Story by Scottie Vickery Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.
Every morning, Jackie Gleason sits on her back porch at Legacy
Farms in Steele, gazes across the rolling pasture, takes in the spectacular
view of Chandler Mountain, and just breathes.
The day, no matter which one it is, promises to be a full one.
There are animals to feed and water, hay to bale, two full-time careers to
juggle and the usual whirlwind of ball games, practices and school events that
come with raising two teenage sons. For most, it would be overwhelming. For
Jackie and her husband, Philip, it’s just another day in paradise.
“It’s time consuming and there’s a lot of sacrifices, but it’s
worth it,” Philip said. “I don’t see myself doing anything else.”
Voted Best Farm by the readers of Discover, The Essence of St.
Clair magazine, Legacy Farms has a little bit of everything. The Gleasons
breed quarter horses, cattle, border collies and red heelers while also raising
a menagerie that includes chickens, ducks, turkeys, a goat, a Great Pyrenees,
an ever-growing collection of cats including one with six toes, and a pig named
Trump who was born on Inauguration Day.
While running a working farm is a full-time commitment for most,
the Gleasons aren’t the type to put their feet up. Philip is a veterinarian at
Argo Animal Clinic and a member of the Steele City Council while Jackie works
full-time as a pharmacist at CVS in Jacksonville. Just to make things really
interesting, she recently started hosting weddings at Dayspring, her family’s
farm in Springville, and has 21 events already booked for this year.
“I don’t think there’s a day we can just sit around and relax,” Jackie
said. “It’s a lot of work, and at the end of the day you’re exhausted, but you
feel like you got something accomplished.”
A way of life
Farm life was an important part of both Philip’s and Jackie’s
childhoods. Philip grew up on 25 acres across the street from where the
couple’s home now stands. Although Jackie lived in Gadsden as a child, she
spent most weekends at her grandparents’ Dayspring Farm and grew up showing
horses and Simmental cattle. The couple, who married in 2002, tried living in a
subdivision while their boys were young, life on the farm kept beckoning. They
eventually bought Philip’s family farm and some additional acreage and made
themselves a home.
“It’s such a calming place,” Jackie said. “We tell the kids,
‘learn how to slow down.’ On your worst day, if you can’t go out in that
pasture and walk around and feel a little bit better, I don’t know what else
could help you.”
Today, the Gleasons work about 250 acres of land between the two
farms. Philip breeds Angus cattle while Jackie’s domain is the quarter horses
and dogs. Rece, 16, is leaning toward a career in poultry science while
13-year-old Cade can most often be found on a tractor. “Everybody has their
role out here,” Jackie said.
Her first love is the horses. “I started showing horses when I was
3 and started breeding them when I was 13,” said Jackie, adding that she has
two stallions, 11 mares and 10 to 12 foals on the ground each year. These days,
her pride and joy is Top Side Secret, the 17-year-old grandson of Triple Crown
winner Secretariat. “He is one of three grandsons left in the U.S., and his dad
is the last living son,” she said. “He’s got the best temperament, which is
rare for a stallion. He’s been such a great boy, and he’ll always have a home
here.”
Philip said his focus is on breeding the best Angus cattle. “We
want to produce that great taste,” he said, adding that 50-60 calves are born
each year. “We’re a seedstock producer; we’re producing the genetics. All of
the animals have a DNA profile and everything is done by artificial
insemination or embryo transfer.” While some are sold locally, Philip sends
most of his bull calves – usually 25-30 at a time – to Gardiner Angus Ranch in
Kansas, which markets them.
“I start at 5 a.m., then go to work and sometimes I’ve been
breeding cows at midnight,” he said. “It’s a lot of work and at times it’s
frustrating, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
Saying “I do” to weddings
Late last year, Jackie decided to add another business venture to
the mix. Although she and her father still raise cattle at Dayspring Farm and
many of her horses are there, she knows the farm will be hers one day and
she’ll need another source of income for it. Since its wide-open pastures
nestled between two mountain ranges make for some spectacular scenery, she
decided it would be the perfect place for a wedding venue.
She held her first wedding last November and hasn’t stopped since.
“There’s no way I could ever sell this place, so I decided to figure out some
way to make it pay for itself. I didn’t think it would take off as fast as it
did. Most barn venues are barns built for weddings, but here the animals wander
up to the fence and guests get to pet them. I think that’s what the draw is. We
take it for granted because that’s how we grew up, but not everyone gets to
enjoy that.”
Creating a Legacy
That’s what the Gleasons wanted for Rece and Cade, and it’s the
main reason they decided to move back to the farm. “It’s the best thing we
could have done for the boys,” Jackie said. “They may never want to raise
cattle and that’s one thing, but they’ve learned to appreciate the land, the
scenery and animals.”
Not
long after the move, the Gleasons were in church when the sermon focus was on
creating a legacy. “We looked at each other and said, ‘That’s what we’re going
to name the farm,’ ” Jackie said. “Our hope is that each of the kids will get
one of the farms one day. If we are going to leave a legacy for them, we wanted
it to be a different lifestyle, a peaceful lifestyle.”
Economic Development Council marks 20 years of collaboration and success
Story by Paul South Photos by Graham Hadley and Jamie Collier
In a
sense, economic development is like growing a garden. Everything comes in
season – tilling, planting, watering and fertilizing, waiting for the effort to
blossom. For the past 20 years in St. Clair County, government, industry, small
business and the citizenry, have come together like seed, soil, sun and rain to
grow one of Alabama’s fastest-growing counties.
With a
basketful of projects in progress or in prospect, plus a recent capital
campaign meeting its fundraising goals, the St. Clair County Economic
Development Council appears poised for another bountiful harvest.
The
EDC has just completed raising its $500,000 goal in its annual capital
campaign, Partnership for Tomorrow. The fundraising effort not only
fuels the EDC’s regional, national and international recruitment reach that
extends from Europe to the Pacific Rim, but also foots the bill for things as
mundane as paying salaries for the EDC’s small staff and keeping the lights
burning.
“We’ve
always been very fortunate to have community support in these endeavors. We
have a 20-year track record of being both good stewards of the funds given to
us and being very productive in utilizing those funds,” said EDC Executive
Director Don Smith.
The
EDC is also about to embark on a new five-year plan, crafted after feedback
from business, government and St. Clair County citizens. Education and
workforce development, job recruitment and retention, marketing and leadership
development remain as goals from previous plans.
The
new plan includes a focus on developing tourism, an effort to trumpet the
county’s rich history, attractions and natural resources. A slice of the
capital campaign includes raising an extra $100,000 to hire an individual to
promote and market tourism.
The
practice of crafting and executing five-year plans began under former EDC
Executive Director Ed Gardner Jr., who succeeded his father, Ed Gardner Sr., in
the role. Gardner Sr. was the EDC’s first executive director. He laid the
foundation for the EDC’s history of success.
And
the five-year plans begun under Gardner Jr. have helped build the EDC into the
success it is today. This will be the second five-year plan on Smith’s watch.
It’s hoped the tourism push will, like a stone skipping across one of the
county’s cherished waterways, have a ripple effect in all sectors of the
county’s economy. The Coosa River, Neely Henry and Logan Martin lakes, Little
and Big Canoe creeks, Chandler Mountain and Horse Pens 40 are the surface of
the county’s tourism treasures. Through the efforts of the EDC’s push, the
county has embraced the Forever Wild initiative, aimed at preserving the environment
for future generations.
An
important note, tourism-driven initiatives spark high return on investment
“Tourism
really does feed into the other areas on which we have previously been focused,
Smith said. “This will help bring new residents into the area, which will
increase our workforce pool. It will also bring in new sales tax and tourism
dollars, which will be beneficial to the funding of the municipalities, schools
and also bring more sales to our small business owners in the county.”
In
this, Alabama’s bicentennial year, the county’s history is also something to be
celebrated through festivals around the county.
“I
believe that what we want to do is really market our strengths. We are blessed
in this county with beautiful lakes and streams, mountains and valleys, a
variety of wildlife and foliage. We want to make sure we have opportunities for
people who are here to spend time outside and enjoy what we have here. We want
to pull people from the urban areas, to be able to enjoy outdoors activities as
well.”
Tourism
can also spark the county as attractive for retirees or for families seeking a
second home.
“Our
philosophy is the more people that come and visit St. Clair County will only
create more believers that this is one of the best counties in the state,”
Smith says.
Along
with the tourism push, the county will continue its efforts in manufacturing
and retail recruitment, workforce development, education and building future
generations of leaders through Leadership St. Clair.
The
EDC works closely with Jefferson State Community College and the St. Clair
County, Leeds and Pell City Schools to train workers and connect them with
recruiters.
“I
believe with things like creating a new apprenticeship program, developing a
site-ready pad in the Cogswell Industrial Park in Pell City, and really
engaging the public school systems in the importance of career readiness,
allowed us to have success on a grander scale than we had initially thought
possible,” Smith says.
Jason
Goodgame, vice president of the Goodgame Company, has been involved in the
construction and expansion of a number of local industries, including Eissmann.
The long relationship has expanded business and created jobs. He has pitched
the county’s assets to firms around the globe.
“We
have a great source of employment. We have great people that are here. We have
a great quality of life with the lakes and the school system and we work to
make firms around the world a part of things here. … Relationship is what we
do. … We always try to cultivate what we have in common.”
“Currently,
our project and prospect level is extremely high,” Smith noted. “We have some
20 projects or prospects we’re managing right now. We’re trying to get a lot of
the prospects into an announced project status and a lot of the projects into a
‘completed’ status.” The expansion in Steele at Unipres, Charity Steel’s new
location in Riverside, TCI of Alabama, Impact Metals, and Allied Minerals’ new
investment in Pell City as well as unannounced retail projects throughout the
county are a testament to the economic vitality of all of our communities.”
On top
of the new investments, Charity Steel pours a portion of its profits back into
the community, Trinity Highway Safety Products was honored with one of Gov. Kay
Ivey’s Trade Excellence Awards, and WKW was just named Supplier of the Year for
the second straight year by the Alabama Automotive Manufacturers Association.
The
recent large expansion at Eissmann is another reason for optimism. All of this
success highlights a high level of collaboration between the county, its
municipalities and the business community with the EDC.
“The
leadership component is so important. One of the things that we stress is the
ability to do great things when we’re all working together, Smith says. One
city, partnering with another city to share sewer and water, or police and fire
protection is really not possible unless you have good cooperation.”
Joe
Kelly, chairman of the EDC board of directors for the past three years, and a
member of the board since its inception, credits local governments for allowing
the EDC to do its job, sparking strong growth.
“One
of the great things about our county and our county leadership is that they not
only have allowed the EDC to do its work, they have been a tremendous source of
encouragement as our staff goes out and slays the dragon, so to speak.
The
future of that working relationship is bright, as St. Clair works with its
northern neighbors to grow the Interstate 59 Corridor.
“We’re
going to continue to focus on wealth creation, which is the continued
recruitment of employers and making sure we have good quality companies coming
into our community. We’re going to have population growth that’s going to take
place,” Smith said.
“We’re
going to continue to educate elected officials on the importance of community
planning so we can eliminate the hodgepodge of development that takes place a
lot of times, where you have incompatible neighbors. We’re going to continue to
plan to address congestion and traffic issues. Those are things we’re going to
try to have as part of our plan going forward.”
“Each
time, we have exceeded the goals that were put forth for us,” Smith said. “This
just adds on to the previous 10 years that the EDC has been in operation. The
EDC has been active for 20 years and has an incredible track record of being
fiscally responsible, very effective in achieving our goals and growing our
county.”
No one
could have foreseen the success of the EDC when it began its work 20 years ago,
Kelly said. The initial focus was on industrial recruitment and job creation
but blossomed into much more.
“That
was done, but it has transformed into many other aspects of improving the
quality of life in St. Clair County,” Kelly said.
The
secret to the EDC’s success in its 20 years? “One of the things that we’ve done
best is not talking a lot but listening a lot,” he explained. “We actually
solicit that kind of advice from our business community.”
As the
EDC wraps up this capital campaign and embarks on the new five-year plan, Kelly
reflected on the EDC and its history, seasoned with a basketball analogy. And
he praised the staff and the board over the two decades of toil.
“I
don’t think when we started, we had the vision that in 20 years we were going
to be going and growing, but I do know . . . when we brought in Ed Gardner Sr.,
it was like when Auburn hired Bruce Pearl. We set a standard when we brought
(Gardner Sr.) in, and so we couldn’t back away. And we haven’t,” he said.
“Everybody
on the board – past and present – have focused on what’s best for St. Clair
County. We’re often asked, ‘How do you do it?’, and it’s the quality of the
people.”
Story by Carol Pappas Photos by Michael Callahan Submitted photos
When Jack Fincher and sister, Linda Wood, were growing up in
Roebuck, John Donalson’s family lived across the street. Donalson was the first
director of aviation for Alabama and after settling into the suburban
Birmingham neighborhood, the family lived at the nearby airport in an apartment
above his office.
That was before World War II. After the war, he commanded the Air
National Guard for the state, was among the inaugural inductees to Alabama’s
Aviation Hall of Fame, patented a steel casting process and became a steel
company executive.
But what happened in between is the real story, said Fincher and Wood, both of whom now live in Pell City.
Fincher refers to the decorated war hero simply as “Papa.” In
later years, Donalson’s wife and Fincher and Wood’s father passed away, and
three years after Donalson’s wife died, “he came out here and proposed” to
their mother, Almeda “Boots” Hines Fincher.
She had been a nurse and took care of Mrs. Donalson in her final
days. Their spouses died a few months apart in the same year.
Humble hero
Fincher and Woods’ story about ‘Papa’ is deeply rooted in those
in-between years when Lt. Col. John Donalson led the main airborne invasion of
Normandy – D-Day – 75 years ago. More than 800 C-47s dropped over 13,000
paratroopers into the epic battle that would change the course of World War II
and history. And Donalson was the commander.
A photo in his hometown newspaper in Birmingham captured the
moment back home, his wife, Blanche, his three children, Beverly, 16, and John
Jr. and Eugenia – just toddlers – listening to the broadcast of the invasion on
radio in the early morning hours of June 6, 1944. The youngest, John Jr., is
seen clutching a photograph of his father.
They may not have been able to understand the events as they
unfolded in real time, but Daddy would come home with a chest full of medals
and would rise to the rank of Major General.
That’s All,
Brother
In the years that followed, the plane that took the lead in the
invasion, That’s All, Brother, had gone from its pivotal role in D-Day
to a post-war commercial stint to a scrap metal yard when it was salvaged,
restored and began its journey anew to Normandy for the 75th
Anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 2019.
As part of the Commemorative Air Force Central Texas Wing, That’s
All Brother joined 15 other C-47/DC-3 airplanes to retrace the ferry path –
United States to Canada to Greenland to Iceland to Scotland to England. In
Duxford, England, That’s All Brother and three other planes headed to
Normandy to commemorate the anniversary. Then it was on to Germany to
commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift.
In 1945, the historic aircraft was sold to the civilian market and
over the next few decades and through multiple owners, it finally was sold to
be scrapped in what the Commemorative Air Force described as “a boneyard in
Wisconsin.”
As fate has a way of intervening, two historians from the United
States Air Force discovered its whereabouts, the CAF acquired it, and through a
Kickstarter program, donors and volunteers, That’s All Brother is flying
once again.
Fincher was one of those donors and when That’s All Brother
landed in Birmingham in May, Fincher and members of his family boarded for a
trip of a lifetime. “I was stoked,” said Fincher. “Everybody sat on little tin
seats and buckled up with the original equipment.”
He and members of his family were able to experience a step back
into time when Papa flew the skies over Normandy. Members of Donalson’s family
did as well, aboard a later flight.
After takeoff, passengers could wander around the airplane and
cockpit, which had been fully restored to its 1944 look and condition. “It was
like brand new,” Fincher said, noting that not a detail was missed. The
original paint scheme, even surplus parts from 1944 were used in the
restoration project.
“Papa was the command pilot,” he noted. “There were 82 airplanes
in his command.” He selected the name, That’s All Brother, “as a message
to Hitler.” The actual pilot that day was David Daniels, also from Birmingham,
with Donalson aboard in command of the entire operation. Also aboard that day
was a Scottie dog, the pilot’s pet. A stuffed dog to commemorate him is on the
present-day flights.
“Papa’s plane was Belle of Birmingham,” Fincher said, “but
because a radar beacon was required to be installed underneath the lead aircraft,
Papa was loathe to cut a hole in the belly of his beloved ‘Belle,’ so he made
the switch.”
Looking back
Wood and Fincher pore over old newspaper clippings and a scrapbook
as tall as a three-layer cake. The sense of history and heroism, intertwined,
is ever present as they turn each page.
They talk of Donalson’s flight with 80 more planes over the
English Channel that fateful night with no lights, no radio.
Wood recently discovered his memoirs – 100 pages handwritten in
pencil. In typical form of what has been called the Greatest Generation, “there
was very little about D-Day,” she said.
In his own
words
But in the family scrapbook is the copy of an official report Col.
Donalson filed on June 6, 1944, where he had this to say about the day’s
mission:
Our second mission consisted of fifty Gliders, thirty-six English
Horsa and fourteen American CG-4A gliders.
All were marshalled, that is placed in a double row with tugs
attached, so that they were able to take off starting from the front, one tug
and glider every 25 to 30 seconds. We put the CG-4A in front because they could
get off better. They were led by Maj. Gates who was to form over the field at
1800 feet and wait until all the Horsas were off and formed at 1200. Lt. Col.
Daniel and myself were in the first tug with Horsa. Cawthon was all over the
sky trying to keep it trailing. We formed up and got on course a little early
in order to make our departure point on time. When we passed Cherbourg on our
way in, it was quiet as a church-mouse. Guess they used up all their ammunition
the night before. Off to our left, the surface convoy was stretched as far as
you could see with boats going to the beaches.
There were a line of battleships and cruisers laying off the
shore, all quiet at the moment, but waiting to silence any shore battery that
was there and headed for our DZ. I had given all the preparatory light signals
and was just ready to give the signal for cutting loose when Capt. Cawthon, the
Glider Pilot, recognized his field and cut.
We pulled ahead, dropped our tow rope, and turned to head for our
base when some Krauts with tommy guns started hitting us. One explosive shell
came through and wounded our Radio Operator and Crew Chief. We hit the deck and
started home. On the way back, I was checking to see how many planes we had
lost. I could account for all but two. One of those had to re-service before he
could make it in. The other made a crash landing in France and the crew got
back in a couple of days.
My hat is off to the Glider pilots for they did a marvelous job
under fire. They landed right on top of the front line with snipers all over
the place. As soon as they got on the ground, they were in crossfire from
machine guns and the Krauts had their mortar zeroed on the fields. The Glider
pilots started returning the following day and are still coming in. So far we
have definite proof that three have been killed and feel sure that three more
were killed but cannot confirm it yet. Half of our airplanes were hit with
small arms fire with the majority of hits in the engine and gas tanks. They are
not leak-proof either.
This was our second mission and they were both 100 percent
perfect. Considering the number of people involved in the operation, it is
almost beyond belief that everyone would do exactly as he should.
There is not much of a report to make on these missions except all
went according to plan.
We were the third group in and when we got back to the DP we were
still meeting groups on their way in.
The boys are all on the peg awaiting a chance to go back on
another mission and getting ants in their pants.
The memoir
Donalson’s memoir comes from a unique vantage point of the days
leading up to the invasion as only he could tell it.
When I got to our field in central England, it frightened me that
I would be responsible for everything on the field. They had fields all over
England and if you became lost, you got on the radio and said Darkey, and a
field would give you a course to fly to the field that you wanted to go to.
These were low output radios that you had to be near the field
broadcasting to hear them. The first time the airplanes were out on
familiarization flight, about twelve got lost over the North Sea.
Maj. Gen. Ridgeway, in command of the 82nd Airborne
Division, was pressing me for a practice jump for his men. Brig. Gen. Gavin,
his executive officer, was very impatient I made them wait 3 or 4 days while
the pilots became familiar with flying at night over England…
I went with Gen. Ridgeway in his car to the drop zone about 10
miles from the point of take off, and the formation arrived at the prescribed
time. Just after daylight we stood on the drop zone and had to dodge helmets
and equipment falling. One man broke his leg landing on a frozen river. This
drop pleased Gen Ridgeway since the old units returned from North Africa had
dropped his outfit in a bombing practice area. I believe that was when he
picked the 438th to lead the invasion on France.
The night
before
In his memoir, Donalson writes about the night before when a
Baptist minister gave a pep talk. …he evidently thought everyone was afraid
they would be killed…
I followed with my talk and told the men that they were going to
attend the greatest show on earth, and they had earned their ring side seat.
D-Day arrives
D-Day was scheduled for the 5th of June and had to be
postponed on account of high wind over the channel. We painted three broad
white stripes on each wing with three stripes around the fuselage on the night
of June 4th. This was done to prevent a repeat of the invasion of
Sicily, where the Navy shot some of the Allied airplanes down.
When Gen. Eisenhower cancelled the invasion on the 5th,
no one thought to advise the men and women in the office. Someone notified the
American press that the invasion had started and with the difference in time,
it hit the headlines in the U.S.A. on the 4th.
We had beefed up until we had 18 airplanes in each squadron…which
gave us 81 airplanes. Actually two groups.
We had enough brass to line up along the runway for half its
length. Gen Eisenhower had been shaking hands with all the paratroops. Lt. Gen.
Brereton was in the lead airplane talking to the paratroops. When I was ready
to taxi into position for takeoff, I had to ask him to get out as it was time
to move out.
We took off and formed over the field waiting for the second half
to get into position for takeoff. This was a little before dark. I had split
the group in two. I guess you could say 438th A and 438th
B…We flew over the channel over a boat off the coast of Normandy. He flashed us
an O.K. with his light in the shape of a cross. Also they had rolls of aluminum
tape that could be picked up by the German radar to confuse into thinking the
landing was to be made at some other place…
Our two sections dropped their paratroops about ½ mile from each
other. Gen. Gavin wrote us up for not dropping his units in the same place. We
cut our throttles and glided down to 400 ft. to let the paratroopers jump. As
soon as the paratroops were all out, we gave the engines full throttle and
climbed to 3000 ft. flying over incoming planes.
Coming home
Donalson came home to Birmingham, returning to a life in the steel
industry, Air National Guard and with his family, not talking much about the
war except in interviews with media wanting to know more about this hometown
hero.
In a television interview after returning to Birmingham, Wood said
the colonel described the unprecedented air power that filled the sky that day
in simple, but vivid terms: “You could damned near walk from one airplane wing
to another.”
A newspaper account from Birmingham when he was home on leave
paints a picture of Donalson, the man.
“Calm in manner and voice, the Birmingham colonel has eyes that penetrate.
Their grayness have the flash, the sharpness of tempered steel…
“He wears the distinguished flying cross with two oak leaf
clusters, also the Presidential group citation. Three battle stars are on his
ETO ribbon.”
“Your family were pretty glad to see you weren’t they?,” he was asked.
“And the colonel—who made history on D-Day—answered as you or anyone else might
have answered, ‘Yeah.’ ”
About the man
An engineering graduate from Georgia Tech in the 1920s, he was an
engineer for Connors Steel before and after the war. His diploma, Fincher said,
“is on a real sheepskin.”
He later formed his own steel company, and he patented his
continuous steel casting formula. He and “Boots” lived happily 10 years in
Trussville and two years in Pell City until his death in 1987. “They were well
suited for each other,” said Fincher.
“Papa was very close to us,” added Wood. “He loved us dearly, and
we loved him. He was the only grandfather my kids ever knew.”
“I
think Papa’s modesty prevented our knowing more about his historic actions,”
added Fincher. “A natural leader: courageous, capable. It makes me wish we had
more like him around today. It’s my privilege to have known him and called him,
Papa.”
Coosa Riverkeeper and lake associations work to protect treasured waterways
Story by Paul South
Submitted photos
Even in the bleak midwinter, in a season of heavy rain and rising
water, Gene Phifer, Linda Ruethemann and Frank Chitwood can almost set clocks
by the nature’s magic on the Coosa River.
For Phifer, president of the Neely Henry Lake Association, the
White American Pelican returns to entertain each winter, nesting near Phifer’s
Neely Henry Lake home. For Ruethemann, a board member and past president of the
Logan Martin Lake Protection Association, small black ducks – Ruethemann calls
her feathered neighbors “diving ducks” – plunge for food under the Army khaki
green water in the mornings, delighting a human audience.
And for Frank Chitwood, the Staff Riverkeeper and founder of the
environmental watchdog group Coosa Riverkeeper, anytime is a good time on the
river. But the special times are when the sun rises or sets, painting an
ever-changing pallet, the moon is full and glowing, or in those seasons when
colors, not crowds, clamor for attention.
The lake associations and the Coosa Riverkeeper are united in a
singular mission – to protect the Coosa River system that runs through Alabama,
downstream from the river’s headwaters at the confluence of the Etowah and
Oostanaula rivers near Rome, Ga. The heart of the mission – to protect the
quality and quantity of the waters of Coosa and its six lakes and by extension,
the overall environment and economy.
Phifer calls Neely Henry, the Coosa and its sister lakes, “a
treasure.” The three organizations are carrying on a love affair with the
water.
“It’s really a treasure to have something like this, Phifer said.
“There’s no other way to put it. We’re so fortunate. We have a river system
that flows through the center of Gadsden and then on downstream. With a river
like this with all the recreational and all the aesthetic and environmental
benefits of it, goodness, it’s a treasure to have this. You don’t see this when
you go across the United States.
Native peoples called the
Coosa home long before Hernando DeSoto became the first European to see the
river in the 16th century. Neely Henry and Logan Martin were
man-made bodies of water, the result of Alabama Power’s construction of
hydroelectric dams in the 1960s. While these days, the river and lakes are in
better health, there was a time in the not-so-distant past when Logan Martin,
Neely Henry and its parent river were a dumping ground for all manner of human
refuse from beer cans to busted refrigerators.
“The river system years ago was a biological eyesore as far as the
way the water was being treated at that time. Something needed to be done,”
Phifer said. “Things weren’t being done the way they should have been done by
residents and the communities. Renew Our Rivers moved to the cities and
counties, and a groundswell of law enforcement, schools, businesses and the
media got involved, too. Etowah, St. Clair and Calhoun all got involved.”
The result was Renew Our Rivers. Started in 1998 on Neely Henry
and quickly spreading to other Alabama waterways. On Neely Henry alone, some
500 tons to debris has been cleaned out of the river. On Logan Martin, the
first year saw tons of debris pulled from the lake. The amount has decreased
over the years, thanks to increased awareness throughout the water system.
Team work
Keeping the Coosa River system clean is only part of the story.
For example, an all-volunteer army of trained Logan Martin residents take to
the river monthly to test the waters. The effort springs from an Auburn
University initiative called Alabama Water Watch.
Since 1996, the water tests
have been carried on come rain or sun, sleet or snow. Ruethemann is a trainer
for the testing effort, which looks for warning signs in the water. “You don’t
have to be a chemist to be a tester,” she says. “If you can follow a recipe,
you can do this.”
Testers don’t worry much about weekly reports but search for
trends in quality.
“When I’m out testing and someone sees me, they say, ‘Is the water
good?’ And I can tell you what the numbers are today. But what you’re really
looking for are the trends,” she says. “Is the water quality getting better? Is
it getting worse? Do you suddenly see changes in certain areas of water quality
that we need to take notice of and say, ‘Something’s changed here, what is
that?’ Then you start going upstream to where the issue started.”
Like the associations, Coosa Riverkeeper is focused on water
quantity and quality. Chitwood, founder of Coosa Riverkeeper and the retiring
staff riverkeeper for the organization, patrols the waters in a quest to
safeguard the river. He founded Coosa Riverkeeper in 2010 after volunteering
for other Riverkeeper organizations around the country.
Like the Neely Henry and Logan Martin citizen groups, Coosa
Riverkeeper is an advocate for the river system. While unlike the other
organizations, Riverkeeper has a small paid staff, the goals of the groups are
the same.
“What we do is patrol the river, educate the public and advocate
on behalf of the river. Citizen-based, nonprofit,” Chitwood said. “We do a lot
of the work that people expect the government does, but they don’t. In a sense,
we are a watchdog organization. We do things like monitor water quality to make
sure it’s safe to swim and to fish. We respond to citizen complaints. We go and
speak to school groups or civic groups about the river and its importance. We
monitor pollution sources and seek to reduce those sources of pollution.”
The public perception of the organization among river residents
has changed since its early days.
“When we first started, not many people knew what the Coosa River
was,” Chitwood said. “They thought of it as individual lakes. So, we talked to
people on Logan Martin about the Coosa and they’d say, “We don’t know where
that is, and we’d say, it’s right here.” That has changed a lot. They are more
aware of the connectivity between systems and between the lakes and how we’re
impacted by what people upstream of us are doing. That’s one big change.”
The other is changing the general perception that the Coosa is
unsafe for swimming because it does have such a polluted history, especially on
Logan Martin because of the PCB issue. What we did was start a program called
Swim Guide, where we do water quality testing all over the river every week in
the summer. We post that information free so people can see if it’s safe or not
to swim that week in their location, instead of just speculation and hearsay.
That has been really huge. A lot of people have been reassured about the safety
of swimming in the river. But a lot more people are assured about the safety of
the water.”
And Coosa Riverkeeper isn’t shy about using the legal system to
protect the waterway.
While the lake associations closely monitor water issues and
advocate and educate on behalf of the river system to schools, civic groups and
government agencies, Coosa Riverkeeper will put its legal muscle behind its
efforts.
“That’s why I’m really proud of our group because we’re standing
up and doing something about it. And we’re making progress. It just takes
people to stand up against industry and the government that are insanely
powerful in Alabama and say that’s not really how we want things to happen in
Alabama,” he noted.
“There are people out there that they know what they’re doing is
not right. And they know that what they’re doing has an impact. But if they
don’t get fined for it and they’re not going to spend however much money it is
to do the right thing, there’s no consequence. It takes more than one approach
to really address all these issues. That’s what sets our group apart. We’re
willing to go toe-to-toe with industry, and we’re willing to call in the
lawyers and file a lawsuit. There aren’t a lot of groups willing to do that. I
think that we have to be willing to do that. If we don’t, we’re never going to
change the status quo.”
Perhaps the dominant issue – one that would impact the three-legged
stool of the lake associations’ mission to protect water quality, quantity and
property values – are the so-called “Water Wars” among Alabama. Georgia and
Florida.
In an effort to get more water for a thirsty, growing Metropolitan
Atlanta area, Georgia wants to dam the waters that flow into the Coosa, which
is downriver from the confluence of the Etowah and Oostanaula. Its impact
reaches far beyond the Coosa, to the Tallapoosa and the Alabama Rivers. The
Alabama is a navigable waterway, critical for barge traffic to the Port of
Mobile.
Choking the flow of water to the Coosa, however, would damage a
fragile ecosystem and parch the local economy. If you want an idea of how
brittle the Coosa and its lakes are, consider indigenous beavers in the wake of
February flooding. While it’s the opposite effect compared to lower water
levels, the lesson here is environmental impact.
“Any change in the water level is going to affect the
environment,” Ruethemann says. “While it’s the opposite of that, in the flood,
beavers were wandering in people’s yards, and they were scared, not sure where
to go.”
All of the Coosa advocacy groups are closely monitoring the
mountain of litigation related to the water wars, Phifer said.
“We can’t continue to lose a lot of water without damaging us
downstream in dry season. When nutrient levels in the water get too high, you
have the potential for the nutrients to cause rapid algae growth and when the
algae die, it sucks oxygen from the river system, damaging quality of life for the
river. When you have dissolved oxygen, it becomes a pollution problem.”
In the years ahead, if the waters of the Cahaba – from which
Birmingham derives much of its water – begins to run dry – there is concern
that a parched Magic City might turn to the Coosa for water, putting the Coosa
in the crossfire of two fronts in the water wars.
“That’s not just a battle for Alabama, Florida and Georgia, but
there’s going to be a battle between Birmingham and the Coosa,” Chitwood says.
“It’s only going to be so long before Birmingham comes for the Coosa. They’ve
talked about it before.”
“When I train people in these (water testing) classes, I tell
them, water in not a limitless quality,” Ruethemann says. “You can’t make new
water. People say, ‘Why don’t you go to the Birmingham Water Works and get more
water? Well, where do you think they get that water?”
One of her water testing students took a biblical view, she says.
“Yup, that’s the same water that floated Noah’s boat.”
Ruethemann adds, “As it gets more limited and as we have more
people, and we start growing more in urban areas like Atlanta and in the
outskirts of Birmingham, people are going to be fighting for that limited
amount of water.”
Other development-related issues, like sediment runoff from
construction sites, sewerage and stormwater runoff concern the Coosa River
organizations of Weiss, Neely Henry, Logan Martin, Lay, Jordan and Mitchell
that make up what Ruethemann calls, “The Coalition.”
But another point of advocacy for Coosa Riverkeeper and the Neely
Henry and Logan Martin groups is the development of a statewide comprehensive
water management plan. Currently, Alabama is the only state in the Southeast
without a water management blueprint.
“In my opinion, (if) we get to a courtroom, it’s hard for us to
say (water) is of utmost importance when we don’t have a plan together. I think
that plays against us tremendously.”
What happens to the Coosa if Alabama loses the water fight?
“We always think the worst. I think human nature is (to think)
that everything will fall apart. I don’t know. There are many places on this
lake that if the water stayed at 460 (feet), that a lot of people would not
have waterfront property at all. You’d still see the diving ducks and the
pelicans, but in these narrow sloughs, a lot of people would not have
waterfront at all.”
Water quality and quantity should be on the minds of folks along
the Coosa and across Alabama, as neighboring Georgia builds more reservoirs at
the headwaters of the river.
“I would bet you if you talk to 90 percent of the people in this
state, they don’t even think about water, Ruethemann says. “They turn on the
faucet, and it’s there. They go to the beach or lake or river of their choice,
and it’s there. We have a lot of water in Alabama – today.”
Should they think about it?
“Oh yeah,” she says. “At some point in time, it’s going to become
an issue.”
Meanwhile the groups
collaborate, educate and advocate for the river system, pushing for clean,
ample water, effective policies and responsible development. The reason is
simple. “Anyone who spends time on our waterways in Alabama is going to
appreciate them,” Chitwood says. “You’re not going to go kayaking on Big Canoe
Creek and say, ‘Who really cares about that creek? ‘You’re going to say ‘Wow,
that’s something worth protecting.”
Logan Martin LakeFest
& Boat Show returns in May with more entertainment, more vendors, more
boats, impressive giveaways and even an extra day to enjoy it all.
The weekend of events May
17-19 will mark the ninth year for LakeFest, an event that celebrates lake
life.
This year, a pontoon boat
and an all-terrain vehicle are among the many giveaways.
The free, family-friendly
LakeFest – to be held at Lakeside Park at the Pell City Civic Center complex –
is the largest in-water boat show in the Southeast, according to event
coordinators Eric Housh and Justin Hogeland.
To date, the annual
fundraiser has generated $250,000 that has been given to about 40 different
charities, said Hogeland, a board member of LakeFest’s parent, Logan Martin
Charity Foundation.
This year, LakeFest will
again have a three-day format after having a two-day schedule for a few years.
“We’re adding back a Sunday this year,” said Housh, who is also a foundation
board member.
The hours of LakeFest are
noon to 9 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
During LakeFest, five
boat dealers will display a total of 15 brands of vessels.
“Some of those boats will
be in the water and people (who qualify) will be able to test drive, which is
unique,” Housh said.
The personal watercraft
vendor Speed Zone will have Sea Doos, Yamaha Wave Runners and Kawasaki jet skis
that those who qualify can take for a spin.
“That will be a lot of
fun,” Housh said.
In addition, Riders
Harley-Davidson will show off motorcycles, and enthusiasts will get to
experience the power, speed and thrill through a simulator.
On-site financing to
purchase a land or water vessel will be offered by America’s First Federal Credit Union, LakeFest’s presenting
sponsor.
In the beginning…
Jerry Woods of Woods
Surfside Marina, Fred Casey of Tradesman Co., and Lee Holmes of Sylacauga
Marine & ATV brought the first LakeFest to life, said Mark Hildebrant,
Woods’ son-in-law.
“Jerry was one of the
main forces behind the event,” said Housh. “… He was the brain of the
original idea.”
The goal was to raise
money for charitable causes, particularly Logan Martin Lake Protection
Association (LMLPA), said Housh and Hogeland.
“Jerry’s dream was to
give back to the community and have an event that showcased the lake and lake
life,” said Hildebrant, a foundation board member and current owner of Woods
Surfside Marina.
The event itself would be
free, but sponsorship from boat manufacturers and local businesses would
generate the funds that would go toward LMLPA projects and other community
endeavors.
The inaugural LakeFest
was held at a shoreline subdivision. The event brought together three boat
dealers, about 20 vendors and a crowd estimated at 2,000. Three acts provided
entertainment, with no stage and only a small public address system. About
$2,000 was raised for LMLPA, funds that went toward constructing the wetlands
boardwalk at Lakeside Park, Hogeland said.
The early years of
LakeFest were a struggle because it was a new event, and being outdoors, it was
at the mercy of the weather. In fact, rain canceled it one year.
But Woods and the
foundation board members believed in LakeFest and its mission.
More boat manufacturers
and local businesses gave their sponsorship, and the event expanded
significantly.
When LakeFest relocated
to Lakeside Park, the celebration really blossomed, greatly increasing the
number of acts, vendors, dealers, attendees and the amount of money raised for
charities.
The upcoming LakeFest
will feature more than a dozen musical acts, performing on a 24-foot stage with
professional lighting and sound. On Saturday, comedian Darren Knight – also
known as “Southern Momma” – will make a special appearance.
In addition to the
motorcycle and boat dealers, auto dealers will be on site. The inflatables and
water slides in Kid Zone will keep the younger set entertained on Friday and
Saturday. As many as 50 vendors will sell all sorts of items – from jewelry,
art and furniture to food, food and more food.
One vendor even comes
from Florida to sell crab cakes.
“The food is always a
highlight,” Housh said.
This year’s LakeFest is
on target to be the largest in the celebration’s history.
“We have exceeded our
growth this year,” Hogeland said. “We actually have a waiting list of boat
vendors.”
Housh added that the
space for other vendors is at capacity as well. “We have to turn vendors away
every year. We have to turn sponsors away every year.”
Even a place to dock a
boat has become a premium, Housh said. His advice to those planning to go to
LakeFest by water is to arrive early to secure a spot.
The appeal of LakeFest
draws people from Birmingham, Montgomery, Anniston, Oxford, Huntsville and
event Atlanta, Ga., Hogeland said.
“I like to see people
coming here from other places because this is an idyllic getaway,” Housh said.
He noted that Pell City
is, first of all, fortunate to have a large and attractive Lakeside Park that
can accommodate an event such as LakeFest. In addition to that, it is unique to
have an in-water boat show where people may test-drive models, talk to experts,
and get on-site financing.
“Having LakeFest at Lakeside Park has been a wonderful experience,” said
Brian Muenger, city manager for the City of Pell City. “It is a great
community-building event, as well as a means of promoting the city and the lake
in general. Last year was the biggest event yet. …”
Housh estimates the 2018
LakeFest attendance at 15,000.
“Any time you can bring
that many people to the area, it’s a great thing,” Muenger said. “The lake is
our biggest draw in terms of new residents, and LakeFest provides a huge amount
of exposure for the city.”
LakeFest has provided
about $50,000 for charities each of the last three years and while many
charitable causes have benefited from LakeFest funds, Hogeland said Lakeside
Park and the City of Pell City are two of the main recipients.
“The Logan Martin Charity
Foundation has … been a generous supporter of (the) Fire and Police
Departments, which we are thankful for,” Muenger said. “They have also
partnered with the city to expand the docks at the park, which was a $50,000
project. We are working towards further improvements in the years to come, and
with the continual growth of the event, I know its impact on the community will
continue to expand.”
Tonja Ramey, LMLPA
president, said LakeFest gives exposure to and promotes LMLPA’s work of keeping
the lake clean and teaching about the lake’s impact upon humans, ecology and
economy.
“The primary purpose of LMLPA is to educate
the public on issues and activities that impact the use and vitality of Logan
Martin Lake,” Ramey said. “… (At LakeFest,) we are able to set up a booth,
mingle with the vendors and share information with the visitors about the
importance of making improvements for the safety of swimmers and boaters, as
well as protecting the quality of our lake. And it also gives us the
opportunity to share information and possibly recruit anyone that may be
interested in learning to be a water monitor. Events like LakeFest are
also a great opportunity to sign up new members to LMLPA.”
A legacy remembered
Year after year, Woods’
influence continued to be a positive force in LakeFest.
Then, just four days
before the 2017 LakeFest, Woods died, Hildebrant said.
Hogeland and Housh said
it was very difficult to continue with LakeFest that year, but the group did so
for Woods’ sake.
The activities this year
will begin with a time of remembering Woods’ vision and commitment.
On Friday evening will be
another time of remembrance, as LakeFest honors some residents of Col. Robert
L. Howard Veterans Home in Pell City. The veterans will be transported in a
procession to LakeFest, where they will be treated in the VIP tent (sponsored
by State Farm agents Bart Perry and Brandon Tate) to dinner, followed by a
fireworks spectacular (sponsored by Bennington, a maker of pontoon boats).
Speaking of pontoons, an
18-foot Avalon with a 50-horsepower Honda motor and an estimated value of
$23,000 will be given away Saturday evening. So will an $8,500 Tracker ATV.
“I think that’s going to
be pretty popular,” Housh said of those two giveaways at 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
“Everyone who attends
LakeFest gets a ticket free,” Housh said. The ticket allows each person to
register at the LakeFest tent for the hourly giveaways.
Coordinating LakeFest is
an undertaking that keeps Housh and Hogeland rather busy for many months.
Nonetheless, “this is my favorite time of year,” Housh said, noting that it is
gratifying to see the way the community shows support by attending LakeFest.
“One of the perks is the
check presentations to charities,” Hogeland added. Giving those, he said, is
reward for all the work.
Check out Logan Martin LakeFest & Boat Show on Facebook. To get sponsor and vendor information and applications, directions to the park, or a schedule of events, visit loganmartinLakeFest.com. In addition to Housh, Hogeland and Hildebrant, Logan Martin Charity Foundation’s other board members are Fred Casey and Lee Holmes. Judy Carr is the financial officer. The foundation is a 501(c)3 organization.
Bain, Colley set to defend the Alabama Bass Trail Series title
Story by Paul South
Submitted photos
When it comes to fishing, Adam Bain and Kris Colley hold to a
simple truth, the same flame that burned bright in classic literature and on
classic TV.
Whether it’s Melville’s Ishmael, or Mayberry’s Andy and Opie
Taylor, it’s not about victory over another angler. It’s man vs. fish.
“It’s kind of like a little puzzle. You have to figure out what
the fish are doing and the time of the year, the depth they’re in and what
they’re biting,” Bain says. “It’s just you and the fish. It’s not necessarily
you against everybody else, it’s you against the fish. There’s as much
competition there, as there is to figuring out if you can beat everybody else.
You gotta beat the fish.”
Bain from Pell City and Colley of Ashville beat the fish and
everybody else in 2018, capturing the Alabama Bass Trail Championship in their
home county on Neely Henry Lake.
They’ve won twice on the ABT circuit over the years, once at
Pickwick Lake on the Tennessee River, and the ABT title on Neely Henry last
year. The pair finished second in 2017, narrowly missing the ABT title on Logan
Martin, their day’s catch losing by slightly more than two pounds.
Sanctioned by the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society, the Alabama Bass
Trail Tournament Series features two divisions. Each division –North and South
– includes five tournaments on five different lakes. As many as 225 two-man
boats can compete in each tournament.
Bain, a Realtor and Colley, who works in the railway industry,
have made waves on the ABT circuit with their winning ways that combine
old-school fishing techniques with high technology in the ever-evolving world
of competitive angling.
While the ABT is considered an amateur circuit, each tournament
champion wins a $10,000 grand prize, with $47,000 in prizes going to the top 40
teams. In recognition of Alabama’s Bicentennial in 2019, the 200th-place
finisher will earn a $200 bonus. The total prize money for the 2019 ABT Series
circuit is $568,000.
But for Colley and Bain, it’s not about the money. While they’ve
knocked around the idea of moving to a higher level of competitive fishing,
family comes first.
“There’s so much money at the local level now that you can stay
around the house and win. But we don’t necessarily do it for the money, but for
the competition. The money is an added bonus. The more money, the more
competition.”
Colley agrees. The rush of the tug on a line is enough.
“We’re both competitive in that we always want to win. It’s not
that we fish against each other, but we joke around and make fun of it. You
know, fishing is fun. Between the both of us, we never take it to the point
where it’s so serious that we take the fun out of it. Honestly, if it ever got
to that point, I’d probably quit.”
That fun and love of fishing has helped hook a strong friendship.
The two have fished together for about a decade. And their fishing style,
forged since childhood on the stained Army-khaki waters of Weiss Lake, Logan
Martin and Neely Henry complements each other.
“He’s probably a little more patient than I am. I like to throw
stuff and wind it in, Bain says of his angling teammate. “I use a spinner bait
or a crank bait. He will take a jig or a piece of plastic and flip it. He
thinks that if I’m up there and catching fish that are active, he can fish
maybe a different part of the water column.”
While most fishermen would probably never admit it, especially in
the age of high-technology depth finders and trolling motors linked to
smartphones and sonar-laced lures, luck takes a hand.
But when Colley is on his game, Bain has a simple strategy.
“When he’s on and when he’s getting bites and catching fish, I
just stay out of his way. He’s kind of the same way with me. It may be his day
a little more often than it is mine. He really does catch a lot of fish.”
Asked his own strengths on the team, Bain quips: “I run the dip
net really well.”
While Colley can flip plastic lures into the tall grasses near the
shoreline or under docks, Bain is the deep-water specialist, hooking big
catches on spinner and crank baits. In the summertime, he generally does well because
he catches them deep,” Colley says.
He adds, “We both kind of fish fast, but we do it different ways.
When you have that and have two ways of looking at it, if one way’s not
working, we’re really quick to switch to another. At the end of the day, you
might fish the same, but it’s somewhat different.”
Like most kids who grow up near the lake, fishing has always been
a simple pursuit. Joy can be had with a cane pole, a box of worms or a cage of
crickets. But as with the rest of the world, technology snagged competitive
fishing in its net.
The days of paper topographic maps of bodies of water are no more.
Water temperature, depth, barometric pressure, the phases of the moon, all
figure into fishing. And the new depth finders make learning an unfamiliar lake
easier,
“They call it video game fishing,” Bain says. “As you’re trolling
around, and you see a fish directly below you on your depth finder, you can
drop a little worm straight down and watch the fish bite on the monitor. There
are people who fish like that a lot. We’ve never gotten into that. Because
we’re from and fish predominately on the Coosa River, which is shallow, the
water stays kind of stained and the fish, most of the year live shallower than
in other river systems. So, to fish competitively, you don’t necessarily have
to fish out deep the majority of the year. Obviously, there are times you have
to go out (deep) to win, even on Logan Martin and Neely Henry, but not as often
(on those lakes) as some of the others.”
Colley is excited by the new technology.
“I think it’s great. It’s changed fishing. It’s sort of created a
wide range of how to catch fish. You see people who fish on the bank and still
win, and then you see people who grew up in the age of technology, and they
know how to use it to their advantage, and they’re able to catch them offshore.
It’s changed the way that everybody fishes because at some point
in time – we’re not the best in electronics – you’ve got to be able to read
them to be competitive. Some of the lengths we go to, you have to know how to
read them, or you’re going to get beat.”
Fishing, it seems, is booming. Bain, who learned angling from his
father and grandfather, remembers fishing junior tournaments with only three
competitive boats. Now fishing flourishes at the prep, amateur, collegiate and
pro level. More than 200 boats compete on the ABT circuit, and some of the pros
show up at those events. And amateurs compete in some of the professional
“open” tourneys.
Bain believes the internet, technology advertising, money and
media coverage have boosted the popularity of a sport that once seemed to be
gasping for air on the rocks. And as a result, the competition is tough
“The fishermen have gotten good. Your average fisherman is a lot
better now than he used to be. Whether that’s the depth finders or the material
that’s he’s able to get to and read about and see the new techniques and all
this stuff, the average fisherman has gotten much better than he was 20 years
ago. It’s got to be the technology that’s doing that.”
Defending champs
Technology aside, Colley and Bain are philosophical as they begin
the defense of their 2018 Alabama Bass Trail Series. Colley doesn’t see a
bullseye on their backs as the new season began.
“It’s not. We look forward to being able to defend. We’re not
going to change anything up. If we go out and do the best we can and if it’s
meant to be, it’s meant to be.”
He adds, “We both have our strengths as far as what we like to do
and how we do it. If it’s a bait or a certain thing he likes to do, he runs the
boat. It just depends on crank or jerk bait like Adam does, or flipping a bait,
that’s more my kind of deal. We try to keep each other up. You’re going to lose
a big fish here and there, and when we do, we just try to make fun of it. We
don’t really get down, we just make fun of and nag each other the rest of the
day.”
Asked if the fishing friends are like an old married couple,
Colley chuckles.
“Pretty much,” he says.
The pair calls the ABT championship their biggest thrill and their
biggest victory in fishing. But even in these days of tournaments and tough
competition, where anglers on the ABT try to land five fat keepers, the story
always circles back to childhood and the thrill of that first big fish, fun and
friendship
“We don’t do a whole lot different than anybody else,” Bain says.
“Kris is an outstanding fisherman. I’m probably very lucky to be fishing with
him. We’ve taken our lumps over the years, but we’ve put a lot of time in and
worked really hard at it. We’ve paid our dues.
“Now
that we do have families we aren’t able to fish all the time during the week,
like we did growing up. But what success we have now, I can attribute to those
days as a kid, fishing for hours, not knowing what you were doing, but just
learning. Eventually, years down the road, that stuff does pay off.”
