In the Beginning

It was the mid-1960's, I don't recall the exact date mainly because I didn't get here until the summer of '69. Yeah, it was a good year.

My grandparents, JB and Helen Beach, along with 5-6 others bought a piece of property, split it up amongst themselves and waited. What were they waiting for? The lake. They didn't know it at the time but they bought a piece of family history that year.

The army corps of engineers was built a hydro-electric dam and in September of 1963 began filling the valley with the waters of the Roanoke and Black Rivers. Two and half years later in March of 1966 the lake was filled.

In the early years my grand-parents and my parents, who were still dating at the time, along with friends and family would camp at SML. Some years later my grandfather would build a small house there as a weekend home.

The house wasn't very big. A bungalow really about 800 square feet with a wrap around deck giving you a view of the newly formed lake. The deck was something of a new parents nightmare as building codes weren't what they are today. The deck was twelve feet off the ground at its highest point across the front of the house and all that kept you separated from the view and God was two 2x10 deck boards that formed the rails. When I say the front of the house that in itself is a story. The front was the front with an entry door clearly marked by the small bell attached to the wall with a horseshoe and a chain pull. The back was clearly marked by a sliding glass door to the rear deck. But in classic JB style and simply to debate you and be on top of the conversation food chain JB was quick to correct you and let you know that the front was the back and the back was the front. Why? Because the lake was the front.