I never knew I could feel so much affection for a house as I do this one. I’ll admit, I love it far more than I should.
Maybe it’s because of the splendid confluence of generations that gather here any given Sunday after church to share a meal. Maybe it’s the small gang of unruly cousins that can be found climbing the pear tree in the front yard or chasing one another through the grass at family gatherings. Maybe it’s because this is a place where people sit on the front porch in the mornings and wave at passing cars and retire to the back porch in the evenings to break beans or shell peas.
Maybe it’s because of the beautifully kept yard and garden and the wealth of knowledge that comes from those who tend to it.
Maybe it’s because the house always seems to smell of pound cake or cornbread and there is, most reliably, always sweet tea in the fridge. Maybe it’s because this isn’t a life I grew up with, but this house and the people who call it home have raised me in ways they will never fully understand. And they have given my children the most splendid, idealistic, memories of childhood.
They will look back on their time spent here as if it were a movie or a dream … the kind of memories that move in slow motion and seem to be bathed in golden light.
Or maybe it’s not really about the house at all. Maybe this house just represents a life that feels nostalgic … a life so many others remember from their past and have forgotten still exists in some places.
… It still exists here. This house is more than a house, it’s a life force. It almost has a heartbeat.
… And it is the place my heart will forever feel the most at home.
**Dedicated in loving memory to Coy Free, whom we miss dearly & called this house home.
And to Rubye, who loved him faithfully for 68 years … and lives there still.
– Mackenzie Free –
Wife, mother, photographer & current resident of the unassumingly magical town of Steele, Alabama
Where everybody knows your name… and your business
Story by Elaine Hobson Miller Photos by Mackenzie Free and Contributed Photos
Mornings at Shaw’s Barbecue in Ashville are a lot like evenings at the “Cheers” bar of 1980s television fame. It’s a place and time “where everybody knows your name.”
Day after day, week after week, the parking lot at Shaw’s is filled with the same cars and pickup trucks. Most of them arrive around 7 a.m., when the place opens. Inside, the tables are filled with the same men in overalls and work shirts, jeans and tees and baseball caps. They are farmers, construction workers, bankers, wrecker service owners and bodyshop repairmen. They are hardworking men and retirees. Sometimes they are politicians, too, when offices are up for grabs.
Southern country staple foods are a big draw at Shaw’s
They eat from Shaw’s menu of traditional Southern vittles like eggs and grits, pancakes, sausage and biscuits, with stout, hot coffee. What they really come for, however, isn’t on the menu. They’re there for the daily dish of tall tales, comedic retorts and a side of answers to the world’s woes.
“Hang around here long, and you’ll get dizzy,” says Ray Stevens, retired owner of a local service station and towing business.
Stevens sits at the same table with the same three men every day: Bobby Welch, owner of B&W Construction; Jim Wilson, retired owner of C.D. Wilson Contracting; and Jeff Corbin of Corbin Services. It is variously called the Wisdom Table, the Table of Knowledge or the Think Tank. An unknown female customer dubbed it The Gauntlet because, as the table nearest the door, a customer has to pass it to get anywhere.
“The amount of wisdom that comes from our table can’t be consumed in one day,” says Welch. “Before I came here, I was seeing a therapist twice a week; now I see one four times a week.”
And so the repartee begins.
“The Wisdom Table holds court, picks the topics of conversation,” says Skip Shaw, owner of Shaw’s Barbecue for almost 40 years. “Leave your feelings at the door when you come in.”
“The biggest thing we do is solve all the problems of the city,” says Dennis Moyer, a retired Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy and former Ashville rural mail carrier. “We tell the city how to run it, but they don’t listen to us.”
Once you get past The Gauntlet, you’ll find Phillip Gleason and Matt Sims eating together at another table. Gleason, a veterinarian, comes to learn about what’s going on in St. Clair County. “I come for the fellowship every day but Wednesday, when I have a meeting elsewhere,” he says. He lives in Steele, and swings by on his way to Argo Animal Clinic. “We learn stuff here before it becomes public.”
Pointing to Carl Smith of Smith Farms, Gleason proclaims, “That’s the Chandler Mountain tomato man.” Pointing to Cody Green, he says, “That’s the Straight Mountain tomato man.” It’s a friendly rivalry, but it helps delineate between the two. Smith grins and responds with, “They call me Mater. I’m here every morning. Shaw’s serves really good food, and I enjoy the company. The topics run A to Z.”
Skip Shaw (right) often works the register
Matt Sims, known as Matt-Matt, lives by the Ashville Stockyards, about a mile away. Someone at the Wisdom Table points out Matt’s big feet. “You know what that means,” one of the guys says. Wink, wink and raucous laughter follow. Dennis Moyer says Matt-Matt, described by Skip Shaw as a jack of all trades, is always fun to be around, always has a smile. “We kid him about his women problem, try to fix him up, but we are always a failure,” he says. “He’s a jovial guy.”
Asked why he tolerates the teasing, Matt-Matt grins broadly and replies, “Cause I learn what’s going on in the county.”
Pete Morrow, retired from ACIPCO, sits at the same table every morning with Dennis Moyer. “The food’s good, but I come to get knowledge from these four,” Morrow says, gesturing toward the Wisdom Table to his right. “I come to learn how to run a business, how to treat people. I came here before Shaw bought it. It was Sharp’s then. Everybody knows everybody here, it’s good food, and on Friday nights they have fried catfish.”
Moyer says he goes because the food there is hot and homemade from scratch, and because his wife won’t get up and cook breakfast. “I usually eat something simple like eggs, but she (the cook) makes good pancakes, biscuits and gravy.”
He says he goes for the camaraderie, too. “It’s a bunch of us old guys, like the old Round Table that used to meet at the drug store (Ashville Drugs). We meet and throw our brains out and come up with a solution. Pete and I sit next to the Table of Knowledge, wheretwo are cattlemen and two are retired bankers. Skip has a herd, too.”
According to Moyer, the regulars talk about things the city is doing. “The big topic now is the subdivision Lyman Lovejoy is developing near the Industrial Park,” he says. “It’s a big subdivision for Ashville. We talk a lot of politics, too. It got very heated when (St. Clair Commission Chairman) Stan Batemon was running. He was hot and heavy there during that time. (Former Alabama Chief Justice) Roy Moore comes in from time to time. We have all kinds of dignitaries stopping by.”
The crowd doesn’t cut politicians any slack, either. They once took a former Ashville mayor to task for taking credit for a civic project that he had little to do with. Then a candidate for re-election, he left in a huff!
John Harrison is another regular who comes for the food. He likes to eat at small, local places rather than large chains. “We settle the world’s problem here,” he says. A semi-retired farmer, he’s only there two to three times a week. “It’s mostly gossip and B.S. around here,” he says. “Skip talks to everybody, he doesn’t miss nobody.”
In fact, Shaw’s daughter, Lori, who sometimes helps out at the restaurant, says that Skip is the main reason most of the regulars are there in the first place. “All these guys come for dad … and stay for the food,” she says.
As if on cue, Skip Shaw sits down beside Mater. Wilson hollers, “Get him to tell you about his lady friend and the $150 bottle of wine.” It’s a running joke that refers to an auction that benefitted Shoal Creek Community Center. They tease Skip mercilessly about the auction, and the price of the wine gets higher with each re-telling.
“It’slike the movie, Groundhog Day, same thing every morning,” Mater says. “They always bring up the story about Skip and that woman.”
Shaw bought the place in 1984, and says he eats his own food. “I’m a product of it,” he says, patting his belly. “A third generation of folks (customers) come to eat here now, lunch and supper. I would not be where I am without my customers.”
He says a fire during the COVID pandemic shut him down temporarily and almost did him in. “It was an electrical fire in the back,” he says. “We were closed for eight months. That was back in 2020-2021. I thought about closing. But the place needed a facelift anyway, so here we are. I’ve been back in business about two years now.”
You won’t find any thin-skinned folks there each morning, Shaw says. “The guys who are here are hardy folk who don’t get their feelings hurt easily.”
There are few women in the early-morning crowd, although they begin to drift in with their dads and husbands around 9 a.m. When Barbara Stevens walks in, Jeff Corbin yields his seat to her at the Wisdom Table. She’s Ray’s wife. Soon, a few more regulars drift in, including Don Sharp and Joe Jinright, both retirees. Jackie Vaughn of Vaughn Body Shop plops down nearby.
Ray Stevens decides to call local real estate mogul Lyman Lovejoy, another regular who, for some reason, hasn’t dropped by yet this particular morning. But he’s there within five minutes of receiving Stevens’s call. “These guys could be lawyers,” Lovejoy says, “because they tell the truth in a lot of different ways.”
Stevens nods toward Lovejoy and says, “His Bible has only a front and back cover, no pages between.” Then Stevens gets taken to task for blocking the fire hydrant in front of Shaw’s with his truck. “No problem,” one of the guys says. “Ashville hydrants are dry anyway.”
Jeff Corbin agrees. “I watched my place burn down one day after the fire department tried three hydrants and couldn’t get water from any of them.”
Jim Wilson says primary cook Amanda Leftwich is the one who keeps the place going, “without a shadow of a doubt.”
“I kid everybody, tell ‘em she runs the place, I just work here,” Skip Shaw says of Leftwich. “She’s the main cog that makes everything turn. I’m fortunate to have her.”
His sister-in-law, Debra Meadows, makes the pies. “We do four – apple, peach, chocolate and coconut,” Shaw says. “Sometimes she adds sweet potato in the fall. We serve sandwiches, plate lunches, beef, chicken, smoked turkey. Our menu is pretty well-rounded, with something for everyone. We have salads, too, and daily vegetables. I’ll smoke meat maybe, but Amanda does most of the cooking. We have three or four women working here every day, and sometimes my daughter, Lori, helps out, too.”
Leftwich has been working for Shaw for 12 years. “My customers are very good to me,” she says. “You know that old saying, ‘Don’t believe anything you hear, and only half of what you see,’” she remarks. “It applies here.”
“What you say here WILL be held against you,” says Skip Shaw, emphasizing the word, “will.” “We have selective memories: We select everything and remember all of it!”
Horse Pens’ Songwriter Festival inspiring music on the mountain
Story by Roxann Edsall Photos by Richard Rybka
There is no doubt that music is a powerful tool, touching our heart strings and transporting us through time and space. The words to certain songs speak to our hearts when, oftentimes, nothing else will. Alabama-raised songwriter Mutt Cooper explains, “I always hope the words connect to the audience and that we’re all in the same emotional space at the same time.”
Cooper, who now lives in Georgia, started playing the guitar and writing music when he was just 10 years old. He now works as an occupational therapist, specializing in traumatic brain injury.
A navy veteran himself, he works with veterans at Martin Army Hospital in Fort Benning. He uses his songwriting skills to address the pain and emotional scars of the wounded, whether they’re military, children or just ordinary people navigating daily life. His song, Tom, has received a lot of attention from Vietnam veterans groups because of its powerful, relatable lyrics.
He wrote the song about his cousin, who served in Vietnam. The cousin, Tom, came back from Vietnam a changed man, a change so profound that he had to live with Cooper’s family and spent most days playing guitar to help him process the pain. “He died in Vietnam, but he didn’t know. He’s got a lot of scars that don’t show,” the haunting lyrics say.
The lyrics to another of Cooper’s songs address the simpler, but broader, issue of aging. The words to I Knew Him When are easily relatable to anyone who has noticed a wrinkle or a grey hair as birthdays come and go.
Staring in the mirror, it’s easy for me to see. The same young man who lives inside of me. Well, it makes no sense, and how can it be? There’s an old man in the mirror looking back at me.
Cooper recently spent a weekend with more than a dozen other songwriters at the Horse Pens 40 Songwriter Festival on Chandler Mountain. The festival’s organizer, Paul Ensign of C&P Entertainment, has been providing the venue and stage to showcase the talents of local, regional and national touring songwriters for four years. “These guys and gals get up on stage, not just to sing, but to give you the emotion behind the words, the experience that helped to write the song,” explains Ensign.
Cass Hunter and Mutt Cooper
Texas-based songwriter Thom Shepherd, also a festival participant, agrees. “Everybody’s here to really listen to the lyrics and hear the stories behind the songs.” He and his wife, fellow songwriter, Coley McCabe, have both won awards through the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and have been named Duo of the Year by the Trop Rock Music Association for the past four years. She has played at the Grand Ole Opry four times.
The two met when they were working with different Nashville publishers housed in the same office building. They were married by an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas in 2015. They tour regularly and enjoy going to songfests to meet new writers and to reconnect with others. They even hold their own songwriter’s festival in Texas called Lonestar Luau. (Editor’s note: You can check them out at Lonestarluau.com.)
“Write for yourself,” says Shepherd. “That’s what a publisher told me years ago. I’d moved to Nashville to perform. Everyone said you’ve got to be able to write, so that’s when I started working on that. I struggled at first, but then I was counseled to write for myself, about things that have had meaning to me. That’s the place that hit songs come from. That’s when I started thinking about things like my love of cars.”
His love of old cars is what made him reminisce about seeing his first car again after selling it to an old friend. He went back to visit the man and saw the car, sat in the driver’s seat and opened the glove compartment. “That’s when I started to imagine. What if this car had been owned by someone else and what if that someone had left a note in the glove compartment,” says Shepherd excitedly. “And what if that owner had been a young man going off to war who left the note to the new owner in case he didn’t come back? And what if the car was a Corvette?”
With that story in mind, he collaborated with songwriter Wood Newton and wrote the 2001 hit single, Riding with Private Malone. The song was recorded by American Country Music artist David Ball. “You always hope one of your songs will touch people’s lives, and this one has,” says Shepherd. “I hear from people who say this was a particular soldier’s song, and he didn’t make it back. It reminds them of that soldier. Others tell me this song is the reason they joined the military.”
Christina Crystal and Megan Kuehner
Coley McCabe wrote Don’t Open That Door as a response to the loss of her sister, Tracy. The song was later recorded by country star Loretta Lynn. “I wrote it after Tracy passed, never meaning for it to be recorded,” says McCabe. “But it was pitched to Loretta, and she recorded it. I ran into her a few years later and told her I’d written it. It was shortly after her husband had passed. She sang the chorus to me with a tear in her eye. It was sweet!”
Strong family ties also fuel the fire for fellow songwriter Christina Crystal. She has just turned 30 and has been writing songs for 16 years. At the songwriter’s festival, she explained to the audience the background behind several songs she and her husband, songwriter/producer Nick Biebricher, have written and produced, including the very personal Ultra Sound, a ballad about the experience of expecting the birth of their son.
Another of Crystal’s favorites is a playful lyric that she wrote and performed called, Dolly, Would You Pardon Me, a fun, upbeat song with a nod to vocal great Dolly Parton. The song was nominated for best country song of the year in 2019 at the Independent Music Awards.
“Hit songs begin with words that make people feel something,” says Shepherd. Pure joy and fun are a hallmark in his huge hit summertime party song, Redneck Yacht Club. Written by Shepherd and recorded in 2005 by country music’s Craig Morgan, the lyrics are an invitation to “Meet us out at party cove. Come on in, the water’s fine. Just idle on over an’ toss us a line.”
If you’re out on this lake this summer, you’re sure to hear it. The power of music is fueled by powerful lyrics.
“Success is based upon a spiritual quality, a power to inspire others.” — Vince Lombardi
Story by Roxann Edsall Photos by Richard Rybka
Coach Pete Rich is one successful man. He must be; he has a stadium named after him.
The reason for that honor, though, is somewhat of an anomaly. His namesake stadium is home to the Pell City High School Panthers. He never lead his Pell City football team to the most wins of any coach. He did not even serve as head coach the longest. His fame is less about statistics and more about relationships.
His biggest victories are still being realized in the lives of the young men he inspired in his 34 years of coaching high school football. And those former football players, many whom are now retired from successful careers, say Coach Rich was a powerful force in shaping them into the people they are today.
Pell City High School jerseys, jackets and other memorabilia
On a Saturday afternoon, more than 50 former players and coaches gather at the Municipal Building. They’ve come from as far away as California and New Mexico to honor their former coach and mentor on his 88th birthday. Just as they did in the lock room decades ago, the men form a huddle and Coach begins their time together by leading them in prayer.
One of those in the huddle was Alabama State Senator Lance Bell, who played nose guard from 1987 to 1989. Senator Bell read a resolution from the Alabama Legislature honoring Coach Rich for his many years of service to the people of Pell City and the astate of Alabama.
“Coach Rich was like a second father to me. He taught us about discipline and about life,” the senator remembers. He recalled a time that he suffered a significant injury to his knee during a game. “The call from Coach,” he said, “was the first phone call I received checking on me.”
“He was a father figure for all of us,” adds former tight end Leslie Smith. “He is bigger than life. I mean, the man still lifts weights at 88 years old!” Coach Rich has had that weight room at his home since he started coaching Pell City football in 1969. And it has always been open to any of his players.
“Coach truly saved my life,” chimes in Bobby Watson, tight end and linebacker from 1975 to 1978. “He got me into weightlifting when I was 18 years old,” he tells. “That habit saved me later in life, when, in 2014, I suffered a bilateral quad rupture. I was told I’d never walk again.” Watson credits Coach Rich with teaching him the value of strength training through weightlifting. Weightlifting, rehab exercises and sheer determination, he says, helped him to regain his mobility. Not only is he walking again, he is now a strength coach and weight strength coordinator for the Trussville YMCA.
Sammy Brown, played defensive end during the ’74-’75 season and again the next year. He gets emotional talking about Coach. “He was always open to listen. I could go to his house and sit outside with him and when I left, it felt like a huge burden was lifted. He cared so much about others.” When Brown later had a wife and children of his own, he said Coach would often come to his home after his own family Christmas and share in the Brown family celebration.
A hometown boy, Pete Rich grew up in the Avondale Mill Village, played football for Pell City High School, and worked at the mill during the summers. He graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1957 and immediately started coaching football, baseball and basketball at Jones Valley High School.
He started coaching at Sylacauga High School in 1961, where he stayed for eight years. He returned to Pell City as head coach in 1969. After five years as head coach, Rich stepped down from head coach to spend more time directly with his players as defensive coordinator. Rich retired from coaching in 1991, having served on the coaching staff at Pell City High School for 22 years.
In total, he coached for more than three decades. In that time and since then, he has touched the lives of countless people, who consider him a friend and mentor.
His former players are devoted to him and, when you meet him, it’s easy to see why. When he’s involved in a conversation, he is committed to it. He does treat people as if they are the most special person in that moment. His sense of humor is part of his charm. He’ll often start a story off with “I ought not tell this …” and then chuckle as he tells it.
Former players talking with coach
Coach admits to working his boys hard, but it was second nature to him. “I made sure my kids worked hard. It was just the way I was raised,” he says. “My mama always made sure I worked hard as a kid. I remember coming home from school one day and mama said to get ready because I was about to be picked up to go out and help plow the fields.”
Although he had plenty of opportunities to advance in the world of coaching, he was committed to his community and remained with Pell City High School.
He and his wife, Gwen, raised their two children, Lori (Billingsley) and Brian, in Pell City. “We always had people around the house, either visiting my dad or using the weight room,” says Brian. “It was like Grand Central Station, but it was good. Both Mom and Dad are great. I feel like I won the parent lottery with them!” Brian did play some football and basketball, but tennis turned out to be his best sport.
Former player Jerry Posey was not quite as lucky in his childhood experiences. His dad suffered from alcoholism and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Coach Rich, he says, was one of the first positive influences in his life. “I was from the housing project, and he was from the mill village,” said Posey. “He treated everyone the same. He was an unbelievable influence for me.”
As the lights come on and fans file into Pete Rich Stadium for Pell City home games this fall, just maybe some will think of the lessons Coach Rich taught. “Nobody’s more special than anybody else,” he said. “I’ve just always tried to make sure everybody felt equally special.”
As the weather warms up, many of us start feeling that spring fever and want to head outdoors to one of Alabama’s many beautiful hiking areas.
From the new Big Canoe Creek Preserve – whose trails open soon in Springville – to neighboring Cheaha State Park, you won’t have to go far to find those opportunities to take in the natural world outdoors. And while you don’t have to be a seasoned pro to enjoy hiking in Alabama, thru-hiker and Pell City native Bennett Fisher offers some tips for the rest of us.
After all, he was a novice once himself. He jumped in as a hiker full-speed, hitting the Appalachian Trail (AT) on his first backpacking trip after graduating from Pell City High School in 2015.
Hiking at Big Canoe Creek Preserve
Along with his dad, who was also a novice hiker, he completed the entire 2,190 miles of the AT from Springer Mountain, Georgia, to Katahdin, Maine. Since then, Jolly, as he is known on the trail, has also thru-hiked the Pacific Coast Trail (PCT) and about half of the Continental Divide Trail (CDT). He is still recovering from the foot injury that sidelined his CDT hike.
His first piece of advice for the beginner is to prepare, but take it easy on yourself. “There’s a lot of gear to choose from. Don’t get discouraged. Form your own opinions. Do your research and take advice, but then try it and form your own opinions.”
After the father-son duo set out on their quest to conquer the AT, it wasn’t long before they were questioning their choices. On subsequent hiking trips, they explored different gear options and weeded out what didn’t work for them and added what they missed.
Local hiking gives you many more options on items you may want to bring for comfort. “If taking a camp chair helps you get outside and enjoy yourself,” says Bennett, “then take it. It’s all about what you will use to make your experience better. But don’t weigh your pack down if you don’t need it. If you don’t use it, just don’t bring it next time.”
Next, he says, evaluate the same gear in different weight options. “On one of my first hikes, I brought sandals to wear around camp that were about a pound each. What I really needed were dollar store flip flops that weighed only a few ounces.”
Good hiking shoes, he adds, are an essential piece of equipment. “A lot can go wrong with shoes.” That sentiment is echoed by Trey Staples, manager of Gadsden Outfitters. “My number one tip is to be sure you have a good sock and a good shoe. You’ve got to keep your feet dry. Get help from an outfitter who will take the time to fit you for the shoe that’s right for your feet and your activity level.”
For easy cleanups, Staples recommends bringing wet wipes, which are easy to pack. He also recommends repacking items to bring less waste with you and be sure to pack out whatever trash you do have.
Getting a backpack that fits your body is important if you’re doing more than day hiking. “Get a pack that fits you,” says Staples, “and that means going somewhere where they’ll measure your torso to get it right.” For day hiking, a small pack is useful for storing your water, food, rain gear, first aid kit and snacks.
“It’s also a good idea, no matter how long a hike you’re on,” adds Staples, “to let someone know where you’re going and when you’re expecting to be back.”
Water is a critical safety component of any hike of any duration. “If you’re on a day hike,” says Fisher, “definitely bring your own water. But for multi-day hikes, you’ll want to bring along a water filter.” Also, he says, you don’t have to buy professionally packaged backpacker food. “It’s pretty expensive, and you don’t need it.
Just bring things you like to eat and will look forward to eating. I’ve brought food before that I thought I needed that was healthy, but it just lived in my backpack because it wasn’t appealing to me, so I didn’t eat it.”
Developing a passionwith each step
Fisher and his dad came back from their AT thru-hike having solidified their love of hiking. Fisher says he spent quite a bit of time hiking at Cheaha State Park before moving to Utah in 2018 and earning his degree in Outdoor Product Design from Utah State in 2020.
He has since launched his own outdoor clothing line with the tagline, “Where fun meets functional.” You can check out his products at Jollygear.com.
Unexpected bonus nets Springville couple a business on the water
Story by Scottie Vickery Submitted photos
When Beverly and Robert Shaffer started house hunting just over a year ago, their main goal was to find a place where they could raise some chickens. They ended up with a house on 19 acres in Springville, and at recent count, four goats, two tortoises, 19 rabbits, 23 chickens and 15 guinea fowl. Oh yeah, they also got a kayak rental business that came with the property, as well.
The perfect place for outdoor live music
That turned out to be a happy surprise, and operating Big Canoe Creek Kayaking has been as big an adventure for the family as it has been for the paddlers who come to enjoy some peaceful time on the water. “We ended up with much more than we were looking for, but we love it,” Beverly said.
Although they weren’t in the market for a new business, Beverly, who owns a childcare center in Birmingham, said they knew a good opportunity when they saw it. She and Robert have four children – Ashley, Hollis, Lyons and Thomas – and two of them were in need of summer jobs. Ashley works at the childcare center, and Hollis lives out of state, so Lyons and Thomas were the perfect candidates to run the kayak business.
Both students at Auburn University, the brothers weren’t exactly sure what they were getting themselves into last year, their first season. “It was definitely a lot more work than I expected, but it ended up being a ton of fun,” Thomas said. “Now that I know what to expect, I’m definitely more excited about this year.”
They open for the season on May 13, and the Shaffers expect to be even busier than last year. The owners of Yak Tha Creek in Ashville decided to close shop earlier this year, so Big Canoe Creek Kayaking is now the only kayak rental facility in St. Clair County. After purchasing half of the other business’ boats, the Shaffers now have a total of 50 kayaks, including seven doubles.
Kayaking is the most popular form of paddle sports, according to The Outdoor Foundation, and Big Canoe Creek is the perfect spot for all ages to get their feet wet. Lots of families and friends come to take advantage of the opportunity to unplug, get away from it all and enjoy nature.
“It’s really peaceful, and it’s very beginner-friendly,” Thomas said of the 3.85 mile stretch of the creek. It’s an easy float, and if visitors don’t want to do a lot of paddling, they can just sit back and enjoy the ride. “We have lots of kids doing it,” Thomas said, “and people take their dogs all the time. A lot of people go fishing, and they all seem to catch a lot.”
The scenery along the creek is breathtaking
The watershed is home to 50 species of fish and eight species of mussels, according to The Friends of Big Canoe Creek, which was founded in 2008 to protect and preserve the creek and its tributaries. The 246-mile watershed, which runs from northeast Jefferson County, flows through northern St. Clair County, eventually joins the Coosa River in southwest Etowah County. It is also a great place for bird watching. Owls, egrets and eagles are among the species that have been spotted.
The Shaffers’ animals are a big draw, as well, and children particularly love the goats and rabbits, Thomas said. There are picnic tables onsite, so visitors can pack a lunch and plan to stay for a while. “Everyone seems to really enjoy it,” he said. “It’s a fun way to spend time together, and it’s super relaxing.”
Big Canoe Creek Kayaking is open Friday through Sunday, although groups can be accommodated during the week. They open at 8:30 a.m. and the last kayaks go in the water at 3:30. Rentals are $40 for a single kayak and $50 for a double, and the cost includes paddles and life jackets. Visitors are shuttled to the drop-off point and picked up nearly four miles down the creek. The trip typically takes two to three hours, and paddlers with their own kayaks can have their boats shuttled for $20.
In addition, there are five campsites – each with a grill, picnic table and fire ring. The cost is $25 for the first tent and $10 for each additional tent. The campground is open 7 days a week.
For more information about Big Canoe Creek Kayaking, located at 6545 Alabama Highway 23 in Springville, call (205) 452-9553 or find them on Facebook at Big Canoe Creek Kayaking.
