On the banks of Neely Henry Lake, Greensport Marina and Campground transformed into a thrilling rodeo for two days of family fun people around these parts won’t soon forget.
Broken Arrow Rodeo Productions put on quite a show, wowing the crowds with non-stop action.
Sponsors and a host of community volunteers and organizations came together in support of a laudable cause, the Ashville High School Future Farmers of America.
Horses, lassos, cowboys and more against the backdrop of Neely Henry and the mountains formed a stunning scene that are now etched in memories.
Our own Mackenzie Free got in on the action, capturing in photos the moments that defined just how special this event was.
But don’t take our word for it. Check out these reviews from those who experienced it in the moment:
“This was a lot of fun! This is what we need on Neely Henry Lake. Fun by land or water!”
“Had a blast. Can’t believe how y’all pulled this together. Really professional event. Can’t wait till next year.”
“We loved it and rode our boat over for both nights. The food trucks were great, the rodeo was great and enjoyed listening to the music. Thank you for putting this event on. Also, a congratulations to my daughter placing 2nd place in the barrel racing.”
And that was just a sampling of firsthand accounts of Rodeo and Rhythm’s debut.
But perhaps the best quote of all comes from Greensport itself, announcing the rodeo’s expected return: “We hope you loved it just as much as we did, and that you’ll be back for next year’s action, too!”
Thank you, Dave and Stepanie Evans. Job well done!
Serving up compassion and confidence one plate at a time
Story by Roxann Edsall Photos by Richard Rybka
Tucked away inside the Gadsden City Library is a beautifully written story. It’s a tale of inspiration and impact, of dedication and determination, of encouragement and expectations.
And the authors of this unfolding story are a bunch of high school students who simply want to be productive citizens in their community.
Quesadilla ready to go
It’s still two hours before lunchtime, and a group of six students and their mentors quietly work in the kitchen prepping food and garnishes for the lunchtime crowd at Beautiful Rainbow Café in Gadsden. During the next hours, a handful of additional students hurry in, stashing backpacks and washing up to join in the preparations.
These are the stars of the Beautiful Rainbow project, a work-based learning program through Gadsden City Schools.
Offering an array of organic and vegetarian dishes, the café is staffed and run by students with significant cognitive disabilities. Menu favorites include the vegetarian crabcake on mixed greens, the grilled pimento cheese sandwich and the corn and poblano pepper quesadilla. All the ingredients are locally grown and sourced.
Inspired by his vision of a productive future for his students, Chip Rowan started the Beautiful Rainbow project out of his high school special education classroom housed at Litchfield Middle School. Combining his personal interests in food and gardening, Rowan guided his students in planting and nurturing a garden and used the experiences to teach his students graphing, reading, math and language skills.
Rowan had studied post-graduate employment levels for high school students who were graduates of the school’s Special Education program. He found that no graduate in the five-year study period had achieved employment or entry into a program that would lead to employment.
“I felt we were not getting good results in the program we were using, so I felt we needed to radically change our approach,” said Rowan. “We needed to teach them the things that the state required for graduation but needed to add things that would maximize their potential for independent living and community-based employment.”
The students learned to measure the plants in their garden, to graph specific variables like growth rates and to journal about them. “Several students who had been non-readers began to read functionally,” Rowan added. They used the vegetables they grew to start making and selling salads to teachers. The students later branched out into baking, offering sweet treats people could order online.
Talking to the customers
Encouraged by their success and armed with a grant from the Alabama Department of Education, Rowan developed a summer program for high school students with special needs, the only one of its kind in the area. They renovated space at the middle school to provide a commercial kitchen where high school students were taught culinary techniques. From that experience, they started offering lunches for community VIPs each Thursday.
Former Gadsden City Librarian Amanda Jackson was one of their VIP guests one Thursday, and she suggested the library clean out a space for the students to open a café. That was approved by the city, and in 2017, Beautiful Rainbow Café opened its doors.
In that time, the program and café have received countless awards, including one this past year from Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, who chose the café as the best work-based learning program in the state.
The awards are fine, Rowan says, but the real success lies in the successes he sees in his students. “We have 112 successes to be proud of,” says Rowan. “That’s how many students have been involved in the program so far. They can take the class for a semester, or they can stay in the program until we get them a job.”
Twenty one-year-old Candido Lucas, whose family is from Guatemala, has just graduated from the program and is now happy to be working at Publix. He says he learned a lot while studying and working at Beautiful Rainbow Café. “I like working with customers and cooking and greeting customers,” says Candido.
He loves to make the café’s grilled pimento cheese sandwiches. Nathan Melville lives just two blocks from the café and loves to eat them. Melville gives the food five stars and is equally impressed with how the business focuses on meeting the needs of the students. “I think it’s the way more businesses should be,” he adds. “Profit is important, but we need to be better to people.”
The program strives to meet the employment needs for each student who is graduating. “We try to match the student’s interests and abilities with employers who need those skills,” says Rowan. “We definitely court employers. The community is so important to this endeavor. They’re the potential employers who may be able to offer jobs to our students.”
To date, more than 50 students from the program have been paired with local employers. Two students have gone on to attend Auburn University and the University of Alabama.
Jamari Jelks, another of this year’s graduates, was extremely quiet and withdrawn when he started the program. “I didn’t know how to do anything then,” he says, then smiles. “Now I run the kitchen, and I can do anything.” He is about to start a job at Back Forty Beer Company.
Rowan says that giving these students work to do with expectations of quality and consistency meets an important human need – the need to be productive and to be independent. “They’re often segregated, and very little is expected of them. In this program, they have a whole new perspective and experience, which promotes a higher self-esteem,” he explains. “And we treat our students as adults, with respect.”
The students are paid minimum wage or above, depending on whether they have earned their ServSafe certification, with those salaries being administered by one of the program’s partners, the Community Foundation of Northeast Alabama. Additional financial support comes from the Daniel Foundation in Birmingham and from an anonymous donor.
The Beautiful Rainbow Café grosses about $70,000 per year in sales and boasts excellent reviews on Google and Happy Cow (a site for vegetarian and vegan restaurants). The café staff work to provide an upscale experience for patrons. Complementing the tasty offerings are beautiful fresh flowers or plants provided by the Etowah Garden Club. Members of the club bring flowers for the tables every Tuesday morning, even adding decorations for special occasions.
The success of Beautiful Rainbow program has inspired other organizations to work toward similar programs for their students. “Our program is pretty well known in the world of special education,” says Rowan. “The Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind is working on replicating the program there, as is Randolph County High School. Albertville High School has a similar program on a smaller scale. Today a group is here from Vestavia Hills to see if they could produce a similar program for their schools,” Rowan adds.
Katherine Gorham and Dr. Ammie Akin are part of that visiting Vestavia group. Akin is a former special education teacher and school principal and serves on the board of Unless U, a non-profit that supports adults with developmental disabilities.
Gorham is helping to start a special education parent advisory panel for their school system. “We would want to promote this type of program for Vestavia for vocational training,” she says. “We brought our administrators here because we wanted to show them an example of meaningful vocational training.”
Rowan is retiring from the program this year and moving to Spain. His interest in that country was piqued by his high school Spanish teacher. When his best friend from high school moved there, he began visiting and fell in love with the culture. He leaves the program in the hands of program veteran, Chef Chris Wood.
“There’s nothing like this anywhere else,” says Wood. “It’s both challenging and rewarding, and you just can’t put a price tag on the impact we make on the lives of our students.” Wood graduated from Culinard school in Birmingham with a degree in culinary arts but will be going back to school to add a degree in special education as he takes over leadership of the café late this summer.
The next chapter of this incredible story of determination and dedication is now being written, inspiring students and community alike. You can find them in the back of the library on South College Street in Gadsden. l
Editor’s Note:You can experience the cuisine at Beautiful Rainbow Café Tuesdays through Fridays 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
New twists on old-fashioned fun coming to Logan Martin this Halloween
Story by Paul South Submitted Photos
Boo Bash is back.
Pell City’s frightfully fun and festive fleet of Halloween happiness returns to Logan Martin Lake on Saturday, Oct. 12, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
And in 2024, for the first time in its three-year history, Boo Bash has partnered with a local non-profit, the Logan Martin Lake Protection Association. Proceeds from this year’s bash will help provide solar-powered buoys to the association. Those buoys will help make Logan Martin safer, by marking especially shallow water or dangerous hazards. It’s called “Boo Bash for BOO-ees.”
“These buoys, (or BOOees as we call them), mark dangerous areas on the lake that could harm people operating personal watercraft, skiing or tubing,” said Boo Bash co-founder Kelli Lasseter said. “Additionally, they are environmentally friendly since they run off solar power, not batteries. Batteries are not kind to the environment.”
The decision to partner with the association came from the Boo Bash committee in response to survey responses from the lake community after the event’s “astounding” success in 2023. Topping the survey: a nonprofit partnership to raise funds for a local nonprofit.
It’s important to note that Boo Bash is funded through monetary and in-kind donations and even with organizers investing out-of-pocket money.
“In thinking about how quickly Boo Bash is growing. We talked about it last spring and decided if we partner with a non-profit, it’s a win for everybody if it’s done well,” said Lasseter, a co-creator of Boo Bash along with Sonya Hubbard. “Hopefully, it will be around for generations of Boo Bashers to come.”
Logan Martin Lake Protection Association President Neal Stephenson was approached by Jeff Thompson of Pell City’s Center for Education and the Performing Arts (CEPA) about teaming with Boo Bash. Stephenson was familiar with the event and its impact.
“It sounded like a good opportunity for us,” Stephenson said. “Obviously, it’s lake-related, so we started having conversations with them, and we ended up doing a partnership.”
The solar buoys are one of the LMLPA’s standing initiatives.
“It’s a safety feature for the lake and the people who use the lake,” Stephenson said. “It’s probably one of our most popular projects.”
The association undertakes other initiatives, including lifts for people with disabilities to improve accessibility, water quality monitoring, youth education programs, such as “Learn to Cast,” and other work.
The buoy project is LMLPA’s “most notable” project,” Stephenson said.
Along with the buoys, purchased at an estimated cost of $800 each, Boo Bash hopes to raise enough money to honor sponsors, volunteers and participants with a post-event party, something it’s been unable to do since its inception.
And this year for the first time, Boo Bash will take place on a Saturday, where it will compete with the Alabama-South Carolina TV game in Tuscaloosa with its 11 a.m. kickoff.
“The weather and moving it to Saturday are probably going to present the biggest challenges,” Lasseter said. “Nobody wants to go up against an Alabama home game, but moving Boo to Saturday has been recommended by many people for the last two years. So, we are testing it out this year to see if it’s going to work. If not, we will go back to Sunday in 2025.
In the event of bad weather, the event will be moved to Sunday, Oct. 13.
By the numbers, Boo Bash is wildly popular. Consider:
In 2023, Boo Bash registered 1,000 dockside trick-or-treaters, an increase of more than 800 in a rain-soaked 2022. Fifty pets also joined the fun.
106 piers were decorated for the 2023 event to welcome the armada of trick or treaters.
125 volunteers contributed at least 40 hours each to the event, an estimated $160,000 in estimated labor.
Families who festooned their docks in 2023 spent an estimated $200 each on treats, costumes and decorations, meaning an estimated $21,200 boost for the local economy.
While Boo Bash is partnering with the LMLPA, the lake association is also partnering with Pell City Parks and Recreation to create the first-ever “Boo Stop in the Park,” featuring food trucks, a prize drawing and other community partners offering swag and of course, candy.
“This event is four hours long, so (the park) is a great spot to get out and stretch your legs before heading out for round two,” Lasseter said.
As for the LMLPA partnership, Lasseter said it was a seamless fit.
“The partnership wasn’t a challenge at all,” she said. “We knew immediately that Boo Bash and LMLPA would be the ideal partnership as we share each other’s commitment to safety and keeping our environment clean.”
Stephenson agreed, calling the Boo Bash-LMLPA teamwork “a natural fit. The LMLPA has an estimated 100 active members.
“Our mission statement is to advocate and promote the general welfare of Logan Martin Lake, and that of the homeowners and businesses in this area,” Stephenson said. “The Boo Bash event has grown to be a whole lake event. And the Logan Martin Lake Protection Association is here to serve all lake lovers, everyone, no matter which side of the lake they’re on, or which location on the lake they’re on. We’re here to do our best to advocate for the safety and welfare of the lake. We see Boo Bash as a great partnership going forward.”
Boo Bash 2024 is presented by Platinum sponsor, The Tiki Hut at Rivers Edge Marina. Boo Bash organizers are also seeking additional sponsors. Lasseter made the case.
“Given the amount of revenue and visibility Boo provides, it is my hope that people will want to sponsor the event,” she said. “The visibility and the financial impact this event has for our lake is beyond what we imagined.”
Boo Bash bottom line aside, the event that may be seen as the unofficial start of the holiday season on the lake, is at its heart, about fun and bringing the lake community together in creative ways.
Consider Steve and Lisa Young’s 2023 dock decoration, featuring a coffin with a life-sized faux dearly departed uncle. As Boo Bashers were invited to “pay their respects,” Steve, dressed as Betelgeuse, pushed a button and a hydraulic system made the “corpse” sit up.
“It was hysterical,” Lasseter recalled. “Every single person on the lake (who participates) goes out of their way to create a unique experience for the Boo Bashers.”
Stephenson and Lasseter say that Boo Bash says something about the nature of the Logan Martin community. Earlier this year, locals hosted “Christmas in July,” to benefit the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind.
As someone who has either visited or lived on the lake for decades, Stephenson believes Boo Bash says something about the community, giving it a family-friendly community event good for all ages.
“(Boo Bash) says a lot about the people who live on the lake and around this area that they really appreciate the opportunities that they have. They appreciate all the activities that are presented, Boo Bash being one of them. We hope that the LMLPA will be a point source for information about the lake and increase our membership so we can grow as Boo Bash has grown.”
Boo Bash and the LMLPA, like other organizations, are rooted in love for Logan Martin.
“The people on the lake care deeply about the lake community,” Lasseter said. “They go out of the way to support the resources that we have, the organizations that we have that provide valuable services to our most vulnerable lake residents.”
She added, “These people are some of the finest people I’ve ever met. People on Logan Martin Lake truly love the lake. They love everything about it, especially the people. Being able to do, not just for the lake, but the surrounding areas, is just something that is incredibly important. It’s probably the number one shared value on the lake.
“At the end of it, it all boils down to, ‘Do unto others. It really is.”
Before you even cross the medieval drawbridge entering Hartman Castle, it stirs the imagination. Step inside and step back in time to a place where fairy tales and history reside side by side.
Once you enter, one thing you can’t imagine – surrounded by armored knights, medieval craftsmanship and all the makings of a castle – is that you are standing in Alpine, Alabama, on Logan Martin Lake.
But that’s precisely where you have arrived at what has to be one of the most unusual Air BnBs on the rental market.
It is pure imagination all wrapped up in 4,300 square feet, five buildings and 12 levels overlooking the lake in Clear Creek. Only, this is not a fairy tale, it’s a true story of one man fulfilling his wife’s dream decades ago and another man decades later, intrigued by the story – and the challenge – bringing it back to life.
In the beginning
The castle itself is the creation of the late Donald Dewayne Hartman, who designed and built it for his wife, Royldene, who always dreamed of living in a castle. Hartman is described as a writer, an educator, world traveler and a lifelong learner.
Putt-putt golf course with a medieval touch
Books he wrote adorn shelves in alcoves off the main foyer. They are filled with mystery and intrigue in faraway places, much like the life of the creator himself. He died in 2022 at the age of 86.
His obituary states he was recognized nationally for developing one of the top foreign language programs in the country. He holds bachelor’s and advanced degrees from 10 different universities around the world.
He was known as an avid painter and a carpenter, the latter of which is evident throughout the castle.
Modern renaissance
In 2023, Blake Shultz, a Realtor from Birmingham, enters the picture. His in-laws live just down the road from the castle, and one day he saw there was to be an auction. “I followed the signs.”
Bidders had a single day to inspect and make an offer on this castle closed years before and showing signs of neglect. But adding to this unfolding story of intrigue was a clue – a hint about its hidden rooms. “Win the bid or never know,” Shultz recalled.
Intricate detail, unusual features, regal look features of castle
He made his offer and when the bidding was over, he walked away as owner of the keys to the castle and the secrets to the hidden rooms found within.
“A year later and lots of work,” and Hartman Castle is now open, renting this elaborate, whimsical and historic lakeside retreat to the wide-ranging interests of vacationers. It has been ideal for groups – bachelor and bachelorette parties, corporate retreats, church and youth groups or those who just want to be immersed in medieval surroundings.
“It took 12 months to renovate,” Shultz said, who shouldered much of the work himself. First, there were nine 40-yard dumpsters to dispose of what was not needed. A shipping container resided outside for eight months, where Shultz placed whatever would end up in the finished product as the ‘keeper’ area.
Interior design was a “family affair,” Shultz said, crediting his wife and mother-in-law with the intricate, complementary details that makes this castle a home. Knights in armor stand sentry with wood carvings, art and furniture placement all coming together to make this a special place indeed.
“There was no going back” on this project, Shultz said, noting that in his experience flipping properties, there was always an exit plan just in case. Fail early and fail cheaply. In this project, “once we were in, we were in,” he said. “It was more of a risk.”
No risk, no reward
Shultz made a few structural changes to the original, but most of it is preserved intact as Hartman envisioned it.
There are cosmetic and functional changes, like a closet added with a half bath complete with dragon motif. A piano that took eight people to get down the staircase is new. So is the flooring, replacing the carpet that was there before.
The drawbridge was manual. Now it’s automatic, and the mechanics are hidden behind panels in the wall.
Concrete platforms in different rooms have been turned into sleeping quarters. A scavenger hunt designed especially for the guests help them find hidden rooms and a special prize if they solve the mystery.
Blake Shultz on the drawbridge
Adorning a wall in one of the rooms is ‘wall of thrones’ – wallpaper designed from Game of Thrones artwork, but superimposing the face of his father-in-law as a surprise to him. Hartman once found 300 headboards with an unusual design. He was very creative and used headboards in his own design of the castle. He built all the doors and the trim himself.
Shultz employed his own creativity, building the 12-foot, red oak table that centers a dining room in Building 3, which houses a second kitchen. The fireplace is original. So are the chairs and chandeliers and lights from Bulgaria. The Hartmans loved dinner parties, and their gold goblets and dinnerware have remained.
The views from various areas of the castle overlook Clear Creek near Alpine Bay, and the kitchen, open to a sitting area with sleeper sofas, overlooks the lake as well.
Hartman’s basement workshop now has an added bar area and a concrete loft and fireplace.
It has two party deck areas with lake views. The middle deck features a gathering spot with a Blackstone grill. Just off that area is an 18-hole putt-putt golf course. Miniature castles, dragons and armored knights make up the obstacles at various holes.
A game room features an arcade machine, playing card table and table tennis. Outside, at the top of the property, you’ll find a regulation pickleball court. On the lake side, a double decked covered pier and a fire pit at the water’s edge are highlights.
Shultz said the question during the whole process became, “What other things can we add that really say, you don’t have to leave the property? We wanted it to be unique and fun. This is what we came up with.”
Rave reviews
What Shultz really came up with is a hit, garnering 5-star reviews and making the prestigious lists of “Super Hosts” and “Guest Favorites” on Air BnB.
“The history of the property is fascinating,” said one reviewer. “The restoration of the property to its original state is unreal. There is a working drawbridge! Artifacts, newspaper articles, documents and photos from the past are displayed throughout.
“The detached library has been transformed into extra bedrooms. Every sofa is a sleeper sofa. The baby grand piano and the working organ were a big hit. Putt-putt, ping-pong, pickle ball, the game room, firepit and double decker dock provided hours of fun for everyone. We never ran out of things to do or explore.”
Another described it as “quirky and fun, the view was amazing, and the putt-putt course put it over the top.”
“The castle is definitely one-of-a-kind location,” said one review.
“What a unique experience!,” exclaimed another. “We loved staying at Hartman Castle, it felt just like being in a medieval castle. Our group brought costumes, cosplays, and princess dresses for a royal photoshoot and found so many amazing backdrops around the castle.”
And at the end of the stay, what this guest had to say is what it is all about: “It’s a trip full of memories that we will never forget” – just like the castle Hartman created years ago, and Shultz brought back to life.
As we put this magazine to bed, it was with a heavy heart shared by us all at Partners by Design, LakeLife 24/7 Magazine and Discover St. Clair Magazine.
Our beloved graphic arts director, Toni Franklin, passed away on Aug. 13. Toni was instrumental throughout the history of this magazine, helping guide its success every step of the way.
From advertising design to logo creation to the early layout of the magazine, Toni did it all. But that’s the way she was. Whatever it took to get the job done, you would find her at the heart of it.
For those of you who weren’t lucky enough to know her, here’s a glimpse:
Her career spanned more than 30 years in the printing industry as print production artist, manager and art director. She was a graduate of the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale and studied at Penn State University and University of Alabama at Birmingham.
At her core, Toni was an artist. She could see the creation before most of us could even muster the idea for it. She turned the world around her into her canvas, taking the simplest elements and turning them into her own little masterpiece.
It might be an empty store window that magically becomes a winter wonderland at Christmas, an advertisement that compels a reader to take a second look or even a specially designed birthday wish for one of the grandchildren.
As graphic arts director for Partners, she created amazing ads for its magazines, Discover St. Clair and LakeLife 24/7. She loaned her talent to countless marketing projects for the company and to a host of community events, like Boo Bash, Salute to Veterans, Breaking Barriers and the Helen Keller Art Show of Alabama. Museum of Pell City owes her a debt of thanks for much of the beautiful graphics work in its exhibits.
Many of the designs in Partners’ LakeLife 24/7 apparel line are the handiwork of Toni and now worn by thousands of people because she was able to capture the memories and experiences of their perception of lake life in a single design.
To her friends, family and colleagues, she was known – and loved – for her enormous heart.
She was a giver, always putting the needs of others before her own. She never recognized the enormity of her own value, but those around her always will.
This issue of LakeLife 24/7 is dedicated to Toni. May her memory be eternal!.
A simple idea to create an event that gives back to the community while giving families something fun to do has blossomed into the Lakeside Live Musicfest, which returns to Lakeside Park in September.
The Five16 Foundation hosts this annual music festival and car show at Pell City Lakeside Park. Event Director Casey Cambron says the foundation expects this year’s event to impact The Saint Clair Children’s Advocacy Center (The Children’s Place) in meaningful ways.
Now in its fourth year, Lakeside Live embodies the Five16 Foundation’s mission of “shining our light through fundraising, service, and good works.” Cambron expects thousands of people to flock to the park for a day of music and family fun. In turn, they will be helping others.
Since its inception, the festival has evolved significantly. Originally held in November, the event was moved to mid-September to avoid the cold weather, finding its sweet spot on the third Saturday of the month.
From muscle cars to VWs, the car show brings it all
Generously supported by sponsors like Buffalo Rock Pepsi, this year’s festival is slated for Sept. 21 with gates opening at 10 a.m. The event will go on until approximately 8 p.m. with a variety of activities planned throughout the day.
Lakeside Live exudes a friendly, family-oriented atmosphere. It attracts a diverse crowd, with smiling faces, kids playing games and families enjoying food from local vendors. As the name implies, music is the main ingredient.
Cambron announced that this year’s music headliner is The Spin Doctors, a popular American alternative rock band. “We’re excited to host The Spin Doctors this year, but we are also very excited about our opening band,” says Cambron. The festival opener will be Sand Rock, a band made up of Pell City High School students. Other notable acts are The Greg White Band, Deputy 5, The Leverton Brothers, The Wingnuts, and more.
Inspired by other local events, Lakeside Live stands out for its unique blend of activities. In addition to an entertaining musical lineup, the event also offers an impressive car show with hundreds of cars on display, most of which are from the St. Clair County area.
The car show itself is quite a draw, showcasing a wide range of vehicles from high-end cars to bicycles. Custom handmade awards are presented to winners, adding a personal touch to the event.
Over 100 vendors and food trucks and a variety of children’s activities will be available for attendees to enjoy. About 90% of the vendors are local. While there is no charge to browse the car show, items at vendor booths and food trucks are available for purchase.
Rides and more
One highlight of the event is the Battle of the Badges, a spirited competition between the fire and police departments. This competition features an obstacle course, tug-of-war and other challenges. Cambron described Battle of the Badges as an “entertaining interaction between local first responders that allows the community to engage with them in a fun way.”
Having won two of the three years of the Battle of the Badges, the Pell City Fire Department is eager to challenge the reigning champions, the Pell City Police Department.
In addition to benefitting the Children’s Advocacy Center, proceeds from Lakeside Live Musicfest also contribute to various local causes, such as the police and fire departments, the local school system, children’s organizations, and more.
“We are so thankful for our generous sponsors like Buffalo Rock Pepsi and Lakeside Boathouse, who have believed in our dream from day one,” said Cambron. He also credited fellow board members, Pell City High School Wrestling and other volunteers who give of their time throughout the year and on event day to make Lakeside Live Musicfest a success.
Looking ahead, the goal is to continue growing the festival, maintaining its community-focused spirit while expanding its reach and impact. By continuously improving and adapting to feedback, Cambron hopes to make each year’s event better than the last, ultimately creating a lasting legacy of community support and enjoyment.
Editor’s Note: For more information and to apply as a vendor, visit the festival’s website at lakesideliveshow.com. Vendor applications are accepted until Sept. 1, 2024.
New store brings kayaks, accessories and more to Pell City
Story and photos by Carol Pappas
Turn off U.S. 231 South at the colorful, largemouth bass mailbox, and it’s your first hint that something special awaits up ahead.
Just beyond is newly opened The Yak Shak, a stone’s throw from Logan Martin Lake. Inside, you’ll find something special indeed – and it’s not just the kayaks and accessories.
Meet Allen and Jessica Norris, owners of The Yak Shak, a business they started five years ago when they were dating. Kayak fishing was Allen’s hobby, and he soon introduced Jessica to it. When it became their passion together, they decided to build a business around it. The Yak Shak already has a franchise opening in Indiana soon.
Allen, Jessica and Madelyn Norris, not pictured, 2-year-old Coleman
They located their initial store in a strip mall in Pelham and experienced early successes when the COVID pandemic hit, and people began heading outdoors. “It’s been a wild ride,” Allen said. “We’ve only known pandemic retail,” added Jessica. “Interest exploded. We thought that was the way it was going to be.”
While other businesses closed their doors during the pandemic, The Yak Shak thrived. It wasn’t until the year after, when supply chain problems surfaced that their business plan headed in an adaptive direction. “We worked off pre-orders,” where customers could choose their exact color, style, and customization.
Much of their business is still centered on pre-orders today, but they have adapted and expanded when opportunities arose. They found a market in used kayaks generated by the new kayak market. They have trade-ins, they offer full customization of the kayaks, and they ship smaller items all over the country.
They define their business as a “destination” type – customers looking for a place to buy a kayak. They sell kayaks, paddleboards and inflatables not found in big box stores. They also offer well-known brands like AFTCO, Heybo, Big Bite Baits, YakAttack and Rapala. They sell Bending Branches paddles and NRS inflatable kayaks.
Average price range of kayaks and accessories is $500-$2,500. Now that kayak fishing tournaments allow motors, The Yak Shak has seen an influx of customers wanting to add trolling motors, outboards, live scope, and many more electronics to their kayaks. “We cater to tournament-focused brands,” Allen adds.
A tournament weigh-in held there a couple of weeks ago accommodated 17 vehicles with kayaks and trailers in the parking lot. “We had plenty of room,” said Allen, noting another plus of their move from Pelham to Pell City.
Of course, it’s not a weigh-in in the bass tournament sense of the phrase. Kayak fishing tournaments are ‘weighed’ with photos and a “bump board,” a ruler-like board with a hard end to measure the fish from nose to tail. A photo then captures the size for this catch-and-release method.
Every boat and accessory they offer, they tested themselves. “It’s our passion,” Allen said. He gives the nod to Jessica in the fishing, though. “Her personal best is a 7-pound largemouth.”
How they got here from there
The couple arrived at this moment in their lives from different directions, but there is no disguising the joy they have already found running a business in Pell City together.
Kayaks on display in showroom
He graduated from Kennesaw State College in Georgia in Management, Entrepreneurship and International Business. “I speak Chinese,” he said, referring to his International Business interest. He went to work at Hewlett Packard right out of college, and a promotion brought him to Birmingham.
She graduated in Communications at the University of Alabama, and her background is in marketing and franchising. In her spare time between their business, working remotely with a software company, tending to their 4-month-old and 2-year-old, she wrote a children’s book – Francine’s First Fish. She was already in Birmingham.
They met, fell in love, married and started a business. They found a home on Logan Martin Lake and moved a coupled of years ago. It just made sense to trade the long commute for a business near their home and the lake.
“We’re excited to be a part of the community,” Allen said, noting that The Yak Shak has already been involved in LakeFest and events at Lincoln’s Landing. “This is where we live and want to do business. It’s where we want to raise our kids.”
He points to the growth all around and said, “It is very encouraging to see that as a new business.” When the location on U.S. 231 opened up, they decided to close Pelham and move The Yak Shak to Pell City, Allen said. “It was the best move for our family and our business.”
Through today’s lens, it seems improbable that a parson could start a war over whiskey, but legend – and history – has it that Parson and Reverend Gideon Blackburn came close to sparking a war between the United States and the Creek Indians in 1809.
In sharp contrast to most religious circles today, it was perfectly acceptable for a man of the cloth to dabble in distilling.
Blackburn, a Presbyterian minister of Maryville, Tennessee, started the first Presbyterian mission among the Cherokee in 1803 and was successful in his work among the Indians.
However, the good parson had another side to him besides preaching. He was a proprietor of a whiskey distillery.
In those days, distilling and selling was a respectable home industry, conducted by laymen and sometimes by clergymen. Common as it was among the white people, it was against federal law to sell it to the Native Americans.
Spring Frog
Let’s set the stage and the location. Fifty-nine years earlier, around 1750, Chief Chinnaby brought his people from Mississippi to the Coosa River. They settled at the south bank of Big Wills Creek. Originally, they were Natchez Indians trying to escape from the decimating French. They became allied and integrated into the Chickasaws of this area, and this new town became known as Natchez Village.
The Chickasaws had already established a trade route with the British from Charleston, S. C. through now Gadsden to near Memphis, Tennessee, called the High Town Path. The Chickasaws and English established posts along this route, including one that eventually became Turkeytown.
On the north side of Big Wills Creek was Cherokee land and a small village called Frogtown. It ran from the Coosa River to Black Creek and beyond. Frogtown was named for Cherokee Spring Frog who lived there, according to the Cherokee Phoenix, a Cherokee newspaper printed in both Cherokee and English.
This is the same Spring Frog, born in 1754 at Chickamaugua Creek near Chattanooga, Tennesse, who died July 31, 1859, in Oklahoma. Spring Frog was the grandson of the Raven of Chota, making him the last line of the Great Chiefs of Chota.
Spring Frog lived on the most southernmost border of the Cherokee Nation known as Turkey Town (sometimes known as Little Turkey’s Town, Sennecca, or Esenaca) near today’s Turkey Town in Etowah County. It was ruled by Principal Chief Pathkiller.
The 1809 incident all started when Blackburn was descending the Coosa River with two flatboats of 2,226 gallons (or 65 casks) of whiskey and other supplies when he arrived at Chief Pathkiller’s home.
Pathkiller informed Blackburn that there was a large camp of Creek Indians downstream at the Ten Islands and thought that if he went there, the Creeks would take his whiskey from him.
Upon hearing this news, Blackburn determined he would not go down the river any further. He had Pathkiller temporarily store his whiskey in one of the chief’s houses, where it could be locked up. Pathkiller and Blackburn then went home.
After Blackburn was gone, the Creeks, led by Chief Big Warrior, heard of the whiskey. They demanded Pathkiller hand it over and threatened to break down the door if he would not open it. Pathkiller was compelled to hand over his key, and upwards of 100 Creek Indians took Blackburn’s whiskey.
Parson Gideon Blackburn
Two young men had been left to guard the house, but the Creeks broke open the door, rolled out three or four barrels, broke in the heads and commenced drinking. They filled two bottles and gave them to the young men and told them to leave as soon as possible or the Creeks would kill them when they got drunk.
The young men watched for some time at a great distance. The Creeks killed and butchered each other with knives and clubs and crowded around the house. They were all drunk. Somehow, the building caught fire and the whiskey exploded like a powder magazine.
Everyone in and near were killed, with many burned up. How much whiskey was destroyed was never ascertained, as Pathkiller’s land was located some 120 miles from a white settlement.
According to Blackburn’s brother Samuel, they had unloaded the cargo simply to await permission from the Creeks to sail on down the river to Mobile. There, they planned to dispose of the whiskey, powder and lead.
The Creeks, who seized what was left of Blackburn’s cargo were already disputing with the U.S. government about the right of trading parties crossing Creek territory.
The Cherokees were against the Creeks for sending 100 warriors into the Cherokee Nation to seize the cargo and the boats.
The Creeks claimed the cargo was left with the PathKiller “to sell the goods for the benefit of the owner,” so the Creeks had confiscated Blackburn’s whiskey on the grounds it was being illegally sold en route.
When the Cherokees were called upon for compensation, they excused themselves and said the Creeks owned the land beyond Wills Creek and could do as they pleased in their own country.
Because it was illegal for any white person to sell alcoholic beverages to the Indians within their territory, Chief Big Warrior felt justified in seizing this illegal cargo.
Many heated correspondences were made among the Creeks, the Indian agents and the United States, but nothing resulted from these communications.
Soon, but for other reasons, the U.S. did come to war with the Creek Indians during the Creek War of 1813.
But just four years earlier, Parson Blackburn came close to starting an actual war between the United States and the Creek Indians – over whiskey.
Story by Carol Pappas Photos by Mackenzie Free, Graham Hadley and submitted
Move over pontoons, bass boats and other lake and river-faring vessels. There’s a couple of new watercrafts navigating their way around these parts this summer.
On Neely Henry, that distant tune reminiscent of ice cream trucks and days gone by is actually coming from an ice cream boat, which launches and regularly ‘patrols’ Neely Henry Lake.
On the Coosa River in Gadsden, you’ll find a parade of dragons, ducks and swans floating by at Coosa Landing – a fleet of pedal boats the city has launched for renting this summer.
Greg and Peggie Watson offering tasty memories on the lake
The ice cream boat is the creation of Greg and Peggie Watson, Ashville residents who saw a need and filled it. Greg is a retired sheriff’s investigator, and Peggie works for the district attorney’s office.
“There really isn’t much on Henry Neely as far as food, etc., unless you go to Southside or Gadsden,” explained Greg. “We know it gets hot on the lake, and people need some relief. So, we decided to provide a unique and fun way to help them with ice cream. That’s where the ice cream boat idea came from.”
The boat’s 11-foot ice cream flag is hard to miss. So is the ice cream truck song that plays continuously. Boaters and those on dockside have been lining up for a tasty respite from the summer heat.
“People on the docks can hear us coming,” Greg said. “We have met some really great people. We had some people that actually messaged and asked for our location this last weekend. We were near Southside. They came from all the way from Ragland Dam and tracked us down.
“They said they wanted the ice cream and were looking for us all day. They also had a furry friend with them that devoured the pup cup ice cream from us.”
Hershey ice cream is the main provider for their ice cream. They use real cream. “So, the taste is by far the best out of all the ice cream in my opinion,” Greg noted. “We do have another vendor where we get some of the specialty ice cream like Batman, Tweety Bird, and Kung Fu panda. So, it’s the people’s choice on what they want. The funny part is that more adults than kids want the ice cream.”
Meanwhile, Coosa Landing’s new pedal boats are getting quite a workout as are the people who power them. Each boat fits up to five people, and they pedal their way to fun in the sun on the water.
“We are excited to offer families and friends something fun and safe to do together this summer while enjoying the great outdoors in Gadsden,” said Mayor Craig Ford.
You can rent the boats at Coosa Landing bait shop from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. You must be at least 18 years old and provide identification. Life jackets are required, and the city has some available. The rental fee is $20 up to one hour. For more hours, it costs $15 after the initial $20.
St. Clair County Farmers Market in Pell City is a growers’ market, meaning it is grown locally. The market itself has grown locally, too, necessitating a move to Lakeside Park this year.
The market moved from the Avondale Walking Track to Lakeside Park in the parking lot by the boat launch. The market got underway June 5 and will be open each Wednesday, weather permitting, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. throughout the summer.
Veggie Bucks for the kids are back thanks to community sponsors. Children ages 5-12 can come by the St. Clair County Extension tent to receive a $3 voucher to spend on the fruits or vegetables of their choice.
St. Clair County Farmers Market is an effort by the St. Clair County Extension Service.
