Facebook seeks to bring community together

Story by Roxann Edsall
Submitted Photos

Does anyone know a good pet sitter? Can anyone send me a picture of the water level on Treadwell Island? Are there alligators in Logan Martin?

When people want answers to these and so many other questions on and around Logan Martin Lake, often they turn to their phones and computers. Just a quick search or post on Love Logan Martin Lake Facebook group and an answer is just moments away.

Want to know where to get fresh blueberries? Need a reference from someone who has had a good experience with an area plumber? Or maybe you want to let everyone know about a great band playing next weekend on the lake. Get it out there to the community in a few easy clicks.

With more than 14,000 members, the Facebook page keeps three administrators busy checking out 10 to 20 posts a day from people wanting to share on the social media site. Even more time is spent checking out potential members to be sure they are somehow connected to the lake.

“We try to keep it classy, keep it informative and keep it relevant,” says page creator and administrator Rebel Negley. They do not allow political posts, spam, business advertising or profanity. “I would say 99% of the time they follow the rules,” she adds. “If we consistently see a problem, we add a rule. We just want it to be a place where you can find peace. While we don’t allow businesses themselves to post, it’s fine to get recommendations from people who have used those particular services.”

What they do is connect people around the Logan Martin Lake community. Having grown up coming to the lake, she has a deep love for it and all that it means to the community. Negley admits that many of the posts are pretty simple – people looking for restaurants on the lake or wanting to know the time of the holiday fireworks.

The greater purpose is to develop relationships with others who love Logan Martin. “We like it to be like family,” says Negley. “There have been times when we’ve heard about deaths within the families in the group. Or the time we had a family who had a house fire. They were pretty much taken care of by the community through the information received and disseminated on our page.”

Negley has lived on Coosa Island for 20 years, the last 17 with her husband, Michael. Her daughter and grandchildren live in Louisville, Ky.

She credits the members with the growth of the group. “The people have made the group, not me,” she says. “They are so willing to interact with others and so willing to share their pictures or their help.”

People who have houses on the lake but don’t live on Logan Martin full time often post asking how the lake levels look during storms. Before and after floods, people look out for others’ homes and property by posting pictures of found items and of potentially dangerous conditions.

“During weather emergencies in particular, I think people rely on crowdsourcing through our site,” says Negley, adding that it helps to have people post pictures if a homeowner is not able to see the situation firsthand.

“I get comments all the time asking to thank the people who have helped others on the lake,” says Negley. “It’s one of my favorite parts of doing this. It’s a testament to how generous and hospitable our residents are.”

There are two other administrators who help with the job of managing the private Facebook group. Each one spends many hours a month reviewing posts to ensure they are relevant and appropriate.

Carol Meadows began helping after Negley had a heart attack a few years ago. David Smith helped for several years but has since gotten busy with other interests. Later, Priscilla Willingham jumped in to help.

Group experts Tim Badgwell and Carl Wallace help out in answering questions on a variety of subjects. A map Wallace created is pinned to the page so that newcomers to the lake can easily find landmarks. Wallace also contributes by updating people about flood concerns and about the higher winter lake level beginning this year.

It’s the place to go when you need lake information or want to share something going on around the lake. Member Kelli Lasseter used the platform to start a thread this fall that resulted in a pier-to-pier trick or treating event for community children.

Over the last two years, there have been many posts about the Christmas boat parade that a local couple started. This year, that family will not be able to participate, so the buzz on the site is that with the higher winter water levels, other boat owners will be making sure the Christmas boat parade goes on. Activities like these create a positive buzz about the lake, its community and its people – all parts of the goal of the Love Logan Martin Lake group.

Many posts each day are simply sharing the beauty of the lake. One post is a series of sunset photos for others “in case you missed it.” Another post announces, “These sunsets at Logan Martin never get old.”

There’s even a cover photo contest where members can submit photos to be used as the group’s cover photo for a month. They must be original photographs from the person submitting, in a horizontal format and posted as a comment under the monthly photo contest post.

“Connecting as a community is important,” emphasizes Negley. “We’re a lake family. We love the water and are connected by it. It’s a great way to get the lake community information out there and to be unified toward a cause.”

That question about alligators in Logan Martin Lake is a favorite for Negley, who adds, “We’ve gone round and round with that one. I’ve looked and looked and still haven’t found any. But that topic comes up every year.”

That’s not to say alligators couldn’t be on the lake, though. A definitive answer comes from Marianne Gauldin of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife and Fisheries, who states, “Although they are more numerous in the southern half of the state, they should be expected in any lake or river. Logan Martin Lake provides suitable alligator habitat and would not be unusual for an alligator to be seen there.”

So, be cautious and post if you see any.

Rebuilt playground opens at Pell City’s Logan Martin Lakeside Park

Story by Eryn Ellard
Photos by Graham Hadley

As an early August sun set on Lakeside Park, a new beginning officially rose for a 20-year-old landmark – the grand reopening of Kids Kastle.

The project was first put into motion at the beginning of the year, and through months of collaboration and design work, along with long days in the triple digits by city employees, the new playground was ready – and so were hundreds of local children.

Pell City Mayor Bill Pruitt gave the inaugural speech, saying that there were many in attendance who were kids back when the original Kids Kastle was built in the early 2000s. Now, those same children are all grown up and were there with their children.

Seven-year-old Cam Williams cut the ribbon along with the mayor, and it was officially time to play. Several new features have been added to the park, including many new swings and rubber mulch walkways throughout, swings and features for disabled visitors, plus new slides.

The layout and the “face” of the park remain the same. Pell City Parks and Recreation Director Bubba Edge said the city’s vision was to keep the original face of the park the same. “We wanted to keep the face of Kids Kastle the same as it has always been all these years,” Edge said. “It is something that all people recognize when they come to our city.” Edge noted that it was also important to keep elements of the old park the same because when people are looking to come to our city, one of the first things they look at is the city parks and things that are available for kids.

After an hour or more of running, climbing, bouncing and spinning, the kids and parents were ready for some refreshments. Southern Snow Shaved Ice passed out over 300 snow cones, and the city prepared hundreds of hotdogs, pounds of popcorn and cold drinks for those in attendance with the police chief and fire chief manning the grill.

Pell City resident Rachel White said it was such a special occasion for her and her 4-year-old twins. “I can remember coming here when I would summer with my grandparents,” White said. “Now we live here, and my girls will get to have great childhood memories here, too.”

Pell City Councilman Jay Jenkins thanked all the employees who spent hours of their time, during inclement weather and in the blistering heat to get the project done on time. “Many of our employees were out here, often times when they probably shouldn’t have been, to make sure this thing came together,” Jenkins said.

With ceremonial duties out of the way, speeches made and the ribbon cut, children rushed into their new playground, already making new memories at the new Kids Kastle.

The kingdom an entire community built

Story by Carol Papps
Photos submitted

Much like an armed force swiftly swooping in to save the day, this army of volunteers – 2,000 of them – descended on a 3-acre patch of ground at Pell City Lakeside Park 21 years ago, building an entire playground in less than a week.

Lawyers, judges, bankers, clerks, factory workers, construction crewmen, hourly wage earners, parents, single people – they were all there, even the kids themselves. They were part of the force, armed with tools of the trade under the command of experienced contractors. Shift after shift all week long, they rolled up their sleeves and toiled until it was all done by Sunday afternoon.

What rose from that patch of dirt was nothing short of a wonderland, a kid’s dream come true. There was a pirate ship, a swinging bridge, slides, swings, just about everything imaginable. And for 21 years, imaginations of generations of children ran unfettered in this magical place called Kids Kastle.

It all started months before when Elizabeth Bit Thomaston asked the pivotal question, ‘What if?’ She had visited Madison in north Alabama and saw a playground built by the community. She was so enamored with it, she wondered if it could happen in Pell City.

It could. And it did.

She was executive assistant to then Metro Bank vice president, the late Don Perry, at the time. She went to then President Ray Cox, who also passed away several years ago, seeking his support. He told her if she would do the research and determine if the community would support, he would back her 100 percent.

“I did about a year’s worth of research,” she recalled. She discussed prospects and plans with Leathers and Associates, a company out of New York that specialized in these projects. “I felt like we could do it in Pell City. It’s the kind of community that would support it, that cared about kids.”

She described that year of planning, strategizing, organizing and unleashing an army of volunteers marching toward a single goal as nearly a full-time – all with the backing of Cox and Perry.

The kids really designed it, she said. She and others went into every school asking students what they wanted. As the kids talked about their dream playground – pirate ships and castles – Leathers’ representatives were present to translate their imagination into a design.

Thomaston, with key help from now retired Circuit Judge Bill Hereford, Michele Seay and Kay Adams, organized ‘the troops’ into committees – Public Relations, Tools, Food – about a dozen in all. There were captains commanding each. “To my mind, it was easily the best civic project I’ve ever been involved in,” said Hereford, a former mayor himself.

“There were 2,000 volunteers. It was phenomenal,” Thomaston said.

Businesses, individuals and organizations stepped forward with funding for various pieces of play equipment. Sponsored wooden pickets, bearing the names of families and children – even those who weren’t quite here yet, bordered the playground, significantly helping shoulder the cost. One picket bore the name “Baby Minor.” That would now be Abby Minor, the daughter of District Judge Robert and Christy Minor, a student at Auburn University. Christy was pregnant with her when the playground was being planned.

Thomaston can relate. She was pregnant with Andrew, now 22, when she visited that Madison playground that sparked it all.

Time for work!

All walks of life working side-by-side, reported for work on Tuesday, Oct. 16, with only one common purpose in mind – the kids. By Sunday, Oct. 21, they were holding an historic opening ceremony for the about to be christened, Kids Kastle.

It had been barely a month since terrorists crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, a time of great tragedy for the country as a whole. Hope was a precious commodity in the days that followed the attack.

But Pell City’s band of volunteers were determined hope would not be lost here at home. “The country was in turmoil,” Thomaston said. “Everybody was scared. We said let’s do this for the kids and show them all is not lost, that we see a future for our kids, hope for the future, and they don’t have to be afraid.”

It was a legacy of love that lived on for more than two decades and now has new life thanks to the city and good corporate citizens making sure Kids Kastle remains central to countless childhood memories.                        

Many of those who played integral roles in its creation have since passed away, but Thomaston wanted to make sure they, too, are remembered. The money left in original Kids Kastle account was donated in their memory to the city to help rebuild the park: Ray Cox, Don Perry, Ann Day and Bob Day, Curtis and Deanna Capps, Leo Lynch, Gene Morris, Judy Potter, Tim Sweezey, Faye Bivens, Doug Walker and Lance Stella.

They, like so many others, gave of themselves because it was all about the kids. “It took us all – all of our families supporting us,” she said.

Former Mayor Guin Robinson couldn’t agree more. “I have worked on a lot of community projects in my adult life, and I was proud to be a part of them. But this one had a special place all by itself,” he said, emotion evident in his voice as he recounted it. “It was a seminal moment in the history of our community. It was a coming together and becoming a part of something bigger than all of us. I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere.”

He talked of Thomaston’s vision and a community’s will to make it happen. “It’s part of Pell City’s DNA,” Robinson said. “Pell City really is a ‘can do’ place. Everybody had their job, and no job was more important than any other job. I really can’t describe how special it was.”

To Robinson, the memory of it brings to mind an adage that suits the occasion like well-tailored clothing. It just fits. “Volunteers don’t get paid because they’re worthless but because they’re priceless.” At the heart of the entire project was the people, the volunteers.

When officials and organizers worried whether enough workers would show up, “It grew each day,” he said. “Nothing ever wavered.” Inmates worked alongside bankers and lawyers – “there was pride on everyone’s face.”

Calling it a “generational project,” Robinson spoke of its evolution over the years. First was letting the kids design it. “Who better to tell you what they want than kids? Artist Ann Day painted murals. Families with their own kids now would come back to the place they played as a kid. The community built Kids Kastle. When hands touch that, it becomes very personal.”

And a community coming together around a playground became the perfect pairing. “A playground is one of your first and lasting memories,” Robinson said. “The pickets the families purchased were so meaningful. The concept was brilliant. Everyone had a place at Kids Kastle. It was everyone’s equally.”

Robinson likened it to the early days of barn raising, where the whole community comes out to build their neighbor a barn. “The neighbor gets the barn, but what do you get?” It’s that community spirit of neighbor helping neighbor, expecting nothing in return. “It’s a reminder of why we lived there.”

“It was pretty amazing” – 2,000 volunteers, a $150,000+ playground, generations of kids just being kids, letting their imaginations guide them in play, Thomaston said. “There’s never been a project like that in our community. I don’t think there ever will be again.”

Community rallies around neighbors in need

Story by Roxann Edsall
Photos by Richard Rybka

The first visitor arrives and pulls his vehicle straight up to the lake. For the next 25 minutes, they parade in, each vehicle slowly pulling up and easing in next to the one before.

They’re here for church, but no one gets out of their vehicles. At this church, there are no pews. Members participate in church from the golf carts that brought them here. There are no walls, no building to this church. There is something more – a solidarity of spirit and community that serves as their cornerstone.

Their mission is simple: Love God and love people. Members at Lake Church at Logan Landing Cabin and RV Resort in Alpine are living out this mission in their community by staying connected and looking for ways to love their neighbors.

Faith in action

Just before Labor Day one year ago, they had the opportunity to do that in a big way. It was in the early morning, way before dawn on Sept. 3 when resident Brenda Sanders was awakened. She thought she was dreaming, but it turns out the nightmare was real. The home she shared with her husband, Newt, was on fire.

He had fallen asleep in his recliner, so she ran to wake him. Her eyes confessing the terror of that moment, she tells the story. “He told me to get my purse with the car keys so we could move the car. He said it was too late for the house. About that time, the fire came into the living room from the outside wall. We got outside, and I ran to my neighbor’s house and yelled for her to call 911.”

Meanwhile, Lake Church pastor Tommy Hebert, who lives just across the lake, also awoke unexpectedly that morning. He heard something and walked outside and along his deck. When he reached the outside corner, he saw the fire across the lake.

He called 911, then grabbed his boots and shirt and jumped in his golf cart, racing toward the burning home. Seeing the Sanders family safely outside, he and another resident, a retired firefighter from Illinois, battled the flames with hoses until the fire department arrived.

Love thy neighbor

Neighbor Bob Thornton lives next door to the Sanders. He woke up that morning to the sound of an explosion. He got outside in time to see another neighbor going into the burning structure to get the Sanders’ dog.

The 12-year-old dachshund, officially named Oreo, was an owner surrender they rescued a decade earlier. “Boss,” as they most often call him, was rescued that night for the second time.

By daybreak, the Sanders’ had lost their home and everything in it. Immediately, Newt started calling for estimates to remove the mess. “I had checked to get prices on the clean-up, and it was over $10,000. Insurance wasn’t even going to cover half of that,” Newt explained. “Before I knew it, there were people everywhere picking things up and putting them in the dumpster. They were like ants everywhere.”

Hebert, who works in construction, had called some contacts and gotten dumpsters and debris-removal equipment brought in. He and co-pastor, David Eason, rallied the neighbors. “We had probably 20-25 people out here who came to help with demo,” says Tommy. “But it wasn’t just demo labor. Lake Church members brought food and cards. They listened and prayed.”

“As soon as we got outside, we saw neighbors coming to help,” says Brenda. “They were all there for us, holding us, crying with us and praying with us.” This wasn’t the first time the church had been there to help them through tragedy. They’d just buried their grown son one week earlier.

Pastor David and his wife, Deborah, know that pain all too well. They lost their son in a car accident just over a year ago. The Lake Church covered them with meals and support. “Tommy had asked me if he could pray for us that Sunday in church. He was going up to pray, but got really quiet, then asked me to come up and lead us in prayer,” said pastor David.

“Tommy apologized for putting me on the spot, but from that point on, we got even closer. Then one day a few weeks later, Tommy told me I’d be giving the message in a few weeks. I still get pretty nervous every time. I have this cross in my pocket that I’ve almost rubbed the words off.” The two now share preaching duties.

On this Sunday, the prayer concerns take 10 minutes, as David lists out each family who has had hard times this week or continues to need prayers. “It’s not about us or anything that we’re doing,” he says. “It’s about what God can do through us.”

“The church is not about the building; it’s about the people,” echoes pastor Tommy. “Most of the people in this community are over 50 and on a fixed income. So, we just try to help people and lessen their financial burdens.” We want to be the hands and feet of God.”

The church has no staff and no bills to pay. “No one takes a dime. Every dime goes back to help people,” says Tommy. “We pay medical bills, groceries, funeral expenses, utility bills. We’ve even replaced water heaters.”

Fostering fellowship

They like to have fun together, too. The board plans activities outside of Sunday morning church to help build relationships within the community. They do barbeques, potlucks, holiday gatherings and dinners at local restaurants.

Church services are held every other Sunday at Lake Church. Many residents are members of other churches, many a fair distance away. Newt and Brenda Sanders drive 37 miles to Newsite Baptist Church in Stewartville on the Sundays that Lake Church is not open.

Sandra and Mike Dupree moved here four months ago. They are members of a church in Sycamore, but love going to Lake Church in their golf cart.

Mike and Brenda Gardner are seasonal residents and live in Trussville when not on the lake. “We’re out on the lake pretty much the whole summer, and we didn’t have a church out here,” says Brenda. “I was excited when they started having services out here. It’s so nice to be able to come as you are. You don’t have to be fancy or look a certain way. We’re all on the same level. It’s more of a family.”

“We just love people where they’re at,” emphasizes pastor Tommy. “Life is just messy.” He admits his own path to the pulpit took a rocky route.

Having given his life to Christ at seven years old, he says life’s challenges led him to run from God when he was 26. He moved to Florida and fully embraced the surfer life, referring to himself as a “real beach dude, complete with earrings and ankle bracelet.”

When he came back to Alabama, he met pastor Danny Duvall at Christian Life Church and rededicated his life. Danny mentored him then and continues to encourage him today.

“They’ve just shared the teaching and the leadership in such a humble way,” says pastor Danny. “It’s not about personality or brand building. It’s about the Lord and the community. It’s a model that I wish most churches could see.”

Having church within a residential community is a different model, explains Tommy. “We live with our congregation. We don’t go home from our church. We live it. But we get blessed more than we bless others.”

Tommy and David hope to inspire other lakeside communities to start their own lake churches. “There are groups of people out at the lake enjoying it and partying pretty hard. Maybe they don’t have a church,” said Tommy. “Many times, people are at the lake on the weekends in the summer and miss church,” adds David. “They could get together and worship in their own community.”

The Lake Church family has continued to lift up and help the Sanders family in their rebuilding efforts. They don’t have an answer to what started the fire, but Newt was able to purchase a new cabin and have it moved to the old home’s location.

Final work on the deck and interior painting has just been completed. Newt still has the invoice he received after the demolition was completed. Eyes welling up with tears, he proudly recites it from memory. “Paid in full by God.”

Cooking with the Hartleys on Logan Martin Lake

Story by Scottie Vickery
Photos by Kelsey Bain

A sign at the water’s edge of Donna and Lee Hartley’s Logan Martin Lake home offers a greeting to visitors, as well as the couple’s only rules. “Welcome to our Cottage,” the sign reads. “Relax, Unwind, Enjoy.”

It’s a simple philosophy, but it’s one that the Hartleys have embraced in the four years they’ve lived in the cozy three-story retreat. They’ve renovated the home and created an outdoor wonderland where the retirees enjoy the peace and quiet, in addition to their brand-new hobbies. “It’s perfect for us,” said Donna, who has taken up gardening while Lee has become an avid kayaker. “It’s so peaceful, and we love just being still and being appreciative.”

The Hartleys, who were high school sweethearts in Mobile and dated for a decade, have been married for 38 years. They lived in Moody for most of that time and had their eye on the Clear Creek home for years before making it their own. They first discovered it during the 15 years they had a camper at Powell’s Hideaway before deciding to downsize and make lake life a permanent state of mind during retirement.

“We rode all through these sloughs,” Donna said. “I kept telling Lee, ‘I want that house.’ ” Lee promised to make it a reality. “I kept telling her, ‘One of these days, I’m going to knock on their door, and I’m going to buy that house for you,’” he said.

When they finally got serious about looking, the house had come on the market, and he took her there one day. This time, however, they went by car, so Donna didn’t realize where they were. “Go down to the water,” Lee told her, and that’s when the realization that they were at her dream home finally dawned.

Reflecting their style

Although she’d loved the house from afar for years, Donna and Lee both realized some changes were in store. “The inside was set up like a lodge, and I told Lee, “We’ve bought a Holiday Inn,’” Donna said with a laugh. “Everything was very vanilla, but we’d redone two houses and knew we could eventually make it ours.”

One major focus was the kitchen. “It had to go,” said Lee, who is the cook in the family. “I like Cajun food the best. I love to cook it, and I love to eat it. One of my favorite dishes is to put crawfish etouffee over a grilled steak.”

He comes by it honestly. Lee, who followed in his father’s footsteps, worked offshore as chief engineer on supply boats and as a commercial fisherman for most of his career. As a result, “I lived in Louisiana off and on for most of my life. Dad worked over there, and we moved there during the summer to be closer to him. I learned to cook when I was 13,” he said.

In order to work his magic, “the whole kitchen had to be reconfigured,” Lee said. The original design had a small peninsula with the sink under the kitchen window. “You couldn’t open the cabinets in the peninsula unless the oven door was open,” he said.

Now, the peninsula is gone, making way for a table that Donna loves to set with china that’s been handed down in Lee’s family for generations. The sink is in a large island, and the cabinets across the back of the kitchen have been extended. A quartz countertop and a subway tile backsplash have been added, and the result is a cheery, sunny space that’s perfect for gatherings.

“It’s more convenient now and much more usable now,” Lee said. The only thing missing is about 40 cabinets. “We had 60 cabinets in the kitchen in our old home, and we’re down to about 20,” said Donna, adding that the home where they raised their daughter, Victoria, was about 3,700 square feet while this house is about 1,800. “When I say we downsized, I mean we downsized.”

Even their furniture was larger at their previous home – too large, in fact, to fit in their new space. “This house has all 8-foot ceilings and our other house had 10-foot ceilings,” Donna said. “We couldn’t even get some of my armoires in the house because the doors were so small. We had to enlarge the door just to get the appliances in.”

One thing they made sure they had room for was a collection of old mirrors that hold sentimental value for the couple. “Between his family and mine, we had a lot,” she said. “I just love old mirrors.” Their daughter gave the collection new life with chalk paint and wax, and Donna said the result is an even better reflection of their more casual, relaxed lifestyle.

Although the cottage has three floors, the lower level is home for Lee’s 98-year-old mother. His parents moved in with the Hartleys about 18 years ago, and Lee’s father passed away three years ago at 95. “Dad lived offshore all those years. He never lived on the water and always wanted to,” Lee said. “He enjoyed it a year or so before he passed away.” Now, the arrangement gives Lee’s mom her privacy, a separate patio and a beautiful view of the lake.

The great outdoors

The view is something they never get tired of, Donna said. While the water is the main attraction, the outdoor oasis the Hartleys have created has taken things to a whole new level.

“When I retired, I took on planting flowers,” said Donna, who worked for AT&T for 30 years before leaving the corporate world a year and a half ago. “I’d never planted anything before, but Lee bought me two landscaping books.” Donna loves color, and she has since created beautiful beds filled with lantana, dwarf crape myrtles, Mexican heather, daylilies and other flowering plants.

Lee set the stage for her gardens with all the yard work he did the first year they were in the home. He leveled the yard, laid sod and removed bushes that were hiding the house. “He dug up 28 holly bushes,” Donna said. “You couldn’t even see the bottom porch or the railing.

Although the yard is a focal point, there’s one feature in the water that catches the attention of boaters, especially boats filled with children. A whimsical cement dragon, which has been in the water for decades, came with the house and has become a favorite of the Hartleys. “I bet it weights three tons,” Lee said. A neighbor, who is an artist, is going to paint the dragon when the water level is lowered this fall, he said.

Now that the hard work of creating their own little piece of paradise is done, the Hartleys are able to enjoy what they’ve created together. “We love to sit on the porch, even when it’s raining, and we eat dinner out here a lot,” Donna said.

They’ve also recently created an outdoor living room under the carport, complete with comfortable seating and a fountain, which Lee’s mother particularly enjoys. They’re planning on adding a television and creating a fun ceiling from either tin or old, colorful shutters, Donna said.

“We sit out here in the mornings,” she said. “I’ve got my Diet Coke, and he’s out here with his coffee.” Although they toyed with the idea of turning the space into an outdoor kitchen, they quickly decided they’d enjoy the extra living area more. “We didn’t want to have another kitchen to clean,” Donna said.

That’s not to say they don’t enjoy cooking out; Lee grills three or four times a week, cooking everything from steaks to marinated chicken or pork chops. “I grill a lot of vegetables,” he said, adding that he loves a good charcoal fire. “There’s more flavor when you use charcoal.”

Although they enjoy their outdoor living spaces, some of their favorite times are down by the water. Lee used to love fly fishing, but now he’s spending much more time on his new hobby: kayaking. “I’m in the water at 5:30 every morning,” he said. “I’ve been from here to the dam and back,” a total of about 8 miles.

Donna, especially, loves listening to the birds – a sound she compares to a symphony. “It’s just delightful to sit out early in the morning before anyone is up and outside,” she said. “The water is so still and peaceful, and you can sit and listen to the birds and appreciate the be beautiful work of God. We feel so blessed and thankful.”

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Crawfish Etouffee

• 3 pounds crawfish tail, peeled
• 2 bell peppers, chopped
• ½ cup crawfish fat
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 cup parsley, chopped
• 1 bunch of celery, chopped
• 2 cups green onion, chopped
• 1 cup flour
• 3 tbsp roasted mashed garlic
• 1 cup oil
• Cajun seasoning to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp paprika
• Water, as needed

Slowly stirring flour and oil over a medium flame, make a light, golden-brown roux. Add all of the chopped onion, garlic, peppers, celery and parsley; cook until onions are tender. Add crawfish and fat. Cook for 20 minutes. Add very little water, stirring slowly and adding just a little at a time. Etouffee should begin to thicken up. Once it’s thick, add salt, pepper, paprika and seasoning to taste. Serve over white rice and garnish with green onions. NOTE: Shrimp, lump crab or chicken can be used as a substitute for crawfish tails and fat.

From Chef Jeff Warner, St. Francisville, La.

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Cajun Seafood Gumbo

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup oil
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 2 large bell peppers, chopped
• 1 bunch of celery, chopped
• 1 pound pork tasso
• Mashed roasted garlic
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced
• 15 cloves
• ½ gallon water
• Cayenne pepper and salt to taste
• 1 cup dried shrimp
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• Louisiana hot sauce to taste
• ½ cup chopped parsley
• 2 pounds small shrimp
• 1 pound lump crab meat
• 1 pound crawfish tails
• Cajun seasoning to taste

In a gumbo pot, mix oil and flour on high to medium heat to make a chocolate-colored roux. Add onions, peppers, celery and garlic and sauté well. Stir in tasso and cook for 2 minutes, then add water. Stir well and cook for 1 hour, seasoning occasionally to taste. Add parsley and dried shrimp during this procedure as well. Add shrimp after gumbo cooks for an hour, then cook an additional 20 minutes. Add crawfish tails and lump crabmeat. Cook for an additional 30 minutes. Add green onions, season, and serve over fluffy, white rice.

From Susan Clark, New Iberia, La.