that long spring, does not always remember it? Does any other door

have such a distinctive sound as it is being opened? I don’t care what brand of screen door or where it is; they all sound the same.

Also, the intent and emotion of whoever is open ing it is clear because when someone yanks it open, it creates a really high squeak and then slams shut. The high squeak and slam means either something is really wrong outside or someone is excited. Does any type of modern door convey that emotion? Is that where we want to be as a nation? With every one having the same bland silent door openings and closings?

And what about security? Back in the old days, the only lock the screen door offered was a little aluminum hook that went on the inside of the door. All you had to do was wiggle the door open a little bit and put a knife in there or something and just flip the hook up to gain entry to the screened porch. Worst case scenario, if you were a criminal or you were truly desperate, you could cut a little slit in the screen and undo the hook that way.

Is that how carelessly we thought about security back then as a country? Is it a parallel to the story old-timers tell of being able to ride their bikes all over the city without fear? Nowadays, screened porches have cameras that are set off by motion and record audio and video that is 100 times more viewable than that of the moon landing. Are we that much under siege, America? Do we really need the security of Fort Knox just to guard the “Live Laugh Love” painting bought at Hobby Lobby?

Screened porches used to be mostly for storage. You kept things there that you knew you wanted to pick up on the way to the water. Gas cans. Outboard motors. Those cardboard boxes that came for free when you bought 100 crickets at the bait shop.

There was a downside, of course, to old porches. Unwanted items thrived there, like dead, dried up lizards. Ours had an insecticide from the 1940s that I’m sure contained gene warping DDT. It was one of those metal “atomiz er “ sprayers. It was nothing more than a bicycle tire pump attached to a tin can of poison. It was exactly like the one Don Corleone used in his death scene in The Godfather.

BY JOHN COLEY

to give me a kegerator to put on our screened porch, trust me, I wouldn’t turn it down. In fact, I’d come pick it up and save them the trip.

So, yeah. I’m guilty. Maybe I’m con tributing to the soft edge of America with my cushy screened porch. But I’ll tell you this: It’s our family’s favorite spot to hang out. Isn’t that worth some thing?

Not so in this modern era. Our screen porches are oases, but are they testaments to our largess? Now, we have flat screen TVs; nice couches that are actu ally comfortable; and $50 candles.

Now is the part of this article where I’m supposed to wrap this all up with a call to return to the simpler days of Andy Griffith and Pat Boone. But I’ll be honest. If you come look at our screened porch these days, you would see that we have a flat screen, super comfortable sofas and Wi-Fi that’s thicker than the fireflies of your youth. If someone were nice enough

Can’t we embrace the new possibili ties of modern homes without laughing at our pasts? True, the screened porches of yore lacked entertainment, but their base deliverable was simply to keep away mosquitos. And yes, today’s screened porch might not need that 11th throw pillow. But isn’t comfort always a laudable goal?

I think we can love old home design and embrace new comforts. But then again, maybe I’m wacky on pre-war insecticide and scented candles.

John Coley is a broker and owner of Lake Martin Voice Realty. Email him at john@lakemartinvoice.com.

LAKE PROPERTY

Surprising Results

LLake Watch of Lake Martin partnered with Auburn University last year to conduct a scientific study of surface water draining from Lake Martin’s watershed into the lake (see Lake Watch goes hi-tech with AU microbiologist, Lake Magazine – July 2021). The study was funded by a grant from the Alabama Water Resources Research Institute and matching contribu tions from Lake Watch and Lake Martin HOBO. The study focused on four streams that drain land scapes with mixed land uses and flow into the Tallapoosa River, which then flows into the upper lake.

We observed a prolif eration of new chicken houses popping up above the lake and were concerned about what impacts the chicken waste (litter) would have on the waters flowing into Lake Martin. Lake Watch had been testing these streams for a couple of years and had found high levels of E. coli in the streams following significant rain events.

E. coli is a bacterium that inhabits the gut of warm-blooded animals (livestock, wildlife) and humans. Its pres ence in water indicates fecal contamination – a health risk to those that recreate in the water.

Once Lake Watch discovered the pres ence of high E. coli in streams above the lake, the next questions were: Where’s the poop coming from, and is it impacting the lake? The AU researchers, Dr. Feng and her graduate student Wenjing Ren, used microbial source tracking to analyze water samples from the four streams and the Tallapoosa River at Jaybird Landing, where Lake Martin begins.

MST employs genetic marker analysis to identify the critters from which the fecal contamination or animal

tissue originated – like the testing used on NCIS to identify criminals. The researchers analyzed water for the presence of four different genetic markers: a human bacterial marker; a cattle bacterial marker, a chicken bacterial marker and a chicken tissue marker. E. coli concentrations were also measured.

Water samples were taken on 11 dates from September 2021 through May 2022. Half of the sam pling targeted rain events when the streams had elevated flow, and the other half targeted dry periods when the streams were at normal level.

AU results verified Lake Watch monitor test results showing high concentrations of E. coli in the streams mentioned above in the Lake Martin watershed after significant rain events.

To our surprise, humans and cattle were the main sources of fecal contamina tion in the streams and the river at Jaybird Landing regardless of rainfall/streamflow levels. Both sources were found in all four streams and at Jaybird Landing and were highest after significant rain events. Crooked and Timbergut creeks usually had the high est concentrations of human and cattle genetic markers, as well as the highest concentrations of fecal contamination.

Timbergut Creek had the highest levels of fecal contamination, with six of the 11 sample dates having E. coli levels above EPA standards, mostly after rain events.

Chicken bacterial genetic markers were detected much less frequently, only on three sample dates in only three streams, Timbergut, Emuckfaw and Hillabee and

Preliminary testing results at four upstream creeks varied from Lake Watch expectations

at Jaybird Landing, after rain events.

Chicken tissue genetic markers were detected most frequently (on every sample date, 11 of 11 dates) in one stream, Crooked Creek, and also downstream in the Tallapoosa River at Jaybird Landing, on six of 10 sample dates, after rain events.

surprise. More testing is needed to determine the source of chicken tissue in Crooked Creek. We don’t yet know the implications of this finding and will need assistance to determine whether this poses any threat to lake users. We’ll keep you posted.

Be sure to check the Lake Watch Swim Alert at lake watch.org/swim-alert to get the latest E. coli test results throughout the lake and at Hillabee and Emuckfaw creeks. Be safe and enjoy the water. And consider help ing us out in our mission to protect our treasured lake, go to lakewatch.org/get-involved to learn more.

Learn more about Lake Watch at lakewatch.org.

LAKE WATCH

BY ERIC REUTEBUCH

So what does this mean for the lake? For the time being, the proliferation of chicken houses above the lake appears to not be a threat to Lake Martin, according to the study. A major consideration is that the litter in chicken houses is only cleaned out once every two to three years. It is conceivable that the study may not have captured the impacts of chicken litter since the study was done over a lim ited time period (nine months) and could have missed impacts from chicken litter spread on local fields. Another possibility could be that chick en farmers are using appropriate best management prac tices that retain chicken waste on their fields so very little runs off into streams. And yet another confounding factor – when petroleum prices are high, manufactured fertilizer prices go up, and chicken litter becomes more valuable. Under these circumstances, poultry farmers sell their lit ter for use by farmers as fertilizer, and it is trucked out of the watershed and has no impact on local water quality. We don’t know the amount of litter spread during the study. Whatever the case may be, we need to keep an eye on the expanding poultry production in our watershed.

Based on the results of the AU study, it appears that we do have an issue with human and cattle waste in streams emptying into the river and ultimately into the upper lake. We need to work on tracking down these sources of contamination and get them resolved.

The detection of chicken tissue markers coming down Crooked Creek on every sampling date and detection at the beginning of the lake at Jaybird Landing was also a

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Seasoned Black Beans

2-3 cans low sodium black beans, undrained

Juice of 2 fresh limes

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Place black beans in a sauce pan with all liq uid from the can. Add juice of two limes. Add cumin, paprika and chili powder to taste. Bring to simmer for 15 minutes, making sure you have enough liquid in the saucepan. Add very small amounts of salt and pepper to taste. Serve as a side dish or over rice, alongside crunchy chicken tacos.

Black Bean and Quinoa Salad

1 cup uncooked quinoa

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 avocado, cubed

1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup fresh parsley

1/4 cup green onions, diced

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook quinoa according to directions; then, cool. Combine black beans in a large bowl with avocado, tomato, feta, parsley and onions. Add in cooled quinoa. Mix vinegar, olive oil and sea soning in a small bowl; then, pour and mix into salad. Enjoy immediately or store in the refrig-

Black Beans

TThe growing trend to consume plant-based foods and the affects of the pandemic has encouraged consumers to purchase and stock pantries at Lake Martin and beyond with plant-based proteins. This has increased the sales of dried and canned beans exponentially. Black beans have taken on the starring role in many kitchens, providing an inexpensive, readily available, versatile, high protein staple.

Black beans are called pulses, which are the edible seeds of legumes. They are native to the Americas, includ ing Central and South America. Black bean consumption dates back 7,000 years ago, when they were considered a staple of Central and South American diets. Today, black beans are a common ingredient in the dishes of Latin American countries, such as Mexico, Peru and Columbia. Black beans did not gain popularity in North America until the late 1900s.

In Mexico, black beans are used in tacos, enchiladas, burritos and many side dishes. Peruvians use black beans to make tacu-tacu, which is a thick cake of rice and beans topped with a fried egg. In Venezuela, they are served with thick corn cakes called arepas. In the United States, black beans are eaten with rice, salads, tacos, arepas, stews, chili, burgers, egg scrambles and grain bowls.

This high-protein staple is grown from seeds in pods and is harvested about 95 to 105 days after planting.

Black beans are nutrient dense, providing a great source of protein and fiber and containing iron, zinc and calcium, which promote growth and immunity. They are loaded with phytochemicals that exhibit antioxidant properties. While the exact nutrient profile differs brand to brand and type of beans, in general, 1/2 cup of cooked black beans contains 115 calories; .5 gram of fat; 20 grams of carbo hydrate; 8 grams of dietary fiber; 8 grams of plant pro tein; 1.8 milligrams of iron (10 percent of recommended daily value); 305 milligrams of potassium (6 percent of daily value); 60 milligrams of magnesium (14 percent of daily value); 23 milligrams of calcium (2 percent of daily value); and 128 micrograms of folate (32 percent of daily value).

Consumption of black beans has been shown to signifi cantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. The fiber in beans could help lower LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels, in turn improving risk factors for heart disease and

other cardiac conditions. Black beans provide 30 percent of the recommended daily fiber intake for women and 20 percent of the recommended daily fiber intake for men.

Fiber helps slow down blood sugar response, which leads to a more gradual rise in blood glucose. Blood sugar management is important in the prevention of diabetes and other health issues that often accompany it, such as kidney disease, heart disease, nerve damage, vision loss and fertility issues. The fiber in black beans helps promote normal bowel function and also fuels the lining of the gut. Black beans serve as a prebiotic to feed probiotics, which help to balance the good and bad bac teria in our gut. Consuming enough fiber by eating beans will help to prevent and man age diarrhea and constipation, as well as other digestive dis orders, such as irritable bowel syndrome, diverticular disease and colon cancer.

HEALTHY LIVING

BY JULIE HUDSON

There are some negatives to beans, but the positives out weigh them. You may experi ence gas when adding beans to your diet. You can reduce this experience by gradually adding beans to your diet in small amounts. Soaking beans helps to ease this side effect, as does drinking plenty of water. In addition, beans contain an anti-nutrient that is thought to interfere with mineral absorption. Soaking and cook ing beans reduces the antinutrient content. Canned beans contain high amounts of sodium. Always choose low- or no-sodium canned beans and rinse them before eating or cooking.

As with all foods, the quality of black beans differs, depending on the brand and method of preparation. Canned beans are cooked before being canned, which creates a convenient product with long shelf life. Dried beans may offer a fresher means of preparation. While not as convenient, dried beans are less expensive, can be prepared in bulk and have lower sodium content than canned beans.

Julie Hudson is a certified dietician at Lake Martin Wellness Center in Dadeville.

Black beans offer high protein in a variety of delicious dishes

Marinated Olives

Ingredients

4 to 6 cups any mix olives (We use kalamata and Castelvetrano’s)

1/2 cup minced garlic

1 tablespoon fennel pollen

2 cups extra virgin olive oil

8 oranges, juiced and the zest from one

Directions

Steam the garlic, fennel pollen and EVOO for 30 minutes. Place the olives, orange zest and the juice in a plastic container. Pour the EVOO mix over the olives and chill overnight.

CHEF'S TABLE

BY PETE MCKENNY

Pete McKenny, General Manager and Executive Chef at SpringHouse Restaurant, trained at four-star restaurants and Forbes four-star resorts in Ohio, Washington, Arizona and Vermont before returning to Russell Lands on Lake Martin, where he began his career as chef de cuisine at Willow Point Golf & Country Club 12 years ago.

JJudging from some store displays and advertising, the holidays are upon us. For most retailers, the busiest time of the year runs from Halloween to the end of December. That means family gatherings, gift giving and parties.

Gifting wine offers a wide range of opportunities that parallel the purpose and gesture of appreciation associ ated with gift giving. As with any gift, common sense and appropriateness are especially important when giving wine. For example, as a hostess gift, wine is often a welcomed gesture unless the recipient is a teetotaler or just doesn’t care for the wine you might choose. Also, note that the hosts for a dinner party may have planned the menu around their own choices. Don’t be disappointed when your hostess gift is not served.

If you are buying wine for a gift, spend no more than what you are comfortable with, which in some cases may seem extravagant and leave the receiver uncomfortable. If pulling wine from your cellar, make sure that – as fine a wine as it might have been at one time – it is not too close

to peak but still has some time before it is past prime. Selecting wine for a gift often takes considerable thought. Ultimately, it is truly the thought that counts.

With that in mind, here are a few high quality wines that could please almost every taste at a variety of price points. Of course, this list is not exclusive. There are a lot more good wines than would fit neatly into one box.

Our staff members and friends brought each wine to the table to consolidate our lists and discuss our individual sug gestions. Though it is doubtful that these selections would satisfy every palate, the list is a snapshot of a bunch of good wines from which to choose. It is not, however, set in stone and could change, a little, by tomorrow. It is a sliver of the wines that we would not hesitate to recommend and are available in this market.

Our choice for an alternative white is Tea Leaf Chenin Blanc ($18) from South Africa. We use “alternative” to identify those grapes that are not everyday names and don’t have a specific category. Chenin Blanc is often overlooked

despite being South Africa’s most widely planted variety. Another alternative wine is from the Savoie district of eastern France. The primary grape for the light, dry and somewhat acidic Savoir Blanc ($15) is Jacquere (jahKEHR). Alternative for sure.

The Sancerre area of France’s Loire Valley is well known for the crisp, acidic white wines from the Sauvignon Blanc variety. Our Domaine Durand Sancerre ($32) is a winner for any occasion, as is our pick for a Pinot Grigio. Terlato ($22), with subtle fruit flavors and great texture, is from one of the best areas for Italian wines, Friuli.

For a touch of elegance, reach for the bubbles. Charles Bove Brut ($18) is a dry Champagne made in the tradi tional method from grapes in the St. Hilaire area of the Loire Valley. Diora Rosé ($18) is also a very elegant, light copper-colored wine from the juice of California Pinot Noir.

Pinot Noir is also our first red wine selection.

The Calling ($24) is a California Pinot showing a nice balance of flavor, acidity and structure. Next is the Ricossa Barbera Appassimento ($21). Barbera is the grape; appas simento is the process of drying the fruit; thus, concentrating the aromas and flavors while add ing a delicate sweetness to this wine. Obviously Italian.

This world tour now takes us to one of Spain’s most impor tant and most famous regions, Rioja. The Tempranillo-based Izadi Reserva ($21) is aged for at least three years with one year in oak barrels. Chateau Saint-André-Corbin ($25) is a Bordeaux from the St. George-St. Emilion area of France. The blend of 70 percent Merlot and 30 percent Cabernet Franc is an interesting addition to our list.

FROM THE CELLAR BY HENRY FOY

In Bordeaux and Loire, Malbec is a blending grape; in Cahors, France, it is a prominent variety producing dark, full-flavored wine. In Argentina and Chile, Malbec is King. The 100 percent Malbec, Black Tears by Tapiz ($56) from the Uco Valley of Mendoza is rich and lus cious, as is the last wine in this grouping, Black Stallion Napa Cab ($29). This is pure grace with soft tannins and hints of cherry and plum.

That is a pretty good list of excellent wines covering many styles, varieties and categories. But to be complete we need to include three more categories: honorable men tions, great value and splurge. We limited those to just two wines for each.

The red wine honorable mention is Jadot Beaujolais ($16), a step up in quality from Beaujolais Nouveau. Also called the Thanksgiving wine, Beaujolais Nouveau is released on the third Thursday of November and not a minute before. The Gamay grape used in the Beaujolais wines makes a light and fruity red that goes very well with the holidays. For those who enjoy a sweeter wine, Pizzolato Moscato ($15) is sweet with only 7 percent alco hol. It is a very popular white wine.

For our value wines or best bang for the buck, we chose Lago Vinho Verde ($11) from Portugal. It is light, 10 per cent alcohol and 70 calories. For a red value wine, we sug gest Reschke Cabernet Sauvignon ($15) from Australia. Both are party favorites with screw caps at great prices.

Finally, we’ll splurge a little. The white we selected is Remoissenet Chassagne-Montrachet ($95) a white Burgundy (Chardonnay) considered to be among the best in the world. Our red splurge is the 2016 Cain Five ($120), a blend of Cab, Merlot, Cab Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot.

Enjoy responsibly and happy holidays.

Henry Foy is the owner of Emporium Wine and Spirits at 128 Calhoun Street in downtown Alexander City with one of the area’s largest selections of premium wines and cigars. Email him at emporiumwine128@gmail.com.

Big Bass Conundrum

LLake Martin is not known for being a big-bass fac tory. There are giant largemouths, more than we real ize in the lake. And there are some Alabama bass (fka spotted bass) topping 5 pounds. They are rare, but they are here. Lake Martin is better known as a num bers lake; meaning, you’re probably more likely to catch a bass or multiple bass on any given day here, though the average size might not be as big as most other lakes.

A few years ago, we experienced some of the best fall fishing I’ve ever seen on Lake Martin. Literally hundreds, if not thousands, of 2-pound to 4-pound Alabmaa bass were schooling all over the lake. Since then, many anglers, including me, have been on edge expecting to see that phenomenon again. For some reason, it just hasn’t happened on that level. It seems as though the fishing in Lake Martin has gone through some changes. Whether that’s good or bad depends on what you’re looking for in your trip.

Could it just be the quality of electronics now are so good, especially with forward sonar, that it seems there are more fish? Possibly. But other sonar tech nologies have been around more than 10 years, and that would’ve already revealed these huge schools of smaller fish.

The last year that we saw multiple big schools of the quality 2-pound to 4-pound fish was 2019. What has happened since then? We had a unique early turn over that year just before those fish showed up; then, the weather and water got extremely hot again over the next several weeks. Were the big fish stressed to the point they did not recover?

The population of blueback herring in the lake was seemingly at a peak. Bass were gorging on 4- to 7-inch blueback herring that seemed to be every where. We haven’t seen the schools of large blue back herring as much since then. Could the extreme changes in dissolved oxygen availability and water temperature during that weather event have stressed the herring population to a point of no return or, at best, a delayed return?

Did that year’s class of would-be big bass have a bad spawn in years past due to water conditions at the time? Water level, water clarity, temperature or a number of other things may not have been optimal. That could potentially leave a gap in the numbers.

BY GREG VINSON

The trend I’ve noticed on Lake Martin and other lakes in the area is the sheer num ber of smaller bass present while it seems there are fewer large bass. In the past, it’s been common to run into areas that are full of small bass. If you kept look ing around, you could find some groups or patterns that produced numbers of fish that were 2 pounds and up. But, the past couple of years, it seems there are huge schools of smaller bass all over the lake.

I wonder. I don’t have the answers, so you won’t find a reason for this phenomenon at the end of this article. But speculation could give us some things to think about, and you just can’t go wrong thinking about fishing.

There’s also a unique possibility in the pandemic. I don’t guess the bass were affected by COVID direct ly, but more people were fishing during the peak of the pandemic than in a long, long time. It was a good thing for the industry, and I was happy to see how many people were out fishing for the first time, but did the extra fishing pressure take a toll? Fish were getting more pressure, more often. In addition, there was a period when folks didn’t know if they’d even be able to go to a grocery store because of lockdowns or just fear of contracting COVID. Were an increasing number of larger fish kept for food?

Is forward facing sonar just making some fish harder to catch? Especially the older, larger and

BIG CATCHES

Speculating on the reasons for small Alabama bass on Lake Martin in recent years

undoubtedly more educated fish? Forward sonar reveals fish in places we rarely suspected. Anglers are more capable of presenting a bait directly to the fish more often now, regardless of where they are posi tioned. Could they just be getting used to our offer ings and biting less?

Does a younger year’s class of fish dominate the Alabama bass in an unbalanced cycle for now? I wit nessed this phenomenon about 10 years ago fishing Lake Jordan very hard. One year, I was catching a lot of 4- and 5-pounders; and all of the sudden, it seemed the lake was just full of 1.5- to 2-pound fish. Those are small ones for Lake Jordan. Over the next three years, I watched them put on about a pound each year until five-fish limits of Alabama bass weighed 20-plus pounds again. Could there be a gap in a year class of fish due to a bad spawning season or some type of disease like a Largemouth Bass Virus?

Should we keep more 1-pound and smaller bass to thin the herd and allow the others opportunity to feed and grow? Or, by removing the more aggressive fish that bite artificial baits, are we setting ourselves up for a population of fish that are tougher to catch as the smarter fish repopulate the lake? Releasing the 2-plus- and 3-plus-pound fish seems like a good prac tice either way to me. They are the survivors and can leave us with some good genes if they get the oppor tunity to spawn again.

The common theme here may seem a little frustrat ing because there are more questions than answers at this point. I suspect, and again, it’s just one angler’s opinion, that it’s a combination of a few of these pos sibilities. Or perhaps I’m missing it altogether.

For now, I can only say time will tell as we see

what happens with the large population of smaller bass in Lake Martin. The past experience with Lake Jordan leaves me optimistic that whatever the reason, we have some good fishing to look forward to in the coming years. Hopefully, many of these smaller fish will grow up to be the 3-plus-pound fish that are considered big Alabama bass on Lake Martin.

Let’s enjoy the good bass fishing on Lake Martin now when it comes to numbers. Occasionally, we’ll still see a few of those big Alabama bass. It’s good for young anglers to get some action to keep them engaged. Each catch brings a learning experience on where to look for fish, how to present a bait, how to detect a bite and how to get the fish in the boat.

With time, maybe we’ll get to see these fish grow up, and we’ll see more big bass, along with a nice balance of up-and-comers to keep the population strong.

Greg Vinson is a full-time professional angler on the Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour. He lives in Wetumpka and grew up fishing on Lake Martin.

Local man among winners at SE Mid-Amateur event

Alexander City's Walker Grant (right) and Robert Nelson of Fairhope wrapped up the Senior Division title at this year's Southeast Mid-Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Willow Point

WWalker Grant of Alexander City and Robert Nelson of Fairhope claimed the Senior Division title in the 4th Southeast Mid-Amateur FourBall Championship, which was played at the end of August at Willow Point Golf & Country Club in Alexander City. They fired 11-under 61 to close; Nelson electrified the field with eight birdies and one eagle. Altogether, they went 20-under 196 for the tournament.

The Mid-Amateur Division title went to Alan Coshatt of Birmingham and Dalton Melnyk of Atlanta, Georgia, who posted six-under 66 for the day. Altogether, they went 23-under 193 for the tournament.

Iturbe of Nashville, Tennessee, claimed third, posting a nine-under 63 to close. They fired a 21-under 195 for the tournament.

Finishing second in the Senior Division, Jeff Taylor and Shaw Pritchett of Montgomery carded a four-under 68 for the day and 19-under 197 overall.

PAR for the COURSE WITH MATT SHEPPARD

2021 Champions Kevin Jordan of Smyrna, Georgia, and Ray Harris of Leeds claimed third. They teamed to shoot sixunder 66. They went 17-under 199 for the tournament.

The Mid-Amateur Division played 7,161 yards while the Senior Division played 6,709 yards.

Brent Whitehead and Kirk Whitehead of Atlanta, Georgia, made birdie on No.17 and eagle on No. 18 to finish one stroke behind at a low seven-under 65 for the day. They carded a 22-under 194 for the tournament. Harlan Winn of Birmingham and Thomas

The championship is co-conducted by Willow Point Golf & Country Club and the Alabama Golf Association.

Matt Sheppard is PGA professional director of golf at Willow Point Golf & Country Club.

TALLAPOOSA COUNTY

Camp Hill

Lake Martin Alabama

Marinas

1. Kowaliga Marina 256-397-1210

255 Kowaliga Marina Rd., Alex City, AL 35010

2. The Ridge Marina 256-397-1300

450 Ridge Marina Rd., Alex City, AL 35010

3. River North Marina 256-397-1500

250 River North Rd., Alex City, AL 35010

2. Russell Marine Boating & Outdoors 256-397-1700

19 Russell Marine Rd., Alex City, AL 35010

2. Real Island Marina 256-397-1200

2700 Real Island Rd., Equality, AL 36026

3. Blue Creek Marina 256-825-8888 7280 Hwy 49 S., Dadeville, AL 36853

2. Parker Creek Marina 256-329-8550

486 Parker Creek Marina Rd., Equality, AL 36026

3. Harbor Pointe Marina 256-825-0600

397 Marina Point Rd., Dadeville, AL 36853 www.harborpointe.net

2. Lakeside Marina 256-825-9286

7361 Hwy 49 S., Dadeville, AL 36853

2. Lakeside Marina at Bay Pines 256-825-0999

3455 Bay Pine Rd., Jackson's Gap, AL 36861

2. Alex City Marine 256-215-FISH(3474) 2190 Cherokee Rd., Alex City, AL 35010

Smith Marina - Shipwreck Sam's Froyo 256-444-8793 smithmarinaonlakemartin@yahoo.com

Restaurants & Venues

6. SpringHouse

256-215-7080

12 Benson Mill Rd., Alex City, AL 35010

6. Catherine’s Market 256-215-7070

17 Russell Farms Rd., Alex City, AL 35010

Kowaliga Restaurant 256-215-7035

295 Kowaliga Marina Rd., Alex City, AL 35010

Lake Martin Pizza 256-373-3337

5042 Hwy 49, Dadeville, AL 36853

The Burritos Corner Mexican Grill 256-307-1887

8605 AL HWY 50, Dadeville, AL 36853

Business & Shopping

Lake Martin Storm Shelters 256-794-8075

970 Hwy. 63 South, Alex City, AL 35010

4. Russell Do It Center (Alex City) 256-234-2567

1750 Alabama 22, Alex City, AL 35010

4. Russell Do It Center (Eclectic) 334-541-2132

1969 Kowaliga Rd., Eclectic, AL 36024

4. Russell Building Supply 256-825-4256

350 Fulton Street, Dadeville, AL 36853

4. The Stables at Russell Crossroads 256-794-1333

288 Stables Loop, Alex City, AL 35010

4. Dark Insurance 256-234-5026

410 Hillabee Street, Alex City, AL 35010 www.darkinsuranceagency.com

. Kowaliga Whole Health Pet Care & Resort 334-857-1816

8610 Kowaliga Rd., Eclectic, AL 36024

. Off the Beaton Path 205-994-0847

21322 Hwy. 280, Dadeville, AL 36853

. Hwy 50 Blue Creek Boat & RV Storage 334-391-0717

8421 Hwy. 50, Dadeville, AL 36853

Churches

Lake Pointe Baptist Church 256-373-3293

8352 Hwy. 50, Dadeville, AL 36853

Red Ridge United Methodist Church 256-825-9820

8091 County Rd. 34, Dadeville, AL 36853

Dock Builders

Lake Martin Dock Company, Inc Marine Contractor License #49146 334-857-2443

180 Birmingham Rd., Eclectic, AL 36024

Advertise your business on our Lake Martin Region Map for as little as $25. Contact our Marketing Department at 256-234-4281 or marketing@alexcity outlook.com for more information.

Horseshoe

Timbergut

Lake Magazine Distribution

ALEXANDER CITY

Robinson Iron A & M Plumbing Carlos

The Body Shop Walgreens Tallapoosa Publishers, Inc. Jake's Moore Wealth Management Carlisle's Emporium Wine Cloud Nine Downtown Girl Shay Aesthetics

JR'S Hillabee Towers Senior Nutrition Center Noel Boone George Hardy First Realty Dark Insurance Warren Appliance MainStreet Family Care Grace's Flowers Koon's Korner

Larry's General Merchandise Daylight Donuts Alfa Valley Bank - 280

Pricare Temple Medical AllState

BB&T Bank Hometown Pharmacy Lake Martin Home Health Allen's Food Mart (Exxon)

Karen Channell - State Farm Insurance

North Lake Condo River Bend Store River North Marina Lake Martin Building Supply Petro Sho'Nuff BBQ Hair Design

Mark King's Lake Martin Furniture Longleaf Antique Mall Playhouse Cinemas Chamber of Commerce

Winn Dixie Re/Max Around the Lake City Hall

A&E Metal Regions Bank Marathon - 280 Renfroe's Market

Russell Medical Center

Russell Marine Boating and Outdoors Koon's II Tallapoosa Ford

Dylan Johnson - Country Financial Holley's Home Furniture

Jackson's Drugs

Selling Lake Martin - Amy Clark

The Sure Shot Shell - 280

Big B Bar-B-Que

Russell Do It Center

Russell Home Decor Holman Floor Satterfield Inc.

Grain & Leaf, Bottles & Cigars

Tippy Canoe

Love Lake Martin Real Estate Office

Wind Creek Gate Wind Creek Store

Willow Point Office

Willow Point Country Club Smith Marina on Lake Martin Nails

Kowaliga Marina Kowaliga Restaurant

Children's Harbor Catherine's Market

Russell Lands Corporate Office Russell Lands Real Estate Sales Center SpringHouse Restaurant Ridge Club Ridge Marina HACKNEYVILLE

Hackneyville Water Authority

NEW SITE

Piggly Wiggly - New Site Foodland

DADEVILLE

Chamber of Commerce

Raining Dogs Studio & Gallery Root 49 Salon

Ellaby Boutique, LLC

Alabama Power Siggers

Siggers Barbershop

Fusion Cafe Dadeville Library

At the Beauty Shop Dadeville Courthouse

Payne's Furniture PNC Bank Valley Bank McKelvey Chevrolet Renfroe's Market Foshee's Boat Doc Lakeshore Pharmacy

Russell Building Supply Lakay's Tallapoosa Nutrition Sweet Pickins Century 21 - Rhonda Gaskins

Farmers & Merchants Bank Jim's Pharmacy Poplar Dawgs

Still Waters Country Club

Still Waters Home Association

Russell Lands Realty Fuller Realty Harbor Pointe

Oskar's Aronov Realty Lake Martin Creekside Lodge Blue Creek Marina Lakeside Marina Niffers

Hwy 50 Eagle Millstone Japanese Maple Nursery Lakeside Mercantile Walnut Hill Chuck's Marina

Deep Water Docks Lake Martin Pizza

CAMP HILL

Link Gas Station

KELLYTON

Five Star Plantation

EQUALITY

Equality Food Mart Southern Star Parker Creek Marina Charles Borden

ECLECTIC

Lake Breeze Realty Offshore Marina Lake Martin Mini Mall Corner Stone Coffee Co. Lake Martin Dock Company Cotton's Alabama Barbecue Russell Do It Center

Johnson Furniture

WOW Catering LLC

Eclectic Library

Real Island Marina Anchor Bay Marina Wetumpka Wetumpka Herald Office Tallassee Marathon Tallassee Eagle Tallassee Chamber Parris Mullins Jr. O.D.

Get Lake magazine delivered to your mailbox for just $50 per year. To start your subscription, call Linda Ewing at 256-234-4281.

Alex City Guide Service.............................................

Alex City Marine

Artic Air 52

AVSP

Blue Creek Iron Works

Brown Nursing & Rehabilitation 8

Chuck's Marina 60

Coach Kraft Upholstery 75

Custom Docks............................................................

Davco 75

Diamond Golf Cars 57

Docks Unlimited 5

Electronic Technology Group

75

Froggy Bottom Materials 60

George Hardy D.M.D. 8

Grove Station 64

Henderson Glass........................................................ 75

Heritage South Credit Union 63

Hwy 50 Blue Creek Boat & RV Storage 75

Hughes Pools

46

Just Blinds 3

Karen Channell State Farm 75

Kowaliga Whole Health 75

Lake Martin Dock

19

Lake Martin Mortgage 60

Lake Martin Realty 24, 51

Lake Martin Signature Construction 31

Lake Martin Storm Shelters

Red Hawk Detailing................................................... 75

Reinhardt Lexus 13

Renaissance Electronics 5

Russell Lands 80

Russell Medical

37

Lamberth & Lamberth 74

Main Street Alexander City 46

Mark King's Furniture 17

MedHealth

59

Moore Wealth Management 79

National Village 77

Off the Beaton Path 8

Precise Pressure Washing......................................... 75

Prime Management 6

Raining Dogs Gallery 75

2

Satterfield 5

Security Pest Control 8

Singleton Marine 37

Sparkle Cleaning Services

30

Sunrise Dock 12

Temple Medical Center 8

The Kelly 30

The Learning Tree

59

The Salvation Army 74

Tippy Canoe 6

TowBoat US 12

UAB Heart & Vascular

35

US Bank 19

Vacation Rental Management 74

New Homes With Luxurious Amenities:

Resort, Golf, Tennis, Fishing, Spa, and Wooded Trails

Everyday Grandeur

DISCOVER A LUXURIOUS GOLF LIFESTYLE LIVING ALONG GRAND NATIONAL GOLF COURSE

Tucked away on the outskirts of Auburn University at the world-class Grand National Golf Course, the award winning National Village offers everything you’ll ever need for the way you want to live. The thoughtfully crafted master planned community features georgeous homes designed by national award winner Larry Garnett and built by Ab and Don Conner at Conner Bros. Construction Co., Inc., a local company with more than 100 years of experience. With the Marriott at Grand National on site, residents enjoy championship golf, miles of picturesque nature trails and lakes for fishing, spa and pool. National Village is truly an unbelievable place to live – inside or out. Plus, thanks to the high speed fiber optic network of Opelika (Alabama’s first Gig City), our homeowners enjoy some of the Nation’s fastest internet for any work- or learn-from-home requirements.

Parting Shot

Photo by Kenneth Boone

"A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for."

~ John A. Shedd

Make it their

THE HERITAGE FROM RUSSELL LANDS. EXQUISITE WATERFRONT LOTS NOW AVAILABLE.

Firepits and birthdays. Starry nights and laughter. There’s no life more wonderful than The Heritage on Lake Martin. Set among Lake Martin’s nearly 900 miles of shoreline surrounding over 40,000 acres of pristine water, The Heritage is a 1,500-acre waterfront development along 12 miles of sparkling shoreline—all from Russell Lands, one of the South’s most respected land companies. The stunning community features spectacular waterfront and luxury interior homesites, as well as a flagship resident-owned lake club and private Coore & Crenshaw golf course. Don’t miss your chance to start your own cherished traditions. Opportunities to rewrite your Heritage are now open. Contact us today.

The Heritage development to residents of Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, New Jersey, New York, Oregon,

This

where prohibited by law. No offering can be made to residents of New York until an offering plan is filed with the Department of Law of the State of New York. The Heritage is a proposed planned master development on the shores of Lake Martin, Alabama that does not yet exist.