It’s easy to say an event is bigger and better than ever, but organizers for Logan Martin LakeFest 2023 mean it.
When LakeFest kicks off Friday, May 12, through Sunday, May 14, at Pell City Lakeside Park, be ready for the Southeast’s largest in-water boat show featuring a host of dealers and onsite financing, row upon row of vendors, a variety of entertainment and food vendors galore.
“We’re excited,” said Eric Housh, one of the organizers of what has become a Logan Martin tradition. “Overall, this is our 13th year,” and each year seems to get better than the one it follows.
This year is no different, and there’s a reason for that. “We listen,” he said. Community feedback helps them improve on the strong foundation already in place. “We are refocusing to a full family event – fun for the whole family.”
LakeFest lights up at night
The outdoor festival features entertainment throughout the weekend, lake lifestyle vendors and the splash pad open for the kids for free all day on Saturday.
The event moved from its normal third weekend in May, which this year makes it fall on Mother’s Day weekend. So, organizers have added a special gift for mothers on Sunday – “Mimosas for Moms” – with 1,000 Mimosas given away courtesy of United Johnson Brothers, a major LakeFest sponsor. America’s First is providing free flowers for mothers, too.
“We have had fantastic sponsors over the years,” Housh said. “They make it happen. Without them, we wouldn’t have an event, and they come back year after year” to support it.
Judging by the size of the crowds, support from the community grows year after year, too. An estimated 45,000 to 50,000 attended the 2022 event.
From the beginning when the late Jerry Wood and others envisioned it, it has been LakeFest’s way of “welcoming people into our community and showing them Logan Martin Lake. We are very fortunate to have it here in our backyard,” Housh said.
Because of its sponsors, they have been able to keep the event free to the public. They even offer major giveaways and hourly door prizes as well as nearly nonstop entertainment and a fireworks show in honor of veterans.
“It was important to Jerry to honor veterans,” Housh said, and it has been a tradition since LakeFest’s inception. Veterans from Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home are hosted for the spectacular display in their honor that lights up the sky after dark Saturday.
Entertainment throughout the weekend features a family friendly version of the Velcro Pigmys as the headliners, a number of bands, and children’s television character, Blippy, will appear at this year’s LakeFest on Saturday.
Everyone who enters LakeFest has a chance to enter for major giveaways. “We’re super excited about the giveaways,” Housh said. A Seadoo will be given away by Munford Motorsports. LakeFest is giving away an ATV from Tracker Offroad, and Talladega Home Center will give away a Big Green Egg. “These are going to be really popular,” he added. That’s in addition to impressive door prizes – everything from kayaks and paddleboards to Tshirts and hats to boating accessories.
“We’re looking forward to it. We learn something every year,” Housh said. “Let us know what you think.” l
Established restaurateurs create another eatery on Logan Martin Lake with Wake Zone
Story by Scottie Vickery Photos by Mackenzie Free Submitted Photos
Keith Clements’ quest to own a restaurant started when he was just a boy. Raised by a single grandmother in the Pell City area, he fell in love with cooking before he could read and write. “I’ve always had a passion for it,” he said, and that passion eventually took him to culinary school in Cleveland, Ohio.
Nicola Wright, however, never even considered a future in the restaurant business. With a background in sales and managing fitness centers, she’s much more comfortable being a taste tester than preparing a meal to taste.
Can’t top Wake Zone’s nautical theme bar
After recently opening their third restaurant – their second on Logan Martin Lake – the business partners agree that even though their paths were different, they make a pretty good team. After buying the Wake Zone Grill and Bar last December, they opened the restaurant in February with a new menu, live entertainment and big goals.
“It’s right in the middle of the lake, and the middle of the lake needed something,” Clements said of the restaurant at Stemley Bridge. He and Wright believe that “something” is the perfect combination of great food and great fun. After all, it’s the same recipe for success they followed with their first partnership, Lakeside Grill on Coosa Island.
Entertainment is definitely on the new Wake Zone menu. They’ll offer Bingo on Wednesday nights and Karaoke is on tap for Thursdays. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays will feature live music. “We’ll have everything from the 50s all the way up,” Clements said.
Wright said they also plan to have some weekend events at the Wake Zone similar to those they’ve offered at Lakeside Grill to celebrate the start of summer or the end of a great season. “I think the events are what really made me fall in love with it,” she said of the restaurant business.
Spice of life
Hosting music and events aren’t the only ways they plan to spice things up, however. The Wake Zone, like Lakeside Grill, will offer a number of Cajun dishes, including Cajun Shrimp Tacos, Bayou Potato, Cajun Chicken Alfredo and Bayou Alfredo. “Cajun pasta is what we’re known for on the lake,” Clements said. “We brought a taste of New Orleans to Logan Martin.”
Clements’ taste and cooking skills have evolved over the years, and both have been heavily influenced by his family. “I grew up cooking with my grandmother,” he said of Viola Clements. “I started when I was 5 years old and I’ve been doing it ever since. I even won some 4-H competitions for the best homemade biscuits and cornbread.”
Outside dining gives you a beautiful lakeside view
His other grandmother, Jackie Fuller, influenced him, as well. Clements’ grandfather was part Hungarian, and Fuller taught him to make dishes like Chicken Paprikash. In addition, her sister married an Italian, and they had a big influence on his love for pasta dishes.
“I’ve always liked spicy foods, and Cajun pasta is my favorite thing to cook,” Clements said. “All of our alfredo sauce is made from scratch to order. There’s no canned or bagged alfredo sauce here.”
Given his love of Cajun food, it’s no surprise that the second restaurant Clements and Wright opened, Woodies Grill and Bar, is in the New Orleans area. That restaurant, which opened in November 2022, shares some of the same dishes that Lakeside Grill and Wake Zone have.
The Bayou Potato is an example. Topped with andouille sausage, shrimp, and crawfish cooked in a creamy Cajun sauce, as well as queso and shredded cheese, the baked potato has become a crowd favorite. “I went back to the kitchen and was just playing around with some stuff and when I brought it out, people all around me were eating off my plate,” Clements said. “I said, ‘Well, that’s a menu item.’”
Joining forces
Although Clements always wanted to own a restaurant, he knew he needed a backup plan, too. “I knew I needed another income because so many restaurants fail,” he said. As a result, he’s been in the construction business for 19 years and opened Lakeside Boathouses in 2011.
But he didn’t stop there. “I own about nine businesses between New Orleans and here,” he said. In addition to the three restaurants he runs with Wright, he also owns an excavating company, a boat rental company, a snow cone business and several rental properties. He also was a partner in two other restaurants before joining forces with Wright.
Wright, whose life was in transition a few years ago, was looking for a new path. She bought out Clements’ previous partner and decided to change careers. “I knew nothing about restaurants at the time,” she said. “I do now.”
The partners’ first venture together was Lakeside Grill, which opened in May 2020. “There’s not many people opening a restaurant in the middle of COVID, but I was the gambler,” Clements said.
It paid off, and shortly after the restaurant opened, Wright came on board. Since then, they’ve hosted a number of community events such as the “Rockin the Island Luau,” and Lakeside Grill has become a fixture on the water. “We’ve had events that have drawn crowds of 600 and 700 people a day,” Clements said. “We put a big stage down by the water facing the restaurant, and we just pack ’em in.”
While Wright runs the business side of things, she also puts her own stamp on the restaurants and the events they host. In addition to starting weekly Bingo, she’s brought in everything from a 360-degree photo booth to a mechanical bull at special events. One of her first ideas for the Wake Zone is to host a Poker Run between it and Lakeside Grill.
“There’s no better feeling than when an event comes together and everybody says it’s so much fun,” she said. “At the end of the night, you can close up and think, ‘That was good.’”
That’s one reason she’s come to enjoy the restaurant business more than she could ever imagine. “I love the social aspect of it,” she said. “I’ve met so many people through it, and it really keeps me busy. It’s been very good to me at a time when I needed it.”
In addition, Wright said she and Clements work well together.
“Together, we come up with some really good stuff,” she said. Some of the good stuff they have planned for the Wake Zone is adding a tiki bar, expanding the deck overlooking the water and building an outdoor stage. “There’s a lot of potential here,” Clements said.
Special touches
Although there are some similarities on the Lakeside Grill and Wake Zone menus, there are some dishes that are only served at each restaurant. Lakeside, for instance, has barbecue while Wake Zone has a pork chop and more seafood items, such as crab claws and fried fish on “Fish Frydays.”
In addition, the Wake Zone menu features favorites of Clements’ kids (Cassidy, Riley and Madilyn), Wright’s kids (Brayden and Leelee), and Lakeside and Wake Zone manager Tanya Barnett, known to customers as “Ma.” There’s “Cassidy’s Bangin Popcorn Shrimp,” “Ma’s Meatloaf,” which is a special on Wednesday, and “Bray’s BLT.”
The restaurant family also includes some of the employees in Clements’ other businesses. “Some of the boathouse guys tend bar on the weekends,” he said. “Tanya and one of the cooks came in for construction work, and I put them to work at Lakeside. We turned our staff into a family.”
They’re working on making the whole community family, too. They love to sponsor and host community events, adopt kids at Christmas, provide holiday meals for the community and more. Some summer weekends, they’ll take a grill to Pirate Island, grab some food from the restaurant and feed whoever happens to come by.
“We’re not just a business,” Clements said. “We’re here to create family, a lake family.”
Cajun Jambalaya from Wake Zone
Cajun Jambalaya
(Makes 20 servings)
1 cup diced bell pepper
1 cup diced yellow onion
6 tablespoons olive oil
6 teaspoons garlic powder
6 teaspoons crushed red pepper
6 teaspoons smoked paprika
6 teaspoons Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning
5 teaspoons hot sauce
4 cups chopped andouille sausage
4 cups chopped chicken
6 cups medium or long grain rice
6 cups chicken broth
6 cups water
Directions:
Heat olive oil in a stock pot and add peppers and onions. Add all seasonings and cook until onions are translucent, stirring occasionally. Add meat and cook thoroughly. Add rice and liquid. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cover, stirring occasionally. Cook until rice is tender.
Serve with shrimp and a lemon wedge.
Chicken Alfredo from the Wake Zone restaurant on Logan Martin Lake
Chicken Alfredo
(Makes 1 serving)
1/2 cup cubed chicken
1/4 cup broccoli florets
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 teaspoons olive oil
3-ounces grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tablespoon garlic salt
1 cup cooked fettucine noodles
Directions:
Heat olive oil in a 9-inch skillet. Add cubed chicken, broccoli and garlic salt. Cook chicken thoroughly. Add heavy cream and bring to a light boil.
Add parmesan cheese. Mix well until thickened. Add cooked noodles and toss. Serve with garlic bread.
‘We were a mile from the Coosa River, so we knew the water would get us.’
Sue Clinkscales Granger has a lake house. Her house, which sits next door to John Abbott’s, became waterfront when the waters of Logan Martin rose. Though she lives in Jacksonville now, she visits her Cropwell place frequently and remembers well the chaos that came along with the rising waters.
Old Cotton Gin in Easonville
Growing up, she lived in a different house, one that was directly in the path of the floodwaters, and her family was not happy about it. “The surveyors would come by putting in stakes, and my granddaddy would come by and pull them up,” said Granger. “We were a mile from the Coosa River, so we knew the water would get us.”
Continuing, she recalls, “I was away in college at Jacksonville State (JSU). I remember coming down and going swimming as the water was coming up.”
In the end, they sold that home for $6,000 and built a house in Pell City.
Longtime Pell City resident Dianne Fisher tells a similar story. She was in first grade when her parents had to move their home out of the path of the future lake.
Her family’s home was not far from John Abbott’s home, just about 100 yards into the center of what would be the lake.
They had it jacked up and moved to higher ground in 1963.
“My mother cried when they cut down the trees. They were huge, beautiful old oaks.”
Four months after they had the house moved, they sold it and moved into a house they had built in Pell City. The old one that was moved has long since been torn down.
“In the end, it was OK,” admits Fisher. “I have four brothers. Once we got into our bigger home, we all had our own bedrooms, and it was easier. And we were closer to town.”
Coming soon: A look back before there was Alpine Bay
Alpine Bay has a rich history dating back to its days as Point Aquarius, when the likes of Bob Hope and blind Alabama golfer Charlie Boswell frequented the resort.
Name brand entertainment, formal wedding receptions, class reunions and elegant dinners took center stage, and the resort became a destination point.
In the May issue of LakeLife 24/7 Magazine®, look for a full story on the history, recollections and photographs that capture the essence of Point Aquarius.
Story Elaine Hobson Miller Photos by Richard Rybka Photos contributed by Tony Parton
Goldenrods, a golf cart and a vision. That’s what led Tony Parton down the path, literally and figuratively, to the development of Alpine Bay Golf Course.
Parton lives in East Winds, a subdivision near the course, which first opened in 1972 as Point Aquarius. It’s situated along the southern shore of Logan Martin Lake in Alpine, a small community in Talladega County. Parton was a member there for 15 years prior to its closing in 2014. But he never dreamed he would one day buy that dead course and bring it back to life. Enter the goldenrod and golf cart.
“It was January 3, 2015, and my wife, Jan, and I rode our golf cart through a path in the woods behind our house and came out on the 8th green. It was covered in goldenrods,” says Parton, who retired in 2010 from the federal prison system.
Jan and Tony Parton
He pulled up some of the weeds and wondered what the green would look like without them. The next day, he returned on his John Deere zero-turn mower and took a crack at clearing the weeds that used to be Alabama’s state flower.
“I started in the center of the green,” he recalls. “The deck was set as high as it would go. By day’s end the mower deck was at its lowest.” What he saw after the mowing was potential. “It showed me there was hope,” he says. “I called the Realtor and made an offer. He turned it down, but I stayed in touch with him.”
An auction in June of 2015 brought a high bid of $120,000, which apparently wasn’t enough to net a sale. Parton didn’t participate in the auction but called the Realtor in August of the same year with another offer. It, too, was turned down. “Then in October, the Realtor called and asked if my offer was still good,” Parton says. “I met with him and gave him some earnest money.”
Parton didn’t want to risk his life savings, so he enlisted Mark Calhoun, a friend who lives near the course at Water’s Edge, to go in with him on the venture. They decided if they could raise half a million dollars they could open the golf course debt-free. “I figured 100 shares at $5,000 per share,” he says. “But 23 invested and we raised $525,000.” They formed an LLC, which actually owns the property. He and Mark have roughly a fourth interest each.
It took about five months to whip the course into playable shape. That included more mowing, fertilizing and getting at the roots of those pesky goldenrods. Parton and his wife, Jan, along with fellow investors Calhoun, Ray Ferguson and Percy Jennings, used claw hammers to pull them up so the weeds wouldn’t return.
That left big holes that needed to be filled. There was a large pile of sand on the property, but Parton had no way to move it. Enter Frank Hall, who wanted to put $5,000 into the venture. “He said he had something else we needed, an old tractor with a bucket and cutter and a tandem-axle (dually) truck with a dump bed,” Parton says. “We traded him two shares for them. I went to his house and got them.” They opened the gates on July 1, 2016.
A New Vision
Parton and his investors believe Alpine Bay Golf Course has a lot going for it, starting with its designer. The 6,518-yard, par-72 championship layout was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., namesake of Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. It’s a links course, meaning it does not make a turn at the clubhouse after nine holes. In fact, Number Nine is as far away from the clubhouse as you can get and still be on the property. Normally a beverage cart runs on Fridays, holidays and weekends for folks who want a break at that point.
Original plans for Point Aquarius called for two golf courses, but the second closed after a short time. Parton and his investors didn’t buy that section of land. Managing the 144-acre property they own, which includes the golf course, practice range, putting green and small clubhouse, is a full-time job for Parton, but he finds it very rewarding. “All those people who left have come back, and we’re growing,” he says. “We have about 140 members.”
The small clubhouse has a grill that sells a variety of sandwiches and a modest pro shop that has the essentials for golfers, like tees and shoes. “Shawn Reider, who worked with the previous owners, was our pro when we opened,” Parton says. “I brought him back because I knew nothing about running a golf course. He was a big asset, but he developed brain cancer and died. We don’t have a pro right now.”
Birdie and Bogey
Hundreds of empty lots surround the course, and they’re owned by individuals all over the United States. Only one house was ever built overlooking the greens, and it burned down. Parton would love to see someone develop those lots.
“Since we opened, neither Mark, nor me and my wife have gotten any money from it, and we’ve paid no dividends to investors,” he says. “Every penny that comes in goes right back into the course.”
Speaking of money, it costs a lot to run a golf course. It will take $750,000 to replace the outdated manual irrigation system. Last July they had to dig up the invasive Zoysia grass and put in Bermuda – at several thousand dollars per green. They bought custom-made tarps to cover all the greens during freezing weather – at $1,000 each.
“We had 18 tarps but had to order another one this morning because one was stolen last night,” Parton says on the January day of this interview. “Ironically, it won’t do anybody any good, won’t protect anything from wet weather because it has holes in it to let the water through. I wish I could be there when whoever stole it finds that out after a rainy night!” Chemicals (for fertilizer) are his biggest costs, however. “This is nothing but a glorified sod farm.”
The price of a basic membership is $1,200 per year plus a $20 cart fee per game. Unlimited membership costs $3,000 per year but includes cart fees. That isn’t enough to handle all the costs of running a golf course, though, so Parton is always brainstorming ways to bring in extra revenue.
“We have members-only events, like a (February 2023) dinner with live entertainment,” he said. “We encourage people to come and eat breakfast or lunch before tee-time, then have a snack after their game. We have lots of tournaments scheduled. I can get people together and organize events that people will enjoy.”
One of the highlights of his time redeveloping the course came in 2021 when Parton got to play golf with Robert Trent Jones Jr., eldest son of the course designer. Junior and his son, Trent, were in Birmingham for an Architectural Summit near Birmingham staged by Golfweek magazine. They were at Alpine because Golfweek scheduled a day there. This was the first time for either Jones Jr. or Trent to visit the course that Jones Sr. had designed a half-century earlier.
Ray Ferguson, one of the original investors, is maintenance supervisor. He has been involved with the golf course since it opened as Point Aquarius in 1982. “Our goal when we started was to get it up and running,” he says. “Someone had been looking at the property to put a trailer park here.”
Two shepherd-type dogs showed up one day and started following some of the golfers around. Dubbed Bogey and Birdie, they quickly became the course’s mascots. Bogey (the male) died recently, but Birdie (the female) is still there. “Bogey used to follow me home when I’d play golf. He’d stay the night, go back to the course next day,” Parton says.
Inside the clubhouse, Percy Jennings works in the modest pro shop. “I helped dig up the goldenrods with claw hammers and a 5-gallon bucket,” Jennings says. “We sat on our haunches and pulled them up.” He pauses to call out the names of the next players, telling them it’s their tee-time. He staggers the times so as not to crowd the greens.
Probably eight to 10 men are hanging out at the clubhouse today, either awaiting their turns or relaxing after their rounds. There are white-haired men in khakis, golf shirts and ball caps, some with white sunscreen on their noses, cheeks and chins, as if headed for the beach. Younger men in their 30s and 40s enjoy a beer or one of Bogey’s Grille’s famous cheeseburgers. Boisterous laughter erupts now and then, as friends tell tall tales about their golf scores.
Bogey’s is also a full-service bar with your favorite adult beverages. The Grille also serves breakfast sandwiches and plates, hot dogs, chicken fingers and chicken salad. It’s open Tuesdays through Sundays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. You don’t have to play golf to eat there, either. One of the regulars, Bill Camp, 87, drops by at least once a week for a large hamburger, even though he no longer plays. Lester Drummer is 93 and an honorary member. He may shoot a few balls, but mostly fishes in the pond at the back of the clubhouse.
Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, Tony and a “few” of his friends tee off. There aren’t but 26 of them today, but on a warm and sunny summer day, that number goes out the roof. “Last week there were 36 of us,” Ray Ferguson says. “We eat and play golf.”
Parton says he doesn’t have any goals going forward, because he has already achieved what he wanted: To get the golf course opened and people playing there again. He just hopes the former “ghost town,” as he calls it, grows and people continue to enjoy it.
“God is in this,” he says. “I feel like He called us to do it, because this community (Alpine) needs this golf course.”
Alabama Power ready to boost water levels on Logan Martin, Neely Henry
Story by Paul South Staff Photos
ForCarl Wallace, there are signs—both on and off the lake – telling him a change is coming and that the waters will rise.
The arrival of Daylight Savings Time – this year on March 12 – means longer afternoons and a break in cabin fever for folks longing to get out. Homeowners race to finish boathouse, dock and shoreline repairs.
And – like blossoming buds and sprouting trees – social media springs to life with chatter about the rising waters. Boat dealer and marina traffic heats up, as does the weather. Shorts and T-shirts replace sweaters and sweatshirts.
Logan Martin Dam
“All of a sudden, you have an extra hour in the evening – it has warmed up a bit – and people will long to get out,” Wallace says.
This year, the anticipation is even more heightened since residents got their first sampling of higher water when the winter pool was raised to 462 feet instead of the 460 feet since its beginnings in the mid-1960s.
Come April 16, the lake will begin its seasonal rise with only three feet to go to summer pool – expected by May 1. The drawdown is expected to begin Oct. 1.
And since Alabama weather is, well, Alabama weather, with shorts and Tshirts becoming appropriate apparel here and there throughout the winter months, the extra two feet has meant an increase in year-round boating. But unofficially, lake season seems to kick off in a big way around Memorial Day weekend.
There’s a flurry of activity up and down the lake between now and the water’s rise. Boat and seawall repairs, dock building and improvements and general sprucing up with landscaping projects are all part of the pre-lake season mix.
An important note: Property owners interested in performing shoreline maintenance projects must get a permit from Alabama Power through its Shoreline Management Office at 205-472-0481 before starting any project.
Increased debris may come with rising waters, so groups like the Logan Martin Lake Protection Association and Renew Our Rivers go to work, cleaning up the waters.
Why the fluctuation?
Twice a year – each Spring and Fall – Alabama Power Company adjusts water levels in Logan Martin and Neely Henry lakes to prepare for Alabama’s rainy seasons.
Full pool for Logan Martin is 465 feet and for Neely Henry, it’s 508 feet. Neely Henry’s level only fluctuates about a foot.
Neely Henry is a storage lake, and levels don’t fluctuate much
The electric utility operates two kinds of lakes – “Run of River” and “Storage.” Logan Martin and Neely Henry are storage reservoirs, which serve two purposes.
“Run of river projects discharge essentially the same amount of water that flows into them. This type of operation gives them a fairly consistent lake level year-round. These lakes were not designed with flood control as a specific project purpose,” according to Alabama Power Spokesperson Alyson Tucker.
“Alternatively, ‘storage’ projects like Neely Henry and Logan Martin provide seasonal storage, having different summer and winter pool levels and are drawn down late fall into the winter to provide a means of managing and storing winter/spring rains. These operations provide a measure of protection against downstream flooding during high flow events. These storage projects normally have their levels returned to summer pool levels during the spring timeframe. Water stored in these storage lakes can also help mitigate some impacts of drought by providing a limited source of water for use when it is scarce, such as during drought periods.”
The operating levels, managed by Alabama Power are determined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in what’s called the Guide
The Guide remains the same throughout the summer months. In fall and early winter, the Guide declines to make room for normal winter and spring flood flows. In general, the operating guide provides the guidance needed for both flood control operations and daily water management decisions.
Environmental impact on flora and fauna is “minimal,” Alabama Power officials say.
“Alabama Power works in concert with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to maintain stable or slightly rising water levels during the spring to support fish spawning when conditions allow. Due to higher and more stable water levels in the winter,” the company says, there has been an increase in aquatic vegetation on these lakes in recent years.
Lake levels vary depending on conditions.
And lakefront businesses and watercraft merchants will likely see their bottom lines rise along with the water levels.
For lake residents, the rising lake levels generate more than electricity. The lake will see a sizable increase in traffic from pontoons, fishing and ski boats and personal watercraft. Wallace, who writes the social media blog, Lake Ramblings, put it like this: “Lake lovers love toys.”
It won’t be too long before this is an every weekend scene at Pirate Island
A dammed good time
Logan Martin and Neely Henry lakes were part of a construction project to further develop the Coosa River in the late 1950s and early 60s. The area of the Logan Martin reservoir is 15,263 acres with 275 miles of shoreline.
Neely Henry Reservoir has an area of 11,200 acres and 339 miles of shoreline, according to Alabama Power.
Neely Henry Dam was built in 1966, and Logan Martin, in 1964.
Since that time, for water enthusiasts on both lakes, it has been (as a lake festival Tshirt once proclaimed) “a dammed good time.”
Story by Gigi Hood Photos by Kelsey Bain Submitted Photos
Life is a puzzle, and we put the pieces together as our journey unfolds. Sometimes we wonder where we came from, or question ourselves as to where we’re going, and sometimes we find it hard to remember all the places we’ve ever been. From day to day, we never know who we might meet or where and when the puzzle might end.
There is no too large or too small, but there is a dream that needs to be addressed and built that makes it just right.
Such is the case with Gib Johnson and his wife, Lori Hedvig Johnson, who have built their dream home on Logan Martin Lake. Lori is originally from Alexander City, and Gib is a true “Carolina-Blue-Blooded Tar Heel,” who was raised in Salisbury, NC, a small city between Charlotte and Greensboro.
Prior to fulfilling their dream of living on the water’s edge, the Johnsons lived in the Hoover and Pelham areas of Birmingham. Gib had grown up on High Rock Lake in North Carolina, where he spent much of his time, boating, skiing and sailing. “I was and still have been an all-around water/lake lover for as far back as I can remember, and when Lori and I married, we bought a lot, dock and boat at Smith Lake, and I introduced her to life on and around the water; she embraced it, just as I had, and that was the beginning of our dream of one day having a house on the water.”
Farmhouse modern look and feel
As much as they enjoyed Smith Lake, “we knew it was not logistically possible for us to live there permanently and make a daily commute back and forth to Birmingham. So, we started looking at Logan Martin Lake, since it is the closet body of water to Birmingham.”
Gib is the managing partner of Zuriel Technology Group, LLC, which is based in Birmingham. Founded in 2015, the business is an Information Technology Managed Services Company that provides IT support to companies across the southeastern area of the U.S. Lori also works at Zuriel as Financial Controller.
After investigating lot possibilities, Gib was excited to find four suitable lakefront properties at Charter Landing Estates, where building had not yet begun. He was disappointed when he found that his search had been to no avail. All the properties had been sold, and the owners already had their future building plans outlined. Knowing they had to start over looking at lots was discouraging, but a “miracle” happened on Thanksgiving Day in 2020 that put their plans back on track.
“I answered the ringing phone,” Gib said, “and there was a voice on the other end telling me that Lot 12 was available for purchase because the owners had bought a new home and decided not to build at Charter Landing. The gentleman asked me if we might still be interested in buying the lot. Our answer was a quick ‘yes!’, and Lori and I postponed our Thanksgiving dinner as we proceeded to make a deal to purchase the lot that day. What a special Thanksgiving that was.”
Next came the step of deciding on plans for their building adventure. Accepting the help and recommendation from one of their friends, they met with architect Mark Tidwell of Tidwell & Associates and hired him to lead them through the task of putting together the version of their vision for their dream house.
Once the design process was approved, they then began the search for who was considered to be the best builder in the area. George Crain of George Crain Homebuilders was the name that kept coming up, and they knew that he was the builder they wanted. According to Gib, “George had other ideas. He was close to retirement and was not planning to build any more homes. Thankfully, we were able to convince him to take on our project, and he agreed. We were thrilled with his professionalism and expertise, and we will always be thankful that he was the man behind making our dream come true.”
Working together, Gib and Lori teamed up on the décor. Together they agreed that they wanted the style of their home to be “Modern Farmhouse.” The result of their time, effort and imagination is a delightful mixture of old and new, comfort and enjoyment of day-to-day living for both their family and their guests.
Priorities were lake view, room for visitors, location in Pell City, private quarters for their visitors on the downstairs level and making sure that all guest rooms had a lake view and the kitchen area.
“To us, the kitchen does not mean the appliances and the immediate area we are cooking in,” Lori explained. “Yes, it is the place food is prepared, but it’s so much more than that for us. We want our kitchen to be warm, inviting and a gathering place. Our plan was to leave it openly connected with our adjoining living spaces. We did plan our area for convenient preparation, while making sure we had plenty of space to comfortably and enjoyably cook together while still being a part of what was going on around us.”
Gib and Lori chose not to have a formal dining room, but rather, stayed with their Farmhouse style. They purchased a taller than usual, long table with bench seating at the end of the kitchen that overlooks the lake. It easily seats 10 people and provides the perfect place for easy conversation and fun gatherings at mealtimes. A granite bar on the backside of the island also provides chairs for more casual eating or an overflow place for more guests.
After an extensive search, Lori found a tile that she just had to have. Originally it was only going to be used for the backsplash of the kitchen. “I was so excited to find that tile, that I decided to decorate my kitchen around it and bought it on the spot,” she said.
“Then, after seeing how the backsplash turned out, I decided I wanted to carry it to the top,” she said. “But then when I decided to extend it, of course, I needed more tile. However, that was when things were in short supply and my original supplier could not get any more. He told me that he was sorry, but the backsplash would have to suffice. Not wanting to dash the look that I had created in my mind’s eye, I searched all over and after combining inventory from four different places, I was able to piece together the entire wall and complete the kitchen to my liking.”
The house furnishings that are a blend of “Modern Farmhouse” mixed with “Modern Elegance” complement one another. Heirloom antiques, inherited from Gib’s father, hold special meaning. His father was a CPA by trade, but his real passion was collecting antiques. “We were able to keep some of his collections, but unfortunately we had to part with many beautiful pieces because there just wasn’t enough room for them,” Gib explained. “The ones we kept blended well with our modern furnishings. Together they are both beautiful to look at and enjoy and of course, very special because they were my Dad’s.”
Among the antiques they did keep and still cherish is a 4-poster bed that is believed to have been used by the actress, Bette Davis, in her New York City apartment. Other artifacts include various Chippendale pieces, one of which is a Chippendale Bar Set that Gib claims as his favorite piece. Lori is partial to the Ming Dynasty Vase as her special item.
View of the house from the lake
Aside from their furnishings, there are a few other special places in the house. There is a full gym, which would be the pride of any exercise guru and is a necessity for daily exercise in their lives. Lori grew up very athletic and was a successful amateur triathlete for six years. She no longer competes in triathlons, but still likes to walk and run as well as do Yoga.
After her work and workouts are through, Lori’s therapy room, consisting of a tanning bed, red light therapy and room to meditate, are a perfect place for her to decompress. Being the “do it yourselfer,” Gib’s special room is his indoor workshop, accessible from both the interior and exterior of the home and complete with an organized place for all his tools and room to work on his projects.
Additional amenities of the home also include a tiered theatre room and a gorgeous swimming pool that Lori and Gib designed, plus an impressive porch on which to entertain as well as watch the sunrises, sunsets and lake activities. And of course, the home wouldn’t be complete without a large yard, pier, boat dock and all the water toys anyone needs for having fun.
During the building process, the Homeowners Association of Charter Landing Estates offered six other lots for sale, and Gib and Lori purchased their second lot. They decided that after retirement (or maybe before) they would build a spec house. “Eventually, we intend to build on the second lot. But for now, we’re taking a rest.”
They agree that it has been a long road to finding and completing their dream home. “We moved once, thinking we wanted to downsize after our four children left the nest,” Lori said. “But when everyone returned home for the holidays with their spouses and friends plus other family members, our downsizing didn’t work because it was bumper-to-bumper people.”
After that experience, Lori and Gib decided to try the ultimate experience – building. “Along the way, there were plenty of ups and downs, frustrations, general craziness. Looking back, it was tedious, maddening and just plain fun building and furnishing our dream,” Lori said.
Would they do it again? “No, not willingly,” Gib replied, “but then again, never say never.” They survived the journey, put all the pieces of the puzzle together, and hope that this will be their forever home.
Bourbon, Honey and Brown Sugar Salmon in front and Gib’s BEST Blackened Chicken Alfredo
Gib’s BEST Blackened Chicken Alfredo
Ingredients
2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 Tbsp – Blackening Seasoning
2 Tbsp – Olive Oil
12 ounce – Fettucine Pasta
6 Tbsp – Butter
1 Tbsp – Minced Garlic
1 1/2 cup – Heavy Whipping Cream
1 1/2 cup – Grated Parmesan Cheese
Blackening seasoning
1 Tbsp – Paprika or Smoked Paprika
2 Tbsp – Salt
1 Tbsp – Garlic Salt
1 Tbsp – Parsley (optional to taste)
1 Tbsp – Onion Powder
2 Tbsp – Black Pepper
2 Tsp – Cayenne Pepper
1 Tbsp – Oregano
Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl and store in an air tight container.
Preparing the chicken
Cut the chicken breasts into bite sized pieces. Coat all sides of the chicken with blackening seasoning. Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat. Place Olive Oil in the skillet. When the oil is hot, add the chicken breasts to the skillet.
Cook the chicken for approximately 5 minutes on each side …until each side is brown. Transfer the chicken to a separate plate and cover with foil to keep it warm.
Preparing the Pasta
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package. Remove from cooktop and strain the pasta
Preparing the Alfredo Sauce
Add the butter and the garlic and cook for 3-5 minutes on LOW heat…until the butter is melted and the garlic is fragrant. Whisk in the heavy whipping cream. Cook – while whisking – for approximately 3-5 minutes until the cream is heated through. Stir in the parmesan cheese and allow the cheese to heat until it is melted in.. Add the blackened chicken and whisk it in so the chicken soaks up the Alfredo flavoring.
Finishing steps to serve
Toss the pasta with the homemade blackened chicken and Alfredo sauce. Serve immediately while warm and enjoy!
Bourbon, Honey and Brown Sugar Salmon
Ingredients
Salmon 2 large pieces (can be domestic or wild caught) Domestic is less fishy
Bourbon (your favorite) (1 Jigger)
Honey 3 Tbsp
Brown Sugar 2 Tbsp
Lemon Pepper 1/4 Tsp
Butter 2 Tsp
Salt and Pepper Sprinkle to Taste
Preparing the Fish
Pre-heat oven to 375. Combine bourbon, honey and brown sugar.
Wash Salmon Thoroughly . Spray the pan, dish or grill rack you are cooking on with non-stick spray. Melt Butter and Brush on Both Sides of Salmon. Salt and Pepper both sides. Sprinkle Lemon Butter.
Pour bourbon, honey and brown sugar on both sides. Cook for 6-8 minutes (turning half way through). Make sure Salmon reaches 165 internal temperature.
Remove and serve with broccoli florets or asparagus spears and long grain wild rice or risotto or pasta. Garnish with Parsley red peppers.
Lori’s Party Chicken
Ingredients
4 to 6 boneless chicken breasts
2 to 4 Slices of center cut bacon
2 x 6oz Packs of chipped beef (if you cannot find “chipped beef”, the beef in packs where the sandwich meat is (the cheap stuff), it works great too
1 x 16 oz sour cream
2 x regular size Campbell’s “cream of mushroom” soup (or 1 family size)
Salt and pepper to season
2 Cups Long grain rice (cook separately)
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Wash your chicken (always), set aside Get a glass casserole dish. A 9 x 13 is preferable. Take the chipped beef and chop them into little squares – you want to make sure the chipped/chopped beef pieces cover the entire bottom of casserole dish. Put cleaned/washed chicken on top of chipped beef and put a little salt and pepper on top.
Take 2 or 3 slices of bacon and stretch them, place on top of the chicken. Combine your sour cream and cream of mushroom soup in a separate bowl, add about 1/2 can of water, stir until blended. Once blended, pour over chicken, covering entirely.
Place in oven and cook for 2.5 – 3 hours (slow cooking on low heat makes chicken most tender). If you don’t have that much time, cook at 350 degrees but at least 2.5 hours.
Keep an eye on it as it cooks and stir regularly after about an hour and a half. If it looks dry, poor a little water in and stir.
Rice
Just follow directions. Remember long grain is best but you have to do the measurements just right and it takes 20 minutes (worth it though). A little trick on long grain – use a liquid measure for water and solid measuring cup for rice. I always put a LITTLE more rice just to make sure it’s not runny. This usually makes the rice perfect. Or use Uncle Ben’s instant rice.
Spring Mix Salad with Fetta, Almond Slivers and Strawberry Vinagaret
Bag of fresh spring mix salad (or romaine mix). Top with slivered almonds. Add fetta, optional. Top with a strawberry or raspberry vinaigrette. If you can’t find strawberry, any sweet vinaigrette will do!
Bread
Serve some Sister Schubert rolls (pan kind) with meal. Enjoy!
When the ribbon is officially cut on Museum of Pell City in coming weeks, the community will welcome a museum that is believed to have the potential to exceed the expectations of cities of comparable size.
It features an extensive, local exhibit tracing Pell City’s steps from mill town to global marketplace and the scores of people, places and events making its history in between.
“This museum represents a group of people whose love of history and preservation of it never wavered along the way despite the twists and turns of the road to get here. Its opening will be an historic day for our community because of their perseverance,” said Museum President Carol Pappas.
The museum is an impressive blend of the city’s history and the state’s history all under one roof – a 4,000 square foot suite on the second floor of the Pell City Municipal Complex.
Making Alabama, the state’s bicentennial exhibit awarded to Museum of Pell City by Alabama Humanities Alliance, showcases Alabama’s 200 years of statehood and beyond. Within that exhibit are artifacts and little-known nuggets of Pell City history weaved into the story that unfolds.
Volunteer help is essential to success. Max Jolley and Nick Olivastri lend a hand.
Just like the whistle that sounded at the turn of the 20th century signaling the beginning of shifts at Avondale Mills – Pell City Manufacturing in its early days – the museum will have its own replica of that whistle at the entrance to the local exhibit, signifying the start of a new day.
Museum cases, made possible through gifts from citizens, are full of artifacts that bring the stories and photos of Pell City history to life. Hundreds of old photos are accessed on computer tablets for each period of history. A simple swipe across the screen reveals photo after photo of the days that were.
An interior room has been built to house music history, art and sports, and the national impact of Pell Citians on all three.
Another section tells the story of service with organizations and individuals dedicating themselves in public service, military and civic arenas.
The exhibit housed for years in the county courthouse is featured as well as the places where memories were made – hangouts like the Rexall Drugs, Skad’s, Jill’s and Dairy Queen.
Alabama Power Foundation partnered with the museum on a project to build a working dam model to take visitors behind the scenes of Logan Martin Dam and the impact it has had on the region. A $45,000 grant from the Foundation made the stunning exhibit possible as well as other aspects of the museum.
Pell City is no longer a mill town, and a Global Marketplace section reflects exactly that – the evolution of Pell City as a player on the world stage in business.
The centerpiece of the museum is a Living History Studio, which will be used to record and produce oral history videos designed to capture recollections of events, people and places in the history of the community. Much of it was made possible through a $25,000 grant from the Pell City Rotary Community Foundation Endowment. “That grant will enable us to achieve so many of the goals we have for this ongoing program.”
A mobile video team of experienced videographers and interviewers is being dispatched on location for those who cannot travel. In addition, a special project involving veterans of three wars – World War II, Korean and Vietnam – is making use of a partnership between the museum and the Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home in Pell City. A nearly $9,000 major grant from Alabama Humanities Alliance is the catalyst for the launch of the veterans program.
A control room adjacent to the studio is planned as a working classroom for students to not only develop an appreciation for history through work with these oral histories but to develop skills in video production, audio, lighting, interviewing and research.
Gigi Hood and Lori Junkins install foam panels to help soundproof Living History Studio
Museum First Vice President Deanna Lawley is spearheading the Living History program. “Since 1968, when my husband, Barnett, brought me to Pell City, I have been enriched by tales of an agricultural area with a Mayberry-paced town where everyone set their watch by the mill whistle. How quickly it began to transform with the damming of a river,” she said.
“We are losing the voices that make you smile, laugh, cry or reflect with their wonderful stories. Our goal is to have a living museum; the oral histories will provide that feeling before more are silenced.”
Videos will be preserved, the audio transcribed and word searchable for research, and they can be accessed by the public and for use in the classroom. “What a wonderful opportunity we have to not only preserve the memories of eye witnesses to history but to share them to educate and engage audiences,” Pappas said.
Vision being realized
Museum of Pell City was a vision long before this suite became its home. That vision took many forms. The late Mary Mays, long known as an advocate for historic preservation, spearheaded a movement to place museum cases full of artifacts in the county courthouse in Pell City.
Others worked toward restoring the Mays House in Cropwell. Still others created April Walking Tours of historic downtown Pell City.
Another group brought the Smithsonian and Alabama Humanities Alliance exhibit, The Way We Worked, to Pell City in 2014 at the Center for Education and Performing Arts, CEPA, and created an impressive local history exhibit. That display, melded with the Smithsonian’s exhibition saw more than 7,000 people tour during its six-week stay.
That exhibition is widely viewed as the spark, the tipping point that caught fire and convinced a grassroots group that Pell City could indeed have its own museum. “So many people who toured that exhibition approached us about establishing a museum,” said Pam Foote, who served as project director of The Way We Worked and is now second vice president of the nonprofit that created the museum. “It was gratifying, yes, but it also represented a huge hill to climb.”
There was no place to house it. How could a single exhibit grow into a museum?
So, Foote and Lawley, co-chairs of the 2014 event, along with Pappas asked the city to store it, realizing it could be the nucleus of a museum. For seven years, it remained intact in the basement of the municipal complex while they pushed for a home.
There was talk of locating it in the long vacant administrative building, the single structure still standing on the Avondale Mills property, and that course was pursued for a few years.
After the Pell City Library moved into its new quarters in the municipal complex, that vacant building was seen as a temporary solution on location. The group pursued its prospects as well.
Then, Councilman Jay Jenkins had an idea in 2021, and his ‘what if’ turned into the museum’s home – two floors up from its storage in the municipal complex. The museum occupies a massive suite on the second floor.
“The city has been a terrific supporter of this museum,” Pappas said. “We couldn’t ask for better partners than the mayor, city manager and council. They provided us the space, infrastructure support and best of all, moral support for this project. Without them, we never would have made it this far.”
Pappas had high praise for the community and the support it has shown in rallying around the museum opening. “I cannot say enough about our volunteers. They are the linchpin in all of this – small jobs, large jobs and everything from fetching and toting to building and painting – holding it all together and making it happen. Our board had to create and establish this museum from the ground up, and they deserve a debt of thanks for stepping up to volunteer to steer this ship.”
As with any major project, funding is critical. “This museum would not have been possible without the financial support of so many people and organizations. When we say grassroots, we mean it. Over the past year, tens of thousands of dollars have poured into our treasury from ‘seed money’ by business people to sizable grants from civic, business, governmental and cultural organizations to wide-ranging individual contributions, memorials and social media fundraisers,” Pappas said.
Substantial additional support has come from the St. Clair County Commission, retired state Senator Jim McClendon and Congressman Mike Rogers. “Our sincere thanks goes to our elected leadership for their commitment to this project,” Pappas said.
Our Museum 100 – the 100 founding members who gave $100 – shows the strength of what can happen when they work together to raise $10,000 in a community like ours. That’s what it has been about all along and will be in the future – making history together.”
After the public ceremony officially cutting the ribbon, plans call for the museum to be open Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and by special appointment for groups.
Traveling by boat, young trick-or-treaters in costumes and life jackets, catch candy bars and bubblegum in nets usually reserved for snagging catfish and bass.
Meanwhile, their parents bob for miniature bottles of booze or sip salty margaritas.
Instead of chasing bones, Dachshunds are dressed in skeleton costumes. Halloween revelers of all ages chat and giggle and get acquainted with lakeside neighbors they may never have met.
Piers and their people, each with a theme, rock Halloween with their own individual party.
For one spooky evening – Halloween 2.0, if you will – a sliver of the seemingly divided world comes together.
Welcome to Boo Bash.
The inaugural autumn event is the brainchild of Kelli Lasseter, Sonya Hubbard and a band of lakefront merry pranksters. The seed of an idea – probably a pumpkin seed – took root in a summer conversation on a pontoon boat and sprouted on social media.
“We were talking about how fun it might be, since the water levels are going to be higher, to have a pier-to-pier trick-or-treat event,” Lasseter says. “So, the next morning I put the idea on Facebook and well, it just took off from there.”
Hocus Pocus
Boo Bash isn’t a philanthropic or business venture – though some lakefront businesses were involved. Boo Bash was all about old-fashioned fun with a twist.
Lasseter moved to Logan Martin from a Leeds neighborhood where Halloween was “huge.” But until Boo Bash, lake life didn’t mean a steady stream of little ghosts, goblins, princesses and pirates. But it turned out Boo Bash was about more than decorated docks and trick-or-treat.
“The weekend of the event was incredible. People hosted Boo Bash-themed gatherings for family, friends, and in some cases, the entire community. Our wonderful local businesses offered Boo Bash specials for people of all ages. The whole weekend was filled with so much joy. It’s kinda overwhelming to think about now,” Lasseter says.
“Overwhelmingly people said the thing they loved most about the event was that it brought people closer together and it fostered community on Logan Martin Lake. I couldn’t agree more.”
Despite soggy skies, enough homeowners to fill a haunted Transylvanian castle festooned their piers for All Hallows Eve.
“We estimate 45 – 50 host piers participated the day of the event. We had 73 sign-ups, but some had to withdraw in advance of the event due to illness, weather and low water levels,” Lasseter says.
Two restaurants and six marinas, 30 to 40 boats and one personal watercraft braved the elements to welcome between 100 and 130 “dock-or-treaters” of all ages. Between five and 10 furry, four-legged friends joined the fun.
“It was just incredible to see the amount of time, effort and resources everyone put into making Boo Bash such a great event. The people of Logan Martin Lake are very special, and their commitment to Boo Bash is just one example of many that shows how much this community cares about others,” Lasseter said.
Some of the dock decorators – including Angie Murchison’s family and Carl and Marcia “Mar” (cq) Wallace – jumped into the festivities with both feet – or in the case of two members of the Murchison family, four feet.
The Wallaces, with the help of Tim and Shannon Atchenson, won “Best Pier” by viewer’s choice. Other viewer’s choice awards included Mar Wallace and Peggy Boyd for “Halloween Spirit,” and Pier 59 and Angie Murchison for “Cheesiest Pier.” All participating piers received “Honorable Mentions.”
The two family dachshunds, Petey and Beanie, joined by a pack of blow-up skeleton wiener dogs, got in on the fun and inspired their kid-friendly theme – Howl-O-Weenie. One of the family pets had a small cowboy saddled up on her back.
But a neighbor and the Murchison’s two grandsons, ages six and two, sparked the family’s involvement. The Murchisons have called the lake their home for 25 years. Friends made up the family’s “Boo Crew.”
Poor House Branch Marine
“When you live on the lake, there are unique things that come with living on the lake,” Murchison says. “I wanted (my grandsons) to experience this coming by boat to trick or treat … I wanted to do it for them … It was so, so fun.”
A side note: the Murchisons live on a dead-end road. In their quarter-century on the lake, Halloween 2022 was first the time trick-or-treaters ever visited the family.
In a time when the country is still battling COVID-19, a political divide and a culture where folks may not even know their neighbors, events like Boo Bash are important. Emergence from two years of coronavirus cloister helped fuel Boo Bash buzz. Social distancing was still in play.
“Actually, I had a new neighbor, and because she saw us participating, she actually joined in at the last minute. So that kind of made me feel like I could reach out and have something in common with her, something to talk about so I could get to know her a little bit,” Murchison says. She had another positive connection with a neighbor through the Boo Bash Facebook page.
The Wallaces hosted Hall-O Rita, celebrating the season serving the Mexican adult beverage for grownups and candy for the kids. Sixty adults, 30 kids and three dogs visited the Wallace boathouse.
A retired engineer, Wallace pens the popular “Lake Ramblings” blog about people, places and events on Logan Martin.
Thanks to social media, Wallace says, Boo Bash took on “a life of its own.”
“It appealed to a lot of different demographics. It was a common goal kind of thing, happening in a season where generally speaking, there’s not a lot going on and lo and behold, it involved children. It just blew up.”
The Murchisons and their “Boo Crew” are already planning their theme for Boo Bash 2023. As for 2022’s event, Angie Murchison summed it up this way:
“It was a great way to enjoy the holiday season in a way that only relates to the lake.”
Only time will tell what Boo Bash 2022 meant to the lake community, Wallace says. But it touches on a need in a 50-mile-long lake community that loves a reason to come together.
“But that being said, my prediction is we’re going to look back and see this as the start of something really, really big … I think next year is going to be unreal.”
Wallace’s takeaway from the first Boo Bash highlights perhaps the greatest treat of all for Logan Martin friends and neighbors.
“I think if you give the lake community an opportunity to come together face to face, they’ll take it every time,” he says. “Everybody that came to our dock, they were just bursting with smiles.”
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.
The faces behind connecting the lake community – from left, Priscilla Willingham, Rebel Negley, Carol Cosper Meadows, David Smith
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.”
Regatta – David Smith
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.”
