Lake Martin Magazine

Nine months after a fire destroyed the Red Hill Art Gallery, a fresh business venture has breathed new life into Lake Martin’s Kudzu Corner Village.

The crisp smell of pine needles and fallen leaves sweep over me as I step out of the car; I have just arrived at lake Martin. The chill of autumn weather falls over me, so I hurry inside with the bags. I receive a warm welcome as I walk in. Around me, place cards and expensive china are set up for tomorrow’s feast.

Clusters of bright purple or magenta berries lining up on a stem are a dead-giveaway for the distinctive, useful and very well named American beautyberry shrub. It’s one of the most striking plants you’ll see in the deep woods around Lake Martin during the early fall.

For the last 20 years, the Alabama Water Watch Program has worked across the state to train and engage individuals and groups to become credible and informed watchdogs, advocates and educators on behalf of Alabama’s bays, lakes, rivers and streams. But due to recent cuts in the federal budget, the Alabama Water Watch Program recently lost a significant source of funding: a grant through ADEM. This loss of funding has citizens across the state alarmed over the future of the Alabama Water Watch Program.

Tom and Sherri Davidson’s lake house is the perfect escape from the city. Located in the North Ridge division of The Ridge, the Hoover couple’s three-story stone dwelling features large open rooms, pine floors, dome ceilings, a vast pottery and art collection and a stunning waterfront view.

Blues Traveler,  Tea Leaf Green and The Vegabonds rocked out in the rain during this year’s Russell Lands On Lake Martin Labor Day Concert Photos by Kenneth Boone

It’s an overcast morning on top of the Smith Mountain. Way off to the north there’s a plume of smoke … just the sort of thing the Smith Mountain Fire Tower was designed to make visible 70 years ago. It’s quiet 850 feet above Lake Martin … and a little crowded with three of us in the cab.

If you see a woman driving around Lake Martin in an antique 1953 Century Resorter and wearing a vintage nurse’s dress, don’t be afraid that you’ve traveled back in time. It’s just Lake Martin Home Health’s Donna Purcell – a.k.a. “the boat nurse.”

Allison Wetherbee works as the Community Relations Director for Camp ASCCA Easter Seals. Originally from Camden, Ala., Allison graduated from Auburn University in Montgomery with a master’s degree in counseling. She became a mental health therapist in 1996 and worked in that profession for 11 years in Russellville, Ala.

I have lived on or in close proximity to Lake Martin my whole life. Today I couldn’t think of a place I’d rather live. It’s my own personal paradise. I used to envy people I’d see on the Travel Channel who ran B&B’s in remote islands all over the world. After growing up on the lake and now having a family of my own, I feel lucky to be here on Lake Martin.