On a misty Saturday morning, just after daylight tried its hardest to peek through a solidly overcast sky, Lakeside Park was just awakening.
The gates opened, and volunteers scurried about, preparing for the big event. Tents went up. Swag bags, Tshirts, runner bibs and a host of ‘must haves’ for a 5K run were readied. Sound system? Check. Runner check-in apps? Downloaded. Volunteers in their positions? Ready.
And they’re off!
And at 8 a.m. on Dec. 9, runners from throughout the region took off to make history in the inaugural Pell City Rotary 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run/Walk to benefit the St. Clair Sheriff’s Boys Ranch.
From the starting point to the finish line, the event evolved as a true success story, raising over $50,000 to help build a new home at the Boys Ranch and bringing a community together for a common cause. Santa was there, much to the delight of smaller runners, walkers and spectators, and the event is well on its way to becoming a Christmas tradition for Pell City Rotary Club, a leading civic service organization.
“Since I became president of the Pell City Rotary Club, it has been my goal to lead the club in serving the community,” said Serge Brazzolotto. “I wanted to create a new event that would be close to Christmas and that would involve the entire family from infants to grandparents.” A 5K run/1-mile fun walk was a perfect fit.
After hearing a presentation from Michael Smith, the executive director of the Sherrif’s Boys Ranch, about the need for a new house to be built, “I talked to our Board of Directors and Service Club Committee Chair Bill Ellison about the idea, and everyone said, “let’s go for it,” Brazzolotto said.
“Our only problem was that none of us had experience to prepare for such an event,” he added. “I told myself a few times, ‘don’t fool yourself, it won’t happen.’ We had only three months to get all this done.”
Ellison put a 5K team together, and they were – pardon the pun – off to the races. “That team worked tirelessly for three months, day and night, even weekends to get everything together, to get sponsors, social media advertisement and registration and much more,” Brazzolotto said.
Performing the Star Spangled Banner
The team – Gay Blackwell, Kelly Furgerson, Melanie Housh, Kathy Burke, Jaxon Phillips and Casey Cambron –were determined to not only meet the goal, but exceed it. And they did. Because of the effort of all involved, he said, the Boys Ranch will now be able to build its third home for youths.
“Teamwork makes the dreams work,” Ellison said. “I picked people with unique and diversified talent to serve on the 5K committee. They all showed strength, wisdom, courage, commitment, passion and focus throughout the planning, fundraising and day of the event.”
Brazzolotto agreed. “I don’t have the words to thank all who have made this event possible and be such a success – the Rotary 5 K team, the Rotary Club members, the sheriff’s department, the police department, the fire department, Pell City Park and Recreation, Partners by Design, The City of Pell City, all the participants and especially, all who have made donations and sponsored this event and fundraising.”
It was all done in service to the community, in keeping with its motto, “Service Above Self.”
“All Pell City Rotary members enjoy giving back through community service to the community that has been so good to them,” Ellison said. “We’re already planning for next year.”
Pinball machines, guitars and more — Local tinkerer makes the magic happen
Story by Graham Hadley Photos by Richard Rybka, Graham Hadley and contributed by Mike Pegg
Sitting by Choccolocco Creek at the northern edge of Munford is a house full of wonders, and they are all the work of one man.
From professional-quality custom guitars to full-size pinball machines, there is not much Mike Pegg can’t design and build, and in his spare time, he works a full-time job and races motorcycles.
“I am just a tinkerer. My family were all tinkerers,” he said.
Originally from Ohio, Mike says he grew up basically “in the middle of nowhere. If something broke, you had to fix it yourself. My grandfather was one of the greatest tinkerers I ever knew. He was a lineman and taught me woodworking and how to drive nails as a kid.”
Those skills formed the foundation for Mike’s love of making things … that and necessity – his father was in the Army, and they moved around a lot, and money could be tight.
“I have been playing guitar most of my life. My first guitar was an acoustic from Sears when I was 11, but the action on it was very high” and it was not much fun to play. “Mom saved for a year to buy me my first electric.”
Mike wanted something better, and good guitars don’t come cheap – so he did what comes so naturally to him, he started making his own.
Mike with his version of the classic Ibanez Steve Vai guitar
“I would buy cheap guitars – 40-or-50-dollar guitars – and make one good one. One would have a good neck, another a good body, another good electronics.”
Today, Mike builds them from the ground up and markets them under his brand – Bigg Deal Customs, which covers everything he makes. (He says the extra G in Bigg is courtesy of his son who jumped on the name after a friend called Mike a big deal).
“About eight years ago, I started getting serious. I put together a guitar based on the Ibanez JEM777 Steve Vai Signature, the one with the cutout handle in the body. I put a bunch of coats of different colored paint on it and then sanded it through, but not all the way to the wood,” he said. “It makes it look like a star going nova.”
After that, his guitar hobby took off. Mike was making all kinds of custom guitars – many with unique features like vintage vacuum tubes embedded in the body that would light up. He even created one that had a built-in theremin – an electronic instrument that is controlled without actually touching the instrument.
Under his Bigg Deal branding, he sold the guitars online and through local shops in Calhoun County and surrounding areas. Today, Mike focuses mostly on specific custom builds requested by his customers.
“I can make a very affordable guitar for under $600. On those, I buy the necks, I don’t make them, and then cut out the body. For $1,200 or more, I build everything,” he said. “The bodies are always a work of art, but I do want people to play them. … I now have sold guitars all over the world.”
Alabama musician Bo Bice of American Idol fame bought five Bigg Deal guitars from Mike.
“He called up and said he wanted to buy a guitar from me. I thought it was a friend playing a joke on me, so I hung up. He called back and sang for me. He ended up buying five guitars. The guy was as nice as everyone says he is. It really opened up some doors for me.”
Guitars were kind of a stepping-stone for Mike’s next project – building full-size custom pinball machines.
“I have always been a huge pinball guy. In Ohio, back in the 1970s, there was a gas station near our house that had a machine in it. I would play until they were about ready to throw me out. I just got hooked. I love the sounds, the feedback, the lights,” he said.
“In August of last year, I got the idea that if I can build guitars, I can build a pinball machine.”
Bo Bice signing a guitar for Mike Pegg, Munford, Alabama
And he can – the proof of which is sitting in his living room next to another commercially built machine, but it turned out to be a good bit more work and money than he had anticipated.
“There is 800 feet of wiring in that. I originally tried to salvage some old used ones, but I only got a few parts from those,” he said. He had to build everything from scratch and buy all new electronic and other parts. “It took me a year to do, and I am still working on the sounds.”
There were a few bumps along the way, including having to completely rebuild his completed playing field after dropping the original.
“And parts are not cheap. They have started making the machines again, and those are getting cheaper, but not the parts,” he said.
Mike said he gets a lot of help from other pinball enthusiasts, whose knowledge and access to parts make his latest endeavor possible.
“These pinball guys are just mind-blowing. They have been a huge support. I even had one who sent me a part I was looking for for free,” he said.
He has started on his second machine while he works with someone who is familiar with the sound systems in iconic Bally machines on the effects for the first one. He has big plans for his second build – including features that allow for multiple balls on the field at a time.
When he is not at work as a maintenance supervisor for an aluminum company, he races, and not rarely, wins offroad motorcycle enduro and hare scramble events. His bike and riding gear are often as colorful as his guitars and pinball machines. He even finds time for some pinball tournaments.
“I remember dragging the girlfriend to a tournament in Pelham,” he said.
To relax and wind down, he has friends over to play pinball on his machine or one of several vintage machines he has collected, including one called Big Deal (one G), and plays guitar and hangs out on his porch overlooking Choccolocco Creek.
Mike is loving every minute of it.
“I have all these amazing things happen to me. It’s almost a Forest Gump kind of thing. I have made all these great friends,” he said.
And though he is just getting started in the pinball business, he is already making a name for himself and appeared on the Pinball Innovators & Makers podcast, hosted by Dan Rosenstein.
In a continuing effort to cast a wider net marketing the Coosa River and the waterway’s lakes and streams into a fly-fishing destination, Gadsden will host its inaugural Fly-Fishing Expo on Jan. 20 and 21, 2024, at The Venue at Coosa Landing.
“We would love for Gadsden to be known as a fly-fishing destination as well as for the other amenities we offer,” says Deborah Hawkins, administrative supervisor of The Venue.
Alabama Fishing Show and Expo drew vendors
and a crowd
This free expo will host fly-fishing-related vendors and exhibitors of all kinds from the neighboring states and counties at the gleaming 55,000 square foot facility on the banks of the Coosa River.
The fly-fishing event comes on the heels of the successful Alabama Fishing Show at The Venue this past March.
The expo is the latest move by Gadsden to grow fly fishing in the region. The city invested $10,000 to stock the waters around Noccalula Falls with Rainbow trout.
Along with the success of the Alabama Fishing Show last spring, Hawkins credits one man – the owner of Rainbow City Auction and Fly Fishing – who lured the city with the idea for a fly-fishing focused event.
“It was the work and due diligence of Frank Roden that brought this event to Gadsden,” Hawkins says.
A sign of things to come
On the streams around these parts and beyond, Frank Roden is known as “the guy with the tie,” his homage to a more elegant time when fly anglers – clad in hats, shirts, boots, waders and Windsor-knotted neckties – took to the waters. For traditionalists like Roden, the tie seems as important as the right feathered fly or the perfect 10 o’clock-two o’clock cast, the perfect fly-casting motion.
Roden, one of area fly fishing’s most fervent evangelists and an instructor for the iconic fly-fishing merchant Orvis, saw the sport’s growth coming over 20 years ago.
Somewhere around 2001, Roden recalls, he and his wife, Tammy, couldn’t get the gear they wanted locally, even around the state. So, they opened their fly-fishing shop as part of their antique furniture business.
When the couple announced their first fly fishing seminar, locals predicted a sparse turnout, 20-25 people, tops. What occurred was something akin to a fly angling tent revival.
“When the instructors and manufacturers pulled up 15 minutes before we were supposed to start, they had 169 people waiting under the tent. That was just the tip of the iceberg.”
He sees the January event as a positive step for the city and the sport.
“Someone for a long time has needed to bring a fly-fishing expo to the state of Alabama,” Roden says. “Gadsden has that facility right there on the Coosa. They brought a general fishing show to The Venue last spring, and it was huge. They did a great job with it.”
Gadsden has the formula for a fly-fishing show that will mirror the success of last spring’s effort.
The Venue at Coosa Landing continues its success story
“They have the space available,” Roden says. “They have the stuff that can support it around The Venue there (restaurants, gas stations, shops and hotels). Now we just need the wholesalers and dealers.”
The expo is the latest evidence of Gadsden’s commitment to the sport.
“Boy has that been good,” Roden said in a past issue of LakeLife 24/7 Magazine®. “We should give them a lot of credit for putting the winter trout fishery in. Greater Gadsden Area Tourism has done a lot to promote the fly fishing here.”
And organizers hope that tackle, equipment, wholesalers and dealers from across the country come to Gadsden for the expo. After all, fly anglers travel from the streams of Maine to the big waters of Montana and points north, south, east and west.
“Don’t assume that (fly fishers) just fish locally,” Roden says. “They go to the Gulf Coast; they go to the mountains. They travel out west and to the Appalachian chain. We needed (to keep that in mind) when we started hunting new equipment.”
Roden adds, “The sport has grown, not just in the Gadsden area, but to the places people are going. The population of the Gadsden area can travel all over now that they know what they’re looking for.”
A study from Grand View Research quantifies the growth in the popularity of fly fishing through the sale of fly-fishing equipment and apparel, a $3.1 million business in 2022.
The industry is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 4.1 percent.
The increasing popularity of the sport isn’t the only driver. People are drawn to more environmentally friendly sports and sustainability efforts like the fishery stocking areas in Gadsden, as well as the diverse needs and preferences of the fly-fishing community, the study said.
The expo may lure more fly-fishing shops and merchants to the area. Surprisingly, Roden sees that as a positive.
“I think it’s great, Roden says. “Bring ‘em on. I’m not getting a lot of business off the trout fishing because most of the people who come here come here for tourism, and they already had their gear before coming to Gadsden.”
He said many who come to areas like Black Creek to fish move their homes and businesses to the area.
Roden says he doesn’t have to aggressively sell fly fishing in the region. “That’s the good thing. I don’t have to sell it. They come to me looking for it. My business is soft sell.”
While there are skeptics about the future of fly fishing in Etowah and St. Clair counties, Roden points to the Coosa and talks about streams like Black Creek, Big Canoe Creek and the Noccalula Falls area and others.
“Man, that’s a lot of water out there.”
For non-anglers who may be film buffs, the two-day expo will include the Fourth Annual Fly-Fishing Film Festival, beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday. And of course, there are shops and restaurants nearby.
Tickets for the expo are $25. Vendor booths, including tables chairs and power are $200 for the weekend.
Hours for the festival are 10-5 on Saturday with the film festival screening at 5. The festival continues on Sunday from 10-4.
While city officials have not projected the Fly-Fishing Expo’s economic impact, Hawkins is optimistic that local businesses will see a ripple effect – like a rainbow trout jumping in a cool, quiet stream – for the area economy.
“This absolutely will have a ripple effect such as lodging, restaurants, shopping, license fees for the city, gas and other necessities … Since this is our first fly fishing expo, we don’t have a projected economic impact. But we will work as hard as we do for anything else to bring income and awareness to our great city.”
Editor’s Note:For more information on the Fly-Fishing Expo, call 256-549-4587.
Story by Paul South Photos by Richard Rybka and Carol Pappas
“The best way to make friends with the audience is to make them laugh. You don’t get people to laugh unless they surrender – surrender their defenses, their hostilities. And once you make the audience laugh, they’re with you.” – Frank Capra
Most documentarians – Ken Burns springs to mind – want audiences to examine society’s ills through film.
For award-winning documentary filmmaker Sam Frazier, the direction he heads is quite the opposite. Laughter, he says through his work, is the best medicine.
Frazier, a Birmingham native, has captured the hearts of audiences at prestigious film festivals like, Indie Memphis and Birmingham’s blossoming Sidewalk Film Festival and across the United States and Europe through old-fashioned absurdist escapism.
Videographer films interview with racers
Think sketch comedy – Monty Python’s Flying Circus or Saturday Night Live plus pro wrestling – meets reality. Or as he puts it, “Smart people being stupid for no apparent reason (except it’s fun).”
His current effort uses an unusual vehicle, or in this case, vessel. They are cardboard boats held together by miles of duct tape – as college professors, doctors, engineers and the like try to build seaworthy boats that can successfully allow them to navigate Alabama waterways, including Logan Martin Lake.
As Frazier and his crew began filming the races at Lakeside Park in September, a crowd of about 50 gathered to watch filming that leg of the inaugural Cardboard Boat Racing World Cup. Each competitor—mostly Frazier’s friends – earns points depending on their finish in each race. Even a boater who finishes “DFL” (Dead Freakin’ Last) earns points.
Just as in NASCAR or Formula I auto racing, the points leader at the end of the heats will win the Cardboard Boat World Cup championship trophy.
His friends are folks he’s known for years, through a charity kickball league he created or through years of hanging out with pals who are in his words, “weirdo artistic types.”
“They are a bunch of weirdos who are up for almost anything, like myself,” Frazier says. “And that helps. The weirdos that I don’t know, all you have to do is tell them what you’re doing, and they’re all about it. If you’re talking to the right person, they say, ‘Oh, this is something I’ve got to do.”
The final film will be roughly half script – featuring scenes with Sportscenter-like studio anchors – and half improvisation, including interviews with competitors.
His road to filmmaking is as colorful as his subject matter. A graduate in philosophy from Washington & Lee, who also studied abroad at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, Frazier described it this way. Law school, the track chosen by others in his family, wasn’t for him.
“You have three choices,” Frazier said. “You can either get in the unemployment line, or you can try to use philosophy for extortion … That’s not really an option, or you can do something weird and creative. I went with weird and creative.”
Unlike today, when documentaries find homes on multiple platforms from PBS to streaming services like Netflix, Apple TV and HBO, that wasn’t the case as Frazier came of age.
“I saw Roger and Me (Michael Moore’s expose’ on GM), for the first time, and it blew my mind. Then I found out all the ethical problems with that movie, I guess you could say, that were egregious, and it broke my heart.
“I also remember seeing Hoop Dreams (the story of two African-American high schoolers dreaming of playing professional ball) for the first time, and it equally blew me away,” Frazier says.
The genesis of his films comes from comedy and the land of Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair or masked villains from “parts unknown.”
“I’ve always been into comedy,” Frazier says. “It’s an influence to have sort of an absurd style and kind of the pomp of professional wrestling, along with different sorts of comedic approaches of how to do a documentary.
“Nobody really does a documentary like me,” Frazier adds. “I’m the world’s only comedic, short documentarian.”
Most documentary films don’t yuk it up, he acknowledges, instead focusing on sober subject matter.
“It’s not funny when you hear about people in war-torn nations trying to survive. That’s not going to be a laugh riot. It’s also hard to watch. You have to be in the right frame of mind.”
Frazier’s approach?
“I focus on events that mostly people can do on any given day on their own, just with some friends.”
Network sports shows, like ABC’s iconic Wide World of Sports, also influence Frazier’s films. Remember Mexican cliff diving, logger sports and wrist wrestling, along with NASCAR, the British Open and table tennis from the People’s Republic of China?
“I always thought that was an inherently sort of a silly way to view the world,” he says. “These are sporting events. This is not a world war. But it’s treated on that level of importance. So, I thought, let’s take unimportant sporting events and raise them to the level of a World Cup or Super Bowl.
“I think that is inherently funny to treat something like a cardboard boat race like the World Cup. That’s essentially what we’re doing – a carboard boat race World Cup.”
Fans of the British comedy troupe Monty Python doubtless recall The Upper-Class Twit of the Year sketch, satire on dimwitted members of England’s upper class. There’s a dash of that in his cardboard boat racing series, Frazier says.
“Shooting this at times, I realize that I have these highly successful people building cardboard boats, people you’d think would be naturally really good at it.”
Not necessarily so. One of the film’s boat builders, for example, is a successful architect.
“He’s designed Lord knows how many buildings, and he’s a terrible cardboard boat designer,” Frazier said. “His boats barely got off the beach. That is inherently funny to me.”
Audiences seem to think Frazier’s films are funny, too.
Frazier’s films have captured “Audience Choice” Awards at the Sidewalk Film Festival, Indie Memphis, the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival and others. The Santa Fe recognition came after a vigorous write-in campaign by festivalgoers.
The first Cardboard Titanic film was done while Frazier was “retired” from moviemaking. He screened it at Sidewalk, intending to go no further.
“People asked, ‘What’s your next project?’ ” When he responded that he was retired, the response was surprising and made his calling clear.
“You don’t understand,” he recalled moviegoers saying. “You’re not good at anything else.”
From there, the film was screened at some 50 festivals in the United States and Europe, winning a “ton of awards,” including Best Documentary at the Louisville Film Festival.
And it led to a sequel: Cardboard Titanics: Smart People Being Stupid. “Cardboard Titanics was in competition with the short documentary winner at that year’s Sundance Film Festival.
The film that was in part shot with Go Pros, cameras, drones and the like on Logan Martin is the latest in what Frazier hopes will be a six-part series.
And cardboard vessels aren’t his only methods of fun filmmaking. He’s also had tall bicycle jousting films – riders on stacked bikes bearing lances tipped with cushions and boxing gloves.
Sam Frazier Jr. directing
“When you’re doing a comedy, (festival) audiences are going to like you,” Frazier says. “Especially if they’re getting a lot of very dark things and documentaries. People would really rather laugh than be miserable or be outraged on a certain level. It’s a happier way to live.”
Asked if the positive audience response is the result of these days of COVID-19 and polarized politics, Frazier didn’t mince words.
“Damn right,” he says. “Social media has polarized us to a different level of conflict. We’re becoming increasingly tribal, and I’m not a very political person. I’ve spent my life trying to get people to get along.”
So Alabama’s happy warrior of independent documentary soldiers on, dumpster driving for cardboard, hoping to outrun the winter chill in his latest project, all while funding his films from his own pocket.
Pell City and Lakeside Park drew rave reviews from the filmmaker who shot a portion of his current project in August. He still has two more races to film.
“It was the perfect location, and they were so nice to us,” Frazier says. “The staff helped tremendously. They were so enthusiastic about it. We would love to shoot there again. Maybe there will be season two of the Cardboard Boat World Cup. I hope so.”
His mission is simple. Unlike other documentarians who hope their films will change the world, Frazier charts a different course in part with a small fleet of soggy cardboard vessels and a crew of more than 30 people.
While audiences may see the glamour of film, Frazier compares his calling to “herding cats and walking into traffic. The only thing I can do is make people laugh and enjoy their lives for a certain period of time.”
Frazier recalls an encounter at the Atlanta Film Festival with a California filmmaker, who looked every bit the part of a surfer dude, with attitude to match. As an Oscar-qualifier festival, Atlanta is a marquee indie film showcase.
“He watched the film and said, ‘That was a joyous celebration of life,’ ” Frazier recalls.
Story by Elaine Hobson Miller Photos by Richard Rybka
Hikers at Noccalula Falls now have easier access to the Gorge Loop section of the Black Creek Trail system, thanks to a collaboration between the City of Gadsden, Friends of the Falls and the Gadsden Runners Club. A walkway consisting of 104 steps and seven landings has replaced the treacherous access that intrepid hikers endured for years.
“Formerly you would rock-climb your way down from the campground to the trail,” said John Moore, director of Economic Development and Governmental Affairs for the City of Gadsden. “The new steps are on the north side of the Gorge creek, and there are other steps next to the Falls on the south side.”
John Moore says the city is proud of the new trail access
The Gorge Loop is five miles long and connects to another 11-12 miles of trails in the park. The new access was made possible by a $250,000 Regional Trails Program (RTP) grant from the state through Friends of the Falls. “The new access is the result of a collaboration between Friends of the Falls, Gadsden Runners Club, the City of Gadsden, and Congressional Districts 28, 29, 30, via our state representatives,” Moore said.
Bob Smith Construction built the steps and landings, which opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in early July. “The job was put out for bids, but there were none,” Moore explained. “So we called BSC, which also did the suspension bridge over the Falls and remodeled the covered bridge and boardwalk.”
The campground-to-trail access is part of a larger, $8 million project that includes adding sewer and power to each camp site, although most of the 120 existing camp sites already have power. Eight tiny homes will be added to the campgrounds, too. All sites will be reworked as pull-throughs, which means some will have to be enlarged, reducing the overall number to 100.
“We’ll be re-paving the roads, building a new road to the cabins on the backside of the camp, adding more signage and a rock face at the park entrance,” Moore said. “We’ll shut down the park campground for nine months, beginning in January for the project, but the campground is always closed in January anyway. It’s the mayor’s goal to give the facility more of a city park feel.”
Gadsden Runners Club and Friends of the Falls have donated more than $50,000 to the Black Creek Trails, according to board member Glenn Ingram. “We helped apply for the RTP grant, helped raise matching funds and promoted the project through social media and within our membership,” Ingram said. “Both Friends of the Trails and Gadsden Runners raise money for local projects. We were able to help not only with Gorge Trail steps but with other projects, including trail expansion and a Mountain Bike Skills Course. The upcoming renovation is the city’s project, though.”
The new stairs give easier access to the park’s natural beauty
Several entrances throughout the park enable hikers to reach the trails, including one at the chapel next to the Falls. “There was a treacherous ravine to walk down to enter the Gorge Trail prior to the new campground steps,” Ingram said. “There’s a loop that goes around the creek down in the Gorge, so you can actually go underneath the Falls. That one will also bring you back to the new steps in the campground.”
Ingram said Friends of the Falls and Gadsden Runners highly recommend appropriate footwear for hiking any of the trails at Noccalula Falls. “The Gorge Loop in particular is a very technical trail, which means it has lots of rocks,” Ingram said. “It’s not a Sunday-after-church walk. Hikers need to be prepared with appropriate shoes and maybe a hiking stick. Most of the other trails within Black Creek Trails are not as technical.”
More collaborations may be on the horizon. The Gadsden Runners and Friends of the Falls look forward to partnering with the City of Gadsden on other projects at Noccalula Falls, he said.
Small store in Oxford has big impact on regional fishing
Story and photos by Graham Hadley
For decades now, the Tackle BOX has been giving a leg up to fishing enthusiasts from its location in historic Downtown Oxford.
The name should sound familiar to anyone who has seen their iconic stickers on cars and trucks driving down I-20 or putting in boats at places like Lincoln’s Landing, Pell City Lakeside Park or Coosa Landing in Gadsden.
Anywhere there are fishing enthusiasts you are as likely to see the Tackle BOX logo along with other well-known brands like YETI, Orca or … LakeLife.
“I go on vacation and see Tackle BOX hats in places like Gatlinburg. I run into people everywhere. It is kind of surreal when you travel hours from home and people recognize the logo on my hat,” said Jason Earl Gator Howard, who helps man the store.
The original location on Main Street
Gator – actually his real name – credits much of the store’s success to the simple fact it is much more than just a store. Yes, Tackle BOX stocks everything a fisherman needs, whether it is starter gear for the beginner or everything you need for competition fishing, but the real hook is everyone there is ready to help with advice or to just chat and share stories.
“There’s good fishing stories always told here. It is to the point that we have people here to just help talk to customers. They don’t run the register, but they can answer just about any fishing question. Everyone hangs out, tells fishing stories – and lies (every good fishing story has a lie in it somewhere),” Gator said. “One of our biggest draws is our atmosphere. Good Southern hospitality. New customers can come in, we tell them where to fish. You are going to get good advice in the Tackle BOX.”
That perfect combination of great merchandise selection and sense of community have helped the store stay on top of its game, but Gator is quick to point out those are not the only factors that contribute to the Tackle BOX’s success.
The store originally opened in the late 1970s or early 1980s across Main Street in Oxford from its current location. The Main Olive and the law office for Baxley Maniscalco occupy the old building now, and the Tackle BOX has its own building and parking lot next door which can accommodate larger vehicles and boat trailers.
Owner Michael Pickette bought the business from the original owners around 12 years ago and oversaw the move to its new facility.
Gator also gives a lot of credit to Oxford for all the effort the city has put into revitalizing its historic downtown area with better parking, sidewalks and lighting – all of which help bring in more business, not only to the Tackle BOX, but also to the other shops and restaurants there.
“The city as a whole made an effort to redo all of downtown. Got rid of power poles everywhere, put in new sidewalks. They close the downtown for Oxfordfest in October.” All of which makes a big difference, he said.
Even though the Tackle BOX is not located on any specific body of water, it is only 15 to 30 minutes from many of the main regional fishing spots along the Coosa River and its tributaries, most notably Logan Martin and Neely Henry lakes.
“In under an hour or so, you can move from one great fishing location to another,” Gator said.
As successful as the business has been since it opened, the past half decade has seen the popularity of fishing, especially competitive fishing, explode.
Gator says a big part of that is the expansion of competition fishing teams in schools, both in grade schools and in colleges.
Tackle BOX helps local high school teams by giving special discounts to groups who display the business’s logo on their gear.
“We sponsor almost all the local high schools here in Calhoun County, and they get discounts when they come in.”
Gator touts competition fishing as one of the best ways to get an athletic scholarship to a college or university. “One of the biggest things driving fishing these days is the school teams. There are a lot of college scholarship opportunities for students. That is especially true for girls looking for a fishing scholarship.”
Gator said the COVID lockdown was also another driving force behind the growth of their business.
“COVID was a terrible ordeal. We are still living with it today and are learning to cope. But it was phenomenal for the fishing industry everywhere, not just us. We were told to socially distance, not gather indoors, get out and get some fresh air,” and fishing was an obvious way to do just that, he said.
“People who had never fished before came in, bought rods and reels and started fishing. They still come in today.”
You can see the growing popularity of the sport all over Alabama.
Gator helps Dawson and Davis Stone of Alexandria
“All the cities like Gadsden, Southside, Lincoln, Pell City and Riverside are upgrading their boat ramps and parks, hosting big fishing tournaments and boat shows,” all of which are great for the businesses around the lakes, he said. “We have even found new brands for our store from some of those shows.”
As an added bonus, the attention to fishing helps raise awareness for preserving the waterways in the area. “That environmental focus, especially restocking lakes, helps make the fishing better,” he said.
Tackle BOX carries a wide range of well-known brands like ZOOM and YETI – they even do some consignment sales on used gear for customers. But they take particular pride in stocking equipment from companies with local Alabama ties – companies like Reaction Innovations out of Alabaster, and NetBait, which started in Greenville. Gator was quick to show off one of the rods from MMA Fishing, another local company.
As the sport continues to grow, so does business for the Tackle BOX, and that is keeping Gator and the rest of the staff and help busy. He would not have it any other way.
“It is one thing to know about fishing, but you have to have a passion for fishing, for the outdoors and for conservation. I am lucky. A lot of people dread coming to work every day. I love coming to work here and getting to talk about fishing all day.”
As the days dwindle down and the holiday season approaches, three things are certain:
At Christmas, kids aren’t crazy about socks and underwear beneath the tree.
Thanksgiving means a feast, family, football and finally, a nap.
And here on Logan Martin Lake as Halloween approaches, Boo Bash is a straight up, surefire hit. You could say it’s BOO-ming.
In just its second year, the nautical fun fright fest is right up there with supersized candy bars and princess and superhero costumes.
Candy corn can’t catch a break.
The pier-to-pier party for trick-or-treaters of all ages is set for October 8. Logan Martin residents who join the party can expect their fair share of witches, Supermen, Barbies and maybe, just maybe, a pint-sized Oppenheimer.
No shortage of treats for everyone
Organizers Kelli Lasseter, Sonya Hubbard and a growing band of merry pranksters, expect a bigger, better event in 2023. Last year, even as rain fell, an estimated 45 to 50 piers – known affectionately as “dock or treaters” – participated.
As of July 26, some 60 pier owners had signed on to host dock-or-treaters. That number may double, Lasseter says.
Two restaurants, 30 to 40 boats and one personal watercraft braved the wet weather to join the fun in 2022. More are expected this year. In fact, the Boo Bash buzz was heavy, even before July 4 fireworks cooled.
“Obviously, we hope that we have more people who know about it,” Lasseter says. “Not only that, but people who want to participate – to host a pier, that want to get out, decorate their boat and take folks out for the treating.”
More are coming. One couple plans a 60s-themed pier. Others have approached organizers to pitch proposed themes for their piers and boats. And Boo Bash has – for at least one newcomer – helped boost the real estate market.
“I had someone come to me who’s new to the lake, who told me that Boo Bash was one of the selling points,” Lasseter says. “The Realtor told them about Boo Bash. She joined the group and is super excited.”
Lasseter also wants to see Boo Bash spread like the sci-fi creature, “The Blob,” to the upper reaches of the lake to Lincoln, Riverside and neighboring areas.
“Last year, they really didn’t know about it,” Lasseter says of the Lincoln-Riverside area. “We had a few places up there that hosted piers, but we’re hoping we can get some more folks involved.”
In 2023, organizers will have a backup date for Boo Bash in the event of wicked weather – Oct. 15.
Even with last year’s wet weather, the inaugural Boo Bash drew rave reviews. This was about more than kids, costumes and candy and adults bobbing for cocktails.
“It was overwhelming that people loved this event because it gave them an opportunity to spend time with family and friends, get to know their lake neighbors and just have fun,” Lasseter says. “That was the overarching theme. It just brought the community together and people just had a good time.”
Organizers have also stepped up their marketing effort through a more intense social media effort on Facebook, Instagram and hopefully, Tik Tok. Last year, a local radio station – 94.1 The River – Carl Wallace’s Lake Ramblings blog on Facebook and word of mouth also fueled turnout. Nearly 900 locals are considered Boo Bash members. The event also hopes for some bounce from broadcast, print and online media outlets.
Partners By Design, the parent company of Lake Life 24/7 Magazine®, and its sister publication, Discover St. Clair, is promoting Boo Bash 2023 with a specially designed Boo Bash T-shirt, available for purchase online and in Lake Life 24/7’s brick and mortar store. Pier signs are also available to identify participating docks. A percentage of the proceeds from sales will go to offset Boo Bash expenses for the all-volunteer event. As of this writing, Partners is one of 11 local businesses supporting Boo Bash.
“We think our lake is a special place,” says CEO Carol Pappas says. “We want to find ways like (Boo Bash) to promote it, enjoy it and share it.
“This event is a great way to get out and meet your neighbors and have a lot of fun along the way,” Pappas adds. “What a treat for kids of all ages.”
Wayne and Margie Brewer are part of the original group that crafted the inaugural Boo Bash. Their pier will echo the theme they used last year – Skull Island – and using a pole with a pot affixed, they’ll hand out plastic bags filled with candy and Mardi Gras beads. Revelers won’t have to dock.
The Brewers have lived on the lake for 20 years. Boo Bash is a chance to build lake residents into a neighborhood.
It’s a community gathering, to get to know everybody on the lake. It’s just something to do together,” Wayne Brewer says. “We’ve got a great environment here on the lake, and it’s great to have everybody get together and have an activity that’s fun for everybody.”
An earlier start means higher water levels on Logan Martin, making it easier for some residents to participate, Brewer says.
“Last year, some people couldn’t participate because there wasn’t enough water at their dock.”
In these fragmented times, events like Boo Bash bring a kindness to the lake community sweeter than a box of Goo Goo Clusters. Lasseter is emotional as she reflects on Boo Bash’s big splash as it enters its second year.
“It feels really good to see people come together, work together, to do something special for others,” Lasseter says. “This wasn’t about me or anybody else. Sonya and I just had an idea. The Logan Martin Lake community took it and ran with it. It was very special.”
Just how unique and special this event has quickly become was illustrated by the number of folks who approached organizers to sing the praises of Boo Bash.
“With every boat that pulled up, everybody was all smiles, all ‘Hi’s’,” Brewer says. “Every boat was a good experience, for us and the people on the boats.”
Consider the words of one unidentified little boy who was among the wet but happy band of Boo Bashers. Lasseter recounts his words.
“He said it was the best day of his life,” she says. “Out of the mouths of babes, right?”
She adds, “If it wasn’t (the best) for everybody else, it was for that little boy. It was well worth it.”
In the Kitchen and by the Lake with Pam Beals and Misty Thomas
Story by Scottie Vickery Photos by Richard Rybka
For the past 18 years, sisters-in-law Pam Beals and Misty Thomas have been in a weekly cooking school of sorts. They’re the teachers as well as the students, and most often they’re the only participants. As a result, though, their culinary skills have grown, their bond has deepened, and their binder of “keeper” recipes has continued to expand.
“We’ve pretty much had dinner together every Saturday night since 2005,” Pam said of the gatherings at her Neely Henry Lake home. “We call it our Saturday Night Supper Club.” Sometimes it’s just Pam and her husband, Tom, along with Misty, and her husband, Shane, who is Pam’s brother. Other times, the number grows to six, ten or even more.
The cottage on Neely Henry’s Palmetto Creek
The one constant, however, is that they prepare the meals together. “We have the most fun when we open a bottle of wine or bubbly, turn on the music and start cooking,” Pam said. “Sometimes I have to step in if there’s a little too much bubbly,” Tom joked.
Although Pam and Misty weren’t novices in the kitchen before they started their weekly get-togethers, they’ve both come a long way, as far as skill, confidence and mindset go. “Now I cook because I want to, not because I have to,” Pam said.
Misty and Pam have always been close, despite the 10-year age difference between them. They just haven’t always lived near each other. Pam and Shane were raised in Ashville, and Misty grew up in Steele but went to Ashville High School. By the time Misty and Shane met in the ninth grade, Pam was out of college and working.
In fact, she and Tom were living in Atlanta for the first three years of their Saturday Night Supper Club, but they all met on weekends at Pam and Shane’s mother’s cabin on Neely Henry. “In 2007, my brother and husband went to an Alabama Power auction ‘just to see how an auction works,’” Pam said with a laugh. “They both came back with property.”
Misty and Shane realized they prefer hills and farmland, so they sold their lake lot and bought a home nearby with 40 acres. They are in the process of turning it into a working farm, Moonlight Farm, where they plan to raise cattle. Pam and Tom built a 3-bedroom, 2 ½ bath cottage on their lake property lot and used it as a weekend home from 2008 until 2020 when COVID-19 hit, and they moved there permanently. “I was ready,” she said.
The cottage, which is on Neely Henry’s Palmetto Creek, was built from a Southern Living house plan. “I’ve always had a soft spot for Southern Living and all things Southern, really,” Pam said and grinned. “Anybody can copy out of Southern Living magazine.”
Dynamic duo
The magazine had a big influence on their Saturday night dinners as well. That’s where they found almost all of the recipes they tried when they first started their weekly gathering. “Southern Living got us started on this journey,” Pam said. “At first, we were intimidated by some recipes, and we didn’t even know what some of the spices were. We’d have to go buy every spice and every tool.”
It got easier, though, and they got better one dish at time. “We just got in the kitchen and started teaching ourselves,” Misty said. “Now we have all the right appliances and gadgets.”
For the most part, the meals have been successful, although there have been some bumps along the way. “We learned to read the recipe all the way through,” Pam said. “We’d get halfway through one and realize we were supposed to refrigerate it overnight. We’ve only had a catastrophe once or twice where we say, ‘I hope (the restaurant) Local Joe’s is still open.’”
Pam and Tom
Through the years they’ve tried hundreds of recipes they’ve gathered from magazines, Pinterest, and cookbooks. The first time, they follow the recipe exactly, and for some dishes, they think of how to make it better. “We’ll say, ‘Next time, let’s add this,’” Misty said.
They started keeping their favorites in a binder, which is now nearly four inches thick. “That’s where all of the ‘keepers’ go,” Pam said. “And a recipe doesn’t make the book just because we made it. Everyone has to agree that it’s a keeper.”
The fact that they try to use local ingredients whenever possible has helped the binder grow. The short ribs they use in their Short Rib Lasagna recipe, which was featured on The Today Show and grabbed Pam’s attention, come from Earnest Roots Farm in Ashville. They get tomatoes grown on Chandler Mountain from Smith Tomato in Steele to make their own tomato sauce, which they sometimes substitute for the marinara listed in the recipe.
“Every time we prepare this, we get more compliments on it,” Misty said of the Short Rib Lasagna, which has become a favorite. “You would think we’d have a lot of leftovers because it makes a lot, but there’s never anything left.”
Pam and Misty have learned over the years that their cooking styles are different. “If it’s a dessert, we’re handing that to Misty because she’s very precise,” Pam said. “I’m more of a follow the directions kind of cook and she’ll get in there and do her own thing.”
Misty agreed, adding that when she cooks on her own, “I very rarely follow a recipe. Pam will ask me what I did, and I’ll say, ‘I don’t know.’ My grandmother was an amazing cook, and that’s what she used to do, too. Pam gets mad at me, and I used to get mad at my grandmother.”
Although they are most often the ones in the kitchen, Pam and Misty sometimes turn things over to the guys. They’re in charge of the grilling, as well as low country boils, which they all love. “We do those a lot,” Misty said. “We prepare everything and hand it off to them. It’s always delicious.”
The folks enjoying the meals sometimes change as well. They are often joined by Tom’s brother, Joe, and his wife, Kathy, who live nearby on the lake. Other friends have joined in the fun, but one thing never changes. They always gather at Pam and Tom’s house to enjoy the glorious view of Neely Henry.
View for rent
When Pam and Tom built their home, they planned for it to be a peaceful weekend retreat from their busy lives in Atlanta, where they lived at the time. They were both working in the vending industry, although Tom has since retired, and were on the go a lot.
While they hired professionals to lay the foundation and handle the electricity, plumbing, framing and roofing, they did everything else themselves. The details that that make the house a home are all theirs. Tom put up the pine tongue and groove walls in the master bedroom and adjoining sun porch, and he and his brother, Mike, laid the oak tongue and groove floors throughout the home.
His brother, Joe, helped hang the kitchen cabinets while Pam handled the painting and decorating. She went to great lengths to get everything right. “We were in Destin, and I saw a house that was under construction and was painted the exact color I wanted,” she said. “No one was there so I climbed into the dumpster and found an old can of the paint. I took it to Sherwin Williams, and they matched it. It’s a dill green, and we just love it.”
After COVID hit, Pam and Tom moved in full-time. Although she continues to work from home, traveling a lot for her job with Flowers Baking Company, she started to think about what’s next. Tom retired and has begun dabbling in real estate, and Misty just retired after teaching 25 years at Albertville High School. Shane still works with Birmingham Pistol Wholesale, but he and Misty recently opened The Gun Exchange in Ashville. They also are busy working on the farm.
“Over the years, we all had conversations about what we’re going to do in retirement,” Pam said. “I decided I might give Airbnb a try. At the time, there were no Airbnbs in Ashville, so I got on the website and started playing around with a listing. I accidentally posted it, though, and the next day I woke up to a booking. I had to get myself together really quickly.”
Waterfront outdoor chess setup
Even though the house is their full-time home, they’ve rented it out many times since. They have an RV, and “as soon as someone books the house, we book a camping trip,” she said. “We didn’t have this in mind when we built, but it’s really turned out perfectly.”
Guests love fishing off the dock, drinking coffee on the wraparound porch, playing with the giant lawn chess set and watching outdoor movies on the screen and projector she provides. “We’ve really got it set up like a model home,” Pam said. “We pretty much just use the kitchen, master bedroom and the sunporch, and we live out of three closets” that they lock when guests come. The rest of the house is ready all the time, so they only have to get three rooms ready before guests arrive, and they head for the woods.
After traveling her whole career, she had lots of ideas about what guests need and want. All of her jobs have developed her customer service skills, and her attention to detail and love for hosting makes it the perfect fit. “It’s like I’ve been training for this my whole life,” she said.
She and Tom also own a commercial building in Gadsden and Airbnb the loft above it. They bought the lot next door to their lake cottage, and Pam said she would love to one day build another home there. “I have to keep reminding myself that I ‘m trying to retire, not build an empire,” Pam said.
Although all the changes – the cottage bookings and Misty and Shane’s work at the farm – cut into their Saturday Night Supper Club schedule, they know they’ll continue to find a way to make it work. N future recipes, they’ll soon be able to use beef raised at Moonlight Farm and vegetables from the garden Misty plans to plant.
“I’ve never had a major garden before,” Misty said, and she’s dreaming big. She plans to plant tomatoes, squash, corn, okra, beans, carrots, a variety of lettuces and strawberries. “As a child, I used to love to go out in my grandmother’s garden and pick strawberries.”
One thing is for certain, there’s still lots of cooking and Saturday night gatherings in their future. No matter what changes come, they’ll continue to do what they’ve been doing for nearly two decades. “We’ll all get in the kitchen and see how it turns out,” Pam said.
Short Rib Lasagna
Recipe of Giada de Laurentiis, shared on The Today Show
Ingredients:
Ribs
2 tablespoons olive oil
2½ pounds beef short ribs
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
1 onion, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 4-inch sprigs fresh rosemary
2 cups red wine, such as Pinot Noir
2 cups beef broth
Filling Mixture
1½ cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
1½ cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese (6 ounces)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)
1 small bunch Tuscan kale, ribs removed and chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
Additional Ingredients
12 uncooked lasagna noodles (about 10 ounces)
Butter for greasing the baking dish
1 25-ounce jar marinara sauce
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Olive oil for drizzling
Directions:
Cook the ribs: In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Season the ribs with salt and pepper. Add the ribs to the pan and cook for about 4 minutes each side until brown. Remove the ribs and set aside. Add the onion, garlic and rosemary. Season with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook for 5 minutes until the onions are translucent and soft. Increase the heat to high. Add the wine and scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the beef broth and ribs to the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pan and cook for 2½ to 3 hours until the meat is very tender. Remove the ribs and set aside until cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes. Discard the bones and cooking liquid. Using two forks, shred the meat into 2-inch-long pieces (to yield approximately 2¼ cups shredded meat).
Make the filling: In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the milk and cream to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low. Add the cheeses and whisk until melted, and the sauce is smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the kale, basil and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
Cook the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Assemble: Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°. Butter a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. Spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Lay 3 noodles over the marinara. Spread 1/3 of the Filling Mixture evenly over the noodles. Sprinkle with a 1/3 of the shredded short ribs. Repeat with the remaining noodles and filling, making three layers of filling and ending with pasta. Spoon the remaining marinara sauce on top and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and bake until the lasagna is heated through and the cheese is beginning to brown, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before serving.
Easy Skillet Apple Pie
From Southern Living
Ingredients:
2 pounds Granny Smith apples
2 pounds Braeburn apples
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 (14.1-oz.) package refrigerated piecrusts
1 egg white
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Butter-pecan ice cream (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Peel apples and cut into ½-inch-thick wedges. Toss apples with cinnamon and ¾ cup granulated sugar. Melt butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat; add brown sugar and cook, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, and place 1 piecrust in skillet over brown sugar mixture. Spoon apple mixture over piecrust; top with remaining piecrust. Whisk egg white until foamy. Brush top of piecrust with egg white; sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar. Cut 4 or 5 slits in top for steam to escape.Bake at 350ºF for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Use aluminum foil to shield for last 10 minutes to prevent excessive browning, if necessary. Cool on a wire rack 30 minutes before serving. Serve with butter-pecan ice cream, if desired.
Katheryne Anna Tucker, known better around these parts as “Kat,” was more than a business owner serving up a tasty breakfast at her restaurant, The Kitchen. She and her Kitchen became iconic, a tradition that lasted 23 years.
She passed away in May, and The Kitchen is now dark.
Kat had nurtured it into a neighborhood gathering place where she knew your name – and your order – when you walked in the door. Walk through that door once, and you were no longer a stranger, only a friend she added to her ever-growing list.
At community steak dinner night
“She made people feel like they belonged, and everyone who ate at The Kitchen was treated like family,” her memoriam stated. “She remembered everything about everyone, who their family was, what they did for a living, birthdays, anniversaries and of course, what everyone liked to eat.”
I will miss my own Sunday morning Eggs Benedict, home fries and sliced tomatoes that seemed to taste like “summer tomatoes” year-round. All I had to do was call, and she would answer the phone with “Eggs Benedict, Miss Carol?”
I, like so many others, felt special because it was important to her to remember what we liked. She always had candy for the kids and treats for the dogs and tips for stories for me. It was not unusual to see her head out from the grill for a moment, walk outside to a truck to serve a four-legged friend a side of bacon while he waited on his owner to return. She was like that. All had a special place in her heart.
Regulars even had their own personalized coffee cups hanging in a place of honor. Just like their own kitchen, they would grab ‘their’ cup and ready it for a pour of Kat’s savory coffee.
Regulars always had a place to discuss issues of the day
Her giving ways went well beyond the doors of the kitchen. Charities, church activities, school functions, Animal Savers, Lions Club, Civitans, Fishes and Loaves Ministries and Scrollworks Music School, where her daughter taught, all were on the receiving end of Kat’s generosity.
Her work ethic was unparalleled. She was the ultimate multi-tasker. One only had to observe a typical breakfast rush to see evidence of that.
A veteran, she served in the U.S. Army. Sometimes, she would display that toughness no doubt learned from that military background, but that tough exterior never could disguise the big heart that resided within.
It is with much sadness to see The Kitchen’s empty restaurant and parking lot these days. It is a reminder of the loss for our community, not just in terms of a neighborhood restaurant we’d grown to love but because in so many ways the center of it made us all feel special.
The Kitchen may have gone dark, but the memory of Kat behind the grill, carrying on multiple conversations with customers while turning out one perfect breakfast after another is a light that won’t soon be dimmed.
Local artist adds splash of color to Coosa River Community
Story by Roxann Edsall Photos by Richard Rybka
It’s not unusual to see postage stamps celebrating art and history, but the city of Riverside has taken the celebration to a new level. Even their post office building is a piece of art, one that invites visitors to picture themselves enjoying what the city has to offer.
As the first hints of summer weather invited visitors to the lake, local artist Penny Arnold put the finishing touches on a mural that welcomes both visitors and residents to the sleepy town on the banks of Logan Martin Lake. On Highway 57, just past the fire station and City Hall, you’ll see the 40-foot mural covering the exterior side wall of the post office.
The building, which used to be a grocery store, has served as the post office since the impounding of the lake in 1964. Originally owned by former mayor W.A. “Bill” Coleman, the largely brick structure also houses Local Sister, a home décor store operated by his great granddaughter, Maddie Cochran.
Coleman’s daughter and Maddie’s grandmother, Cynthia Coleman Cochran, now owns the building and approves of the facelift the historic building has received. “I was worried at first about the bright colors,” said Cochran. “But I really like it. I think it gives us something else interesting in Riverside. And it’s fun for people to take pictures by it.”
Penny shows off an osprey in the mural
The distinctive railroad truss bridge is the crown jewel of the panorama adorning the building’s facade. The iconic bridge was built in 1927 and was modified to accommodate the creation of the lake. It is a central part of the history of Riverside, a community that needed the railroad to support the sawmill and logging industry that drove the town’s economy in its early days.
Celebrating that landmark and the surrounding beauty of the lake is central to the goals established by the Riverside Beautification Organization (RBO), which commissioned the mural. The RBO funded the project with grant money from a local business, Charity Steel, which gives a percentage of their profits each year to a local 501(c)3 organization.
RBO President Julie Pounders says the mural is part of their mission to spruce up the city. “We’ve wanted to do a mural for a long time,” she says, adding that she is already looking for a location to add another one in the future.
This one was over seven months in the making from start date to completion. Since paint doesn’t dry well in cold weather, Arnold wasn’t able to do much in the colder months. She says the cumulative time spent on the project was about four weeks.
Arnold is a former English teacher turned art teacher, who now teaches art part time at Duran Junior High School. She has worked with stained glass, mosaic, drawing and sculpture, primarily, but had not done a mural before. She had already been refining her skills in painting by taking classes by noted local artist Nettie Bean. When she was offered the chance to paint the mural, she jumped at it. Her first step was researching the kind of paint to use on the primarily brick façade.
Acrylic masonry paint was the medium she settled on. Application was by paintbrushes and bunched up plastic bags for texture. She added a paint sprayer to her tool belt to blend the sky colors. Safety tools included a stepladder for the higher reaches and an umbrella for sun protection.
“Painting is so many layers,” Arnold explained. “We wanted it to be bold, bright and colorful. When we started, it was just swaths of color and people wondered what we were doing. As it started coming together, people began stopping to tell me how much they loved it.
Riverside’s iconic railroad bridge
“Do you know how tough it is to paint straight lines on brick?,” Arnold added. “It was a challenge in painting the railroad bridge because bricks are not a flat surface.”
In addition to the railroad bridge, the landscape art includes fishermen and kayakers, a nod to the leisure activities and tournaments popular in the area. Large, white American Lotus flowers, native to the ponds in nearby Riverside Park, are also featured in the painting. Arnold included sunset colors in the sky to capture the beauty of evening on the lake. She admits to having a bit of trouble with the osprey. “At first, it didn’t look quite right,” she said. “Julie, the RBO president, knows a lot about birds and was able to give me suggestions that helped bring it around.”
Arnold had some friends help, too. When she was initially covering the building with large areas of color, she invited friends from her church, Pell City First United Methodist, whom she called the “Joy and Color Brigade,” to come and paint the base layers.
The colorful mural has certainly given Riverside residents another reason to be proud of their city. According to Riverside Post Office employee Honey Waters, people come to her window frequently to give compliments about it. “A lot of people seem to like it. In fact,” she added, “just a couple of days ago, I watched a group of people stop and take their picture by it.”
Arnold hopes she will be able to do more murals in and around the area. “It’s given me so much joy to see the happiness it brings people in the community when they drive by. Every community deserves to have something that encourages pride in their city.” The artist has certainly delivered that.
