So, pick out your best ‘green,’ gather a few friends and head to downtown Gadsden for the Second Annual St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl Saturday, March 18, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
It’s a giant party, stretching across block after block of downtown Gadsden where 18 bars and restaurants are hosting the party, inviting one and all to sample their fare and benefit from specials, discounts and prizes.
Gadsden’s only rooftop bar, a perch overlooking the river with a stunning view of the sunset at Jake’s Music Room, will be open and welcoming party goers as well.
The popular pub crawl Tshirts will be on sale on Court Street, and bands will be playing outside some of the bars and restaurants, giving all of downtown a festive atmosphere to revel in the celebration of Ireland’s patron saint.
The pub crawl is held each year on the closest Saturday to St. Patrick’s Day and is a Downtown Gadsden Inc.-sponsored event aimed at bringing people together downtown to experience what the restaurants, cafes, pizza places and bars have to offer.
Kay Moore, director of Downtown Gadsden Inc., anticipates a “big year” for the festivities, encouraging ‘crawlers’ to take advantage of what all these downtown businesses have in store for the celebration. It’s an evening to savor tasty meals and appetizers, enjoy your favorite libations, soft drinks, coffees, lattes and more. And it’s a time for camaraderie with old friends and new ones you’ll meet.
You don’t need a four-leaf clover to count yourself lucky to be a part of it – Irish or not.
Downtown Gadsden’s signature event returns, building bigger and better traditions
Story by Carol Pappas Submitted Photos
Just like an old friend you haven’t seen in a bit, Downtown Gadsden’s First Friday is back and ready to pick up the conversation – and the fun – where it left off in October.
No shortage of live music
First Friday returns April 7 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., building on what began with one small business in 2006 to a full-blown tradition that attracts people from multiple states from April to October each year.
“We’re looking forward to another great year,” said Downtown Gadsden Director Kay Moore. From the classic car show to the entertainment, downtown Gadsden becomes a destination point each month for this free, family event.
Broad Street, downtown’s main street, is closed to automobile traffic on First Friday, and food vendors to handle the overflow crowds set up shop in the 400 block. On 2nd, 3rd, 4th and possibly the 600 block, entertainment plays to diverse audiences. “We have jazz, R & B, rock ‘n roll, bluegrass, line dancing, the cowboy church band – a little bit of everything for everybody,” Moore said.
If one block doesn’t quite fit your musical tastes, “just keep walking,” she suggested. “You’ll hear something you like in the next block.”
As has been the custom with First Friday, the classic car show is a huge draw that attracts thousands of car enthusiasts from all points in Alabama and throughout the Southeast. And it just keeps getting bigger and better every year.
Organizations like Main Street Alabama and Main Street America have taken notice of Gadsden’s successful efforts to bring people back to downtown. Gadsden’s many honors include Top 10 awards for its promotional activities.
“We remind people we have a good downtown,” Moore said. “It’s the heartbeat of the community,” stressing that efforts reach well beyond First Friday. Promotions and events – from a chili cookoff to a St. Patrick’s Day pub crawl – ensure that downtown merchants benefit from the increased activity drawing prospective customers their way on a regular basis.
“They like coming to our downtown,” she said.
Vintage cars on display
Downtown Gadsden Inc. efforts don’t stop there, though. The organization is involved in beautifying and revitalizing the downtown area. The Pittman Theatre stage is being expanded and the ceiling is being dropped to improve its ability to host concerts.
Downtown Gadsden has entered into a public-private partnership with Walnut Gallery and Gadsden Museum of Art, leveraging its own $10,000 grant into a larger pool of $25,000 to place an 18-foot kinetic wind sculpture on the corner of 1st and Broad Streets. Just a short distance from the river and recognizing the water’s roots in Gadsden’s history, the sculpture resembles a fish with parts moving with the breeze.
“We’re really, really excited” about the sculpture coming and what the future holds for downtown, Moore said. There is no shortage of “great ideas” from the new mayor and administration that can be part of the planning that lies ahead.
“There’s a lot going on in Gadsden this year,” she added. First Friday and all the rest have been “a huge success for our downtown merchants and everybody else.”
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.”
Shelia Bunch’s work revolves around all things fishing, but the Tennessee businesswoman doesn’t have time to enjoy the pastime herself. She’s too busy running the show – literally.
Now Bunch, who has organized the East Tennessee Fishing Show and Expo for the past 14 years, is bringing the inaugural Alabama Fishing Show and Expo to Gadsden March 10-12 at The Venue at Coosa Landing. She’s hoping the lure of hundreds of vendors from all over the country, prizes and pro angler seminars will reel in fishing enthusiasts from all over Alabama and beyond.
“I’ve been wanting to do this for the past two or three years, but then COVID struck,” she said. “There’s no fishing shows in Alabama, there’s only boat shows,” she said. “There’s a big difference between fishing shows and boat shows.”
From fishing poles to kayaks, everything is on display
When Bunch decided to take her show on the road, she considered Georgia and South Carolina before deciding Alabama was the perfect fit. “You guys have some of the greatest fishing talent in Alabama, you’ve got great lakes, and so many great fishing tournaments,” she said.
After taking over the show that had been held in the Knoxville area for 30 years but was struggling, Bunch vowed to make it bigger and better than ever before. Since then, the Tennessee event has grown to include more than 300 vendors from all over the country and Canada. Visitors from 12 states have attended, searching for gear for both salt and freshwater fishing.
“Our goal is to provide a family-friendly fishing event for everyone who has a passion for fishing,” she said. “We focus only on the fishing industry. You’re only going to see fishing boats here. We have tackle vendors with products you’ll never be able to see anywhere else. It’s exciting to pull all this together.”
So far, local vendors, as well as some from Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Indiana, Virginia, Arkansas, Florida, Arkansas and Louisiana have committed to Alabama’s show. Bunch said many more will register over the next few months, offering everything from boats, tackle, custom lures, rods, reels, clothing, electronics, fishing accessories and more.
Second Career
In her former life, Bunch owned a hair salon. “It’s a different type of work for sure,” she said before adding that she’s had plenty of experience helping out in her husband Curtis’ boat dealership. She also loves a challenge. “I’m great at planning events, I’m very organized, and I’m fair,” she said. “At first, the vendors did not like having some little short woman come in and tell everybody what to do. But over the years, I’ve been very open-minded, and they’ve really supported me.”
That’s because Bunch offers them a lot of support, as well. “I believe in small business,” she said. “We have everything from big-name vendors to small-name vendors, and some get their start at our show. I do my best to support their products because they need a chance to build their business like everybody else.”
One of Bunch’s favorite things about the show is that it gives families a chance to build memories. “We have so many people come in and say they remember when their grandfather took them to a fishing show,” she said. “If you want anything to do with fishing, this is where you come to. If you don’t fish, by the time you leave, you’ll wish you did, or you’ll have plans to start.” l
Story by Roxann Edsall Photos by Mackenzie Free Submitted Photos
For most of us, life along the Coosa River is pretty peaceful. Whether we’re headed out to wet a line or just cruise around in the pontoon boat, we probably don’t think much about the bold warriors and soldiers who needed this water to survive. Nor do we envision the battles that took place near the water’s edge. Few reminders of those battles remain today.
Control of waterways and water crossings was a prize to be won in many skirmishes, as was the case in 1864 in the Battle of Ten Islands. The engagement ended badly for the Confederate troops when, vastly outnumbered by the Union forces, they tried valiantly to keep the opposing forces from crossing the Coosa River at the Ten Islands Ford.
Today, the importance of this battle is commemorated at Ten Islands Historical Park in Ragland. A historical marker looking out over the water just north of Neely Henry Dam reminds observers of the history made there.
Union General William Sherman had ordered Major General Lovell Rousseau to lead a raid into Alabama with the mission of destroying the railroad that connected Montgomery to Opelika. If he could destroy that section of rail, he could disrupt the supplies to the Confederate army.
His secondary mission, Rousseau was told, was to destroy any ironworks or furnaces that made weapons along his route.
Forth Strother monument
On the Confederate side, Brigadier General James H. Clanton and a cavalry of 300 were charged with protecting both Janney Furnace and nearby Cane Creek Furnace and keeping Rousseau and his band of 2,300 raiders from crossing the Coosa River. Rousseau’s raiders persevered and were able to defeat Clanton’s men. Having found out the location of the two furnaces, Rousseau sent a detail to destroy them both.
“Rousseau picked Captain Ed Ruger and told him to burn down Janney Furnace and any buildings that supported it,” tells Janney Museum Director Tom Norton, describing events leading up to the attack. “After he burned the place down, he wrapped the small chimney in dynamite and blew it up, too.”
The raiders destroyed the Cane Creek Furnace, but only destroyed the infrastructure of the Janney Furnace. What remains today is what didn’t get burned or blown up. That they didn’t completely destroy the stone structure supports the theory that the Janney Furnace was not fully functional at the time of the attack.
The furnace had just been constructed and was likely not quite ready for production. What businessman Alfred Janney had built, hoping to produce 15 tons of pig iron per day, likely did not have a chance to support the Confederate war effort at all.
That theory would later be supported in a 2006 study of Janney’s 50-foot high remaining stone structure. Jacksonville State University Professor Emeritus Dr. Harry Holstein led a study of the ground in and around the hearth.
“We didn’t find any evidence of charring or burning on the bricks,” said Holstein. “That, coupled with not finding any slag or sand on the casting floor, indicated that it was highly unlikely that the furnace had ever produced any pig iron at all.”
After being destroyed by Rousseau’s Raiders, anything left at the Janney Furnace was hauled away or sold for scrap. In the 140 years that followed, the stone structure was nearly reclaimed by the earth. When Calhoun County Commissioner Eli Henderson helped to establish the Janney restoration project, the furnace was so hidden by overgrowth, that it could barely be seen.
“It was really covered with vines, kudzu, poison ivy and pine trees,” said Holstein. “Eli Henderson really pushed the effort to reclaim the furnace and highlight the history that was made there.”
It since has been cleaned up and is now able to be seen at the site of the Janney Furnace Museum on Janney Road in Ohatchee. A monument erected on the site pays homage to local soldiers who died in the Civil War. Visitors can also see a one-room log cabin like one that would have been in the Janney Furnace workers village.
The Daniels House was built in 1843 and was heavily damaged in a deadly tornado in 2011. It was disassembled and moved five miles to its location near the furnace.
Commissioner Henderson was also a champion in the effort to save another local piece of history. Barely five miles from the Janney Furnace is the site of a military fort that was instrumental in the Creek Indian War of 1813-14. It is overgrown by weeds and woods and all but lost to history now.
Less than a mile from Henry Neely Dam, a simple engraved rock now commemorates the significance of Fort Strother, the first military installation ever built in what is now Alabama.
The Battle of Tallushatchee and the Battle of Talladega might have ended very differently had it not been for this fort built by General Andrew Jackson in 1813. Shawnee Chief Tecumseh was rallying tribes to resist the expansion of the United States into Native American lands.
Ten Islands historic marker overlooking water
General Jackson was sent to Alabama to stop Chief Tecumseh’s warriors who were intent on driving out the frontier settlers there.
On a hill overlooking the Coosa, just past the Ten Island Ford, he built Fort Strother, a supply base and forward command post that served to support the efforts in America’s battle with the Creek faction known as the Red Sticks. From this base, he planned to launch attacks against nearby Red Stick villages.
One such attack took place Nov. 3, 1813, when Jackson sent Brigadier General John Coffee and 900 of his troops 10 miles southeast of the fort to destroy the Creek village of Tallushatchee.
Among those troops was a well-known frontiersman named Davy Crockett, serving in the Tennessee militia. By the end of the day, nearly 200 Creek had fallen at the hands of the American force, which logged it as their first military victory of the war.
Six days later, General Jackson marched from Fort Strother to Talladega to help Coffee win the Battle of Talladega. The two wins at Tallushatchee and Talladega caused considerable casualties for the Red Sticks, which set up for an American victory at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in Tallapoosa County the following March.
After General Jackson marched on toward New Orleans to defend the city in 1814, the fort was abandoned and fell into disrepair.
Archaeologists from Jacksonville State and the University of Alabama have studied the site, as recently as 1999, revealing hundreds of artifacts. Using ground-penetrating radar (GPR), the team noted the location of at least 60 pinch-toed coffins aligned in military fashion.
“There are actually 80 marble headstones sitting somewhere in Ragland, last I knew,” said Holstein. “Local historians had raised the money to purchase headstones for those soldiers buried there. But the restoration never got off the ground. You can’t just identify the graves and then not protect the cemetery.”
Despite the fort being listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, proposals to have it reclaimed and rebuilt have proven too costly and, so far, not a high priority.
Today, what remains of the fort is hidden in dense woods, along with the unmarked graves of soldiers who died there. The campaign to reclaim the fort seems to have died with the passing of its champion, Henderson, in 2020.
These relics of war, some well preserved and others shrouded in the growth of years of neglect, sit as a reminder that our waters have not always been a place of peace and tranquility. Our comfortable homes and businesses are built on the bravery of those who walked these shorelines before us. l
Editor’s Note:You can learn more at the Janney Furnace Museum in Ohatchee. www.janneyfurnace.org
For every chili recipe, there’s a cook who thinks his or hers is the best. That’s why the members of Downtown Gadsden Inc. look forward to hosting a friendly competition each year. Because when it comes to dishing out bragging rights, they just can’t resist stirring the pot.
“We open it up to people who think they have the best chili and invite them to come and prove it,” Kay Moore said of the 15th Annual Downtown Gadsden Chili Cook-off. Set for February 4, the contest promises to be one of the hottest events in town. “It’s all about having fun and camaraderie, being downtown and enjoying a lot of good chili,” said Moore, director of Downtown Gadsden, Inc., which organizes the event. In past years, they’ve had about 35 entries and crowds ranging from 700 to 1,000 have gathered to treat their taste buds.
Visitors line the streets to get a taste of the competition.
“We ask the cookers to bring enough to feed a bunch of people,” she said, adding that there’s a $40 entry fee for the cooking teams and anyone can enter the competition. “We’ve had people enter from Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Huntsville and as far away as Kentucky,” she said.
Whether your tastes run from mild to spicy or you prefer the traditional variety, white chicken chili or vegetarian chili, you’re sure to find a batch you love. The judges, however, seem to have a “type.”
“We have all different kinds of chili but for some reason, it’s your good old fashioned regular chili that always wins,” said Moore, adding that the competition is judged blindly. “We have runners who take the chili to the judges and each cup is marked with only a number on the bottom.”
Winning recipe
2022 Chili Cook-off winners
Jeff Martin and his fellow cookers seem to have cracked the code. His team, Dowdy’s Office Equipment, has won the competition the last three years, and he believes they have taken top honors five of the last seven. “We always use the same recipe,” Martin said of his team, which consists of his business partner Lewis Couch and friends David Couch and Ross Hudak. “It’s a recipe we’ve had for 25 years. I think somebody stole it from somebody else.”
Their chili is so good, in fact, that Ted Gentry, a founding member of the band, “Alabama,” bought the rights to the recipe last year. The chili is the menu headliner for Gentry’s Blue Ribbon Chili Wagon that’s often parked at the Alabama Fan Club and Museum in Fort Payne.
“Apparently he went all over the state looking for the best chili,” Martin said. The fact that Gentry has the rights doesn’t mean that the Dowdy crew is out of the running this year, though. “The only provision is that we still get to use it in the chili contest,” he said.
Although the winners earn some prize money and a Crowd Favorite is chosen, as well, the event is mostly a fun way for the community to get together and raise funds to support downtown projects. “Our job is to continue the growth of downtown while keeping our historical heritage,” Moore said. “A downtown of any small town is the heartbeat of the community.”
Story by Scottie Vickery Photos by Mackenzie Free Submitted Photos
Everything in Amy and Derrick Heckman’s Ashville home tells a story.
The handrail going up the steps was original to the Teague Mercantile building on the town square and was hand-hewn from longleaf pine before the Civil War. A cabinet is filled with family quilts made by Amy’s great-grandmother and her sisters. There’s a snapping turtle shell that held a place of honor in Derrick’s family’s lake cabin in Texas, and the collapsible cup her great-grandfather took into the coal mines will always have a special place in Amy’s heart.
“Everything in this house has some special meaning,” Amy said. “It may not have a lot of value, but it’s all precious to us.”
Amy and Derrick said turning the abandoned log cabin into their dream home has been a labor of love.
The Heckmans share a love for making old things new again, and the log cabin they bought on Neely Henry Lake’s Canoe Creek is no exception. It’s been a work in progress for years, but both say it’s been well worth the time and elbow grease they’ve invested. “It’s been one project after another, but it’s been a labor of love,” Amy said.
Their appreciation of family and Ashville history is evident all over the 2-bedroom, 2-bath cabin, and the kitchen and dining room areas are no exception. A 1940s Chambers stove from Derrick’s grandparents’ house takes center stage in the kitchen, and they use it every day. A collection of cast iron skillets from Amy’s great-grandmother and other family members hangs nearby.
They rescued the kitchen table from a nearby old dogtrot house that was slated for demolition and took the piece to a carwash in an effort to pressure wash motor oil stains off before finishing the table with linseed oil. An antique dough bowl filled with rolling pins passed down through the generations rests on top, and a light fixture they made from an old ladder, party lights and muscadine and supplejack vines from the yard, hangs above it.
“We’ve both lived a simplistic lifestyle, whether by choice or circumstance,” Derrick said. “When I was growing up if you needed something, you built it. We try to find old stuff and fix it.”
Cabin sweet cabin
The Heckmans had been house-hunting for about seven years when they stumbled across the log cabin, tucked at the end of a quiet street off Highway 411. They already had a home on Canoe Creek but they wanted more house, less land and deeper water so they could build a boathouse.
When they found the cabin, it was clear that no one had lived there for a while. They were intrigued, so they left a note on the door for the owner. A month later, the phone rang. “It was basically a home to animals,” Amy said. “There were all kinds of wildlife living in it, but it had good bones, and we saw what it could be. We’ve just about gotten it to that place.”
It’s taken a lot of work. They salvaged the kitchen and dining room floors and a claw foot tub, “but other than that, we redid everything,” she said, adding that they first saw the house and property they’ve named Canoe Cove in 2014, bought it in 2015 and moved there in 2017. “It took us that long to get it to where we could live in it. The general footprint is the same, but there is not a piece of that house that was not changed in some way.”
The first thing on the agenda was building a stone fireplace. “When we first bought the house, the very first thing we said to each other was, ‘How can you have a log cabin without a fireplace?’ There was a wood stove, but no fireplace,” she said.
Derrick’s grandfather knew a good bit about construction, so he had learned a lot about building growing up, and a friend taught him to lay the rock. “I’ve learned skills by watching people and just doing it,” he said. “When I was a kid, I could come up with an idea to build something. Sometimes it was by trial and error, but eventually I came up with something that worked.”
Those skills came in handy for their biggest project – building an outdoor pavilion, complete with an outdoor kitchen and a ‘Cracker Barrel fireplace.’ “She kept telling me all she wanted was a Cracker Barrel fireplace, so I went (into the restaurant) with a tape measure,” he said.
They built the pavilion from lumber they milled on the property – the lot was so wooded you couldn’t see the water. Derrick also used the lumber to build the 14-foot table and four Adirondack chairs, as well as the boathouse they added in 2020.
Two cooks, two kitchens
His pride and joy, though, is the outdoor kitchen, complete with a smoker that can handle 30 butts, a deep fryer, grill and flat top.
“We both like cooking, but he’s a natural cook,” Amy said. “There’s no recipe ever followed; no measuring involved. I’m just the opposite.” They often share the cooking duties, Derrick said, and they each take a kitchen. “She cooks the indoor part of the meal, and I cook the outdoor part,” he said and laughed. “I cook anything that might stink up the house. Amy likes pumpkin spice and if it doesn’t smell like pumpkin spice in here, she ain’t happy.”
They use this 1940s Chambers stove from Derrick’s grandparents’ house every day.
Although Amy has been known to find ideas online, it’s no surprise that they also use a lot of recipes handed down from family members. She uses a 1950s cookie press to make her grandmother’s cheese straws, and her spaghetti sauce is a favorite. “It’s very good, but it still never tastes as good as I remember hers being,” Amy said.
They love cooking for family and friends, and as a result, their house is a gathering spot during the holidays. At Thanksgiving, they usually have 12 to 16 guests, and Derrick smokes a turkey while Amy handles many of the sides. “I’ve promised Amy a freight elevator to make it easier to haul stuff inside and out for meals,” Derrick said.
Although it’s usually warm enough at Thanksgiving to eat under the pavilion, there was one memorable year when they ate inside. “We were all sitting at the table, and we looked out the window and there were 20 turkeys standing out in the front yard looking at us while we ate our Thanksgiving turkey,” Derrick said. “It was crazy.”
Much of what they cook is what they’ve grown, caught or hunted. “You don’t have to go far around here to find something to eat,” Derrick said. “If it’s not in the garden, it’s at the boathouse. We’re pretty self-sufficient.”
Their freezer is full of fish, which they enjoy grilled, fried and blackened, as well as venison. “I haven’t bought red meat in 15 years,” Amy said. “Derrick is known for his (venison) burgers. They’re delicious.”
The gardens – there are several – are another source of sustenance. “I grew up gardening; it came naturally to me,” Derrick said. “And Amy loves canning, so we make a good pair.”
Thanks to their teamwork, they enjoy a variety of homegrown fruits and vegetables throughout the year. In addition to blueberries and blackberries, their bounty includes figs, corn, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, squash, strawberries, pumpkin, black-eyed peas, watermelon and purple pole beans. “Everything we have around here, we use,” Amy said.
Leaving the rat race early
So, when do they have time to do it all? It’s been a lot easier since they retired. Derrick retired from the Alabama Forestry Commission in 2017 at age 49, and Amy left the St. Clair County Probate Office in 2019 when she was 47.
“When I was a kid and started working, the first thing my parents told me was if you save 20 or 25 cents out of every dollar you make, you can retire at 50,” Derrick said. “I wasn’t rebellious; I was one of those people who believed my parents. When you start early, you learn to live off that 80 cents and you don’t miss the other 20.”
Amy followed suit not long after they began dating in 2007, and early retirement has given them the freedom to work on the house, tend their gardens, enjoy their time on the lake and indulge their love of of Americana.
“We go picking,” Amy said. “We love collecting things, and it all seems to find a place.” They didn’t have to go far to find many of their treasures. The mantle on the pavilion fireplace was a central beam from under the old Cason-Tipton House, for example, and several finds came from historic buildings they have owned.
In addition to the handrail from Teague Mercantile, a building they owned for about 15 years before selling it earlier this year, the Heckmans salvaged a wood stove from the original Ashville Savings Bank that they owned for a while, as well. It has a place of honor in the loft, which is home to Amy’s library.
“I’m a huge reader, and I asked for my own library,” she said. “I wanted a place for my books. It just makes me happy to come up here.”
The same can be said for the house as a whole. Amy and Derrick love knowing they created their home, filled with memories from generations of love, together. “We wanted it to be cozy and comfortable, but we wanted it to have character, as well,” she said. “A lot of things we have belonged to family, and we wouldn’t trade anything for it. We’d both rather have something old than new any day.”
Blackened Catfish
Large catfish filets (Use filets from 2- or 3-pound catfish. Caught fresh is best!)
Fire-n-Smoke Fish Monger seasoning
Zatarain’s ground cayenne pepper
Olive oil or Pam spray
Pepper jelly
Rinse filets with water. Lightly sprinkle with Fish Monger seasoning and cayenne pepper (lightly, the pepper is powerful.)
Let marinate in refrigerator for 3-4 hours. Heat a cast iron skillet or flat top on high. Lightly sprinkle filets with olive oil or Pam spray. Lay filets in skillet or on flat top and cover with a lid. (This is crucial. I use a pot lid.)
Brown until golden; it usually has blackened edges. (This takes practice.) Serve on a bed of shrimp and grits, rice, etouffee or jambalaya. Drizzle with pepper jelly to finish. Enjoy!
Blueberry Pecan Sour Cream Cake
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup plus over-filled ½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
2 cups blueberries
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
½ cup pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bundt pan.
In mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in sour cream and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to batter until just blended. Fold in blueberries. Spoon half the batter into pan.
Combine brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Sprinkle ½ mixture over batter. Spoon remaining batter on top and then sprinkle remaining pecan mixture.
Bake 1 hour and 20 minutes. (Cooking times may vary depending on oven.)
Shrimp and Grits
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup uncooked quick cook grits
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
2 tbsp butter
2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp parsley
6 green onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Bring broth to boil. Stir in grits. Cook, stirring occasionally 5-7 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat, stir in salt and next 3 ingredients. Set aside and keep warm.
Cook bacon and remove from pan. Cook shrimp in same pan 3 minutes or until almost pink. Add lemon juice and next four ingredients and cook 3 minutes. Stir in crumbled bacon.
Spoon grits onto plate or bowl and top with shrimp mixture.
Corn and Black Bean Salsa
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
3 cups fresh, frozen or canned corn kernels
2 cans black beans, drained
1 tsp salt
½ tsp cumin
1 cup diced fresh or canned tomatoes
½ cup red onion
1 jalapeño
3 tbsp lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
Cook corn in skillet until slightly charred. Add salt and cumin.
Combine remaining ingredients, add corn, stir and enjoy!
Summer 2022 garnered much interest for Neely Henry Lake, with a full house of supportive participants hitting the water for Neely Henry Lake Association’s Poker Run. While boaters soaked in the sun and crossed their fingers for a royal flush, the event served as an exceptionally successful fundraiser for local and neighboring communities.
Grabbing a playing card
Original founding NHLA board member and officer Hap Bryant inspired the poker run, designing the idea from his past as a motorcycle rider. Bryant and his fellow bikers often participated in poker runs – racing to designated stops and collecting cards along the way – with the hopes of ending the route with a winning hand.
While Bryant never dissuaded a victory, he expressed that the true joy the event produced came from the camaraderie he and the other bike-enthusiasts shared. Although Bryant himself has since passed away, the NHLA’s own poker run channeled his joviality into planning its event, dedicating the fundraiser in his memory.
The poker run mirrored Bryant’s bike design, replacing motorcycles with boats. NHLA’s event committee – alongside board members Randy Elrod, Stace Beecham and Hugh Stump, led the effort. They established five points up and down Neely Henry Lake, positioning greeters at each stop to give boaters the opportunity to select a card.
The race was not timed, with the mentality that boaters could leisurely cruise from one point to another, enjoying a peaceful and fun day on the lake.
“We strive to communicate to the public how important our lake is – environmentally and economically,” said NHLA President Dave Tumlin, describing how the poker run reinforced the association’s mission. “Our mission is to preserve, protect and improve life on the Coosa River. With such a great turnout, I learned how much our communities love and appreciate our lake, and how in working as a team, we can help introduce even more people to the joy and pleasure of spending time on a clean and safe lake.”
Over 150 dedicated members and families, who all share a common focus to protect and preserve the natural asset in Neely Henry Lake and surrounding waterways, comprise NHLA’s membership.
On a mission
The organization sponsors and co-sponsors several local projects throughout the year. The poker run supported the association’s Annual Christmas Boat Parade, an event it created and a collaborative effort with Downtown Gadsden, Inc. It integrates the parade with First Friday and the city’s tree lighting.
The association also coordinates with Southside and Rainbow City to promote parades for both municipalities, generating more and more spectators each year, gathering crowds looking forward to the countless twinkling lights, music and holiday festivities.
Most recently, the association partnered with Rainbow City and Southside to debut “Dinner and a Movie” at the new Southside marina, which supported Southside Elementary School. Families flocked to the waterfront property, with 800 attendees – both on land and boat – grabbing snacks from local food vendors as they watched the iconic classic, Jaws.
Studying the course
“At our bimonthly meetings, we have expert speakers that help communicate various subjects, including environmental importance, safety and history of the lake,” said Tumlin, discussing the significance of supporting these projects. “Recent speakers have talked on a major fish study going on, with changes to shoreline construction rules and other similar topics. Three years ago, with support from Greater Gadsden Area Tourism, we had Jacksonville State University complete an economic impact study of Neely Henry Lake on Etowah County. The results were startling. The study found that Neely Henry Lake had annual economic activity of $523,731,618 to Etowah County! If you add in Calhoun and St. Clair counties, the annual activity number is $570,663,991!”
The association partners with Alabama Power each year to build and deploy fish habitats in various locations on the lake, while supporting the Renew Our Rivers project alongside frequent educational programs geared toward improving the quality and appreciation of the lake.
In October, in collaboration with Alabama Power, the association will build 100 “spider blocks,” long-lasting structures that attract bait and game fish, to promote the sport at a world-class level. Though in years past the structures were deployed out of Rainbow City Landing and River Rocks Landing, this year, the association will build out of Greensport Marina on Neely Henry’s St. Clair side.
While the association commits itself to treasuring the enrichment and value the lake and local waterways generates for its community, opportunities such as the poker run arise as an outlet of support to fulfill its mission. It’s a purpose that those affiliated with the association strive to preserve, not only for themselves, but for the future of the beloved place they call home.
“Our team is fully committed to the future of Neely Henry Lake,” said Tumlin. “We hope that the actions we take, be it education on the environment, improving the quality of water and habitat or helping us all to better appreciate our lake, will allow our kids and grandkids to enjoy this magnificent natural asset for many decades to come.”
Story by Roxann Edsall Photos by Richard Rybka Submitted Photos
Quinten Edward Lumpkin had a vision. He believed in family, community, the Golden Rule and the American dream. It was his vision that eventually led to a beautiful development of seaside-inspired homes on the shores of the Coosa River. Though he would never see the first home built, the lighthouse on the peninsula was built with him in mind.
He only had $21 to his name when “Buck,” as he’d been called since childhood, came home from the Navy in 1948. When he didn’t find a job in his hometown of Gadsden, he figured he’d just open his own business.
He found a storefront in downtown Gadsden that he could rent for $12.75 a month. Not wanting to use more than half the cash he had to live on, he got his brother-in-law to co-sign on a $150 loan. With that, he opened an engine repair and sales shop that evolved into Buck’s Boats.
The old storefront location didn’t work for long, though, as there was no rollup door to bring in merchandise. They had to turn boats on their sides to fit them through the standard doorway. It was so small that only three aluminum boats would fit inside, with enough extra room for five or six outboard motors.
They moved to a former Buick dealership, which gave them more space, but still only 10 boats fit in the showroom. In 1969, Buck borrowed enough money to purchase 13 acres on the shores of the Coosa River. He had sold his home to help raise the deposit on the property, so he and his wife, Pauline, had a partially sunken houseboat dredged up and pulled to the property.
They cleaned it up and lived there while they figured out how to fund the building of the store. The boats were sold and serviced under a revival tent they got when an evangelist, who was one of their customers, fell behind on his boat payments and offered the tent as a partial payment.
Always the creative thinker, Buck saw his chance to fund his building when he read an ad in the newspaper of a Gadsden foundry seeking bids to demolish their building. He bid $10.
The next lowest bid was $56,000 from a construction company. The foundry owner refused Buck’s bid, thinking he would likely not have the means to complete the work on time.
Undaunted, Buck took out a bond for $56,000 to protect the owner and completed the demolition with two weeks to spare. Then he took the parts and reassembled it on his own 13-acre plot of land.
After a 17-year career with Mercury Motors, Buck’s son, Tony, bought the business in 1989 and renamed it Buck’s Island. Now located just minutes from the shores of Neely Henry Lake, it boasts a staff of 33.
Three generations of the family are now involved in the business. Mary, his wife of 32 years, runs the day-to-day operations. Their daughter Katie is in the sales department, while another daughter, Angela, runs the service department with her master technician husband, Israel.
Fishing boats fill a large space in Buck’s showroom.
“As a kid, I loved being here as much as I do now,” says Angela. “I remember wandering around in the old attic space and seeing things brought back from other countries by my grandfather.” She also remembers the fun of jumping from boat to boat in the showroom, a love that her own daughter now shares.
Tony, too, grew up spending his days with his dad at the business. “We didn’t have money for daycare,” explains Tony. “Mom worked in the sales tax office for the State of Alabama, so I’d come to work every day with Dad until I started school. He took a broom one day, cut the handle in half and handed it to me and said to get to work. I helped in the business all the way through high school.”
One day after he had earned a degree in industrial design from Auburn University, Tony asked his dad how he had learned his business skills. “I knew my dad had quit school in the 8th grade to support his mother and sisters after his dad died. So I said, ‘Dad, how’d you learn to run a business?’ He said, ‘Son, I learned in Sunday school. I learned that if you treat customers the way you want to be treated, you’ll never want for business.’ ”
That Golden Rule philosophy still drives the business today. “We do a lot of business – about 10 times the business the average boat dealer does. What that means is that we have more stock than most,” explains Tony. “We also don’t sell boats. We help facilitate people in buying a boat and guide them through the process. We try to step into the customer’s shoes and have empathy with the customer. We just treat them like we’d want to be treated.”
Yet another vision
So what does Buck’s Island, the boat sales and service business, have to do with Buck’s Island, the housing development? In short, it was Buck’s dream from the time he purchased the land that one day he would move the boat business to build homes on the water’s edge.
“My dad had told me about his vision of building homes on the 13 acres whenever city water was available. We had to get new zoning regulations passed to allow the houses to be built the way we wanted,” said Tony.
The lighthouse that identifies the development is a tribute to Buck.
He partnered with a builder and in 2000, built the first 10 houses in what they called Harbor Point, a peninsula on the grounds of the property. Three years later, they moved the boat business to a temporary rental building in Rainbow City so they could tear down the building to make room for the rest of the subdivision on the 13-acre plot.
As they were building the new housing on the property, they began building their new boat showroom and service center in a new location on Highway 77. The highway location has provided greater visibility and boosted their business.
The builder has almost completed the last home on the Buck’s Island development, capping the number at 47 homes. The lighthouse Tony built to draw attention to the property on the banks of the Coosa is also a tribute to the man who inspired the development of the brightly colored waterfront homes.
He loved visiting the Caribbean islands and guided Tony in planning the development. “He said to make everyone feel like they’re on vacation when they come home every day,” explains Tony. Sadly, Buck passed away in 1993 before seeing his vision become reality.
What Buck started with his $150 investment has fueled a deeply rooted passion for giving back to community. Buck’s Island sponsors Fish Fest, a day of fishing and seminars, and sponsors more than 40 high school fishing teams. “They’re our future,” Mary underscores.
Editor’s Note: You can find Buck’s Island at 4500 Hwy 77. Their inventory includes Bentley and Crest pontoon boats, as well as Skeeter, G3, Avid, Falcon and RescueONE Connector Boats. They’ve also added fishing kayaks and a tackle shop.
One of Tony’s RescueONE connector boats is ready to join a first responders team.
See a need and fill it
Buck’s earns worldwide reputation for first-responder boat
Story by Roxann Edsall
Coming up with a product that is sold worldwide and helps first responders to be safer and more efficient is something to be proud of. Southside native and business owner, Tony Lumpkin, is profoundly thankful for such an opportunity.
He developed a boat that will connect together with others to build a large floating platform of any shape or size. The design is particularly useful for water rescues, recoveries, dive operations and flood evacuations.
Called RescueONE Connector Boats, they are virtually impossible to tip over when connected, according to Lumpkin. Sold by his Marine One Corporation and assembled at Buck’s Island, the boats are used by emergency rescue teams worldwide. “They’re all over the world and in every state except Alaska,” says Lumpkin. “The Thailand navy has 105 of them, Philippines has 35. We sell about 100 of them a year.”
The idea got started in 1992 when two guys from the Calhoun County Rescue Squad came in to Buck’s Island looking at jon boats for their rescue operation. “They couldn’t find anything that fit their needs,” explains Lumpkin.
“So I listened to what they did and even went out with them on a rescue operation so I could understand what they needed. Then I worked on designing one for them.”
The boats are specially designed to hook together through an interlocking frame design. Figure eight lashings give the connection added stability. Add-ons include a retractable dive platform, a portable fire pump and a stacked boat trailer that can haul two connector boats at the same time.
“In many cases, volunteer rescue squads give their own time to give families closure,” tells Lumpkin. “If I can make something to make their jobs a little easier, I’m happy to do it.”
Traffic rolls by the faded sign on I-759 East in Gadsden, the drivers completely unaware of the oasis that lies below. Just off Exit 4B, on the banks of the muddy Coosa, 20 acres of peace and tranquility lie accessible by boat or vehicle.
River Rocks Landing Resort is a little bit of heaven tucked away near a busy city, so close to downtown Gadsden that you can see city hall from the front porch of its office building.
“Look at this view,” says Stacey Windom of Rainbow City, waving toward the river, where a great egret has just taken off with a fish in its mouth. Windom is seated at the bar of the campground’s latest addition, Current Market & Deli, enjoying a pizza. “This campground has all the amenities: pool, water, walkways. This summer, I watched the bass tournament as boats went up and down the river. I camp here a lot with my family, and I bring folks here for dinner, because it’s so convenient.”
As if to illustrate the campground’s amenities, a woman pedals by Current on a bicycle, while a couple strolls hand in hand on one of the gravel paths. Even though it’s September, another woman drops her towel onto a lounge chair by the pool, enjoying the remaining warm days of summer. Overhead, interstate traffic whizzes by, but the woman at the pool can barely hear it. If she were at the back of the campground, she wouldn’t hear the traffic at all.
In weather like this, you might find campground manager Carson Dabbs in a rocking chair on that office porch, his laptop on his knees and a notepad open on the porch railing in front of him, next to a Bluetooth speaker connected to Spotify.
A tiny house, one of seven available for rent
“People don’t understand how nice it is here,” says Dabbs, who lives on the property with his wife and two preschool daughters. “It’s secluded, but it’s so close to some of the best food in the state and shopping, too. We’re family-friendly and a home away from home. I greet folks when they come in because I know them.”
One reason he knows them is that so many return year after year for a weekend or a week, and a few even stay there permanently. Formerly known as River Country Landing, the campground has existed almost 30 years. The old sign is still visible from U.S. 759, and it still says River Country, although the letters are faded. River Rocks plans to redo it this fall.
“We changed hands three years ago,” says Dabbs. “The widow of the original owner ran it after her husband died but was ready to retire. The owner now is Wes Long of Guntersville. He also has a new Fairfield Inn in Albertville and a Hampton Inn in Guntersville and Jacksonville.”
River Rocks has 169 campsites, including the tiny houses and rental camper, along with a boat dock. Then there is the Banana House, a three-story building on the point that earned its nickname because it’s yellow and is surrounded by banana trees. The five-bedroom house, with its wide porches, looks like something from a travel brochure of a Caribbean resort. It sleeps 10 and has its own boat dock. The point itself can be rented for weddings and other special events.
The campground’s main dock has 28 slips, some rented by the year, others by the day, almost all of them rented by campers. The latter come in all ages. A lot of them are locals, but many come from surrounding states such as Georgia and Tennessee. “A group comes down from Canada every year,” Dabbs says. “Our name is beginning to spread among campers. Word of mouth is most of the advertising.”
Long has added to and improved the campground’s amenities. There are now three swimming pools, including an infinity pool (its edge appears to blend with the river); a 4-foot-deep heated pool and a kiddie pool that’s connected to a splash pad. He also added the restaurant, seven tiny houses and a camper for rent.
“We’ve also just opened up our tree house, which sleeps six, and includes a mother-in-law bedroom downstairs,” Dabbs points out.
The tiny houses, built by Clayton Homes of Addison are brought in on wheels and stay on wheels. Some have lofts just tall enough for kids to sleep in. Each tiny house has a name, such as the Sunset House. A small chapel on the riverbank seats 20. A local church started a Sunday service there but had to move it to a room in the office building to accommodate the number of worshippers.
A new basketball court is behind the children’s playground. Several community firepits are scattered about the grounds, along with picnic tables and wooden swings under tall shade trees. The swing facing the water near the restaurant is Dabbs’ favorite spot.
CurrentMarket & Deli opened in March and features pizzas, a catfish po’ boy and Dabbs’ personal favorite, loaded fries. It’s open seven days a week serves breakfast on weekends, and is accessible to non-campers who park outside the gate via a gravel path. In addition, boats can tie up at the small dock next to the market and enter from the river.
“Jessica and Jason Wilson, Chris and Christi Robinson are partners in the restaurant,” Dabbs says. “Chris owns Blackstone Pub & Eatery, and Jason started Back Forty Beer Company, both in downtown Gadsden. Jason also owns Coldwater Mountain Pub in Anniston.” Jessica is Current’s manager.
Dining space for about 50 people is available inside or on the deck, where a fan keeps the breezes blowing on warm days. Each morning, a family of ducks, including both parents and five ducklings, preens under a weeping willow tree next to the river, across the path from Current. They’re waiting on the lunch crowd to toss them their scraps and are known to follow diners down the path toward their cars.
“We have to make use of all our space, so we built a patio over the storm shelters next to Current,” says Dabbs, explaining more of the campground’s amenities. “In spring and fall, we have live music on the patio, weather permitting, usually Friday or Saturday night, sometimes both during holidays. We feature local groups.” The music most requested by campers and diners is traditional country and Southern rock from the 70s and 80s.
Willow tree shades restaurant
Those who attended Riverfest the first day of October were treated to some of those styles of music. Drake White, a traditional country singer who grew up in Hokes Bluff, entertained the crowd. So did Anderson East from Athens, a blues and Americana musician who was nominated for a Grammy Award in the American Roots category in 2019. Sponsored for many years by the city of Gadsden, the festival had a small version as a test run last year at River Rocks.
“It rained all weekend last year, but we took it on the chin and decided to really go after it this year. It went really well. We had about 1,500 people to turn out for the music, food trucks, arts & crafts and entertainment. Buffalo Rock and River Rocks were the primary sponsors, but we had 10-12 smaller ones, too.”
Another entertainment venue for River Rocks is its annual Drive-Through Christmas Lights display. Beginning Thanksgiving night, the grounds will be open after dark for cars to drive through and view the colorful lights, Nativity scene, blow-ups and animated characters. The cost is $3 for children and $5 for adults.
Dabbs’ daughters, two-year-old Raelynn, and Baeleigh, who will be five at the end of October, consider River Rocks Landing their personal playground and all the guests they meet their friends. “We’ll be driving through, and Baeleigh will say, ‘Daddy, there’s people in my pool,’” he says, grinning like a proud daddy. “Here, everyone is her friend. Both my daughters love it when we turn on the Christmas lights.”
