There’s nothing like a porch in the South. Sit back, relax and take in the view.

That’s where I find myself most days after work, keeping Logan Martin Lake under my watchful eye from my screened porch. It’s a scene of which I never tire. It’s my window to the world – but just in my immediate vicinity.

If I take the time, elsewhere around St. Clair County, I know there’s plenty more going on. All I have to do is glance at this edition’s story list to confirm that notion.

As Spring awakens a new season from its winter sleep, you can almost feel the pace picking up. Gardens planted. Outdoor projects started. New beginnings spotted on the horizon.

That’s the kind of vibe we get if we just take the time to look around. In Ashville, a young farm family is moving with dizzying speed to introduce the county to farm to table offerings – producing beef, chicken, pork, honey and more to sell through a weekly market day at the farm. Even city folks venture that direction on Friday mornings just to get a taste.

A few miles outside of Ashville, you’ll find a bed and breakfast inn along with a white tablecloth restaurant making a name for itself locally … and globally. Haven on the Hill and the Crooked Crown Restaurant are beginning to draw visitors from near and far to experience this chef and innkeeper’s heretofore hidden gem.

In Pell City and Springville, the hustle and bustle these days revolve around economic development. Two new national restaurants – Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse – opened their doors in Pell City, and Springville officials are clearing the way for a major commerce park courtesy of a $3.8 million Grow Alabama grant that will bring 1,000 jobs to the area.

Throughout the region, Ashville artist Bill Bebee is turning walls into his own personal canvas with the murals he paints. His creative talents are on display in places like Gadsden, Ashville and elsewhere around the state.

In Pell City at its museum, excitement is building around the new model train exhibit that just opened. A 1930s version of Pell City in miniature is on display, complete with a model train running through the heart of it. Built by a small volunteer crew, it took a year to complete.

And a relatively new church in the county – Christ in Me Family – is growing a congregation and strengthening its spiritual influence like churches well beyond its years.

They all are stories of a county on the move. Different goals. Different maps to get them there. But nevertheless moving forward. That’s what we are observing, if only we take the time to see.

There’s plenty to see in this edition of Discover St. Clair Magazine. Turn the page and discover it all with us!

Carol Pappas
Editor and Publisher