Story by Elaine Hobson Miller Photos by Graham Hadley
When fire swept through Little Bridge Marina and Barbecue in October 2020, folks thought the place would go out of business. They didn’t count on the ingenuity of owners Craig Inzer and Curt Vezertzis, who simply renovated the building next door and started over. They ended up with a place that’s bigger, brighter and has great views of the marina. In other words, they pulled a phoenix out of the ashes.
“It was a total loss,” says Inzer of their fire-ravaged former space. “Now we’ve been in business since April 10 in the new building, which really has a totally different feel and vibe. We have 75 seats in-house instead of 30 and outdoor seating with shade. It’s all glass, so we have one of the best views on Neely Henry.”
Little Bridge Barbecue and Marina were born in 2014 when Inzer and Vezertzis, who grew up together, purchased Rainbow Marina and the old Bait Shack, at the corner of Wharton Bend Road and Highway 77, along with some land across the street. Their intention was to do a little bit of work and lease the buildings. They knew it would be a good investment because there wasn’t much commercial waterfront property left on Neely Henry.
“Curt and I grew up on the river,” Inzer says. “We’ve known each other forever.” Something interesting happened while they were renovating the existing buildings, however. People kept coming by and banging on the doors wanting ice, food, drinks and gas. “We decided if all these people needed these things, maybe there’s a need for a marina store here,” Inzer says.
Tie up your boat and walk on in
Just in time for the 2014 Riverfest, they filled up the gas tanks and started Little Bridge Marina, which quickly evolved from a hole-in-the-wall to a full-blown marina and barbecue restaurant. “From that point on we covered all the boating needs and were a seven-days-a-week barbecue place, too,” Inzer says. They were geared toward river traffic at first, but soon realized that a lot of folks who had been there before them couldn’t make it year-round because river traffic drops off in the fall. “We knew the food was what was gonna carry us through the winter,” Inzer says.
Business was booming for five years, then COVID-19 came along. They changed and adapted, going to curbside pickup, and had “enormous” boating traffic because people found they could be on the water during the pandemic instead of being hemmed up together at home. Then, the fire hit, and the business partners were back to square one.
“We owned the building next door, which was a former motorcycle, Jet Ski and four-wheeler shop,” Inzer says. “That’s where our bar and grill was. So instead of trying to rebuild on the existing spot, we renovated that other building and were able to move in and be open for business April 10 of 2021.”
Inzer says the old building was more “hole-in-the-wallish,” with two doors, one window and dim lighting. Seating was family-style with whoever happened to be present at three big tables that accommodated eight diners each. The new place is an open, airy space, holds more people and displays the menu on a big-screen television set. It has views of the marina and the two bridges (Little Bridge and Big Bridge) that connect Southside and Rainbow City, not to mention the bikini-clad boaters who tie up at the pier.
“We have barbecue and daily lunch specials, but we’re known for our smoked turkey,” Inzer says. “We serve ribs and homemade desserts, and we sell beer and wine. Down the road, we hope to have bar drinks back.”
Lunch specials are roasted chicken and meatloaf on Mondays, turkey and dressing on Tuesdays, smoked ham on Wednesdays, roasted chicken on Thursdays and smoked brisket on Fridays. Sides for the specials vary from squash casserole to broccoli casserole and baked sweet potato casserole.
They also serve salads, wraps, stuffed potatoes, smoked sausage, traditional nachos and those with pork or chicken piled on top. They have the traditional barbecue sides of baked beans, potato salad and slaw, along with mac-and-cheese, pasta salad, greens and chips.
Desserts include a rotation of peanut butter pie, strawberry pie, banana pudding and fudge pie.
Vezertzis’ mother works there and uses some homemade recipes from her family cookbooks, such as those for chicken salad, pimento cheese, the casseroles and desserts. “We’re here every day, we cook, we clean, we cater, we bus tables, we deliver,” Inzer says. “We’re open 10:30 a.m. – 8 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Sundays, all year.”
Being on the river gives Little Bridge a different atmosphere than most restaurants. “Having people come in from two different doors makes it kinda different,” Inzer says. “You can come down from church in your Sunday best clothes and have someone in a swimsuit sitting right beside you. Families come off their boats, having been tubing or whatever. People know us and know who is making their food. We get a lot of repeat customers.”
Sgt. Brandon Guffey and Capt. Clay Johnson of the Southside Police Department are regulars at the place. “It’s a lot better now,” Guffey says, meaning since it re-opened after the fire. “There was no view there (next door), and he has improved the place a lot.” Johnson agrees.
“I like the atmosphere in here. It’s stress-free, being on the water.” Southside City Councilman John Hatley has a similar opinion. “You can’t beat this view,” he says.
Outside on the dock, Imogene Clay and her husband, Ryburn are relaxing under a canopy, watching the boat traffic. Residents of nearby Buck’s Island, they boat over to Little River Bridge every weekend and sometimes during the week. “We used to get gas here, and we’ll be glad when they get it back,” Imogene says. “They have delicious food, too. I had a Greek salad this week that was really good.”
The owners purchased new gas pumps in February, and as of the middle of May, they were still awaiting delivery. “It will be a card-reader system,” Inzer says. “I’m hoping by June it will be up and running. We’re the only family-owned restaurant on Neely Henry Lake, and we’ll be the only seven-day-a-week place you can get gas on Neely Henry once we get the pumps going.”
Through the pandemic and the fire, Inzer and Vezertzis kept six or seven employees on the payroll, helping with the remodeling. “It’s kinda cool,” Inzer says. “I have some employees who have been with me from the very beginning. We’re like a family. We knew we needed them, and they hung in there with us.”
Once the gas pumps are back, the entertainment side of their business will be revived. “We had live music Thursday-Saturday nights,” Inzer says. “It was in a separate building, but now it will be in the same place as the restaurant. We want it to be where you can come up and hang out with the guys or come in with the kids and listen to music.”
Story by Carol Pappas Photos by David Smith and submitted photos
When it comes to defining success stories, Greater Gadsden Tourism Executive Director Hugh Stump can sum it up in a four-letter word – bass.
With the Whataburger Bassmasters Elite Series now in the history books as Neely Henry’s first, Stump is all smiles. And why not? “It was a phenomenal success. No question about it,” he said.
The report from Bassmasters is that on the web, live and video streaming, the Elite Series on Neely Henry was “the most watched ever,” including Guntersville, which has hosted four Elite Series and is six times as large an area and has a higher profile reputation. “It really blew us away,” Stump said.
Because of a spring flood on the lake, it delayed opening day by a day, so the weigh-in was on Monday rather than Sunday, but Stump said the extra day did not seem to deter participation. “We had 1,500 people at the weigh-in on a workday,” he said. “It took everyone by storm. It couldn’t have gone any better.”
The City of Gadsden partnered with Tourism to make it happen, with both entities investing a sizable financial stake. “The return was well worth it,” Stump said, noting that fishing from Coosa Landing already has a $10 million annual economic impact on the region, and that does not include fishing
tournaments from other ramps in the area. “We can’t do it without the city’s help.” From the financial investment to logistics and labor, the city was a perfect complement in the partnership and is poised to reel in the benefits.
A good regional tournament, he explained, brings in about $100,000 to $250,000 per weekend. With the national exposure the Elite brought to Neely Henry – television, social media, live streaming and web traffic – Neely Henry is on the map.
The anglers especially “loved the Coosa spotted bass. They said it was a 1.5-pound fish that fought like an 8 pounder. They called it the fight of their bass lives. They liked that everything was close by – shopping lodging, restaurants within miles of the ramp,” which bodes well for return visits.
The $100,000 prize offered plenty of incentive for the pros to want to come back, too.
“Hotels, businesses and restaurants did great,” Stump noted. “It hit all the check marks. It brought people in, got national TV and social media attention. More than 5 million minutes of video was viewed on Bassmasters Live.
Catching fish on Neely Henry is the name of the game. Now we’re known for catching fish.”
The Elite Series was able to “highlight Neely Henry to a national audience, and that was our intent,” Stump said. “We’re getting the word out that there’s good fishing here.” A lot of local anglers tuned in, too. The winning catch was 16.5 pounds, the same as everyday anglers.
While the Elite Series was a first for Neely Henry, its partnership with BASS is not. For the past few years, Stump and Tourism have been working with BASS, and Neely Henry was able to land a Bassmasters Open, which brought in 172 boats and 300 anglers. “It’s the second to top tier of the BASS line of tournaments. The Elite is the top.”
The Open had other advantages besides the numbers it lured to the area. With the Open, there is no ‘off limits’ time as in the Elite. Anglers came in 10 days before the tournament and spent the week here, pumping additional money into the economy.
The future continues to look good for Neely Henry and the impact of bass fishing. Just ask Wes Logan of Springville, the Elite Series winner who has fished the lake since he was 5. He already thought the fishing on Neely Henry was good. After pocketing his winnings, he now has 100,000 more reasons to know it’s true.
When adults pull their boats up to one of Snobiz Shaved Ice’s floating vessels, they act like they are just buying for their kids. It doesn’t take long, however, for them to order some for themselves.
“They see how good they look and taste their kids’ cones, and they get one, too,” says Matt Kronen, co-owner of Snobiz. “Everybody likes a treat on a hot day.”
Kronen and his business partner, Tarang Gandhakwla, started selling shaved ice or snow cones on Logan Martin Lake four years ago. Their “fleet” consists of two boats. For one, Kronen took an old pontoon boat, tore it down to its frame and rebuilt it. They purchased an existing snow cone boat that had been used on Lake Martin already. One of their boats is yellow and is anchored at the mouth of Clear Creek on the main channel. The orange boat travels between Pirate Island and the park at the Logan Martin Dam. In addition, the partners sell shaved ices out of their newest venture (this one, on land), Piece of the Pie, a pizza parlor at their Coosa Island Marina.
“The yellow boat also carries boiled peanuts, hot dogs, ice cream and canned soft drinks,” Kronen says.
He says their shaved ice business grows a little more each year, which is one reason they expanded into the pizza operation. “We have a ton of loyal shaved ice customers who have been really good to us,” he says.
People hold onto their own boats as they reach for the cones, then pull away to eat them. (No boarding of the snow cone vessels is allowed.) Generators power the freezers that keep the ice frozen. Flavors include banana, birthday cake, blue raspberry, peach, piña colada, watermelon and tiger’s blood. The latter is a popular branded flavor that combines strawberry and coconut. Cones come in just one size. “We had several sizes to begin with, but we learned it was best to keep it simple,” Kronen says. It’s not unusual, he adds, to sell one snow cone with two or three spoons.
People used to be surprised to see the shaved ice watercraft, but now if they come out and don’t see them, Kronen starts getting phone calls. “We’re the only floating shaved ice business on the lake,” he says. “We were the only shaved ice around here at all until recently, and we’re still the only ones physically on the water.”
Folks can get lake necessities, snacks and drinks at Kronen’s Coosa Island Marina, which also features boat self-storage and valet storage. “Really, we’ll put their boats in the water and take them out,” Kronen says. They lease pontoon boats, and Kronen vows they are the only place on Logan Martin that do personal watercraft rentals.
“We’ve had a bunch of people who have posted photos on our Facebook page of their kids enjoying the cones,” Kronen says.
Snobiz is open only on Saturdays and Sundays, plus Mondays on holiday weekends, from Memorial Day through Labor Day, from11 a.m. until 5 p.m.
So, what’s the next venture for this business partnership?
“Who knows?” Kronen says. “But I’ll tell you this: We’re always looking for help. It’s way harder to find help for this type of business than you would think.”
Story by Leigh Pritchett Photos from Phyllis Murphy; John Lonergan Jr.; Vicki Davis Mize (her collection from her time growing up across from Avondale Lake)
From his back deck, Thomas Ingram Jr. can look through treetops to a spot far down the shore of Logan Martin Lake and see Avondale Lake.
Or rather, he can see where Avondale Lake was when he was a boy.
“Growing up, we had free range to roam,” said Ingram. He would walk or ride his bicycle across his family’s farmland to get to Avondale Lake.
Ingram lives in Pell City on a portion of that same farmland. Now, though, acres upon acres of Logan Martin cover most of the farmland and have engulfed Avondale Lake.
John Lonergan (left) on an inner tube at Avondale Lake with cousins Tom Lovell (center) and Sandra Skelton (right).
The one part of Avondale Lake that did not disappear when Logan Martin formed are the memories of fun, adventure and special times that happened there.
“I have a vivid memory of it,” Gerald Ensley of Cropwell said about Avondale Lake. “I can see it all.”
Avondale Lake and a large farm surrounding it were the property of Avondale Mills in Pell City. Avondale Mills purchased them from Grover C. Waite, the Easonville businessman who had developed the lake, notes the May 19, 1955, St. Clair News-Aegis.
According to a 1947 issue of Avondale Sun (the newspaper for Avondale Mills), Avondale Lake was about 15 acres in size. It had been acquired “chiefly” as a water source for the Pell City plant, yet quickly had become a popular recreation site.
The lake, its recreational amenities and the dairy that operated on farmland at the lake were added to a long list of provisions that Avondale Mills gave employees of the Pell City plant. Numerous sources said the company provided houses in the “Mill Village,” a hospital, school, laundry, barbershop, clubhouse with concessions, sports facility and activities, outdoor movies and entertainment and cookouts, among others.
“They took care of everybody,” said Ensley, a member of a mill family and a mill worker himself for a time. “… They were good neighbors to the town.”
Pete Rich, whose mother Pauline, taught decades of children in Avondale Mills’ kindergarten, agreed. “The Comers – they really cared about people.”
(The Comer family owned the mill; Comer Avenue in Pell City is named for them.)
David Murphy of Pell City, whose work at Avondale Mills covered decades and two states, said the company established recreation areas wherever it had a plant. For many years, the company also operated Camp Helen, a retreat in Panama City, Fla., that offered an affordable family vacation option to Avondale Mills employees.
Rich was a lifeguard at Avondale Lake during high school and at Camp Helen while in college. He described Avondale Lake as “a busy place,” where people could swim, fish, picnic, bowl and camp out as scouts.
“You could play volleyball, badminton, horseshoes,” added Ingram, a historian and retired educator who taught at Avondale School early in his career.
Joann Winnette of Pell City said the building that housed the bowling alley also included dressing rooms, a concession area and a dance floor with a jukebox. When she went to the lake as a young girl, “the only restroom at that time was a two-holer (outhouse),” she said with a laugh.
At the lake were a dock, diving board and paddle boats. The picnic area, with pavilions and barbecue pit, was a frequent meeting place for scouts, 4-H Clubs and other groups, Ingram said.
Vicki Davis Mize, Julia Skelton and David Murphy’s wife, Phyllis, each remember going there for church picnics. Phyllis Murphy said a creek served as a refrigerator to cool the watermelons.
“Occasionally, we went there as a class,” Mary Isbell of Pell City said about students at Easonville School, where her dad, Lester Bryant, was principal. “… (Highway) 231 wasn’t even a paved road then.”
Rich emphasized that it was quite an attraction. “Avondale Lake was a big thing. … It was about the only place there was back then.”
Ingram said Avondale Lake drew visitors from other areas. “People came all the way from Sylacauga up here to go to the lake.”
Old Davis store
The Avondale Sun article goes even further, calling the lake “one of the most popular spots in Alabama for persons seeking relaxation and pleasure.”
Even though Avondale Lake was technically for mill employees and their families, “the whole community from Mount Pisgah to Cropwell went,” said Randall Harmon of Cook Springs. “… It was just a good place to hang out for young kids.”
Many of Harmon’s youthful, summer days were spent swimming at Avondale Lake. He lived in the Mount Pisgah-Easonville area at the time and would hitchhike on Old 231, when necessary, to get to the lake. “It was safe to do stuff like that then.”
Around 1947 or 1948, Avondale Mills bought a school bus and provided a shuttle service from the Mill Village to Avondale Lake during the summer, Ensley said. “Jellybean” Clemons drove the bus and transported families to Camp Helen.
Avondale Lake “was a pretty nice place in those days,” said John Lonergan Jr. of Chula Vista. “… I went there from the time I was old enough to wade in the water until I was 8. I learned to swim there, too.”
Lonergan once rode his bicycle on Old 231 all the way from the Mill Village, where he lived, to Avondale Lake. The only reason he stopped going regularly to the lake was because the City of Pell City, in the 1950s, built a pool on 19th Street South. The pool was not far from the Mill Village.
While Avondale Lake was a fun place to Lonergan, he said he also had a harrowing experience. One day, he fell off the inner tube on which he had been floating. He remembers being on the bottom of the lake looking up and a lifeguard pulling him to safety. He believes that lifeguard was either Pete Rich or French Whitten.
Phyllis Murphy reminisced about special times of being at the lake with her sister Joan Deason and their dad, Norman Smith. “We were little. Daddy would usually swim with us.”
Many churches, Winnette said, held baptismal services at the lake. “Nobody, except maybe First Baptist, had baptistries at that time.”
Winnette, Harmon, Isbell and Mize are a few who were baptized in Avondale Lake. Winnette, in fact, was baptized when it was Waite’s Lake before Avondale Mills acquired and renamed it.
“Lots of people in Pell City were baptized there at Avondale Lake,” Mize said. “I have a picture of my daddy (the Rev. Harvey L. Davis) baptizing me at Avondale Lake.”
A useful resource, too
Not only did the lake property provide outdoor recreation and dairy pastureland, but it also boasted a working grist mill. The mill was situated next to a spillway of the lake.
“We would shell our corn in the barn, put it in a tow sack, and we would take it down and grind it on the shares,” Ingram said. (“On the shares,” he explained, meant the grist mill received a portion of the ground corn as payment for services rendered.)
People could stand on a ramp at the mill to watch lake water rush in from the spillway to turn the mechanisms that ground their corn, Ingram explained. Afterward, the water was discharged down a steep slope into a creek.
“Now, that was fascinating,” Winnette recalled.
What was even more intriguing to Ingram was the replica of a World War II B-29 bomber hanging over the grist mill doorway. Ingram said the replica was six to eight feet in length with an impressive wingspan. He wanted that model badly. “But they wouldn’t let me have it.”
Adventures aplenty
The memories that Glenn Evans of Pell City has about Avondale Lake are of the hours spent hunting on some rear acreage. He said his dad, James Evans, who was plant manager at Avondale Mills, would let him hunt there occasionally in the late 1960s.
Ingram, too, has Avondale Lake hunting stories – one in particular about opposum-hunting with his uncle Grant Watson. He said Watson put the captured critters in a croaker sack that Watson flung over his back. That was until the opposums grew antsy and began biting Watson through the bag.
A portion of River Oaks now overlooks the old lake
One of Avondale Lake’s more slithery characteristics was its snake population.
Mize, who does not like snakes at all, is amazed that she could enjoy swimming in the lake. Jokingly, she said, “Nine-thousand snakes were killed in that lake.”
The environs had their share, too.
Lonergan said he was walking with a group one night on the road around the grist mill and saw 13 snakes.
It was not unusual, Ingram said, to see snakes in the vicinity of the scout camp – the same area where he and others would soon be sleeping on the ground in tents. “You’re camping out and snakes crawling around!”
Harmon had an up-close encounter when he and a friend went frog-gigging one time. In a flat-bottom boat left at Avondale Lake, the two friends floated along looking for frogs. As they did, a water moccasin kept circling the boat. Harmon’s friend got the bright idea to gig the snake. After he did, he held the snake right over the head of a surprised, scared and scrambling Harmon.
Spring-fed lake
Avondale Lake was clean, with fresh spring water flowing through it constantly, Harmon said.
“(It) had a lot of springs in it that were cold!” Winnette added.
The spring activity was quite visible, according to Ingram. “(You) could see water just bubbling up.”
The lake was a good fishing spot, too. Lonergan recounted a time that he fished at a second spillway at the back of Avondale Lake, caught a catfish and ate it for supper.
The second spillway drained excess water if the lake level rose too high, Ingram said. That spillway fed Harmon Lake, which was created when overflow from Avondale Lake was dammed. Tol and Stella Harmon owned the Harmon Lake property.
Beyond Harmon Lake laid Easonville Creek and then the Coosa River, which was narrow enough for Randall Harmon to swim across it as a boy. He explained that the spring water that fed Avondale Lake traveled from one waterway to the next until it eventually reached the river.
Although the spot where Avondale Lake sat is a distant sight from Ingram’s back yard, another portion of the Avondale Lake property is close and readily visible. Ingram pointed to houses directly across Logan Martin Lake and said that they sit right where Avondale Lake’s scout camp was.
Rich, Lonergan and Ensley – like Ingram – have adventures to tell about camping at Avondale Lake as scouts.
“I thought it was the most wonderful place in the world,” Ensley said, “especially for an old country boy who hadn’t been anywhere.”
Ensley said the scout camp existed many generations before Avondale Mills acquired it. When Avondale Mills bought the property from Waite, the camp had crude log cabins. Avondale Mills made improvements.
Scouts from other parts of the country where Avondale Mills had plants would come to the camp too, Ensley said.
Arthur “Chick” Moore oversaw the camp property, as well as the lake and farmland, and had such an integral role that his name frequently is mentioned in Avondale Lake stories.
Ingram said Moore lived on the premises, and Mize said Moore and his wife hosted community gatherings at the lake.
Randall Harmon’s wife, Vicki, said Moore sat in a certain chair looking out at the lake while people were swimming. He was “always laughing and talking and carrying on with us.”
Moore would hire young people to work part time in the summer. Ensley got to be one of them, a “clean-up boy,” around 1953 or 1954.
As a child, Mize went to Avondale Lake “just about every day during the summertime.” Sometimes, her mother, Rebecca Davis, went along to fish. But Mize’s parents did not mind if Mize went to the lake unaccompanied because “they trusted Mr. Moore.”
The store that Mize’s parents operated – H.L. Davis General Merchandise – was right across the road from the lake’s gated entrance. The store was a frequent, snack-buying stop for lake visitors.
Cherished among Mize’s collection of photos of that time in her life is a picture of her dad reclining on a chaise lounge, the gate to Avondale Lake prominently in the background. She commissioned local artist Wayne Spradley to create for her a painting of the gate.
Just as the 1960s were a time of great revolution, drastic changes came to the landscape during that time.
In a project to develop the Coosa River, Alabama Power Company formed Logan Martin Lake and put Logan Martin Dam into operation in August 1964.
Logan Martin Lake grew vastly wider than the Coosa River had been, consuming great expanses of land and encapsulating both Avondale Lake and Harmon Lake.
H.L. Davis General Merchandise was under water. The home next to it – where Mize and her parents had lived – was sold to Ludford Harmon, who established a mobile home park. What once had been the driveway to the home became a boat ramp, Mize said.
As for the pastureland at Avondale Lake, Glenn Evans said it is now River Oaks subdivision. The deep part of Logan Martin Lake in the slough of River Oaks is Avondale Lake.
Avondale Mills continued to operate in Pell City for another four decades, before closing in 2006. Its altitudinous, brick smokestack and most of the buildings have since been demolished. The iconic water tower, though, still holds a prominent place in Pell City’s skyline.
The creation of Logan Martin Lake did claim a lot of farmland (hundreds of acres from Ingram’s family alone) and covered sites brimming with memories. But Ingram observed that much good came from it. The lake and dam now generate electricity for people in Alabama and other states. In addition, the lake is a popular fishing and recreational outlet that, in turn, generates revenue for local businesses.
“Alabama Power dammed it for a business venture, and it turned into much more than that,” Ingram said.
In many ways, he said, all the recreational and commercial benefits of Avondale Lake were just a “mini version” of what was to come with Logan Martin Lake.
Additional assistance with this article provided by Danny Stewart and Susan Mann of Pell City Library; Patti Sims and Linda Sims.
Story and photos by Graham Hadley Submitted photos
It’s not unusual to see row after row of beautiful, new boats on display at Logan Martin’s LakeFest celebration. Dealers put the best they have on display for new and returning customers – everything from tritoons to the fastest bass boats on the lake.
But this year, a group of boating enthusiasts rivaled the new boats on display.
While new boats are beautiful in their own right, few draw the eyes of boating enthusiasts like the sleek lines of a pre-World-War-II , barrel-back vintage wood Chris Craft or the raked fiberglass hull and retro fins of a 1956 Sea Sabre.
The Logan Martin Antique and Classic Boat Show at LakeFest was a cooperative effort between Sam Marston, Paul Zimmerman, Ronnie Lyle, Brett Bell and others to show off their special watercraft and to talk to people about what it means to own, restore and maintain one of these beautiful boats.
Sam at the helm of his Chris Craft on Logan Martin Lake
Chris Craft Icons
This year, the group had 10 boats on display as part of their show, but the first two that usually turn heads are the stunningly maintained wooden Chris Craft boats. With their distinctive hull lines and wood decking with each plank outlined in white, Brett Bell’s 19-foot 1939 Barrel Back and Sam Marston’s 19-foot 1956 Christ Craft Capri are show-stoppers.
A“This boat is all original. It has been preserved, not restored,” Brett said, pointing out that a key to maintaining that is keeping the wood on the boat around water. “It can’t be allowed to dry out,” he said.
The boats are powered by inboard six-cylinder flathead Hercules engines, and while they are some of the most beautiful watercraft ever built, they do have their limitations. Both Sam and Brett say they are cruisers, with flat rounded bottoms, and are not really built for rough, choppy water.
“We run them on the lake early in the morning or in the late afternoons when the water is calmer,” Sam said.
Alongside Sam’s Capri is a special project of his. He had a matching one-person hydroplane built to match his bigger boat, right down to the wood decking. And though the little boat is not technically vintage, it looks right at home next to the other two Chris Craft.
Not all fiberglass and wood
Tucked in next to the wood boats is Sam’s personal favorite. Its simple metal design might be overlooked alongside the sculpted wooden hulls on one side and the retro-styled fiberglass boats on the other, but he says there is something special about his small, metal 12-foot Orlando Clipper runabout.
“The front plows up when you first start moving before it planes, and you can feel the water bouncing off the bottom of the hull under your feet,” he said.
He bought the boat in its current condition in 2004 from an ad in the Birmingham News. He had Mazda’s advertising moniker, “Zoom,
Zoom!” painted on the boat – explaining he loves the way it moves through the water. “It’s a great family boat. Lots of fun,” he said.
Ronnie and Pat Lyle’s 1952 12-foot Feather Craft Deluxe runabout sits next to the Orlando clipper. It’s metal hull painted a bright, fire-engine red with chrome accents and a matching red Mercury Mk 55 outboard.
It’s a bright, dashing contrast to the Orlando clipper next to it and is just as special to its owners – with careful attention to every detail, including the standout paint job and chrome trim on the Mercury outboard engine.
Vintage fiberglass boats
Retro Fiberglass Wonders
Starting in the 1950s, fiberglass was moving to replace wood and metal as the chief hull component for most recreational boats of all sizes because of its durability, ease and maintenance and the flexibility it gave designers.
That flexibility in design was very much on display at LakeFest with a number of classically retro boats, several sporting curved
windscreens and fins commonly found on cars of the day.
Ronnie and Pat’s 19-foot 1975 Aristocraft is a prime example, with its sliding canopy to provide shade from the sun while out on the lake and its teal on white color scheme.
Ronnie’s father had been a truck driver and delivered regularly to the plants in Atlanta where both their boats were built. “I always wanted one of these,” he said.
He has tried to keep the fiberglass boat as close to the original design as possible, though it is still a work in progress. There was a small fire in the engine compartment for the inboard/outboard that had done minor damage to the fiberglass that he is still working on making just right.
Still, the boat sports both the original Aristocraft badge and the dealer sticker on the side.
Another Aristocraft with similar styling was next in line and also still had the original badge on the site. This one is part of Paul Zimmerman’s collection. His Competitive Upholstery business has played a key role in his love of boats, not only filling his upholstery needs on personal restoration jobs but trading out work to acquire some of the boats in his collection, particularly from Buck’s Island in Southside.
Paul said he picked up some boats in much need of restoration from Buck’s in exchange for doing some work on their boats – an offer he was quick to take them up on.
Justin and Levi Driver and their Checkmate speed boat
Two of Paul’s boats at the show have some of the most distinctive sterns of any of the other fiberglass boats there, featuring large fins on the aft quarters. His red and white 1957 Larson Thunderhawk Jr. and teal 1957 Sea Sabre both draw heavily from the space-age car designs of the period, and not just with the fins. The boats are adorned with wrap-around wind screens and chrome trim and upholstery appropriate for the era. His wife, Ann, was quick to point out the teal Sea Sabre is her boat – a project she is extremely proud of.
The last boat in the lineup is another one from the Zimmerman family – a late 1960s or early 1970 orange Checkmate speed boat that has truly been a family project, with much of the work being done by Paul’s grandson, Levi Driver, with help from his friend Hayden Davis and dad, Justin.
“We took it out that first time and had the trim wrong on the motor, then trimmed it out and heard a big boom – our stainless prop was
A mishap the first time it went in the water cost them a prop.
just gone,” Levi said.
Despite that setback, they are well on their way to getting the boat ready to float again, and still adding touches, like a top-of-line sound system, underwater LED lights and other features.
Looking to grow
All of the members of the new Antique and Classic boat group, which now has a Facebook page, are looking forward to the group’s future. Several of them have numerous other project boats in the works, and they are also considering reaching out to vintage boat owners on other lakes to participate in future events.
The members are quick to point out – these boats are beautiful, but are also a labor of love, requiring lots of regular maintenance.
That has been one area where the members say the group has been particularly helpful – networking on which people and businesses are best suited to handle repairs and other work on their boat that are outside the scope of their ability to do themselves.
Sam and Ronnie said they very much hope to make their participation in LakeFest a regular event venue for them and hope to have more people with more boats next year.
Canoe Harbor couple enjoys easy lake living and ‘slow cooking’
Story Scotty Vickery Photos by Kelsey Bain
Barbecue enthusiasts all over Alabama have long debated the merits of smokers versus grills when it comes to cooking a perfect Boston butt, but Denise Robison has discovered another weapon in the longstanding battle: the slow cooker.
“I love anything in the CrockPot,” she said. “It’s just so easy.” Convenience has become especially important in the two years since Denise and her husband, Kenny, built their dream home on the point in the new Canoe Harbor subdivision on Neely Henry Lake. These days, there are fish to catch, sunsets to watch and peaceful evenings to enjoy.
“I just love it out here,” Denise said. “We stay outside constantly. I just love to sit out on the porch and look at the water.” Technically, though, the Robisons don’t even have to venture from the house to enjoy the water. “There’s a view from every room, except for the closets and pantry,” Denise said. “It never gets old,” Kenny added.
When they are inside, they often take in the view from the open concept kitchen with its gleaming white cabinets, Italian Waves granite countertops and grey subway tile backsplash. “I knew what I wanted, but I had to find the right house plan,” Denise said. “I can be in the kitchen and when we have company, I can still communicate with everyone in the downstairs area.”
Decorated in crisp whites, creams and navy, the kitchen is the perfect backdrop for Denise’s ever-growing collection of Rae Dunn pottery. She’s been collecting the pieces – cream-colored plates, mugs, canisters, cookie jars, etc. – for more than 20 years. So far, she’s amassed more than 300 pieces, all of which feature single words or short phrases like “Yum,” “Let’s Eat” or “Thankful.”
“She even has Rae Dunn dog bowls,” Kenny said. “We’re on a first name basis with the UPS driver.” Denise doesn’t deny it. “I don’t have many vices, but that’s one of them,” she said with a laugh.
“I’ve been collecting it a long time. I’ve gotten my daughter and daughter-in-law hooked on it, too.”
Slower-paced life
After living in Trussville for more than 30 years and raising their two children, the Robisons first moved to the Greensport area about 10 years ago. “My daughter was expecting our first grandbaby, and that’s what got us up here,” Denise said. “They were in Alexandria at the time, and this is halfway. We really wanted to be on the lake, but at the time we moved, there was nothing available.”
The desire to be on the water never eased up, and when the opportunity to buy the property – just over two acres on the peninsula – came up, Kenny was immediately convinced. “I told her we better go get that lot,” he said. “You’re not going to find another spot on the lake like this, and if there is one, someone’s already got it.”
The Robisons were the first to build in the subdivision, which boasts 36 flat lots on the St. Clair County side of Neely Henry, an 11,200-acre body of water with 339 miles of shoreline. The development is a joint venture between Lyman Lovejoy and Chad Camp, both of Lovejoy Realty, and John Freeman of Freeman Land and Development.
The house, which has four bedrooms, 2 ½ baths, 15 gables and is situated on three lots, took about 11 months to build. One hidden feature that brings Denise and Kenny peace of mind is the storm shelter with reinforced concrete walls that doubles as the walk-in kitchen pantry. “When they laid the foundation, that was the first thing they poured,” Kenny said. “They built the house around the storm shelter.”
Although their lake house is less than 40 miles from Trussville, which they called home for more than three decades, it feels like it’s a world away. “I just love the peaceful feeling you have out here,” Denise said. Kenny especially loves the fishing and watching the geese, ducks and other birds. “They build their nests in the rocks,” he said. “It’s amazing to see them as they crack out of the eggs and are starting to walk,” Denise added.
Both of their children and four grandchildren now live within a few miles of them, so the couple added a pool last year. That, coupled with their two piers, covered patio and outdoor fireplace, make Denise’s slow cooker even more valuable since it allows her to enjoy family gatherings and still serve a great meal. “I cook a lot of Boston butts,” she said.
Even though they’ve been on the water for two years, the Robisons said they never take their easygoing lifestyle – or the views – for granted. They’ve discovered the merits of lake life can be summed up in the one word that adorns the dish towels hanging from the handle of the stove: Blessed.
“Sometimes I look around and think how lucky we are,” Kenny said.
“There’s no doubt about it; we’ve been very blessed.”
Smoked Boston Butt (Slow cooker)
5-pound Boston butt roast 2 tbsp garlic salt 4 tbsp Liquid Smoke 2 tbsp black pepper 1 medium onion, diced 2 tbsp seasoning salt 1 cup water 3 bay leaves
Rub roast with spices and Liquid Smoke. Place onion in bottom of slow cooker and put roast on top. Add water and bay leaves. Cook on low 8-10 hours.
Greek Coleslaw
1 pkg coleslaw mix 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 bunch green onions 1 tsp Greek seasoning 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice and seasoning in a large bowl. Add slaw mix and green onions and toss. Fold in feta cheese and serve.
Up-and-coming sport making a splash on Neely Henry and Logan Martin lakes
Story and Photos by Graham Hadley
Want to catch the perfect wave, but don’t have time to go to a beach with decent breaks?
Look no farther than the Coosa River.
For the past few years, surfing enthusiasts have been taking to the water behind specially designed ski boats that allow them to literally surf on the lakes.
Gadsden City High School student Jackson Sparks says different boards ride differently.
This is not the old tow-behind surfing from the 1970s and 80s – there is no towing involved.
The boats are built so they throw enormous wakes, similar to the waves you see at the ocean. Some boats achieve this through filling special tanks in the hull with water. Others have large, heavy water bags put in the back.
This causes the boat to “plough” through the water instead of riding up on plane and making those wave-like wakes.
Unlike regular tow-behind water sports like skiing or wake boarding, once a surfer gets up out of the water and starts carving the wake – usually only feet from the back of the boat, they drop the rope and are moving along solely by riding the wave, just like in the ocean.
The boards look something like a cross between a wake board and a scaled-down traditional surf board and are light and easy to handle.
Because of the shape of the board and the dynamics of riding the wake, it is much easier to get up and going on a wake surfer than on skis or wake boards, said David Partridge, one of the owners of Ski World in Gadsden.
He was also quick to point out that wake surfing is much easier on the body that some of the other tow-behind water sports largely because the boat is going so slow, maybe 9 mph, ploughing through the water to generate the wave.
“We get people out here of all ages, teens all the way up to older people. It is really easy to do and a lot of fun,” he said. “Wake surfing is an all-age thing.”
You start out in the water a couple of yards behind the tow boat with a short but otherwise traditional ski rope, laying back in the water with the board sideways and your feet braced on the pad. As the boat starts, you literally pop out of the water and immediately try to find the sweet spot on the wake.
As the boat speeds up, the wake becomes much more wave like. The rider starts letting the momentum riding down the face of the wake carry them along, just like a traditional wave at the beach. Once they hit that spot, they drop the rope and are surfing the perfect wave. And unlike the beach, where the waves eventually peter out – you can ride a boat-generated wave as long as you can stay up.
Ski World
co-owner
David Partridge talks to boat driver Austin Young about how the boat rides to create the wavelike wake.
You don’t ever have to have surfed a real wave to take up wake surfing – it has an easy learning curve, Partridge said. The big trick to getting up on the board and staying on the board – there are no bindings like with skis or wakeboards – is not to drag your rear-end in the water.
Dragging in the water like that is a “hard no” said Austin Young, who was driving the boat for the wake surfing demonstration, with Jackson Sparks showing off his skills on two different boards, one designed more for speed and the other with mobility in mind (like regular surfboards, the number of fins and length have a lot to do with that).
Young’s boat used the internal ballast system, pumping in water from the lake to make the boat heavy enough to generate a wave. He was also quick to show off his Star Trek looking gauges at the helm, which gave him every piece of information he needed to run the boat and give his rider a great wave to surf.
Wipeout: All good rides must come to an end.
Partridge, whose shop sells ski supplies but not boats, said watercraft like that can easily top $200,000, though less expensive options are available that use the heavy external ballast bags you lay down in the aft boat cabin instead of internal systems.
Partridge, Young and Sparks agreed that while wake surfing is easy and a great water sport for all ages, safety is still paramount. You need a proper boat rigged with the right gear, safety ski vests, enough people to drive and spot, and to follow not only lake boating laws, but to show common courtesy to other boaters and property owners – especially since the surf boats are throwing wakes with heights measured in feet.
When we launched the maiden voyage of LakeLife 24/7® Magazine, it was as if we were one of thousands up and down the shorelines of Logan Martin and Neely Henry greeted by a sign or a flag with those ever-familiar words: Welcome to Our Lake House.
After all, that’s what we do. We visit your homes, your businesses, your favorite spots. We step inside your kitchens to see what’s cooking or step back in time and ask you to ‘remember when.’ And we bring a host of readers – thousands of them – along with us.
As any gracious host or hostess would do, you’ve welcomed us like an old friend, letting us in and allowing us to share your stories. We sincerely thank you while making a commitment. Like that old friend, we will return the favor by dedicating our magazine to content you’ll enjoy, stories you’ll savor, information that helps you plan your weekend and memories that spark a smile.
That’s our commitment to you. This is your magazine, and we’ll do our best to find a way to say ‘yes.’ Our inbox is always open at info@lakelife247magazine.com. Your call will always be answered at 205-335-0281. Just like that sign, we welcome you to our house with suggestions, comments, feedback, events to publicize and story ideas you want to share.
Edition after edition, we want to bring you content that matters, content that engages and entertains our audience, and we will strive to meet those goals.
In this, our second edition, we will take you inside the kitchen of Denise and Kenny Robison’s spectacular home on Neely Henry in Canoe Harbor. There, we’ll get a glimpse of their view of lake life and as a bonus, a recipe or two from Denise’s collection.
We’ll ride the surf along with a lake wakesurfer, a sport growing in popularity across the country.
Step back in time before there was a Logan Martin and relive the memories of Avondale Lake, a spring-fed body of water on the Coosa where families flocked for weekends and holidays for fun in the sun.
Get a glimpse of yesteryear with a group of vintage boat enthusiasts or see how a couple of Neely Henry restauranteurs rose above the tragedy of fire and brought back Little Bridge Marina and Barbecue bigger and better than ever.
You don’t have to be a fishing fan to see the impact fishing has on our lakes. We’ll take you behind the scenes at the Bassmaster Elite Series, a first for Neely Henry, and reveal just how much the sport means to the region’s economy.
But if you are a fishing fan, we have a regular feature designed just for you: Catching the Coosa. Ride along with Bass Pro Circuit angler and seasoned fishing guide Zeke Gossett as he shares tips, tricks and takeaways from Logan Martin and Neely Henry to help you catch the Coosa, too.
As usual, we’ll ‘Take 5’ with a comprehensive calendar of events throughout the region over the next two months until our next edition appears.
But there’s more. Turn the page and discover it all with us.
Getting into the dead heat of summer can cause some challenges when it comes to trying to catch a bass on Logan Martin Lake.
During the month of July, you can still find some bass out deep, but as we move into the month of August, do not look over the shallow bite.
As we move through the month of July and into August the water can be its hottest it has been all year. This is when the transition starts from fish moving from out deep back to the shallows due to lack of oxygen.
To start out in the mornings, I will generally use a squarebill crank bait around docks and rip rap. I’m generally trying to cause a reaction strike from fish that might not want to eat, and a squarebill does a good job at this.
As the day progresses, I will look for shade. This shade can be either from docks or overhanging trees. Usually around the docks, I prefer some type of finesse jig or shaky head.
For the overhanging trees I go with a hollow body frog. This time of year, some fish can be sitting a lot shallower than you think. It will be tough but when you get a bite, it’ll be more than likely a better fish.
On Neely Henry
Neely Henry is going to fish similararly to Logan Martin this time of year. One main difference is that I would target more water willows in the morning with the frog.
Sometimes, this bite can last all day if the conditions are right. The squarebill can still come in handy when passing by some riprap or an isolated stump in the water.
Once the sun comes up, I like to target shallow brush in and around piers with the finesse jig and shaky head. These fish can be sitting anywhere between a foot to seven-feet deep.
Lastly, keep an eye out for schooling fish this time of year. A lot of bait balls will start cruising the surface of the water column, and you can pick these fish off with a small swimbait. I like to keep this swimbait on a spinning rod with small braid in order to make a long cast to fish that might come up way out from the boat.
Keeping it simple is important to having success this time of year. It will be tough, but try some of these techniques and you will find some success.
L ooking back at the genesis of what happens in July at Logan Martin’s Pier 59, it could easily be seen as the tipping point – that moment when an idea catches fire and spreads.
The spark in this case is Janet Swann, who was moved to do what she could to provide Christmas for children with special needs. The ensuing flame came from an army of volunteers and supporters who have since provided Christmas to 350 students at Alabama School for the Blind, Helen Keller School of Alabama and Alabama School for the Deaf. And it’s still spreading.
“There should be no child without Christmas,” Swann said of the motivation that seems to grow stronger every year.
It all began 12 years ago when Swann, who had been collecting toys for Christmas for children at Coosa Valley Academy, where her grandson attended, determined there was a real need at Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind. So, she set the wheels in motion with an event called Christmas in July.
From her vantage point on the lake, she reasoned that more people flock in that direction during the summer, and a July effort would appeal to a larger audience.
She was right. That first summer raised $1,200, selling barbecue plates, holding a poker run and recruiting four sponsors. In 2019, the effort emanating from that small restaurant produced $40,000 to provide a brighter Christmas for children across Alabama.
Even in the year of a pandemic, they raised thousands from an online silent auction that lasted the whole month of July. “In a pandemic, it speaks to the hard work of everyone,” said Marquitta Riggins, assistant director of Development for AIDB.
Tim Chiasson, who has been working with the effort since the early days, recalled the low expectations the group had for the pandemic year. But, like a tradition that can’t help but carry on, “generosity showed up,” he said.
A core group of volunteers gets started in January and by the time of the event on July 24 this year, there will likely be 45 to 50. “Volunteers,” Swann said, “that’s how we make Santa Claus happen.”
A small band of planners, who gathered around a table in the restaurant in May, discussed the event’s history, but more important, its future.
Partnering with AIDB and its development resources has made all the difference. This year, they’re even giving away a Harley Davidson motorcycle in the Christmas in July drawing. They stressed that all proceeds generated – from food sales to the poker run to t-shirt sales to cornhole and weightlifting competitions to a live auction – go to the kids.
Volunteers and donations – they are the engine that makes Christmas in July run. Without them, none of it is possible, Swann and Chiasson agreed. They pointed out that even the grand prize from the giveaway – the Harley Davidson motorcycle – was a donation.
The children themselves, as well as Industries for the Blind, are involved as well. Artwork, crafts and woodworking they create are on sale throughout the event. “It has brought our entire AIDB family together,” Riggins said.
In its 12-year history, “This event has brought in nearly a quarter million dollars,” she noted. When talk turns to partnerships, Riggins is reminded of AIDB’s belief that the possibilities for deaf and blind students knows no bounds. “Together, we are limitless. When these children wake up on Christmas Day, they have a feeling that they are loved, and they have hope. That’s what this group brings to our children.”
Motioning around the table to the volunteers eager to make 2021 bigger and better than ever before, Riggins said, “This is their event. They make it possible.”
