Unique waterfront home epitomizes lake life
Story by Scottie Vickery
Photos by Bob Crisp
When Susan Kell made the move to full-time lake life seven years ago, she took a bit of a gamble.
Although she was born and raised in Ashville, where her house on Neely Henry Lake is, she’d lived on Chandler Mountain for 50 years, and it was home. Leaving the place where she and her late husband, Paul, had raised their three children was hard, even though she wasn’t going far.
But the lure of being even closer to her children and grandchildren made the decision much easier. These days, she loves puttering around her yard that’s filled with colorful azaleas in the spring, and hosting family gatherings.
Although living at the lake year-round is still fairly new to Susan, spending time at the A-frame house, situated near Canoe Creek right next to the bridge between Ashville and Rainbow City, isn’t. Paul, the founder of Kell Realy, bought the house 25 years ago, and they used it as a weekend house most of that time.
“He was going to fix it up and resell it, but the kids wanted to keep it,” Susan said, adding that her eight grandchildren, who range in age from 8-26, are big fans, as well. The pool is as big a draw as the lake, and the large, flat lot makes it the perfect spot to host celebrations.
“Paul really liked to entertain,” said Susan, who was a teacher and librarian at Ashville Elementary School for 25 years. “We’ve always had friends and family over and lots of church gatherings, and the kids know they can have a party any time they want to. We’ve had birthday parties, ball parties, graduation parties and an engagement party. Last December, we even had a wedding” for a family friend.
Historical details
While the emphasis has been on family ever since the Kells have owned the home, that wasn’t always the case. Many locals know the house as “the gambling house,” because decades ago, a former owner hosted big weekend gambling parties.
The story goes that the main floor of the house featured nothing but poker tables and a fish pond that was tucked under the circular staircase, according to Susan’s daughter, Jennifer Spears.
The pool house, now filled with tubes and towels, was home to a large bar, and drinks could be passed out to the pool deck through a sliding glass window. “There are a lot of stories about this place,” Jennifer said.
While the house, which was built in the 1970s, has an interesting history, Susan has filled it with antiques and family heirlooms that tell other stories of Ashville’s past, as well as her family’s. After buying the house, she and Paul built walls to make a bedroom and bathroom on the first floor, which had originally been one large open space.
A trunk, handmade by Paul, is at the foot of the bed, and the coffee table and end table he made are in the den. Pictures painted by her mother, Florence McClendon, are displayed throughout the house, as are pictures they collected on some of their travels.
Paul, who also was an auctioneer in addition to his career as a Realtor, would regularly host antique auctions, and “we used to go to England and Belgium and France and bring loads of antiques back,” said Susan. Along with Betty Hilley, she operated Ashville Antiques for a number of years.
In addition to furniture and other treasures she and Paul collected, Susan has a bedroom suite, a hall tree, rocking chair and the old dinner bell from the Teague Hotel, which was built in the early 1800s and stood on Ashville’s town square until it was torn down in 1960.
Her great grandmother, Lula Nunnally, a widow, bought and ran the hotel for years. Later, Lula’s daughter and Susan’s grandmother, Annie Teague McClendon, ran the inn. In addition to taking in boarders, she would cook meals for people who traveled to Ashville for court hearings, Susan said.
While one of the two upstairs bedrooms is filled with furniture from the hotel, the second one boasts a special touch courtesy of Susan’s other grandmother, Stella Moorer. She pieced a colorful quilt that graces the bed that was once Stella’s in the room Susan likes to call the boat room. “It reminds me of a boat,” with its sloped ceiling and built-in bureau, she said.
The quilt her grandmother made is only one kind of heirloom Susan treasures. She loves to cook, and she especially enjoys making recipes that have been passed on to her by family members and friends. One of her favorites is her mother-in-law’s strawberry icing. Frances Kell, known as “Nanny,” was 100 when she passed away this past year, and that makes the recipe, which the family has enjoyed for as long as they can remember, even more special.
Another recipe that often makes an appearance during special occasions is “Martha’s Punch,” which Susan got from Martha Umphrey. “She was our pastor’s wife years and years ago, and she would make it for showers,” said Susan, a member of Mt. Lebanon Church in Steele.
Selling points
Although her family has always been close-knit, Susan sees them even more since she moved to the lake. Her son, Josh, who now heads Kell Realty, lives next door with his family. Her daughter, Paula Ballard, and her family are right across the road, and Jennifer and her family live less than a mile from her. “That’s the best part, being so close to the kids,” Susan said.
The view isn’t bad, either, whether you’re in the house looking at the water or in the water looking at the house. The azaleas, which were planted when they bought the house and are trimmed back each year, are the stars of the show, but Susan’s green thumb is evident all over the property.
She lovingly tends to the lilies her mother gave her 25 years ago, as well as the Irises she got from her mother-in-law’s house and replanted. She also loves the huge Oleander that blooms every year.
She recently spruced up beds and pots by the pool house with gardenias as well as begonias that she kept in the greenhouse during the winter. “In the fall, I take them up and put them in pots and keep them in the greenhouse,” she said. “Then I replant them so I don’t have to get the little bitty plants. They are already big and pretty.”
The beauty of the home and yard isn’t lost on others. “People have just driven up to the house and asked to buy it, and others have come up in boats asking how much I want for it,” Susan said with a laugh.
“People are always trying to buy it, but we don’t want to sell.”
Martha’s Punch
(Makes 2 gallons)
Ingredients:
- 2 large bottles (2-liter) ginger ale
- 6 cups sugar
- 6 packages lemon Kool-Aid
- 2 tall cans (46-ounce) pineapple juice
- 2 pineapple cans of hot water
Directions:
Mix Kool-Aid, sugar and hot water (make sure it’s hot and not warm) with pineapple juice and freeze. To serve, thaw the mixture enough to slice it and add the ginger ale.
*You can use a little less sugar if you prefer a less sweet punch.
Nanny’s Strawberry Icing
(Use on a yellow or white cake)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of fresh strawberries OR 1 package of frozen strawberries
- 2 cups sugar, plus 2-3 tablespoons sugar
- 2-3 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Directions:
Cook strawberries with 2 cups of sugar until it makes a syrup. Beat egg whites with 2-3 tablespoons sugar and cream of tartar until stiff. Pour strawberry mixture into egg whites and continue beating several minutes until fluffy.
Taco Bean Salad
(This makes a large amount; half the recipe is plenty for one family)
Ingredients:
- 2 cans chili beans, drained
- 3 tomatoes, diced
- 1 green pepper diced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 8 ounces grated cheese
- 16 ounces of Fritos (you can use less, if you prefer)
- 1 small bottle Russian salad dressing
Directions:
Mix all ingredients except dressing and Fritos together and chill. Add Fritos and dressing just before serving and toss.
Hemlock Inn Bran Muffins
Ingredients:
- 3 cups sugar
- 5 cups flour
- 1 (15-ounce) box Raisin Bran
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 teaspoons baking soda
- 4 eggs, slightly beaten
- 1 quart buttermilk
- 2 sticks melted butter or margarine
Directions:
Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients together and fold into the dry mixture. Place in covered bowl in the refrigerator and take out desired amount as needed. Batter will keep for two months. When ready to bake, fill muffin tins about 2/3 full with batter. Bake at 400 degrees for 14-15 minutes.
