LOGAN MARTIN NEWS – Page 11 – LakeLife 24/7 Magazine

Snow Biz served on the water

When adults pull their boats up to one of Snobiz Shaved Ice’s floating vessels, they act like they are just buying for their kids. It doesn’t take long, however, for them to order some for themselves.

“They see how good they look and taste their kids’ cones, and they get one, too,” says Matt Kronen, co-owner of Snobiz. “Everybody likes a treat on a hot day.”

Kronen and his business partner, Tarang Gandhakwla, started selling shaved ice or snow cones on Logan Martin Lake four years ago. Their “fleet” consists of two boats. For one, Kronen took an old pontoon boat, tore it down to its frame and rebuilt it. They purchased an existing snow cone boat that had been used on Lake Martin already. One of their boats is yellow and is anchored at the mouth of Clear Creek on the main channel. The orange boat travels between Pirate Island and the park at the Logan Martin Dam. In addition, the partners sell shaved ices out of their newest venture (this one, on land), Piece of the Pie, a pizza parlor at their Coosa Island Marina.

“The yellow boat also carries boiled peanuts, hot dogs, ice cream and canned soft drinks,” Kronen says.

He says their shaved ice business grows a little more each year, which is one reason they expanded into the pizza operation. “We have a ton of loyal shaved ice customers who have been really good to us,” he says.

People hold onto their own boats as they reach for the cones, then pull away to eat them. (No boarding of the snow cone vessels is allowed.) Generators power the freezers that keep the ice frozen. Flavors include banana, birthday cake, blue raspberry, peach, piña colada, watermelon and tiger’s blood. The latter is a popular branded flavor that combines strawberry and coconut. Cones come in just one size. “We had several sizes to begin with, but we learned it was best to keep it simple,” Kronen says. It’s not unusual, he adds, to sell one snow cone with two or three spoons.

People used to be surprised to see the shaved ice watercraft, but now if they come out and don’t see them, Kronen starts getting phone calls. “We’re the only floating shaved ice business on the lake,” he says. “We were the only shaved ice around here at all until recently, and we’re still the only ones physically on the water.”

Folks can get lake necessities, snacks and drinks at Kronen’s Coosa Island Marina, which also features boat self-storage and valet storage. “Really, we’ll put their boats in the water and take them out,” Kronen says. They lease pontoon boats, and Kronen vows they are the only place on Logan Martin that do personal watercraft rentals.

“We’ve had a bunch of people who have posted photos on our Facebook page of their kids enjoying the cones,” Kronen says.

Snobiz is open only on Saturdays and Sundays, plus Mondays on holiday weekends, from Memorial Day through Labor Day, from11 a.m. until 5 p.m.

So, what’s the next venture for this business partnership?

“Who knows?” Kronen says. “But I’ll tell you this: We’re always looking for help. It’s way harder to find help for this type of business than you would think.”

Remember When: Memories of Avondale Lake

Story by Leigh Pritchett
Photos from Phyllis Murphy; John Lonergan Jr.; Vicki Davis Mize
(her collection from her time growing up across from Avondale Lake)

From his back deck, Thomas Ingram Jr. can look through treetops to a spot far down the shore of Logan Martin Lake and see Avondale Lake.

Or rather, he can see where Avondale Lake was when he was a boy.

“Growing up, we had free range to roam,” said Ingram. He would walk or ride his bicycle across his family’s farmland to get to Avondale Lake.

Ingram lives in Pell City on a portion of that same farmland. Now, though, acres upon acres of Logan Martin cover most of the farmland and have engulfed Avondale Lake.

John Lonergan (left) on an inner tube at Avondale Lake with cousins Tom Lovell (center) and Sandra Skelton (right).

The one part of Avondale Lake that did not disappear when Logan Martin formed are the memories of fun, adventure and special times that happened there.

“I have a vivid memory of it,” Gerald Ensley of Cropwell said about Avondale Lake. “I can see it all.”

Avondale Lake and a large farm surrounding it were the property of Avondale Mills in Pell City. Avondale Mills purchased them from Grover C. Waite, the Easonville businessman who had developed the lake, notes the May 19, 1955, St. Clair News-Aegis.

According to a 1947 issue of Avondale Sun (the newspaper for Avondale Mills), Avondale Lake was about 15 acres in size. It had been acquired “chiefly” as a water source for the Pell City plant, yet quickly had become a popular recreation site.

The lake, its recreational amenities and the dairy that operated on farmland at the lake were added to a long list of provisions that Avondale Mills gave employees of the Pell City plant. Numerous sources said the company provided houses in the “Mill Village,” a hospital, school, laundry, barbershop, clubhouse with concessions, sports facility and activities, outdoor movies and entertainment and cookouts, among others.

“They took care of everybody,” said Ensley, a member of a mill family and a mill worker himself for a time. “… They were good neighbors to the town.”

Pete Rich, whose mother Pauline, taught decades of children in Avondale Mills’ kindergarten, agreed. “The Comers – they really cared about people.”

(The Comer family owned the mill; Comer Avenue in Pell City is named for them.)

David Murphy of Pell City, whose work at Avondale Mills covered decades and two states, said the company established recreation areas wherever it had a plant. For many years, the company also operated Camp Helen, a retreat in Panama City, Fla., that offered an affordable family vacation option to Avondale Mills employees.

Rich was a lifeguard at Avondale Lake during high school and at Camp Helen while in college. He described Avondale Lake as “a busy place,” where people could swim, fish, picnic, bowl and camp out as scouts.

“You could play volleyball, badminton, horseshoes,” added Ingram, a historian and retired educator who taught at Avondale School early in his career.

Joann Winnette of Pell City said the building that housed the bowling alley also included dressing rooms, a concession area and a dance floor with a jukebox. When she went to the lake as a young girl, “the only restroom at that time was a two-holer (outhouse),” she said with a laugh.

At the lake were a dock, diving board and paddle boats. The picnic area, with pavilions and barbecue pit, was a frequent meeting place for scouts, 4-H Clubs and other groups, Ingram said.

Vicki Davis Mize, Julia Skelton and David Murphy’s wife, Phyllis, each remember going there for church picnics. Phyllis Murphy said a creek served as a refrigerator to cool the watermelons.

“Occasionally, we went there as a class,” Mary Isbell of Pell City said about students at Easonville School, where her dad, Lester Bryant, was principal. “… (Highway) 231 wasn’t even a paved road then.”

Rich emphasized that it was quite an attraction. “Avondale Lake was a big thing. … It was about the only place there was back then.”

Ingram said Avondale Lake drew visitors from other areas. “People came all the way from Sylacauga up here to go to the lake.”

The Avondale Sun article goes even further, calling the lake “one of the most popular spots in Alabama for persons seeking relaxation and pleasure.”

Even though Avondale Lake was technically for mill employees and their families, “the whole community from Mount Pisgah to Cropwell went,” said Randall Harmon of Cook Springs. “… It was just a good place to hang out for young kids.”

Many of Harmon’s youthful, summer days were spent swimming at Avondale Lake. He lived in the Mount Pisgah-Easonville area at the time and would hitchhike on Old 231, when necessary, to get to the lake. “It was safe to do stuff like that then.”

Around 1947 or 1948, Avondale Mills bought a school bus and provided a shuttle service from the Mill Village to Avondale Lake during the summer, Ensley said. “Jellybean” Clemons drove the bus and transported families to Camp Helen.

Avondale Lake “was a pretty nice place in those days,” said John Lonergan Jr. of Chula Vista. “… I went there from the time I was old enough to wade in the water until I was 8. I learned to swim there, too.”

Lonergan once rode his bicycle on Old 231 all the way from the Mill Village, where he lived, to Avondale Lake. The only reason he stopped going regularly to the lake was because the City of Pell City, in the 1950s, built a pool on 19th Street South. The pool was not far from the Mill Village.

While Avondale Lake was a fun place to Lonergan, he said he also had a harrowing experience. One day, he fell off the inner tube on which he had been floating. He remembers being on the bottom of the lake looking up and a lifeguard pulling him to safety. He believes that lifeguard was either Pete Rich or French Whitten.

Phyllis Murphy reminisced about special times of being at the lake with her sister Joan Deason and their dad, Norman Smith. “We were little. Daddy would usually swim with us.”

Many churches, Winnette said, held baptismal services at the lake. “Nobody, except maybe First Baptist, had baptistries at that time.”

Winnette, Harmon, Isbell and Mize are a few who were baptized in Avondale Lake. Winnette, in fact, was baptized when it was Waite’s Lake before Avondale Mills acquired and renamed it.

“Lots of people in Pell City were baptized there at Avondale Lake,” Mize said. “I have a picture of my daddy (the Rev. Harvey L. Davis) baptizing me at Avondale Lake.”

A useful resource, too

Not only did the lake property provide outdoor recreation and dairy pastureland, but it also boasted a working grist mill. The mill was situated next to a spillway of the lake.

“We would shell our corn in the barn, put it in a tow sack, and we would take it down and grind it on the shares,” Ingram said. (“On the shares,” he explained, meant the grist mill received a portion of the ground corn as payment for services rendered.)

People could stand on a ramp at the mill to watch lake water rush in from the spillway to turn the mechanisms that ground their corn, Ingram explained. Afterward, the water was discharged down a steep slope into a creek.

“Now, that was fascinating,” Winnette recalled.

What was even more intriguing to Ingram was the replica of a World War II B-29 bomber hanging over the grist mill doorway. Ingram said the replica was six to eight feet in length with an impressive wingspan. He wanted that model badly. “But they wouldn’t let me have it.”

Adventures aplenty

The memories that Glenn Evans of Pell City has about Avondale Lake are of the hours spent hunting on some rear acreage. He said his dad, James Evans, who was plant manager at Avondale Mills, would let him hunt there occasionally in the late 1960s.

Ingram, too, has Avondale Lake hunting stories – one in particular about opposum-hunting with his uncle Grant Watson. He said Watson put the captured critters in a croaker sack that Watson flung over his back. That was until the opposums grew antsy and began biting Watson through the bag.

A portion of River Oaks now overlooks the old lake

One of Avondale Lake’s more slithery characteristics was its snake population.

Mize, who does not like snakes at all, is amazed that she could enjoy swimming in the lake. Jokingly, she said, “Nine-thousand snakes were killed in that lake.”

The environs had their share, too.

Lonergan said he was walking with a group one night on the road around the grist mill and saw 13 snakes.

It was not unusual, Ingram said, to see snakes in the vicinity of the scout camp – the same area where he and others would soon be sleeping on the ground in tents. “You’re camping out and snakes crawling around!”

Harmon had an up-close encounter when he and a friend went frog-gigging one time. In a flat-bottom boat left at Avondale Lake, the two friends floated along looking for frogs. As they did, a water moccasin kept circling the boat. Harmon’s friend got the bright idea to gig the snake. After he did, he held the snake right over the head of a surprised, scared and scrambling Harmon.

Spring-fed lake

Avondale Lake was clean, with fresh spring water flowing through it constantly, Harmon said.

“(It) had a lot of springs in it that were cold!” Winnette added.

The spring activity was quite visible, according to Ingram. “(You) could see water just bubbling up.”

The lake was a good fishing spot, too. Lonergan recounted a time that he fished at a second spillway at the back of Avondale Lake, caught a catfish and ate it for supper.

The second spillway drained excess water if the lake level rose too high, Ingram said. That spillway fed Harmon Lake, which was created when overflow from Avondale Lake was dammed. Tol and Stella Harmon owned the Harmon Lake property.

Beyond Harmon Lake laid Easonville Creek and then the Coosa River, which was narrow enough for Randall Harmon to swim across it as a boy. He explained that the spring water that fed Avondale Lake traveled from one waterway to the next until it eventually reached the river.

Although the spot where Avondale Lake sat is a distant sight from Ingram’s back yard, another portion of the Avondale Lake property is close and readily visible. Ingram pointed to houses directly across Logan Martin Lake and said that they sit right where Avondale Lake’s scout camp was.

Rich, Lonergan and Ensley – like Ingram – have adventures to tell about camping at Avondale Lake as scouts.

“I thought it was the most wonderful place in the world,” Ensley said, “especially for an old country boy who hadn’t been anywhere.”

Ensley said the scout camp existed many generations before Avondale Mills acquired it. When Avondale Mills bought the property from Waite, the camp had crude log cabins. Avondale Mills made improvements.

Scouts from other parts of the country where Avondale Mills had plants would come to the camp too, Ensley said.

Arthur “Chick” Moore oversaw the camp property, as well as the lake and farmland, and had such an integral role that his name frequently is mentioned in Avondale Lake stories.

Ingram said Moore lived on the premises, and Mize said Moore and his wife hosted community gatherings at the lake.

Randall Harmon’s wife, Vicki, said Moore sat in a certain chair looking out at the lake while people were swimming. He was “always laughing and talking and carrying on with us.”

Moore would hire young people to work part time in the summer. Ensley got to be one of them, a “clean-up boy,” around 1953 or 1954.

As a child, Mize went to Avondale Lake “just about every day during the summertime.” Sometimes, her mother, Rebecca Davis, went along to fish. But Mize’s parents did not mind if Mize went to the lake unaccompanied because “they trusted Mr. Moore.”

The store that Mize’s parents operated – H.L. Davis General Merchandise – was right across the road from the lake’s gated entrance. The store was a frequent, snack-buying stop for lake visitors.

Cherished among Mize’s collection of photos of that time in her life is a picture of her dad reclining on a chaise lounge, the gate to Avondale Lake prominently in the background. She commissioned local artist Wayne Spradley to create for her a painting of the gate.

Just as the 1960s were a time of great revolution, drastic changes came to the landscape during that time.

In a project to develop the Coosa River, Alabama Power Company formed Logan Martin Lake and put Logan Martin Dam into operation in August 1964.

Logan Martin Lake grew vastly wider than the Coosa River had been, consuming great expanses of land and encapsulating both Avondale Lake and Harmon Lake.

H.L. Davis General Merchandise was under water. The home next to it – where Mize and her parents had lived – was sold to Ludford Harmon, who established a mobile home park. What once had been the driveway to the home became a boat ramp, Mize said.

As for the pastureland at Avondale Lake, Glenn Evans said it is now River Oaks subdivision. The deep part of Logan Martin Lake in the slough of River Oaks is Avondale Lake.

Avondale Mills continued to operate in Pell City for another four decades, before closing in 2006. Its altitudinous, brick smokestack and most of the buildings have since been demolished. The iconic water tower, though, still holds a prominent place in Pell City’s skyline.

The creation of Logan Martin Lake did claim a lot of farmland (hundreds of acres from Ingram’s family alone) and covered sites brimming with memories. But Ingram observed that much good came from it. The lake and dam now generate electricity for people in Alabama and other states. In addition, the lake is a popular fishing and recreational outlet that, in turn, generates revenue for local businesses.

“Alabama Power dammed it for a business venture, and it turned into much more than that,” Ingram said.

In many ways, he said, all the recreational and commercial benefits of Avondale Lake were just a “mini version” of what was to come with Logan Martin Lake.

Additional assistance with this article provided by Danny Stewart and Susan Mann of Pell City Library; Patti Sims and Linda Sims.

Boating history on Logan Martin

Story and photos by Graham Hadley
Submitted photos

It’s not unusual to see row after row of beautiful, new boats on display at Logan Martin’s LakeFest celebration. Dealers put the best they have on display for new and returning customers – everything from tritoons to the fastest bass boats on the lake.

But this year, a group of boating enthusiasts rivaled the new boats on display.

While new boats are beautiful in their own right, few draw the eyes of boating enthusiasts like the sleek lines of a pre-World-War-II , barrel-back vintage wood Chris Craft or the raked fiberglass hull and retro fins of a 1956 Sea Sabre.

The Logan Martin Antique and Classic Boat Show at LakeFest was a cooperative effort between Sam Marston, Paul Zimmerman, Ronnie Lyle, Brett Bell and others to show off their special watercraft and to talk to people about what it means to own, restore and maintain one of these beautiful boats.

Sam at the helm of his Chris Craft on Logan Martin Lake

Chris Craft Icons

This year, the group had 10 boats on display as part of their show, but the first two that usually turn heads are the stunningly maintained wooden Chris Craft boats. With their distinctive hull lines and wood decking with each plank outlined in white, Brett Bell’s 19-foot 1939 Barrel Back and Sam Marston’s 19-foot 1956 Christ Craft Capri are show-stoppers.

A“This boat is all original. It has been preserved, not restored,” Brett said, pointing out that a key to maintaining that is keeping the wood on the boat around water. “It can’t be allowed to dry out,” he said.

The boats are powered by inboard six-cylinder flathead Hercules engines, and while they are some of the most beautiful watercraft ever built, they do have their limitations. Both Sam and Brett say they are cruisers, with flat rounded bottoms, and are not really built for rough, choppy water.

“We run them on the lake early in the morning or in the late afternoons when the water is calmer,” Sam said.

Alongside Sam’s Capri is a special project of his. He had a matching one-person hydroplane built to match his bigger boat, right down to the wood decking. And though the little boat is not technically vintage, it looks right at home next to the other two Chris Craft.

Not all fiberglass and wood

Tucked in next to the wood boats is Sam’s personal favorite. Its simple metal design might be overlooked alongside the sculpted wooden hulls on one side and the retro-styled fiberglass boats on the other, but he says there is something special about his small, metal 12-foot Orlando Clipper runabout.

“The front plows up when you first start moving before it planes, and you can feel the water bouncing off the bottom of the hull under your feet,” he said.

He bought the boat in its current condition in 2004 from an ad in the Birmingham News. He had Mazda’s advertising moniker, “Zoom,

Zoom!” painted on the boat – explaining he loves the way it moves through the water. “It’s a great family boat. Lots of fun,” he said.

Ronnie and Pat Lyle’s 1952 12-foot Feather Craft Deluxe runabout sits next to the Orlando clipper. It’s metal hull painted a bright, fire-engine red with chrome accents and a matching red Mercury Mk 55 outboard.

It’s a bright, dashing contrast to the Orlando clipper next to it and is just as special to its owners – with careful attention to every detail, including the standout paint job and chrome trim on the Mercury outboard engine.

Retro Fiberglass Wonders

Starting in the 1950s, fiberglass was moving to replace wood and metal as the chief hull component for most recreational boats of all sizes because of its durability, ease and maintenance and the flexibility it gave designers.

That flexibility in design was very much on display at LakeFest with a number of classically retro boats, several sporting curved

windscreens and fins commonly found on cars of the day.

Ronnie and Pat’s 19-foot 1975 Aristocraft is a prime example, with its sliding canopy to provide shade from the sun while out on the lake and its teal on white color scheme.

Ronnie’s father had been a truck driver and delivered regularly to the plants in Atlanta where both their boats were built. “I always wanted one of these,” he said.

He has tried to keep the fiberglass boat as close to the original design as possible, though it is still a work in progress. There was a small fire in the engine compartment for the inboard/outboard that had done minor damage to the fiberglass that he is still working on making just right.

Still, the boat sports both the original Aristocraft badge and the dealer sticker on the side.

Another Aristocraft with similar styling was next in line and also still had the original badge on the site. This one is part of Paul Zimmerman’s collection. His Competitive Upholstery business has played a key role in his love of boats, not only filling his upholstery needs on personal restoration jobs but trading out work to acquire some of the boats in his collection, particularly from Buck’s Island in Southside.

Paul said he picked up some boats in much need of restoration from Buck’s in exchange for doing some work on their boats – an offer he was quick to take them up on.

Justin and Levi Driver and their Checkmate speed boat

Two of Paul’s boats at the show have some of the most distinctive sterns of any of the other fiberglass boats there, featuring large fins on the aft quarters. His red and white 1957 Larson Thunderhawk Jr. and teal 1957 Sea Sabre both draw heavily from the space-age car designs of the period, and not just with the fins. The boats are adorned with wrap-around wind screens and chrome trim and upholstery appropriate for the era. His wife, Ann, was quick to point out the teal Sea Sabre is her boat – a project she is extremely proud of.

The last boat in the lineup is another one from the Zimmerman family – a late 1960s or early 1970 orange Checkmate speed boat that has truly been a family project, with much of the work being done by Paul’s grandson, Levi Driver, with help from his friend Hayden Davis and dad, Justin.

“We took it out that first time and had the trim wrong on the motor, then trimmed it out and heard a big boom – our stainless prop was

A mishap the first time it went in the water cost them a prop.

just gone,” Levi said.

Despite that setback, they are well on their way to getting the boat ready to float again, and still adding touches, like a top-of-line sound system, underwater LED lights and other features.

Looking to grow

All of the members of the new Antique and Classic boat group, which now has a Facebook page, are looking forward to the group’s future. Several of them have numerous other project boats in the works, and they are also considering reaching out to vintage boat owners on other lakes to participate in future events.

The members are quick to point out – these boats are beautiful, but are also a labor of love, requiring lots of regular maintenance.

That has been one area where the members say the group has been particularly helpful – networking on which people and businesses are best suited to handle repairs and other work on their boat that are outside the scope of their ability to do themselves.

Sam and Ronnie said they very much hope to make their participation in LakeFest a regular event venue for them and hope to have more people with more boats next year.

Follow Logan Martin Antique and Classic Boats on Facebook.

Wake Surfing

Up-and-coming sport making a splash on Neely Henry and Logan Martin lakes

Story and Photos by Graham Hadley

Want to catch the perfect wave, but don’t have time to go to a beach with decent breaks?

Look no farther than the Coosa River.

For the past few years, surfing enthusiasts have been taking to the water behind specially designed ski boats that allow them to literally surf on the lakes.

Gadsden City High School student Jackson Sparks says different boards ride differently.

This is not the old tow-behind surfing from the 1970s and 80s – there is no towing involved.

The boats are built so they throw enormous wakes, similar to the waves you see at the ocean. Some boats achieve this through filling special tanks in the hull with water. Others have large, heavy water bags put in the back.

This causes the boat to “plough” through the water instead of riding up on plane and making those wave-like wakes.

Unlike regular tow-behind water sports like skiing or wake boarding, once a surfer gets up out of the water and starts carving the wake – usually only feet from the back of the boat, they drop the rope and are moving along solely by riding the wave, just like in the ocean.

The boards look something like a cross between a wake board and a scaled-down traditional surf board and are light and easy to handle.

Because of the shape of the board and the dynamics of riding the wake, it is much easier to get up and going on a wake surfer than on skis or wake boards, said David Partridge, one of the owners of Ski World in Gadsden.

He was also quick to point out that wake surfing is much easier on the body that some of the other tow-behind water sports largely because the boat is going so slow, maybe 9 mph, ploughing through the water to generate the wave.

“We get people out here of all ages, teens all the way up to older people. It is really easy to do and a lot of fun,” he said. “Wake surfing is an all-age thing.”

You start out in the water a couple of yards behind the tow boat with a short but otherwise traditional ski rope, laying back in the water with the board sideways and your feet braced on the pad. As the boat starts, you literally pop out of the water and immediately try to find the sweet spot on the wake.

As the boat speeds up, the wake becomes much more wave like. The rider starts letting the momentum riding down the face of the wake carry them along, just like a traditional wave at the beach. Once they hit that spot, they drop the rope and are surfing the perfect wave. And unlike the beach, where the waves eventually peter out – you can ride a boat-generated wave as long as you can stay up.

Ski World co-owner David Partridge talks to boat driver Austin Young about how the boat rides to create the wavelike wake.

You don’t ever have to have surfed a real wave to take up wake surfing – it has an easy learning curve, Partridge said. The big trick to getting up on the board and staying on the board – there are no bindings like with skis or wakeboards – is not to drag your rear-end in the water.

Dragging in the water like that is a “hard no” said Austin Young, who was driving the boat for the wake surfing demonstration, with Jackson Sparks showing off his skills on two different boards, one designed more for speed and the other with mobility in mind (like regular surfboards, the number of fins and length have a lot to do with that).

Young’s boat used the internal ballast system, pumping in water from the lake to make the boat heavy enough to generate a wave. He was also quick to show off his Star Trek looking gauges at the helm, which gave him every piece of information he needed to run the boat and give his rider a great wave to surf.

Wipeout: All good rides must come to an end.

Partridge, whose shop sells ski supplies but not boats, said watercraft like that can easily top $200,000, though less expensive options are available that use the heavy external ballast bags you lay down in the aft boat cabin instead of internal systems.

Partridge, Young and Sparks agreed that while wake surfing is easy and a great water sport for all ages, safety is still paramount. You need a proper boat rigged with the right gear, safety ski vests, enough people to drive and spot, and to follow not only lake boating laws, but to show common courtesy to other boaters and property owners – especially since the surf boats are throwing wakes with heights measured in feet.

Check out our story from Discover The Essence of St. Clair about the wakeboarding judge and his wife on Logan Martin, complete with video.

Catching the Coosa

By Zeke Gossett

On Logan Martin

Getting into the dead heat of summer can cause some challenges when it comes to trying to catch a bass on Logan Martin Lake.

During the month of July, you can still find some bass out deep, but as we move into the month of August, do not look over the shallow bite.

As we move through the month of July and into August the water can be its hottest it has been all year. This is when the transition starts from fish moving from out deep back to the shallows due to lack of oxygen.

To start out in the mornings, I will generally use a squarebill crank bait around docks and rip rap. I’m generally trying to cause a reaction strike from fish that might not want to eat, and a squarebill does a good job at this.

As the day progresses, I will look for shade. This shade can be either from docks or overhanging trees. Usually around the docks, I prefer some type of finesse jig or shaky head.

For the overhanging trees I go with a hollow body frog. This time of year, some fish can be sitting a lot shallower than you think. It will be tough but when you get a bite, it’ll be more than likely a better fish.

On Neely Henry

Neely Henry is going to fish similararly to Logan Martin this time of year. One main difference is that I would target more water willows in the morning with the frog.

Sometimes, this bite can last all day if the conditions are right. The squarebill can still come in handy when passing by some riprap or an isolated stump in the water.

Once the sun comes up, I like to target shallow brush in and around piers with the finesse jig and shaky head. These fish can be sitting anywhere between a foot to seven-feet deep.

Lastly, keep an eye out for schooling fish this time of year. A lot of bait balls will start cruising the surface of the water column, and you can pick these fish off with a small swimbait. I like to keep this swimbait on a spinning rod with small braid in order to make a long cast to fish that might come up way out from the boat.

Keeping it simple is important to having success this time of year. It will be tough, but try some of these techniques and you will find some success.

Christmas in July at Pier 59

Reviving the spirit of giving

Story by Carol Pappas
Photos submitted

L ooking back at the genesis of what happens in July at Logan Martin’s Pier 59, it could easily be seen as the tipping point – that moment when an idea catches fire and spreads.

The spark in this case is Janet Swann, who was moved to do what she could to provide Christmas for children with special needs. The ensuing flame came from an army of volunteers and supporters who have since provided Christmas to 350 students at Alabama School for the Blind, Helen Keller School of Alabama and Alabama School for the Deaf. And it’s still spreading.

“There should be no child without Christmas,” Swann said of the motivation that seems to grow stronger every year.

It all began 12 years ago when Swann, who had been collecting toys for Christmas for children at Coosa Valley Academy, where her grandson attended, determined there was a real need at Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind. So, she set the wheels in motion with an event called Christmas in July.

From her vantage point on the lake, she reasoned that more people flock in that direction during the summer, and a July effort would appeal to a larger audience.

She was right. That first summer raised $1,200, selling barbecue plates, holding a poker run and recruiting four sponsors. In 2019, the effort emanating from that small restaurant produced $40,000 to provide a brighter Christmas for children across Alabama.

Even in the year of a pandemic, they raised thousands from an online silent auction that lasted the whole month of July. “In a pandemic, it speaks to the hard work of everyone,” said Marquitta Riggins, assistant director of Development for AIDB.

Tim Chiasson, who has been working with the effort since the early days, recalled the low expectations the group had for the pandemic year. But, like a tradition that can’t help but carry on, “generosity showed up,” he said.

A core group of volunteers gets started in January and by the time of the event on July 24 this year, there will likely be 45 to 50. “Volunteers,” Swann said, “that’s how we make Santa Claus happen.”

A small band of planners, who gathered around a table in the restaurant in May, discussed the event’s history, but more important, its future.

Partnering with AIDB and its development resources has made all the difference. This year, they’re even giving away a Harley Davidson motorcycle in the Christmas in July drawing. They stressed that all proceeds generated – from food sales to the poker run to t-shirt sales to cornhole and weightlifting competitions to a live auction – go to the kids.

Volunteers and donations – they are the engine that makes Christmas in July run. Without them, none of it is possible, Swann and Chiasson agreed. They pointed out that even the grand prize from the giveaway – the Harley Davidson motorcycle – was a donation.

The children themselves, as well as Industries for
the Blind, are involved as well. Artwork, crafts and woodworking they create are on sale throughout the event. “It has brought our entire AIDB family together,” Riggins said.

In its 12-year history, “This event has brought in nearly a quarter million dollars,” she noted. When talk turns to partnerships, Riggins is reminded of AIDB’s belief that the possibilities for deaf and blind students knows no bounds. “Together, we are limitless. When these children wake up on Christmas Day, they have a feeling that they are loved, and they have hope. That’s what this group brings to our children.”

Motioning around the table to the volunteers eager to make 2021 bigger and better than ever before, Riggins said, “This is their event. They make it possible.”

Logan Martin LakeFest

Southeast’s largest in-water boat show returns

Story by Carol Pappas
Submitted Photos

With a year off due to COVID, 2021 becomes the 10th anniversary of Logan Martin LakeFest, billed as the Southeast’s largest in-water boat show. At Pell City Lakeside Park May 21-23, LakeFest is making a triumphant return – back bigger and better than ever, organizers say.

And that’s quite a statement. Since its inception in 2010, LakeFest has been the ‘must-go-to’ event of the year. Those early years were spent on the banks of the Horizons development, and it just kept growing from there.

The idea was to create a free event that focused on the lake community, promoted the lake and its lifestyle. From its sponsorships and booth rentals, LakeFest is able to raise money for many a good cause as well as providing improvements to the park, like the Jerry Wood Memorial Pavilion named for one of the event founders, and additional docking for boats.

Today’s LakeFest overlooks Logan Martin from its hillside perch with tent after tent of vendors with all sorts of lake life wares and services, surrounded by the latest in boats and personal watercrafts. A huge outdoor stage featuring virtually non-stop, top entertainment and a couple of comedic emcees giving away prizes and ‘shout outs’ to supporters and businesses stands above.

Handmade outdoor furniture, lake apparel and just about any lake-related product imaginable are scattered under a sea of tents. Realtors, insurance agents, Logan Martin Lake Protection Association members and a host of other services for lake dwellers and visitors alike are a part of the mix, raising awareness and offering an extensive array of giveaways themselves.

Down by the water, brand new boats and watercrafts ready for a test drive await, luring attendees to see the latest of what’s in store for the water this season. There is even on-the-spot financing from AmFirst for your dream boat.

Woods Surfside Marina, Poor House Branch Marina, Sylacauga Marine and ATV, Trident Marine, Skier’s Marine, Speed Zone Oxford and Rodney’s Marine will have boats from the following manufacturers in the water and ready for qualified buyers to take for a test drive.

Avalon Pontoons
Boats
Berkshire Pontoon Boats
Regency Pontoons
South Bay Pontoons
Silver Wave Pontoons
Sun Tracker Pontoons
Carolina Skiff Boats
Mastercraft Wake Boats
Nitro Performance Boats
Tahoe Boats
Tracker Boats
Xpress Boats
Yamaha
Waverunners

When LakeFest began, it had a set of goals in mind:

Celebrate one of the area’s greatest natural resources, Logan Martin Lake.
Promote the lake and surrounding areas as a great place to live and do business.
Raise money for local causes.
Showcase local businesses.
Provide LakeFest partners with a captive audience and platform to showcase their products and services.

For 10 years, it has been doing all of the above. So far, its Logan Martin Charity Foundation has awarded $300,000 to local charities, and businesses have seen their sales and profiles head on an upward trajectory.

“We wanted to create an event that really promoted our lake and lake businesses and bring people together for a fun time for the whole
family,” said Eric Housh, one of the organizers. “This year’s event promises to be even bigger and better than before.”

Non-stop entertainment, giveaways – even an ATV – vendors of all descriptions, more food choices and games for the kids await.

Admission is free, and hours are from noon to 9 Friday and Saturday and noon to 6 on Sunday.

And, of course, the fireworks show honoring veterans – a LakeFest tradition and the vision of the late Jerry Wood, who was instrumental in creating LakeFest – will be Friday night after sunset.

Musical entertainment takes center stage all weekend

Friday,
May 21
Jeremy Owen and Dylan –
4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Deputy 5 –
6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Saturday,
May 22
Matt Bennett –
Noon to 2 p.m.
Hannah McFarland –
3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Outshine –
6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Sunday,
May 23
Hannah McFarland –
1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

In the Kitchen with Lori Junkins

Mother, daughter cook up a family tradition

Story Scotty Vickery
Photos by Kelsey Bain

When Lori and John Junkins made the decision to renovate the kitchen of their A-frame home on Logan Martin Lake nine years ago, it was about much more than gas appliances, glistening granite countertops and creating extra storage. It was about strengthening roots, creating a comfortable space to carry on family traditions and spotlighting the beauty that’s all around them.

Marie Hines with her daughters, Gwen Windle,
Lori Junkins and Teresa McLarty

“It’s so peaceful,” Junkins said of the view from the room’s picture window overlooking the sparkling water. A sugar maple that shades the deck in the summer and creates a dazzling display a few months later provides the finishing touch. “In the fall, it’s a brilliant yellow. Looking at the lake with those yellow leaves trickling down is just amazing,” she said.

It’s almost as wonderful as the aroma coming from her oven one recent morning as a batch of yeast rolls made from her mother’s recipe turned golden brown. “The smell immediately takes me back to my mama’s kitchen,” Junkins said. “It just transports you. So many of the wonderful memories I have from my childhood center around food.”

The kitchen of the Aliceville, Ala., home she grew up in was a gathering spot for the family, and she wanted to create the same feeling in her own home after living with a cramped galley-style kitchen for 12 years. “It was a one-butt kitchen,” Junkins said with a laugh. “You couldn’t slide two people past each other.”

Today, after expanding the kitchen into the former dining room, there’s a large island featuring Bianco Antico granite, a built-in gas convection stove and oven, as well as seating for four. Lee Kerr of Oxford made the custom cabinets, which offset the white subway tile. “He had the idea to build the upper cabinets into the slope of the walls so I could have cabinets in a space where I didn’t think it was possible,” Junkins said.

Factor in the kitchen’s walnut floors, which lead into the family room with its vaulted tongue-and-groove ceiling and brick wood-burning fireplace, and the result is a calm, inviting space that Junkins loves. “My goal was for it to be something that would stand the test of time,” she said. “Lake living is a lifestyle. When people come to my home, the thing that makes me feel the best is when they say it’s so peaceful. My house is not stuffy, it’s not pretentious; it’s comfortable. It’s a little like being on vacation all the time.”

Mama’s Cooking

Junkins, who enjoys time at home with John and 17-year-old Amelia, learned everything about making a house comfortable and welcoming from her mother,

Marie Hines. “Hospitality is a gift, and my mama has it,” she said. “She was known all throughout Pickens County for her yeast rolls. I can remember her kitchen being covered in pans of rolls in various stages of the rising and baking process.”

It all comes naturally for Mrs. Hines, who has been cooking for at least 84 of her 90 years. The oldest of nine children, she began cooking meals for the whole family when she was 11, and “I baked my own birthday cake when I was 6 years old,” she said.

Junkins said she and her father, Tom Hines, and her brother and two sisters woke up every morning to a full breakfast of bacon, eggs and biscuits or toast. Each evening, they enjoyed a big supper of meat and vegetables, and holiday meals were absolute feasts.“The kitchen was full of every kind of Southern dish you could imagine,” she remembers. “All of these dishes just magically appeared.”

Mrs. Hines, who went to work part-time when Junkins was in kindergarten and then worked full-time at a bank for 20 years, always enjoyed making magic in the kitchen. Despite having to juggle work and her children’s activities, which included cheerleading, football and band, she considered it a privilege to cook for her husband and kids. “That’s how you showed your love for your family – putting a good meal on the table,” she said.

Like many Southern cooks, most of her recipes are in her head and consist of “a little of this and little of that,” Mrs. Hines said. “I’m a dump cook. I think butter is a magic ingredient, and so is a little bit of sugar.” After reading cookbooks like novels for years, she’s happy to share her secrets with anyone who asks. “If anybody wanted a recipe, I gave it to them,” she said. “I think if the Lord gives you a gift, you need to share it if you can.”

That’s good news for Junkins, who is on a mission to preserve some family memories, along with her mother’s wonderful recipes. “Another of Mama’s heirloom dishes is her cornbread dressing. She made dressing for our extended family gatherings every year until 2019, when she talked me through every step of making it,” Junkins said. “We figured after 88 years it was time to let her supervise. She had no written recipe and uses no fixed measurements, so I tried to record the directions as closely as I could.”

Most recently, Junkins mastered her mother’s yeast rolls, garlic rolls and cinnamon rolls that start with the same dough. “After years of saying I wanted to learn to make them ‘someday,’ I finally got my lesson,” she said. “The first time I made them, I ate six.”

Junkins said she’s grateful her mother lives nearby so she can spend time in the kitchen with her. After living in Aliceville for decades, her parents moved to Pell City in 2008. Her father, Tom Hines, passed away in 2015, but she still feels connected to him when she’s cooking. “Bonnie Chasteen, a dear friend of my mother’s, made all of us aprons out of Dad’s shirts,” she said.“They’re even more special now because she passed away earlier this year.”

Lake Living

Although Junkins and her husband have been thrilled with the upstairs renovations they made in 2012, just a year after they got married, they toyed with the idea of moving a few years ago. Junkins was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in 2014, and there were lots of unknowns.

“I didn’t know if I would even be around in five years,” she said. “We wondered for a while if we should get a one-level home, and we even looked at a few. John finally asked me, ‘If you live another 10 to 15 years, and we moved from this house, would you regret it?’ I told him, ‘Probably,’ so he said, “Let’s just re-do this one.”

That’s why, following Junkins’ craniotomy and radiation treatments, the lower level of the house got a makeover in 2016. Although Junkins is doing well and has had no recurrence of cancer, the renovated space can accommodate one-level living if they ever need it. An old galley kitchen, similar to the one that was upstairs, has been opened up and now boasts new countertops and appliances. There are also bedrooms, bathrooms and a living area on that floor.

“I don’t know that I could ever move off the lake,” Junkins said.

Marie Hines’ Icebox Yeast Rolls

Marie Hines’ recipe, as recorded by Lori Hines Junkins

Ingredients:
4 cups (1 qt) sweet milk
4 sticks of butter, divided
1 cup sugar
2 pkgs yeast
10 to 12 cups plain flour, divided
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
garlic salt

Directions:

Heat milk, 2 sticks of butter and 1 cup of sugar in oversized boiler over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat just prior to boiling. While milk mixture cools, dissolve yeast in warm water according to package directions. When milk mixture has reached lukewarm temperature, stir dissolved yeast into lukewarm milk mixture. Add 6 cups of flour and stir until flour is incorporated, forming a thin dough. Cover with a tea towel; place in a warm spot and allow the dough to rise until doubled in size (this may take several hours).

After dough has doubled in size, sift together 2 cups of flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Punch down the risen dough and add the seasoned flour mixture to ensure the leavening agents are evenly distributed. Gradually add in remaining flour (2 to 4 cups, as needed to form relatively stiff dough). Grease an oversized bowl (oil or cooking spray) and place dough in greased bowl. (Note: Dough can be covered and kept refrigerated for
several days before rolling it out if necessary. Dough will likely rise in refrigerator and could “pop the top” – keep an eye on it and keep it covered so it does not dry out. When ready to roll it out, remove from refrigerator and allow it to rest at room temperature for an hour or so before dividing/kneading/rolling as outlined below.)

Prepare baking pans with non-stick spray. Divide into fourths for ease of rolling out. Knead dough gently on floured board. Roll out with rolling pin in a large rectangle to about 3/8” thickness. Melt butter (half a stick at a time, for each section of dough); brush dough with melted butter.

FOR CRESCENT ROLLS
Very lightly sprinkle a bit of sugar across buttered dough. Slice dough into 6-inch widths, then cut into triangles; roll from widest end to point, creating crescent shape. Place rolls in greased pan and brush with melted butter.
Allow to rise for 2+ hours before baking.

FOR CINNAMON ROLLS
Rectangle should be about twice as long as it is wide. Generously sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over buttered dough. Roll jelly- roll style (rolling from widest length); slice into 1-inch slices. Place rolls in greased pan with sides touching, brush with melted butter.
Allow to rise for 3+ hours before baking.
(Cinnamon rolls typically take longer to rise because of the added weight of the sugar and cinnamon mixture.)

FOR POCKETBOOK GARLIC ROLLS
Sprinkle buttered dough generously with garlic salt. Cut with round cookie cutter or biscuit
cutter. Dip (or brush) each round in melted butter and fold over, pressing center edge together lightly to form “pocketbook.”
Allow to rise for 2+ hours before baking.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place pan of risen rolls on center rack; bake 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm.

For cinnamon rolls: While rolls are baking, mix powdered sugar, vanilla and water to form light icing. After removing cinnamon rolls from oven, drizzle icing over warm rolls. (Lori’s suggested variation: incorporate whipped cream cheese to icing before drizzling/spreading over cinnamon rolls.)

* (Note: Dough can be kept refrigerated for several days after it is rolled, shaped and placed in pans. If you plan to refrigerate, cover and place in refrigerator). Before baking, place in a warm spot and allow dough to rise for several hours before baking.)

Mama’s Cornbread Dressing

Marie Hines’ recipe, as recorded by Lori Hines Junkins

Ingredients:
1 large pan of cornbread
4-6 pieces of white bread (stale bread is fine)
Chicken Stock (homemade or use 1-2 cartons)
2-3 onions
5-6 stalks of celery
1-2 stick of butter
6 eggs
Sage or poultry seasoning
Black pepper
Cayenne pepper
Cranberry Jelly (1-2 cans)

Directions:

1. Bake one large pan of cornbread.

2. Cut up and boil a chicken*. Remove chicken and run liquid through a strainer; return stock to boiler. (Lori’s cheat: Substitute a couple of cartons of chicken broth if you’re short on time.)

3. Cut up 2 or 3 medium onions and chop in food processor; add diced onion to chicken stock. String and cut up 5-6 stalks of fresh celery and chop in food processor. Add to chicken stock, along with a stick (or 2) of butter. Bring chicken stock to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, allowing onion and celery to cook until translucent, giving flavors time to marry.

4. While stock is simmering, crumble cornbread and place in oversized bowl. Roughly tear 5 or 6 pieces of white sandwich bread and place in food processor; pulse until bread is crumbly. Add bread crumbs to crumbled cornbread.

5. Pour chicken stock over cornbread mixture and mix thoroughly.

6. Beat 6 eggs; pour into cornbread mixture. Dressing mixture should be very moist; add more chicken stock as needed to ensure dressing mixture is not too dry. Season with sage (or poultry seasoning), black pepper, and a bit of cayenne pepper, and mix together thoroughly. (Note: If using fresh chicken broth instead of store-bought broth, you will likely need to add salt. Store-bought dressing has a high sodium content, so additional salt may not be needed.) Adjust seasoning to taste. (Optional: add one can of cream of chicken soup.)

7. Pour dressing into a large, greased casserole dish. If making ahead, cover with foil and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. (If making further ahead, dressing can be frozen, then thawed the day it is baked.)

8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake covered for 30 minutes, then remove foil; continue baking uncovered until dressing is golden brown on top (about 20-30 more minutes, typically).

9. Remove cranberry jelly (remove lid, work knife around inside of can to coax jelly out onto serving dish); slice and serve as an accompaniment to dressing.

*Note: Although we do not add chicken to our dressing for holiday meals where it is served as a side to turkey, if you cooked a chicken in step 2, you can de-bone and shred the chicken and add it to the dressing to serve as a main dish for a great weeknight main dish.

Catching the Coosa

By Zeke Gossett

On Logan Martin

The months of May and June can be some of the most fun on catching numbers of fish on Logan Martin Lake.

The fish are typically coming off bed and are starting their transition to offshore places, such as deep points, brush piles and roadbeds.

Fish tend to school together on these places and can get in bunches of as many as 50 or 60.

My first choice when the fish pull out to deeper water will be a deep-diving crankbait or swimbait. Around the brush piles, I tend to use some type of soft plastic bait such as a Texas rigged worm or a football jig.

Also, in early May, you can catch the tail end of the shad spawn, which is when water temperatures rise into the upper 60s to low 70s and during the full moon in April and May.

The shad spawn is usually best first thing in the morning around seawalls or grass. You will see the shad flicking on top and rolling on the structure they’re around.

My first two baits I will pick up are either a white buzz bait or white spinnerbait with double willow leaf blades. This bite ends very quickly once the sun comes up but can be some of the most fun if the fish are feeding at that time.

On Neely Henry

Neely Henry Lake has a lot shallower water vegetation compared to Logan Martin. In the months of May and June, I tend to fish a lot shallower on this lake. Fish will most likely be off bed by this time and looking for an easy meal.

The shad spawn has a big impact on this lake as well. The shad tend to spawn on the grass in this lake more.

The two baits I use for the shad spawn on Neely Henry will be a white swim jig or white frog. This bite happens quick but can be super productive for a good morning bite.

Once that bite has gone away, I tend to target these same areas where the shad spawn was that morning. I will slow my presentation way down and go more finesse.

If the conditions are slick calm with no wind, I will target docks near to these areas. My first bait of choice will be a wacky rigged stick bait in a green pumpkin color.

If the wind is still blowing or it is cloudy, I will stay with the white swim jig. Once we get later on into June, the better fish still tend to be shallow. I will flip grass with either a jig or a Texas rigged creature bait.

There are some places fish tend to group up offshore, but this bite has a small window. I would target brush piles in front of piers with a shaky head in order to catch the deeper fish.

Editor’s Note:

Zeke Gossett of Zeke Gossett Fishing grew up on the Coosa River and Logan Martin Lake. He is a former collegiate champion and is now a professional angler on the B.A.S.S. tour circuit and is a fishing guide.

Learn more about Zeke at: zekegossettfishing.com.

Dining on the water

Extra benefits of life on Neely Henry and Logan Martin lakes

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller
Photos by Carol Pappas – Submitted photos

Whether you prefer dining inside a restaurant or carrying out your food, you have a lot of choices around Logan Martin and Neely Henry lakes that are easily reached by boat. From mom-and-pop diners to national chains, more than a dozen restaurants from Talladega to Gadsden have their own docks or access to one nearby.

This means you can tie up your vessel, be it boat or personal watercraft, and leave it in its slip while you eat breakfast, lunch or dinner. In many cases, you can phone ahead and someone will deliver your meal to your boat. That’s a unique service that takes lake living — and dining — to a whole new level.

The Back Porch Grill, located at 270 Marina Dr., Talladega, in Logan Martin’s Clear Creek Harbor, already had space for 30-40 boats before adding nine new piers. Under construction as of this writing, the additions will more than triple the slip number, according to owner Kristi Fincher. Attendants are available on the dock to pump gas and dock boats.

Back Porch Grill

“Our staples are seafood, steaks and burgers, but we have changed our menu a lot,” Fincher says. “We’ve added grilled salmon, grilled blackened grouper and a mahi-mahi taco. We also added shrimp and grits, which consists of grilled or blackened shrimp on a bed of gouda cheese grits. Our new shrimp and crab dip, served with baguettes, has become one of our biggest sellers.” Menu specials, such as snow crab legs or scallops, are available on weekends.

Known for its large porch built around a huge willow tree, the Grill recently added an even bigger porch that seats 60 people. “The new porch has a willow planted beside it,” Fincher says. “People like sitting outside, looking over the lake.”

The restaurant has been in business about 10 years, is open year-round, and features the acoustic band Kudzu playing 1980s music every Thursday night on the new porch. Hours: Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sundays 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Pier 59

Since 1993, Pier 59, 1363 Rivercrest Dr., Vincent, has been across the lake from Coosa Island (Logan Martin). With a pier on either side of the building, it can accommodate a lot of boats. “I’m serving grandkids of people I started out with,” says manager Janet Swann.

Hamburgers, steaks and a variety of seafood are on the menu. “Our crab claws, fried and grilled, are our most popular item,” Swann says. “We also feature Ziggy Salad, a tossed salad topped with steak, shrimp, chicken and French fries. It’s named after our cook.” Wings and chicken fingers are popular, too. “We’re in the process of re-doing our menu, adding alfredo chicken and alfredo shrimp,” Swann says.
A new deck offers outside covered dining.

Open year-round, winter and summer hours vary. Call 205-525-4226 for specific times and days.

Lakeside Grill at Coosa Island

Lakeside Grill, 1095 Coosa Island Rd., Cropwell is a relative newcomer on Logan Martin Lake. This nautical-and-beach-themed establishment opened in June of 2020 at the end of Coosa Island Marina. Its pier can accommodate 30 boats, but new piers will double that number before summer is over, according to manager Tanya Barnett.

While their menu includes a variety of seafood, steaks, burgers, barbecue, salads and desserts, their specialties are Cajun alfredo (chicken or shrimp), hand-cut, 12-ounce ribeyes, loaded barbecue tots (barbecue pork drizzled with barbecue sauce and Ranch dressing, then topped with jalapeño poppers), Cajun-grilled shrimp, Southwestern egg rolls, cheese curds, Cajun barbecue nachos and their signature Philly sandwiches.

“We’re looking to add some summer-friendly dishes, such as fish tacos and a tuna dip,” Barnett says. “We also have homemade peanut butter and Key lime pies for dessert.”

A deck with a bar and a seating capacity of 300, along with live bands on Fridays and Saturdays plus acoustic music on Sundays, make this a lively place to dine. “We also use Jack Rabbit for delivery,” Barnett says. Co-owner (with Nicola Wright) Keith Clements holds degrees in culinary arts and restaurant management and owns Lakeside Boathouse nearby.

Open year-round, Thursdays-Mondays, hours vary from summer to winter.

Between May 1 and Nov. 1, you can dine there Thursdays from 4 p.m.-9 p.m. and Fridays 12 p.m.-1 a.m. Sunday brunch is served from 9 a.m.- 1 p.m., but the restaurant stays open until 8 p.m. on Sundays. Monday hours are 4 p.m.-9 p.m. “We usually are the only restaurant open on the lake on Mondays,” Barnett says. Their winter hours will be posted on their Facebook page.

Piece of Pie

Piece of the Pie, 1080 Coosa Island Road, Cropwell (Logan Martin) is a new pizza-only joint that opened in early April. Its pier is under renovation and will accommodate about 50 boats when completed, according to co-owners Matt Kronen and Tarang Gandhakwal. “We’re next door to Coosa Marina Store, which I also own, and we have beer, ice and soft drinks there. We’re all in the same building,” says Kronen.

He assembles his pizzas on the premises, and says they feature thin crusts that are “light enough to take on the boat with you.” He uses fresh toppings, including the usual pepperoni, sausage and mushrooms, plus a barbecue pizza, and can substitute alfredo sauce for marinara sauce on any pizza upon request. “We will incorporate other weird toppings as we think of them,” he says.

Piece of the Pie serves carry-out customers only, with no seating area available. “Eventually we will offer delivery to the immediate lake area,” Kronen says. The main chef at Piece of the Pie, he’s also the owner of Snow-Biz, a shaved ice stand at Coosa Island Marina. Hours are 11 a.m.-8 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, initially. Any changes will be posted on their upcoming Facebook page.

Top O’ the River

Top O’ the River, 1606 Rainbow Dr., Gadsden, is a landmark – not only by land but by water as well. It is accessible by boat. Known for its catfish and seafood, the menu goes well beyond with chicken and steaks, too. Its pond raised catfish – fried or broiled, bone-in or fillet – is a crowd favorite.

Grilled shrimp and chicken kabobs are popular as is the chargrilled ribeye steak. A variety of appetizers and desserts bookend a meal that diners travel for from miles around.

Family owned and operated, the restaurant is open Monday – Friday at 5 p.m., Saturdays at 4 p.m. and on Sundays, it opens at noon. Carry out is available at 256-547-9817.

River’s Edge Burgers & Breakfast

River’s Edge Burgers & Breakfast, 79 Rabbit Branch Circle, Cropwell, is located at River’s Edge Marina in the Rabbit Branch slough on Logan Martin. Open weekends and holidays May through Labor Day, River’s Edge is a walk-up eatery with an outdoor pavilion and picnic tables for on-premises dining. Up to 10 boats can tie up at the pier, with wet-slip time limited to one hour.

The menu includes burgers and other sandwiches, chicken tenders, corn dogs and hot dogs. Specialties are the Yum Yum Burger (with Yum Yum sauce, lettuce, tomato and pickles), the Cowboy Cheeseburger (barbecue sauce, bacon and grilled onions), BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger (barbecue sauce, bacon and cheese) and Double BBQ Bacon Burger (barbecue sauce, double portion of bacon and double portion of cheese). On Saturdays they serve breakfast sandwiches on toast, biscuit or bun, plus breakfast platters of eggs, meat and a choice of bread. Desserts are milkshakes, frozen slush, root beer floats, ice cream cones and a “Bissert” — biscuits drizzled with chocolate syrup and powdered sugar.They also serve traditional breakfast drinks, such as coffee, orange juice and chocolate milk.

Hours are 8 a.m.-11 a.m. for Saturday breakfast, with lunch served 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Manager Anna Emerick suggests checking their Facebook page for holiday hours (Memorial Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day), because they vary from one holiday to the next.

Wake Zone

New to Logan Martin is Wake Zone, 6301 Stemley Bridge Road, Pell City, which should soon be able to park 30 boats at five piers. Staff will be available to assist with boat parking.

The restaurant serves steaks, seafood and wings, along with breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays. They have the usual breakfast fare of eggs and French toast, and House specialty is their fried fish nuggets, called Wake Bites. Their barbecue is popular, and so are the Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, hamburgers and eight flavors of wings. The restaurant uses Jack Rabbit Delivery, which will deliver within 20 miles of the building.

Open five days a week from April 1-September 1, hours are 11 a.m.-7 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Fridays; 7:30 a.m.-8 p.m. on Saturdays and 7:30-6 p.m. Sundays. During the winter, they are open
Wednesday-Friday only.

A spacious deck overlooks the main channel of the lake with outdoor dining.

The Brook

The Brook Coffeehouse and Event Center, 4204 Martin St. S, Pell City (Logan Martin) is a full-service coffee house offering espresso coffee drinks, frappés, teas, iced coffees, smoothies, ice cream, hand-spun milkshakes, muffins and limited snacks and cold drinks, according to Linda and Tim Hendrix,

owners. “We do not have a kitchen, but offer pre-packaged snacks,” says Linda Hendrix. “You are welcome to bring your lunch or breakfast and grab your favorite coffee drink from us.”

The coffeehouse is accessible by water during the spring, summer and fall months (when the water is up), as boats can park at the nearby Lakeside Motel piers and walk up. Some customers have even come up by personal watercraft to enjoy a view of the lake from the outdoor deck or in the cozy coffee shop, which includes a warming fireplace in the winter months. “Our coffee bar is like an old-fashioned ice cream bar,” Linda says.

The Event Center is available for rental, but also partners with local churches by providing spaces for Bible studies and small groups at no charge. “We are a nonprofit ministry, and all of our income outside of expenses goes toward helping with community outreach and ministry,” Linda says. “This spring semester has included Transformation Ministry School, Mat Making for the Homeless, Freedom Bible Study, Relationships Bible Study, several men’s groups, painting, book signings and local rehab facility family get-togethers. We also offer free spiritual counseling services.” Rentals have included baby and wedding showers, memorials, funerals, weddings and birthday parties. “This summer, we will offer “Pontoons and Sunset,” where families get together to watch the sun go down, listen to music and fellowship aboard their shared pontoons – launching from the Brook. It will be lots of family fun.”

Open year-round, hours are Monday through Saturday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., with extended summer hours of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Courtyard

Courtyard Oyster Bar & Grill, 4300 Martin Street South, Pell City, can accommodate several boats in a dock next door. Open year round, Wednesdays through Sundays, they have a full menu that includes appetizers, burgers, raw and fried oysters, catfish, hand-breaded chicken tenders and the ever-popular shrimp étouffée and gumbo. “Everything is made fresh here,” says manager Jessalyn Cash. “We have something for everybody.”

An outside deck with a lake view is open to the air during summer, then enclosed in plastic and heated during the winter. “That’s generally where everybody wants to sit,” Cash says.

They have live entertainment every night. Wednesdays it’s karaoke from7 p.m. until closing. Other nights they have acoustic bands, and they try to feature local artists when they can get them.

Wednesdays and Thursdays, they open at 2 pm. and close around midnight. They open for lunch at 11 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, then close at 2 a.m. On Sundays, hours are 11 a.m. until midnight.

“We’re family-friendly until 8 p.m., but after that, no one under the age of 21 is permitted here,” Jessalyn says. “Our staff strives to be open and friendly and to make everyone’s experience good.”

The Ark

Logan Martin’s iconic restaurant, The Ark, is located at 13030 U.S. 78, Riverside. Featuring catfish, hushpuppies, shrimp and oysters fried and grilled, The Ark has been the subject of stories nationwide for its fare.

In addition to seafood, the Ark offers steaks, hamburgers and Cajun specialties like their famous seafood gumbo. Homemade desserts, such as blueberry cobbler, round out an extensive menu that attracts diners from all around.

Its proximity to Talladega Superspeedway makes it a prime ‘fan’ choice, and lake dwellers and visitors alike to flock to The Ark as well. It is accessible by boat. A dock on the main channel below the businesses next door services The Ark’s customers arriving by boat.

Hours are Monday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 8 pm. and Sunday, 11 am. – 7:30 p.m.

Caribe

Caribe Club and Marina, 84 Blue Eye Rd., Lincoln (Logan Martin), has 22 boat slips at its pier. Open weekends only (Thursdays-Sundays) for both dine-in and take-out, Caribe also delivers to boats or cars. “Last summer we had quite a bit of boats come up,” says Diane Smith, co-owner with her husband, Bobby.

“We serve steaks, burgers, fish and pizza.” Their specialties are grouper fingers, crab cakes, mango salsa, wings and thin-crust pizza.

“We have a couple of unique things for people who are 21 and older, such as a four-foot-deep swimming pool,” Smith says. “We have a few tables by the dock where the younger ones can dine with their parents, but you must be 21 or older to swim or hang out by the pool because we want a relaxing, adult environment.” Specialty drinks are the Caribbean Sunset and the Bushwacker, and you can take them to the pool area.

They have acoustic music almost every Sunday in the summer, and sometimes have other types of live music on Friday and Saturday. They can seat about 100 people inside.

“We are a private club, and you have to be a member to eat here and to enjoy the pool, the lake views and great atmosphere,” Smith says. “You can pay by the month ($25), by the year ($240) or per visit. It’s $1 per visit if you’re eating, $10 if you’re just drinking and lounging poolside. There’s a $5 cover charge when we have entertainment.”

Spring Fling, a free event with music, kicks off the summer season on May 1, and another party, the Coosa Palooza, takes place the last weekend of August.

Open all year round, their summer hours (May 1- October 1) are 5 p.m. until “whenever” on Thursdays and Fridays, noon until “who-knows?” on Saturdays and Sundays. Smith says to check their Facebook page for winter hours.

Jack’s

Jack’s Family Restaurants are well known throughout Alabama and a few other Southern states, but the one at 1414 Rainbow Drive in Gadsden is unique. “We’re the only Jack’s in the company that has a boat dock,” says manager Toni Hubbard. “We even have a place at the dock where you can phone in your order, like at our drive-through, but it has a special ring so we know it’s from the pier.”

The menu has plenty of burgers, fries and specialty sandwiches, the latter changing from time to time, along with soft drinks, ice cream, milkshakes and fried pies. It also has chicken, both fried and grilled, and an extensive breakfast menu that includes the usual sausage, chicken, bacon or egg biscuits, along with a twist on the traditional gravy biscuits so beloved in the South: biscuits with chocolate gravy. “I used to eat that as a kid, but lots of people around here have never heard of it,” Hubbard says.

The boat dock, which is behind the restaurant, fits six to eight boats, and business booms from there during the summer. Jack’s also has a patio out back where lake people often come to dine. “When 4th of July is on a weekend, the boat dock is in constant use due to the fireworks on the lake,” Hubbard says. “The dock is really busy during fishing tournaments, too.”

Jack’s is open seven days a week all year. Their hours are 5 a.m.-10 p.m. Sundays and weekdays, and 5 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Whether boaters call in their orders ahead of time or after they dock, a server will deliver their food to the pier.

Chili’s

Chili’s Grill & Bar, 340 Albert Rains Blvd. Gadsden (Neely Henry) has a boardwalk area at the dock, which is about 20 yards behind the restaurant. The dock will accommodate four boats.

“Behind the restaurant is a koi pond, and closer to the river and docking area are a splash pad and pavilion,” says manager Eli Trembler. “During summer when the weather is nice, people often pull up and place a to-go order, while others come inside and eat.”

A national chain, Chili’s specializes in ribs, fajitas and burgers. “All of our ribs are smoked in-house, and our fresh meat comes in twice a week, so our burgers are never frozen,” Trimble says. “One of our most popular is the Boss Burger, which consists of a half-pound beef patty with pork brisket, jalapeño sausage and bacon, all topped with barbecue sauce. We have a three-for-$10 special that offers a drink, appetizer and entrée from a select menu all day, every day.”

Open seven days per week, their hours are 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 10:30 a.m.-midnight Fridays and Saturdays and 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. on Sundays.

Buffalo Wild Wings

Buffalo Wild Wings, 91 East Chestnut St., Gadsden (Neely Henry), has a pier about 100 feet from the back of the restaurant that will accommodate four boats, according to manager Jose River. “We actually have a decent amount of people using it,” Rivera says. “We do take-out orders by boat, too. You can call it in to us, and we can take it to you at the pier.”

An Alabama-based chain, Buffalo Wild Wings serves mainly what its name implies: wings. In the Gadsden area, however, it’s all about the burgers, says Rivera. “Some of the best we’ve ever created are right here, and they’re top-notch,” he says. “For example, we have the All-American that is a full hamburger with condiments, American cheese, two hamburger patties and bacon. Our Bacon Hatch Smash Chili Burger has Hatch green chilis, Fresno peppers, and we smash bacon bits into the meat before we cook it.”

Open seven days a week, on Tuesdays, the restaurant offers a BOGO for traditional wings, and on Thursdays a BOGO for boneless wings. Hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. “When the COVID pandemic is over, we might have some live entertainment,” Rivera says. The restaurant serves alcohol.

Wellington Bleus

Wellington Bleu’s, 1504 Rainbow Drive, Gadsden, currently uses a neighbor’s dock that’s behind the restaurant. But the new steakhouse may be building its own pier soon. “We’re working on a way to call from your boat,” says owner Scott Barkley. “Then we’ll deliver there.”

A classic steakhouse, Wellington cooks up gourmet dishes with a flair and serves them in a casual but elegant atmosphere, according to Barkley. Beef Wellington is their signature dish, but they also do prime beef steaks and a variety of fresh seafood, from mahi-mahi to scallops and shrimp.

“We do catering and business lunches, and we have a huge meeting room for families or businesses to entertain,” Barkley says. “Our outdoor patio can be used for everyday dining or meetings, too.”

The restaurant first opened for a few weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, then full blast after New Year’s Day. It’s closed Sundays and Mondays, but that is subject to change. “We may be open for Sunday lunch by the time readers see this,” he says. As of this writing, hours are 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. weekdays and 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. on Saturdays, year-round. Barkley advises people to check the restaurant’s Facebook page to keep up with new days, hours and menu selections.

Editor’s Note:Little Bridge Marina at 70 Wharton Bend Rd., in Rainbow City, expanded and reopened April 10 after a fire. It does feature outdoor dining accessible by boat.

A full story about its return is planned in the next issue of LakeLife 24/7.