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Editor’s Note
make yourself at home
region offers incredible natural beauty – and hospitality that will make you want to stay
W
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“I had another contractor look at the house and he
said it was going to need too much work and in the
end, we would still just have an old house. It was the
difference in daylight and darkness talking to Scotty.
He started talking about all the things we could do. He
had so many ideas I would have never thought of. We
wanted to preserve every bit of the history of the house
we possibly could. And Scotty told me about ways we
could do that. He also knew we were trying to stay
within a budget and he met it. John and I could not
possibly be any more happy with what he did for us.”
–Sara Quinn
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John and Sara Quin
hile i am noW officially a resident
of the lookout mountain area, i still feel compelled at times to say, almost apologetically,
“i’m not from around here, but...” (my husband
is, i’ve been coming here regularly for almost 15 years, etc.).
during the past three months, while crisscrossing the lookout
mountain region conducting interviews for this issue, i have met
many people like myself – transplants from other areas. many of
the them hail from places much farther away than the Birmingham, ala., suburb where i grew up.
i’ve found it interesting and somewhat reassuring that almost
all of them used the same phrase and tone near the beginning of
our conversation: “i’m not from around here, but...”
There must be a reason for this. i think maybe we want to fit
in with the locals – many of whom go back many, many generations. not that anyone has made me feel like an outsider.
Just the opposite; locals have gone out of their to make me feel
at home. still, human nature is a funny thing – it seems important to name some tie, whether it be through family, friends or
even business.
While alabama’s lookout mountain region offers a wealth of
natural beauty and rich cultural experiences and is ideally located,
it is just beginning to be discovered by a wide audience. Which
is why i was surprised to meet so people from across the country
who had not only learned of the area, but made it their home.
There’s tami Brooks, director of Gadsden’s imagination Place
children’s museum, who moved here from california. The executive director of deKalb county tourism, John dersham, is from
Pennsylvania. (see his column on page 6.) Joan and Jim Byrum,
whose home is featured on page 54, came here from selma, ala.
and then there are two members of the cherokee county Park
Board – dave crum, from new Jersey, and Jeff Wolfe, from indiana.
They all gush praise for this region and enjoy talking about the
reactions of their family members and friends who are unfamiliar
with it. “They think this is Xanadu,” Brooks says of friends who
battle urban california traffic.
Wolfe has created an informal tour of the area for his visitors.
he takes them by yellow creek falls, then cherokee rock Village
(see story page 40), then to little river falls and around the rim
of little river canyon to orbix hot Glass, where they can make
their own glass art. They then travel on to desoto state Park and
usually end up having lunch at the Wildflower café in mentone,
Cel ebr atin
g the lookou
t Mou nta in
reg ion ’s Cul
tur e, history
and nat ura
l beauty
ala. They spend the
afternoon on a pontoon
boat on Weiss lake.
Plan Your
“People cannot
F
all
believe that northeast
G
etaway
alabama has all this,”
he says.
A Rock-Climb
Mecca with ers’
A Shabby ‘Sheep
SpeCtACulA
still, it’s not just
’
event Venue
ViewS for everyo R
ne
Visiting a Stop
the natural beauty
on
Hank’s last Rid
Keeping Appal
e
Folk Music Ali achian
ve
or things to do that
A Secret
Bed & Breakfast
inspire people to visit
And more!
this region time and
again or make it their
home. it’s the people. They are
quick to greet a new face with a warm smile, and are just as quick
to make you feel like you belong here.
tourists often say one of the best things about visiting the area
is the laid-back atmosphere. i agree and would like to personally
invite you to come experience the lookout mountain region and
its charm for yourself.
Fall 2013
lesso
the trail of tears ns from an exotic animal park
, walk
with author Jerry
philosopher, made
ellis, a wood-carv ing
-to-order meal
kids’ museum
s at the hardware ing
that’s all about
store, a
imagination, fall
events
Olivia Grider
Editor
ogrider@lookoutalabama.com
Fall 2013 Lookout ALAbAmA 1