Judi Denard had a knack for putting the most unlikely elements together and creating a masterpiece. She had an uncanny ability to envision what could be and set out to make it happen.
It was little more than a year ago when she put the full force of her dynamic personality, ‘can do’ spirit and a love of music together to make history at Pell City Center for Education and Performing Arts.
Judi, Teresa Carden and Becky Jones, wife of Ed Jones, one of the presenters
Taking center stage was The Firebirds, one of Europe’s top Rock ‘n Roll bands, whose appearances were usually reserved for much larger cities. But that night belonged to Pell City, bringing the audience to its feet with ovation after ovation.
Presented by friends Frank Shikle and Ed Jones, Judi convinced them to bring the show to Pell City while they were touring in Birmingham.
Her enthusiasm for an event of this magnitude coming to what she called “our little town” could not escape notice. It was infectious. Storeowners gladly handed over merchandise to give as gifts to the band from England. She planned a reception in their honor, and her attention to detail made them feel at home even across the ocean.
She wanted to show them what Southern hospitality really is to remind them of an evening Pell Citians won’t soon forget. And she did. She became the town’s and the band’s biggest cheerleader.
The Firebirds didn’t forget either. They are returning to center stage at CEPA on May 18 at 7 p.m.
While Judi won’t have her familiar seat in the audience – she passed away from Leukemia just a few months later – the legacy she helped create is expected to excite, entertain and engage the crowd once again. Just like she would have wanted.
The Firebirds are Jim Plummer, Dan Plummer, Rich Lorriman and Paul Willmott – four first-class musicians/vocalists who re-create the complete spectrum of music from the 1950s and 1960s. Their incredible set features everything from commercial music to rockabilly, harmonized doo wop to instrumentals, and even some incredible original hits. The band has undertaken extensive tours both at home and abroad. To date, the band has released three singles and 12 albums.
The last five albums were recorded in their own studio and on their own label, ‘Rockville Records,’ and include a Rock ‘n Roll Special with Linda Gail Lewis, the sister of ‘The Killer,’ Jerry Lee, and two Doo Wop albums. The second album features guest vocalist Den Hegarty of ‘Darts’ fame.
Sponsored by Humana, tickets are $25 available at pellcitycepa.com/tickets.
Pro fishing tips on Logan Martin Lake and Neely Henry Lake with Zeke Gossett
Logan Martin
Logan Martin’s water levels will be changing during the months of May and June, and in turn, the patterns of bass will changing during these months as well.
Early in the month of May, you can still see bass on beds and also catch fish out deep. Typically, in May, bass will be very spread out and in very different phases of the spawn. However, for the majority of the time in May, your better fish are still going to be shallow.
The water on Logan Martin just started to rise and get to summer pool. Typically the fish will follow this water up and stay shallow during May.
There are a couple key baits I like to use in order to catch fish while they’re in their post spawn funk. The first bait I’m going to reach for early, especially in the morning, is a swim jig. What I like about the swim jig is that it is very versatile. This bait is great around almost any kind of shallow structure, such as docks, trees, and grass. The swim jig allows me to cover water fast and efficiently in order to capitalize on the daylight bite.
Once the sun finally starts to get up, I’ll start casting to isolated structure with a wacky rigged worm. This is a great way to just get bites and get those post spawn fish to bite. I usually target really shallow docks with this bait, along with casting to what bedding fish might be left.
Once we start getting into the month of June, the water temperatures will begin to rise, and the shallows will begin to slowly lose oxygen especially if there is lack of rain. The fish will start schooling up on the end of long points and humps anywhere from 10 to 20 feet of water.
I also like to target brush piles in this depth as well. My favorite bait to target these fish are a deep diving crankbait and drop shot rig.
Some of the biggest offshore fish I catch all year will come on the crank bait most of the time. The crankbait is an awesome way to really fire up a school of bass and get more fish to bite in the school.
The drop shot seems to excel a lot more in brush piles because it is more of a reaction type bite if you drop it right in the brush pile. I feel like the drop shot is always my best chance to get bit in the brush pile no matter what size of fish might be in the pile. These fish are typically more lethargic since they’re usually pretty beaten up from the spawn.
Give these techniques a try, and you will find success during these months on Logan Martin.
Neely Henry
Neely Henry is a shallow fisherman’s paradise during the months of May and June. On top of that, a few deep fish will start showing up as well.
Typically during these months, you will still catch your better fish shallow. I love to fish around shallow grass in the mid-lake region with a swim jig and frog. I typically keep my eyes peeled for bream beds as well.
Also, another great way to catch fish on Neely Henry is super shallow docks. When I say shallow docks, I’m talking any docks with five feet deep or less of water.
I let the weather tell me what I need to throw around them. If it’s in and out clouds typically I like to throw more of a moving bait like a bladed jig or squarebill crankbait. If it’s slick calm and sunny I’ll usually pick up some type of Texas rigged worm and drag it on the bottom around the docks.
Now, moving into the month of June, some fish will make their move out to deeper water. Most of the time on Neely, I’ll find fish in that mid-range depth around the 10 to 15-foot mark. You will most of the time find these fish off the end of long points or in brush piles. I will use my electronics in order to find these fish as well.
I will keep my bait selection simple if I’m wanting to figure out fast if the fish are doing this pattern. One of my favorite baits to pick up first is a football jig. The football jig is a very versatile bait for offshore angling. I like to either keep it close to the bottom or if I’m wanting to cover water fast, I’ll just swim it close to the bottom.
Another great option if things are tough is a drop shot. A drop shot will produce bites when nothing else will.
Keep an open mind this time of year and don’t be afraid to try something new. It might surprise you how good the fish can really bite on Neely Henry even when the fish might be in in their post spawn funk.
Zeke Gossett of Zeke Gossett Fishing grew up on the Coosa River and Logan Martin Lake. He is a former collegiate champion and is now a professional angler on the B.A.S.S. tour circuit and is a fishing guide. Learn more about Zeke at: zekegossettfishing.com.
A Talladega County Logan Martin Lakeside icon before Alpine Bay
Story by Elaine Hobson Miller Submitted Photos
It was a golf course, a resort, a swanky place to hold weddings, class reunions and fundraising dinners that often featured famous entertainers. It was a day-trip for horseback riding or lounging by the pool. It was a destination point for a few days of rest and relaxation, tucked away in the small town of Alpine, 10 miles southwest of Talladega.
Alpine Bay Golf Club began life as Point Aquarius in 1969. First owned by International Resorts, Inc., of Vestavia Hills, it went through several more owners and a name-change through the years as it struggled to hold onto its identity and its membership. Plagued by poor management, high-pressure sales tactics and the very seclusion that made it unique, it finally withered and died in 2014, only to be revived again two years later in a smaller but more manageable form.
The original clubhouse
“We used to book acts in the ballroom like the Swinging Medallions, the Temptations, Fahrenheit and others from the 50s and 60s,” says Stuart Brasell, who, with his business partner, Jack Graves, was food and beverage manager there from 1986-1997. “We had B.B. King once as well. It was a different time.”
Former members and employees recall gourmet meals in a multi-tiered clubhouse that included a restaurant, lounge, snack bar, game room, covered outdoor patio with a ballroom above that could seat 500.
The golfing was world-class, too, with two courses designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. One of them lasted only a year or two, but comedian Bob Hope and blind golfer Charley Boswell played a few rounds at the other, along with several NASCAR race drivers killing time during Talladega 500 weeks.
“I loved working there,” says Jeanna Carmack, bar manager at the resort from the late 80s “off and on” until 2000. “We had a lot of fun, just the atmosphere, the people you met. A lot of the NASCAR drivers would stay there in the 80s, including Darrell Waltrip, Ernie Irvan, Mark Martin’s team and Jack Roush’s team. They’d have a big charity golf tourney during NASCAR week, they’d come out and play golf and have a big dinner in the ballroom that night. Other people would come from all around the world that follow the NASCAR circuit.”
Purchased and re-named by Alpine Bay Resorts in 1982, the property at that time included the clubhouse, pro shop, Olympic-sized swimming pool with fountain and pool house, five clay tennis courts, a barn and equestrian club, putt-putt golf area, walking trails, marina with restaurant and dock storage, 60 motel units and three condominium developments. The latter were dubbed Dogwood, the Pines and East Pines. Only two of the individual units were privately owned, while the others were timeshares listed with RCI, which allowed you to trade your week at almost any timeshare resort in the world.
“Around 500 lots along Logan Martin Lake and on the interior of the resort property were part of the original 1,400-acre development,” says Brasell. “There was an RV campground that adjoined the property, too.”
Former member Gene Davis of Moody recalls that during the mid-1960s, Democratic governor contender Sen. Ryan DeGraffenried, who was later killed in a plane crash, played golf at the Charley Boswell Golf Course (Highland Park) in Birmingham along with Bob Hope and Charley Boswell. Then DeGraffenried went to Point Aquarius, as it was still called at that time. “I’m not sure about Hope, but Ryan and Charley and maybe (former football player) Johnny Musso played together there. The owners were really trying to promote and sell that property.”
Alpine Bay sold again in 1988 to National America Corporation (NACO), a part of Thousand Trails out of Gautier, MS, according to Stuart Brasell. In 1994 NACO sold the clubhouse and golf course to Joe Yarborough from Bessemer and his business partner, Pat Sanford of Childersburg. NACO, however, retained ownership of the condominiums, and still owned them when Brasell and Graves left in 1997.
Yarborough didn’t make it in the food and beverage business there and built a small pro shop and snack bar to replace the huge clubhouse. “It cost $5,500 in utilities alone each month to run the clubhouse,” Brasell says. “A consultant came in once and said it would be best if we let the tennis courts grow up and fill in the swimming pool and grow roses.”
At various times, Alpine Bay was a private resort or a semi-private resort used for many types of events. It played host to high school speech contests, state chili cook-offs, the Alabama Associated Press Broadcasters convention, the Alabama Sports Writers Association convention, the Jet Ski Nationals, Talladega College fundraisers and numerous golf tournaments.
The resort owned the equestrian club and the horses that were stabled there, according to Brasell. During the off-season, the horses were kept off-site. “They weren’t there when the barn burned in 1988,” Brasell says.
The barn wasn’t the only building to burn down.
In January 1988, two fires on New Year’s Eve destroyed four condos and a motel complex at the resort, according to brief articles in the Anniston Star and the Birmingham Post-Herald. It is unclear from the articles, however, whether it was actually the same fire both newspapers were reporting on. The Star article said a fire destroyed “apartment units 126-129 in Building Two.” The top floors were burned and the bottom floors were gutted. The Post-Herald article said a 12-unit motel complex was destroyed. “The resort has 72 motel units and 56 condominium apartments, contained in six buildings near Lake Logan Martin on the Coosa River,” the Post-Herald article stated. “The motel had been undergoing renovations.”
The yacht club
“Actually, the building that burned was Building 2,” says Brasell, clearing up some of the confusion. “It housed 12 motel units. They were converted from four condos. Each building had four king suites, four double queen rooms and four single queen rooms.”
In 2006, the clubhouse was in such disrepair that it was razed during a controlled burn by the Renfroe, Lanier and Munford volunteer fire departments as part of a training exercise. In a June 13, 1986, Daily Home newspaper article about the controlled burn, former resort member Helen Ruth Deese, a Talladega real estate agent, said the clubhouse had been absolutely fabulous in its heyday.
“It was the most gorgeous thing you’d ever seen,” she said in the article. “There was an open circle staircase, and a huge dining room with a stacked rock fireplace in the middle. And the food was absolutely fantastic. We had some friends who came to visit once that lived in downtown Atlanta. We took them to dinner there and then visited with them around the pool, and they just couldn’t believe there was something like this in Talladega County. He was an attorney in Atlanta, so they were used to some pretty swanky places.”
She said the dining room was “always covered up, especially for Sunday dinners,” and people came from Birmingham and Atlanta to eat there. She described lots of open balconies where they sometimes had dances, along with a big ballroom upstairs. “And there was a pro-shop downstairs that you could just drive your golf cart right up to it. In its heyday, it was just unbelievable.”
The article also mentions a swimming pool with a fountain in the middle, a large play area for children and a soft-surface tennis court that was still in use when the article was written. The clubhouse was built in 1972 but had been closed for 11 years leading up to its razing, according to the article.
“It just wasn’t worth restoring,” Yarborough, who has since died, said in the controlled burn article. “It was too big, and it was built before its time. I know of several people who have gone broke trying to run things in that building. I bought the property in 1994, and I know there have been a lot of parties and weddings there over the years, but I’m not in that kind of business, and I wasn’t going to let it break me.” He said that prior to his purchase of the property, it had been owned by Linkscorp, based in Chicago.
The original maintenance barn caught on fire and burned down somewhere along the way. Tony Parton, managing partner for the Alpine Group that now owns the golf course, believes some of the other buildings need to come down even now.
“The Pines condos are falling in and are dangerous,” he says. “They need to be burned. The current owners have been working on them but haven’t done anything with them in months. The ones by the water tower are falling in, too. People call me all the time wanting to rent them, but I don’t have anything to do with them.”
Poor management and lack of vision contributed to the demise of Alpine Bay. “Before the clubhouse was burned down, a small pro shop and snack bar were built,” says Brasell. “Without the large functions, the restaurant and lounge revenue, an enormous source of income was lost. Oddly, the barn for the equestrian club and the marina burned at different times under different ownerships.”
Clara Curtis of Sylacauga recalls working as a sales representative for timeshares in the early 1980s, when LA Marketing owned the resort. “The golf course was in full swing then,” she says. “Henry Ritchie was golf pro when I was there. It was a regular country club-like atmosphere, and you could buy shirts and souvenirs. It was a booming place. Lots of times I got there at 7 a.m. and wouldn’t leave until 2-3 a.m. because of the reunions and showers.”
Curtis started as a sales person, but when the man in charge of closings left, she got his job. “Then it started going downhill,” she says. “It was sold to another company, and they didn’t do anything with it. So, I went to conference sales: banquets, and so forth. We had a lucrative thing going on. That was just before Jack and Stuart took over.”
Curtis thinks it was the overhead of the clubhouse that did it in. “It got to where lots of folks didn’t support it, but just played golf and sat in the bar,” she recalls. “I think that’s when Joe Yarborough bought it. They split the timeshares away from country club.”
Clubhouse entrance
Curtis recalls entertainers like the Temptations, and others of the Motown sound. “We didn’t book shows, it was people having events there,” she says. “It was a lot of fun. You’d meet regular, everyday people that you get to know, people with summer houses, golfers. For people who lived that far out, it was nice to have someplace near they could come after work. The dads would play golf, moms would have kids at the pool. And my sister got married there!”
She says the clubhouse was a glorious facility. “You wouldn’t know you were out in the middle of nowhere. Torches were always lit at the entrance.” Those torches were enormous gas torchères at the front gate, according to Brasell. “They were beautiful but expensive,” he recalls. “It cost about $2,000 a month to keep them lit.”
Gene Davis played golf there in the 60s and had a corporate membership in the 70s. “I was a sales manager for a company out of Birmingham and when they were developing Point Aquarius, Johnny Musso was working for the people who were putting that together,” he says. “They were selling property all around the golf course. He came to our company, and I was a golfer and was interested. With my influence, our company bought into it. It cost us $5,000 for thecorporate membership. This was probably in the early 70s, probably 1973 or 1974.”
Deese did a lot of appraisal work on some of the lots in the 80s. “Often the same lot sold more than one time,” she says. “People would go look at their lot and someone would be building on it!”
Brasell claims the original Point Aquarius was built because the developers thought Alabama would get casino gambling. “That’s why the corridors of the clubhouse were so wide and the rooms so big,” he says. “It was no secret that at one time resort owners ran junkets out of Birmingham to Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Ed Salem was an investor at the resort then, and Donald Trump’s wife always wanted Salem to bring Krispy Kreme donuts on those Atlantic City junkets because there weren’t any there.” He says a lot of folks got stuck on memberships, because every time ownership would change, new owners wouldn’t honor old memberships. “We made sure the resort remained public when we were there,” he says of his and Jack Graves’s managerial days.
The very location, while rural and scenic, may have contributed to the demise of the resort, too. A Golfweek article in USA Today’s sports section on Nov. 25, 2022, said, “Although a beautiful layout in a brilliant natural setting, Alpine Bay was hard to reach even from Birmingham, with a least part of the drive on winding, two-lane roads. After barely managing to stay alive for decades, it was shuttered in 2014. But the place had a loyal following.”
NACO still owned the condos when Brasell and Graves left in 1997. “They were governed by an association,” Brasell says. “Most of the amnesties were gone near the end. People finally quit paying maintenance fees, which I’m sure ended the timeshare condos.”
Current managing partner Tony Parton says all three sets of condominiums are still on the property, but they aren’t part of the 144 acres his Alpine Group owns. “Those in East Pines, they claimed they’ve restored them, but nothing has been done in months,” he says. “This was originally 1,400 acres that stretched nearly to Logan Martin Dam and included individual lots. We own just the golf course.”
Gene Davis says he has been playing golf at Alpine off and on ever since the company he worked for had a corporate membership. “I do know Tony Parton and his wife Jan, also Percy Jennings and Ray Ferguson. I’m excited they were able to do what they did by resurrecting and salvaging that old place.”
Story by Roxann Edsall Photos by Mackenzie Free Contributed photos
Soon after the impounding of the Coosa River in 1964, the sparkling waters of the newly formed Logan Martin Lake started drawing in visitors from around the state and beyond. Fishermen and families looking for a respite from the rigors of the work-a-day world came in droves to enjoy some form of recreation along the water’s edge.
A young entrepreneur from Pell City recognized a need in this new lake community and set a plan in action to fill that need. Charles Abbott was already entrenched in the community as part owner of the local radio station, WFHK, now known as 94.1, The River. He sold his interest in the radio station and, with the help of his uncle, J.D. Abbott, secured a bank loan to build a motel and restaurant in Cropwell on the shores of the lake.
Iconic Big Bull Steakhouse
neon sign in Pell City
Being a strong family man, Charles thought it only fitting to name the new venture Brothers 4 Motel after his four boys. The sign off Highway 231 featured stacked silhouettes of the four brothers, David, Dennis, Joe Paul and Danny. The family moved into the apartment at the end of the building, and the new motel welcomed its first guest in 1965.
Danny Abbott still has his silhouette from that sign as a memento of the family business he helped operate. A graduate of Pell City High School, Danny remembers the pros and cons of working at the business while being a student.
“My brothers and I worked hard on the grounds and often cleaning the rooms. Dad set up a schedule for each of us to work in the office when we weren’t in school,” Danny recalls. “I saw my buddies having fun at times that I couldn’t. But in those days, if you had a boat, which we did, you had friends. We had a lot of fun on the lake.” And so did their guests.
“Dad felt like people would come from Birmingham (when the lake opened), and they did,” adds Danny. “We had lawyers and doctors who would come every weekend and request the same room week after week.” The Columbia University rowing team came down one winter to practice. They’d put their sculling shells in and paddle to the dam and back. Danny still has the broken oar they signed and gave to his dad.
Because Charles had the foresight to have the water trenched early on for deeper water access, they were able to build docks and a beach with a swimming area. Sliding glass doors in each room looked out onto the lake and allowed each guest lake access. Several guests would leave their boats docked at Brothers 4 through the summer.
“We also had the band, Question Mark and the Mysterians, as guests one time,” Danny tells. “You remember their one big hit, ‘96 Tears’? Well, Question Mark was known for never taking off his sunglasses. I remember a day at the motel when he forgot to put them on, and his band mate had to remind him.”
When the Alabama International Motor Speedway, later named Talladega Superspeedway, opened in 1969, many more guests came to stay. The motel was filled with press staying to report on the races. Danny remembers several drivers checking in for a stay, including NASCAR legend, Tiny Lund. NASCAR Hall of Famer Buddy Baker was another frequent guest. “Buddy actually completely rebuilt his engine in the parking lot of our motel once,” Danny remembers.
Four brothers and little sister, from left, David Abbott, Dennis Abbott, Joe Paul Abbott, Danny Abbott and Jennifer Abbott Martin
The Brothers 4 Motel was also a leader when it came to telecommunications. “Our motel had the first automated phone system in the county,” says Danny. “The rooms for the motel were connected to that system so that rather than having to go through a telephone operator, we could connect a call directly from the office.”
At meal times, many of the motel guests headed next door to the Big Bull Steakhouse Restaurant. Charles never operated the restaurant he built, but leased it to Bob Mulvehill, who later bought it, along with the motel.
Locals remember the iconic neon sign featuring a charging bull, which stood outside the restaurant for just shy of 50 years. For three years, it was operated as Chilly Williy’s Sports Grill and Bar; then in 2017 it was sold and is now Courtyard Oyster Bar and Grill.
When Charles began building the motel and named it, he didn’t know he and wife, Maxine, were about to become parents again, this time to a little girl. After their daughter, Jennifer, was born, he opened a new business on the property and named it Little Sister’s Laundry.
He’d gotten tired of paying the high prices for laundry services for the motel’s linens, so he opened his own laundry facilities. Ironically, that business soon became so popular with locals and hotel guests that he didn’t have time to do the motel linens and had to send them out again.
The success of that laundry prompted him to buy three others in Eden, Pell City, and Southside.
Cleaning and servicing those laundry facilities on top of their other chores kept the four brothers busy. Jennifer, now Jennifer Martin, remembers going with the boys and helping empty the coins. “They’d set me up on top of the machines, and I’d dump the coins out,” she recalls. “Then I’d go home to roll the coins.”
When she wasn’t rolling coins, Jennifer remembers hanging out with the families who were visiting. “I’d try to join as many picnics as I could,” she laughs. “I loved fishing, and sometimes they’d take me fishing with them. I also remember eating ice out of the ice machines and getting in trouble for that.”
Jennifer also remembers enjoying the winter when the water was drawn down. “I loved to collect those shells at the bottom of the lake. We didn’t get to go to the beach, so I thought they were wonderful.”
Vintage post cards from the early days at 4 Brothers Motel on Logan Martin Lake in Cropwell
Charles Abbott sold the Brothers 4 Motel and Big Bull Steakhouse Restaurant in 1972 to Bob Mulvehill, who operated it as Big Bull Motel. Since then, it has changed hands several times. The building has remained largely unchanged and is now called Lake Front Motel.
After selling the motel, Charles kept busy with his four laundry facilities and a new antique mall he’d opened near Interstate 20. The family was stunned in 1985 when he passed away from a heart attack at 58 years old.
Their mom, Maxine, continued to run her clothing store for a number of years and lived to age 87. Two of the four brothers (Danny and Joe Paul) still live on the lake. Jennifer moved away, but recently returned.
“Perseverance was one of the greatest lessons I learned from my family and the businesses,” says Danny. For him, the lessons learned were priceless. “Watching mom and dad work together was inspirational. They never got away from it, but always worked it out.”
“Dad was a very smart guy,” says Danny. “He was very giving and did a lot for the community without making it known.” Charles Abbott served his community well as a leader and an entrepreneur.
The Brothers 4 Motel served the community well as a home away from home for some of the first visitors to Logan Martin Lake.
It’s easy to say an event is bigger and better than ever, but organizers for Logan Martin LakeFest 2023 mean it.
When LakeFest kicks off Friday, May 12, through Sunday, May 14, at Pell City Lakeside Park, be ready for the Southeast’s largest in-water boat show featuring a host of dealers and onsite financing, row upon row of vendors, a variety of entertainment and food vendors galore.
“We’re excited,” said Eric Housh, one of the organizers of what has become a Logan Martin tradition. “Overall, this is our 13th year,” and each year seems to get better than the one it follows.
This year is no different, and there’s a reason for that. “We listen,” he said. Community feedback helps them improve on the strong foundation already in place. “We are refocusing to a full family event – fun for the whole family.”
LakeFest lights up at night
The outdoor festival features entertainment throughout the weekend, lake lifestyle vendors and the splash pad open for the kids for free all day on Saturday.
The event moved from its normal third weekend in May, which this year makes it fall on Mother’s Day weekend. So, organizers have added a special gift for mothers on Sunday – “Mimosas for Moms” – with 1,000 Mimosas given away courtesy of United Johnson Brothers, a major LakeFest sponsor. America’s First is providing free flowers for mothers, too.
“We have had fantastic sponsors over the years,” Housh said. “They make it happen. Without them, we wouldn’t have an event, and they come back year after year” to support it.
Judging by the size of the crowds, support from the community grows year after year, too. An estimated 45,000 to 50,000 attended the 2022 event.
From the beginning when the late Jerry Wood and others envisioned it, it has been LakeFest’s way of “welcoming people into our community and showing them Logan Martin Lake. We are very fortunate to have it here in our backyard,” Housh said.
Because of its sponsors, they have been able to keep the event free to the public. They even offer major giveaways and hourly door prizes as well as nearly nonstop entertainment and a fireworks show in honor of veterans.
“It was important to Jerry to honor veterans,” Housh said, and it has been a tradition since LakeFest’s inception. Veterans from Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home are hosted for the spectacular display in their honor that lights up the sky after dark Saturday.
Entertainment throughout the weekend features a family friendly version of the Velcro Pigmys as the headliners, a number of bands, and children’s television character, Blippy, will appear at this year’s LakeFest on Saturday.
Everyone who enters LakeFest has a chance to enter for major giveaways. “We’re super excited about the giveaways,” Housh said. A Seadoo will be given away by Munford Motorsports. LakeFest is giving away an ATV from Tracker Offroad, and Talladega Home Center will give away a Big Green Egg. “These are going to be really popular,” he added. That’s in addition to impressive door prizes – everything from kayaks and paddleboards to Tshirts and hats to boating accessories.
“We’re looking forward to it. We learn something every year,” Housh said. “Let us know what you think.” l
Story by Paul South Photos by Graham Hadley Submitted photos
Unless you’re the whale-obsessed Captain Ahab, a soldier in the biblical Egyptian army chasing Moses and the Israelites, or a champagne-sipping passenger aboard the RMS Titanic, this one thing is true: On the water, there’s never a bad day.
For locals and visitors to the Coosa River towns of Southside and Gadsden, two new boat landings are making life on the river even better. And city officials see the landings as yet another economic engine countywide.
First stop: Coosa Landing
First-term Gadsden Mayor Craig Ford had just finished lunch at Harp and Clover, when he met a Mississippi family posing for pictures outside the restaurant.
“What brings y’all to Gadsden?,” he asked. Their answer surprised him.
“This is our vacation. We love mountains and the river, and you guys have got both.”
The Venue at Coosa Landing
Ford’s reaction?
“Wow. And here I’ve taken it for granted all these years.”
Coosa Landing is a cornerstone of redevelopment of Gadsden’s stretch of the river. A new landing may not seem like much but consider this: The Coosa attracts 32 fishing tournaments annually.
“To have that river, Coosa Landing is one of the biggest economic drivers we’ve got,” Ford said. “The development of Coosa Landing is kind of that center point for us as we start to develop that area around Coosa Landing. We have The Venue that’s continually being developed. We still have about 15,000 square feet of working space that’s still available.”
The Venue at Coosa Landing, a massive meeting and event center, was built in 2018, the same year that Coosa Landing opened, and regularly draws thousands of visitors for its events.
Just across the way, Coosa Landing boasts a four-lane boat launch, piers, parking for 125 trucks/boat trailers, an overflow parking area, a bait shop and the nearby Riverwalk Trail, which connects the Landing to a nearby Buffalo Wild Wings and an ideal stroll by the river.
The city hopes to add gas pumps at the Landing for boaters to refuel.
The Landing has hosted and co-sponsored national fishing tournaments on the B.A.S.S., Women’s Bass Fishing Association, Crappie USA tours and local and state tournaments.
But the Landing is part of a larger vision for Gadsden.
The city hopes to relocate City Hall and is trying to attract a boutique hotel, condominiums and more retail to the Landing side of the river. The city also envisions connecting the Gadsden Convention Center and new hotel with a pedestrian bridge.
“That would attract visitors from Coosa Landing as well,” Ford predicted. “I think once we get that type of development going, we’re actually going to be looking at trying to push more down toward across from the (Gadsden) Mall to develop behind the Arby’s there with some land that we own to build a city harbor that will bring in entertainment, bars and restaurants.
He reasons that the effort will “get people like the fishermen who come into Coosa Landing and into Gadsden to make it more of a tourist-type thing. Not only are you coming in here to fish, but we’re going to give you things to do at night while you’re not fishing.”
For Ford, the effort is “sort of a growth package” that will not only drive tourism but will grow Gadsden’s population. We think it will bring more people to live in Gadsden, because people like to live where they play,” he says. “The river is a big economic driver for us,” Ford said.
He sees the landing as a cornerstone of Gadsden’s transformation. “The people elected us to create jobs, improve the (Noccalula) Falls and develop the river,” Ford said. “Those are the things they elected us to do. And that’s the focus for the next four years at least.”
And Ford’s long-term vision for Gadsden’s stretch of the Coosa?
“At the end of the day, you’re going to see a lot more greenspace. You’re going to see the banks of the Coosa be a lot more inviting, not just for boaters, but for anyone who wants to hang out by the river.”
The city is also working with the Birmingham-based Orchestra Partners to bring development that will attract downtown shoppers toward the Coosa.
The anticipated result? “You won’t recognize the city in eight to 10 years.”
All aboard for Southside
When Mayor Dana Snyder and the city council took office in 2020, one of their top priorities was further developing Southside Landing.
In May 2022, the Landing officially opened. It was the vision of Southside’s previous mayor, Wally Burns, and had been in the works since 2016.
Mayor Snyder and the City Council embraced this vision and worked to expand on his concept by including an all-inclusive park and playground, which has proven to be an important asset for the community.
Playground and Restaurant at Southside Landing
Southside Landing features a boardwalk, boat launches, playground, outside dining, picnic areas and some of the most stunning scenery/views anywhere. Southside Landing has truly been a community effort, the mayor said, noting that a significant number of local businesses and clubs have contributed to this growing success story.
“Although the original plans called for a bait shack to be located at Southside Landing, the City Council and I felt like a restaurant in that building would be a better fit for our community,” she says. “In October 2022, we were fortunate to have Blackstone Bait Shack, a popular locally-owned pizza restaurant, open for business in this location. Blackstone has provided both an economic development boost and an oasis for hungry locals and visitors.”
They provide outside dining, featuring beautiful views of the Coosa River and the surrounding landscape, and they are considering outside entertainment during the summer months. “It’s no surprise how popular Southside Landing has become,” Mayor Snyder said, “and we look forward to building on and expanding this beautiful recreational area.”
Various events have already taken place at Southside Landing with many more events in the planning stages. “In December 2020, prior to the official opening of Southside Landing, the Christmas Boat Parade was brought to our end of the Coosa River. We had over 200 vehicles parked there when it was just a gravel parking lot to enjoy the boat parade. So, it was easy to surmise that once the paving, playground and boardwalk were completed, this would be a favorite location for both our community and visitors.”
“Southside Landing has already hosted numerous fishing tournaments, Sunset Suppers, Dinner and a Movie and our annual Christmas Boat Parades with great success,” she said. “These have proven to be favorites of not only our local community but of people from outside our city and county.”
Kinsley Aulsbrook of Rainbow City on the swings at Southside (Photo courtesy of her mom)
And more events are expected to come. “Outdoor recreation is not only important for tourism, but it is a huge draw for both potential residents and businesses,” Snyder said.
“Recreation is one of the number one things that makes people want to move to the city because there are things outdoors that they can do,” Snyder says. “Number two, when businesses are looking to move into a city, they also look at recreational opportunities.”
Of all of Etowah County’s incorporated cities and towns, Southside boasts the most riverfront property on the Coosa – more than 31 miles, Snyder said.
“I believe we are ‘The Loveliest Village on the Coosa,’ Snyder says. “Just the Landing fitting into our long-range plan, I believe it is the gateway to our city. I believe when people come there, they see that. When we advertise for movie nights there, our Christmas Boat Parade, the fishing tournaments, just the different events that are planned there, I just believe we are drawing people from outside the city and the county.”
She adds, “They’re going to come here. They’re going to see what we’re like. They’re going to hopefully want to come back and visit.”
To make that happen, Southside has collaborated with its neighbors – Rainbow City and the Neely Henry Lake Association – for “Dinner and a Movie” nights on the riverfront. Imagine families cuddled on blankets watching classics like Jaws, while munching on Blackstone’s pizza or food truck fare.
Food trucks also come to the Landing for popular “Sunset Suppers.”
Southside Landing is seen as the “first step” in the city’s long-range plan. Those plans include items like new gateway signs for the city to long-range objectives, like a zoning overlay for the Alabama Highway 77 Corridor. Farther into the future, officials eye the development of a city center.
There also are long-range plans for new parks and sports facilities. Other riverfront possibilities include a new recreational vehicle park.
The future looks bright in terms of future development at the Landing. Restaurant/retail spaces, perhaps even an amphitheater may one day call Southside’s slice of the riverbank home. The city recently purchased the “land between the two bridges” – Little Bridge and the Coosa River span – in hopes of getting a new river bridge. If the state builds a new river bridge at the site of the current span, the parcel between the bridges could be linked to Southside Landing.
“Southside Landing is not only a valuable asset to our community, it is the gateway to our city. We see how busy it is and as word spreads and improvements are made, I believe that it will be an even greater marketing tool for our city,” said Mayor Snyder. “If you have witnessed the beauty of a sunset at Southside Landing, then you have experienced the serenity, beauty and pulse of our wonderful city.”
Snyder summed up the importance of Southside Landing to the city’s future. She views it not as the culmination of a plan, but ushering in a new era. “That’s the beginning of our story there.”
I have always viewed Spring as the season of new beginnings, a rebirth after cold winter weather sends me scurrying indoors for what seems an eternity.
For the past month, we have had a front row seat to the annual reawakening – a colorful palette of green hues as a stunning backdrop to a vibrant mosaic of blooms all around us.
Carol A. Pappas, Editor and Publisher
Spring is one of my favorite times of year on the lake. Like Christmas, it’s all wrapped up in the anticipation of good times ahead and memories to be made.
Activities build toward a growing crescendo of boats darting to and fro, smoke rising from backyard barbecues and the distinct sound of laughter emanating from children on towables, splashing in the water or squealing with excitement over the catch they just reeled in.
Up and down Logan Martin and Neely Henry lakes it’s as if there is one big, collective case of Spring Fever. No harm in catching it. It’s probably a fever you’ll love to feed. And around the region, there’s no shortage of places and events to do exactly that.
Check out Noccalula Falls 70th Anniversary on May 13, a huge celebration of what has become a worldwide destination point. There will be plenty of activity at and around the falls with vendors, games, giveaways and demonstrations, and admission is free throughout the day.
Head over to Pell City Lakeside Park May 12-14, and Logan Martin LakeFest is sure to spark a rise in temperature of a different sort. They call it new boat fever. You know the malady. So stop wishing for that new ride and take one at the Southeast’s largest in-water boat show.
Of course, that’s not all at LakeFest. Lake lifestyle vendors line the area, entertainment takes center stage, fireworks light up the nighttime sky, food is served to please any palate, and plenty of fun awaits at the water’s edge.
Etowah County’s Coosa Landing and Southside Landing are a bustle of activity these days, both credits to their communities’ recreation and quality of life. If you’re in the neighborhood, drop by and see what they have to offer.
Catch the Coosa with bass fishing pro Zeke Gossett, whose tips, tricks and trends are a guide to where to fish, when and how on both our lakes.
In this issue of LakeLife 24/7®, you’ll find those stories of what’s up ahead as well as a couple of steps back in time, revisiting landmarks on Logan Martin – Point Aquarius, later known as Alpine Bay, and the Brothers Four Motel, one of the early pioneers of accommodations for visitors on the lake.
It’s all here and more in this edition. Turn the page and discover it all with us!
So, pick out your best ‘green,’ gather a few friends and head to downtown Gadsden for the Second Annual St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl Saturday, March 18, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
It’s a giant party, stretching across block after block of downtown Gadsden where 18 bars and restaurants are hosting the party, inviting one and all to sample their fare and benefit from specials, discounts and prizes.
Gadsden’s only rooftop bar, a perch overlooking the river with a stunning view of the sunset at Jake’s Music Room, will be open and welcoming party goers as well.
The popular pub crawl Tshirts will be on sale on Court Street, and bands will be playing outside some of the bars and restaurants, giving all of downtown a festive atmosphere to revel in the celebration of Ireland’s patron saint.
The pub crawl is held each year on the closest Saturday to St. Patrick’s Day and is a Downtown Gadsden Inc.-sponsored event aimed at bringing people together downtown to experience what the restaurants, cafes, pizza places and bars have to offer.
Kay Moore, director of Downtown Gadsden Inc., anticipates a “big year” for the festivities, encouraging ‘crawlers’ to take advantage of what all these downtown businesses have in store for the celebration. It’s an evening to savor tasty meals and appetizers, enjoy your favorite libations, soft drinks, coffees, lattes and more. And it’s a time for camaraderie with old friends and new ones you’ll meet.
You don’t need a four-leaf clover to count yourself lucky to be a part of it – Irish or not.
Established restaurateurs create another eatery on Logan Martin Lake with Wake Zone
Story by Scottie Vickery Photos by Mackenzie Free Submitted Photos
Keith Clements’ quest to own a restaurant started when he was just a boy. Raised by a single grandmother in the Pell City area, he fell in love with cooking before he could read and write. “I’ve always had a passion for it,” he said, and that passion eventually took him to culinary school in Cleveland, Ohio.
Nicola Wright, however, never even considered a future in the restaurant business. With a background in sales and managing fitness centers, she’s much more comfortable being a taste tester than preparing a meal to taste.
Can’t top Wake Zone’s nautical theme bar
After recently opening their third restaurant – their second on Logan Martin Lake – the business partners agree that even though their paths were different, they make a pretty good team. After buying the Wake Zone Grill and Bar last December, they opened the restaurant in February with a new menu, live entertainment and big goals.
“It’s right in the middle of the lake, and the middle of the lake needed something,” Clements said of the restaurant at Stemley Bridge. He and Wright believe that “something” is the perfect combination of great food and great fun. After all, it’s the same recipe for success they followed with their first partnership, Lakeside Grill on Coosa Island.
Entertainment is definitely on the new Wake Zone menu. They’ll offer Bingo on Wednesday nights and Karaoke is on tap for Thursdays. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays will feature live music. “We’ll have everything from the 50s all the way up,” Clements said.
Wright said they also plan to have some weekend events at the Wake Zone similar to those they’ve offered at Lakeside Grill to celebrate the start of summer or the end of a great season. “I think the events are what really made me fall in love with it,” she said of the restaurant business.
Spice of life
Hosting music and events aren’t the only ways they plan to spice things up, however. The Wake Zone, like Lakeside Grill, will offer a number of Cajun dishes, including Cajun Shrimp Tacos, Bayou Potato, Cajun Chicken Alfredo and Bayou Alfredo. “Cajun pasta is what we’re known for on the lake,” Clements said. “We brought a taste of New Orleans to Logan Martin.”
Clements’ taste and cooking skills have evolved over the years, and both have been heavily influenced by his family. “I grew up cooking with my grandmother,” he said of Viola Clements. “I started when I was 5 years old and I’ve been doing it ever since. I even won some 4-H competitions for the best homemade biscuits and cornbread.”
Outside dining gives you a beautiful lakeside view
His other grandmother, Jackie Fuller, influenced him, as well. Clements’ grandfather was part Hungarian, and Fuller taught him to make dishes like Chicken Paprikash. In addition, her sister married an Italian, and they had a big influence on his love for pasta dishes.
“I’ve always liked spicy foods, and Cajun pasta is my favorite thing to cook,” Clements said. “All of our alfredo sauce is made from scratch to order. There’s no canned or bagged alfredo sauce here.”
Given his love of Cajun food, it’s no surprise that the second restaurant Clements and Wright opened, Woodies Grill and Bar, is in the New Orleans area. That restaurant, which opened in November 2022, shares some of the same dishes that Lakeside Grill and Wake Zone have.
The Bayou Potato is an example. Topped with andouille sausage, shrimp, and crawfish cooked in a creamy Cajun sauce, as well as queso and shredded cheese, the baked potato has become a crowd favorite. “I went back to the kitchen and was just playing around with some stuff and when I brought it out, people all around me were eating off my plate,” Clements said. “I said, ‘Well, that’s a menu item.’”
Joining forces
Although Clements always wanted to own a restaurant, he knew he needed a backup plan, too. “I knew I needed another income because so many restaurants fail,” he said. As a result, he’s been in the construction business for 19 years and opened Lakeside Boathouses in 2011.
But he didn’t stop there. “I own about nine businesses between New Orleans and here,” he said. In addition to the three restaurants he runs with Wright, he also owns an excavating company, a boat rental company, a snow cone business and several rental properties. He also was a partner in two other restaurants before joining forces with Wright.
Wright, whose life was in transition a few years ago, was looking for a new path. She bought out Clements’ previous partner and decided to change careers. “I knew nothing about restaurants at the time,” she said. “I do now.”
The partners’ first venture together was Lakeside Grill, which opened in May 2020. “There’s not many people opening a restaurant in the middle of COVID, but I was the gambler,” Clements said.
It paid off, and shortly after the restaurant opened, Wright came on board. Since then, they’ve hosted a number of community events such as the “Rockin the Island Luau,” and Lakeside Grill has become a fixture on the water. “We’ve had events that have drawn crowds of 600 and 700 people a day,” Clements said. “We put a big stage down by the water facing the restaurant, and we just pack ’em in.”
While Wright runs the business side of things, she also puts her own stamp on the restaurants and the events they host. In addition to starting weekly Bingo, she’s brought in everything from a 360-degree photo booth to a mechanical bull at special events. One of her first ideas for the Wake Zone is to host a Poker Run between it and Lakeside Grill.
“There’s no better feeling than when an event comes together and everybody says it’s so much fun,” she said. “At the end of the night, you can close up and think, ‘That was good.’”
That’s one reason she’s come to enjoy the restaurant business more than she could ever imagine. “I love the social aspect of it,” she said. “I’ve met so many people through it, and it really keeps me busy. It’s been very good to me at a time when I needed it.”
In addition, Wright said she and Clements work well together.
“Together, we come up with some really good stuff,” she said. Some of the good stuff they have planned for the Wake Zone is adding a tiki bar, expanding the deck overlooking the water and building an outdoor stage. “There’s a lot of potential here,” Clements said.
Special touches
Although there are some similarities on the Lakeside Grill and Wake Zone menus, there are some dishes that are only served at each restaurant. Lakeside, for instance, has barbecue while Wake Zone has a pork chop and more seafood items, such as crab claws and fried fish on “Fish Frydays.”
In addition, the Wake Zone menu features favorites of Clements’ kids (Cassidy, Riley and Madilyn), Wright’s kids (Brayden and Leelee), and Lakeside and Wake Zone manager Tanya Barnett, known to customers as “Ma.” There’s “Cassidy’s Bangin Popcorn Shrimp,” “Ma’s Meatloaf,” which is a special on Wednesday, and “Bray’s BLT.”
The restaurant family also includes some of the employees in Clements’ other businesses. “Some of the boathouse guys tend bar on the weekends,” he said. “Tanya and one of the cooks came in for construction work, and I put them to work at Lakeside. We turned our staff into a family.”
They’re working on making the whole community family, too. They love to sponsor and host community events, adopt kids at Christmas, provide holiday meals for the community and more. Some summer weekends, they’ll take a grill to Pirate Island, grab some food from the restaurant and feed whoever happens to come by.
“We’re not just a business,” Clements said. “We’re here to create family, a lake family.”
Cajun Jambalaya from Wake Zone
Cajun Jambalaya
(Makes 20 servings)
1 cup diced bell pepper
1 cup diced yellow onion
6 tablespoons olive oil
6 teaspoons garlic powder
6 teaspoons crushed red pepper
6 teaspoons smoked paprika
6 teaspoons Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning
5 teaspoons hot sauce
4 cups chopped andouille sausage
4 cups chopped chicken
6 cups medium or long grain rice
6 cups chicken broth
6 cups water
Directions:
Heat olive oil in a stock pot and add peppers and onions. Add all seasonings and cook until onions are translucent, stirring occasionally. Add meat and cook thoroughly. Add rice and liquid. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cover, stirring occasionally. Cook until rice is tender.
Serve with shrimp and a lemon wedge.
Chicken Alfredo from the Wake Zone restaurant on Logan Martin Lake
Chicken Alfredo
(Makes 1 serving)
1/2 cup cubed chicken
1/4 cup broccoli florets
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 teaspoons olive oil
3-ounces grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tablespoon garlic salt
1 cup cooked fettucine noodles
Directions:
Heat olive oil in a 9-inch skillet. Add cubed chicken, broccoli and garlic salt. Cook chicken thoroughly. Add heavy cream and bring to a light boil.
Add parmesan cheese. Mix well until thickened. Add cooked noodles and toss. Serve with garlic bread.
‘We were a mile from the Coosa River, so we knew the water would get us.’
Sue Clinkscales Granger has a lake house. Her house, which sits next door to John Abbott’s, became waterfront when the waters of Logan Martin rose. Though she lives in Jacksonville now, she visits her Cropwell place frequently and remembers well the chaos that came along with the rising waters.
Old Cotton Gin in Easonville
Growing up, she lived in a different house, one that was directly in the path of the floodwaters, and her family was not happy about it. “The surveyors would come by putting in stakes, and my granddaddy would come by and pull them up,” said Granger. “We were a mile from the Coosa River, so we knew the water would get us.”
Continuing, she recalls, “I was away in college at Jacksonville State (JSU). I remember coming down and going swimming as the water was coming up.”
In the end, they sold that home for $6,000 and built a house in Pell City.
Longtime Pell City resident Dianne Fisher tells a similar story. She was in first grade when her parents had to move their home out of the path of the future lake.
Her family’s home was not far from John Abbott’s home, just about 100 yards into the center of what would be the lake.
They had it jacked up and moved to higher ground in 1963.
“My mother cried when they cut down the trees. They were huge, beautiful old oaks.”
Four months after they had the house moved, they sold it and moved into a house they had built in Pell City. The old one that was moved has long since been torn down.
“In the end, it was OK,” admits Fisher. “I have four brothers. Once we got into our bigger home, we all had our own bedrooms, and it was easier. And we were closer to town.”
