The Lookout Mountain Blog

Hallelujah Trail by John Dersham

2012-01-12T13:05:00.000-08:00

A few years ago DeKalb Tourism introduced the DeKalb County Hallelujah Trail. The Hallelujah Trail is a brochure guide to a road trip of twenty historic churches in DeKalb County. The brochure contains a picture of each church with a description and a road map to their location. The DeKalb County Hallelujah Trail is part of a grant program from Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association who in 2007 introduced the North Alabama Hallelujah Trail which consisted of thirty two historic churches in North Alabama, including two in DeKalb County. The two in DeKalb County are also included in our brochure. Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association received support grants for their broader project through the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Alabama Department of Tourism and from Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association. AMLTA has been instrumental in the long term support and development of tourism marketing programs geared specifically to developing successful long term tourism in the sixteen North Alabama counties.

I encourage you to take a day or two and go visit these churches. This is a fun and different way to view our beautiful county. If you tour our 20 churches listed you will also be getting a mini vacation throughout our county. Our historic churches cover the entire county. Along the way you can visit our other attractions. You can shop, you can eat and have a day re-discovering your home county with a different motive to lead you on the tour.

The first stop on your Hallelujah Trail daycation should be at DeKalb Tourism’s Information Center at 1503 Glenn Blvd S.W. Here you can pick up the Hallelujah Trail brochure and other travel guides and maps all will help you decide where to go, what to do along your Hallelujah Trail route.

The churches selected for our Hallelujah Trail are as follows:

*Particular churches were chosen based on age or because of other historical significance. A majority of the churches included have had continual congregations for more than one hundred years.

Our Lady of the Valley-Catholic Church in Fort Payne.
First Presbyterian Church of Fort Payne-Also part of North Alabama Hallelujah Trail
First United Methodist Church of Fort Payne
First Baptist Church of Fort Payne
White Hall Methodist Church of Hammondville
Valley Head Methodist Church
Little River Baptist Church- Mentone
Mentone United Methodist Church- Also on the North Alabama Hallelujah Trail
St Joseph’s on the Mountain Episcopal Church-Mentone
Sallie Howard Memorial Chapel- Mentone
New Oregon United Methodist Church- Fort Payne
Walker’s Chapel Methodist Church- Dogtown
Collinsville Presbyterian Church
Collinsville Baptist Church
Skirum Baptist Church
Fyffe Church of God
Robertson Chapel Methodist Church-Rainsville
Chavies Baptist Church-Rainsville
Trinity Methodist Church-Rainsville
Liberty Baptist Church-Henagar

For more information call us at 256-845-3957 or view our website at www.TourDeKalb.com

Have a fun and safe trip!

Happy New Year Everyone by John Dersham

2011-12-29T12:58:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year from DeKalb Tourism. We hope you have a blessed and wonderful new year.
In case you are traveling for the New Year’s holiday I thought I would pass along some information on where to go and what destinations around the USA and world bring in the most people for their New Year’s celebrations.
I happened to see a quiz on the news the other night. They asked us to name the number one New Years tourist destination in the USA. I suppose most people like me guessed New York City. According to USA Today the award goes to Orlando who claims they will have 53 million visitors in 2012 as opposed to 50 million for New York City. Orlando’s tourism department “Visit Orlando” claims their numbers are calculated for people come from 50 miles or more. This is a standard tourism calculation. New York City claims Orlando includes a much larger geography in their count which includes multiple counties and New York’s number is only the city and its boroughs. Visit Orlando claims they will have the highest number of tourists in the US for New Year’s celebrations.
Travelocity travel experts have compiled a list of the top 10 New Year’s Eve destinations in the country where travelers can celebrate the New Year, based on Travelocity bookings. From big cities to laid-back beaches and mountain hideaways, the list reveals the diverse locations where travelers plan to welcome 2012.
Top Ten United States
1-Orlando 2-New York City 3-South Florida 4-Las Vegas 5-Los Angeles 6- Denver 7-Cancun 8-San Francisco 9-Phoenix 10-Chicago.
If you have an international preference here is a list of the top ten New Years destinations according to HotelsByCity.net.
1-Sydney, Australia 2-New York City 3-Berlin, Germany 4-London, England 5-Toronto, Ontario 6-Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 7-Tokoyo, Japan 8-Los Angeles 9-Paris, France 10- Disney World Orlando.
To hear more about these destinations and how the rating was determined you can go to the following websites for more information. HotelsByCity.net and Travelocity.com

Photography Tips for the Holiday Season and Beyond by John Dersham

2011-12-01T09:57:00.001-08:00

Tips for Holiday pictures: Most digital cameras have very good low light sensors. This means you can take pictures in your living room in low light. Unless your room has a lot of window light, I recommend you use your camera flash. It helps fill in shadows and people will look better. Try to shoot close to your subject so you do not have too much in your scene that is not part of your subject. To shoot nice portraits use window light. Place your subject near a window and look at their faces to make sure shadows do not fall in the wrong places. Hold your camera level and still. Use your camera viewfinder to compose, if it has one. If you are shooting at night and want a good Christmas tree picture and you want it to look like it is night, then turn off your flash and sit the camera on a tripod or other stable hard surface to keep it from shaking during exposure. You should not hand hold a camera with a shutter speed of less than 1/30 of a second. Set your ISO on your camera to at least 800 to 2000 for nighttime interior scenes. Remember to switch it back to 200-400 when outside. Take time to compose your pictures before you shoot them. This will help you have more interesting compositions. Remember, the purpose of photography is to record history. Once you snap the picture it becomes history. Careful consideration of composition will give you pictures that you will want to look at over and over. Download your pictures often and file them with a description as well as the date. Back up your pictures to a CD or another off line backup system. You do not want to lose your valuable memories the next time your computer crashes. I suggest you have the pictures you like best printed on photographic paper at a lab, like Walgreens or Wal-Mart. Photographic paper will last 100 years or more, as long as they are not hanging in direct daylight.
Here are some more tips:
• Good lighting: For scenery shots the best time is early or late in the day. This time of year you should try 8:00am through 11:00 am and 2:00pm through 4:00pm. When the sun is at an angle in the sky the quality of lighting on your scene is much more interesting than when the sun is straight up as it is mid-day.
• Use your flash: When shooting people outside at a range of ten feet or closer, always use your flash. This helps eliminate unsightly shadows on your subjects’ faces.
• Hold your camera level: If you hold your camera level and parallel to your scene you will avoid distortion. Example: when you are at the beach, water is always level. If you hold your camera at even the slightest angle your water will look like it is going uphill. It is easy to tell if your camera is level by looking at the horizon line of your ocean view. If it is a straight line and not angled, then your camera is being held level. The same holds true for shooting landscapes, buildings, road scenes, etc.
• Composition: Good pictures are composed like a piece of art. Before you take a picture look at your available angles. Pick angles that flatter your scene by having a leading line running from the foreground into your scene. Do not crop important subjects too close the edge of the scene. Your horizon line should not be in the middle of your scene, in most cases your foreground should lead into the primary subject with the sky being a third or less of the scene, unless a primary element of the scene is the sky. Remember to hold your camera level and steady. Look at your lighting, shoot at angles where the lighting contributes to your composition. It is best when your primary subject is not in the dead center of the picture. It should be up or down or left or right of center.
• Use your viewfinder: If you have a viewfinder on your camera it is better to compose through it and not through the LCD panel on the back of your digital camera. Using the LCD panel is less stable, is prone to not holding the camera level and is harder to see your composition, especially outside. If your camera can only be used by viewing through a LCD panel then be aware of camera stability and composition.
• Hold your camera with both hands: Your camera should be held steadily using two hands with the camera held squarely and firmly. One hand shots are unsteady and will rarely be held level and parallel to the scene. This is true even if you are shooting at an unusual angle like down on the ground or crouched.
• Make sure when taking pictures of people, their faces are well lighted and do not have unattractive shadows on their faces. Make sure the background behind your subject is simple and free of distractive clutter, such as trees that appear to be growing out of your subjects head.
• If you are shooting a picture that is intended to deliver a message, such as a festival or fair, make sure you show people in the scene doing things and laughing and smiling. Show kids and babies. Show the action of people participating in the event. When promoting tourism or an attraction, you want it to look well attended.
• Shoot your digital pictures on your camera’s highest resolution then resize them smaller if needed for internet use or small print sizes.
• Download your pictures to your computer chronologically and by subject. Make them easy to find no matter how many folders you have.
• Always back up your image files and keep them stored in a different physical location. Use a storage service or back up to CD, thumb drive or other external drive and store those items in a different building or a safety deposit box. Remember, the purpose of photographs is to capture a moment in time, permanently. Losing your images due to computer crashes or accidental catalog problems is very disappointing and can be an irreplaceable loss.

Friends of the Preserve at little River Canyon N.P. by John Dersham

2011-11-17T11:03:00.001-08:00

I have been honored to be the first President of the Friends of the Preserve at Little River Canyon N.P. We began a year ago last March and have been active in establishing our 501(c)3 and getting our bylaws and articles of incorporation done. During the course of the last year we have attended multiple festivals, trade shows and exhibitions to gather members and to discuss the attributes of a “friend” organization as it relates to our National Preserve. There are many friends groups for different National Parks. Many of them are quite well established. I am glad we now have one to offer the public at Little River Canyon.
Here is our Mission Statement:
Little River Canyon is a National Preserve located on Lookout Mountain in northeast Alabama. The Friends of the Preserve at Little River, in partnership with the National Park Service, works to support the highest level of preservation, protection, management and interpretation of the natural, cultural and historic resources of approximately 13,000 national park acres.
On October 22nd, we had our first annual member meeting and picnic at Lynn Overlook on the canyon rim. It was a fun day of music food and great conversation. On November 5th, we had our first annual Run the Rim 5K race. There were 65 entrees in this fun and scenic fund raiser along the rim of Little River Canyon.
Friends groups help with providing assistance in efforts to help keep the park clean, trails trimmed and they help with educational services to the travelers visiting the park. Becoming a member of the Friends of the Preserve is a way to support the maintenance, protection and beauty of our beautiful National Preserve. As a member you will be invited to participate in events hosted by the Friends of the Preserve that both celebrate the beauty of our park and also provide the badly needed human resources to help make our park a more valued and enjoyable destination for our visitors and also our local people who enjoy all the wonderful things to do at LRC.
If you have not been to Little River Canyon in the last month, you need to visit the beautiful new boardwalk trail. You enter it at the parking lot at Little River Falls. We should be very proud of the constant improvement the National Park service is dedicating to our preserve. Many Thanks to John Bundy and his staff at Little River Canyon N.P. We are so fortunate to have the wonderful N.P in our backyard.
To learn more about Friends of the Preserve at Little River Canyon go to our website at http://friendsofthepreserve.org/ or visit us on Facebook at Friends of the Preserve at Little River Canyon.

In Hard Times People Still Travel by John Dersham

2011-11-10T06:45:00.000-08:00

In a time when the unemployment rate is high and the underemployed is even higher, people are still taking trips. Even in bad overall economic times when it seems most all factions of the economy are down, tourism is continuing to perform at a rate well above the economy. There is an inherent desire among most people to get away from the daily routine and go elsewhere. For us in DeKalb County we are very fortunate to have an extremely high level of appeal to leisure travelers from nearby cities that just want to get away from it all for a few days. We are a weekend tourist destination. Due to the fact we are a two-three hour drive for eleven million people we are a great choice for two, three and four day mini trips. The downturn in the economy beginning in 2008 coupled with higher gas prices has contributed to people taking trips of less distance for a shorter time. This has helped us in many ways due to our close distance, low costs, friendly hospitality and an easy place to get around in, once here.
Last week I attended the State Tourism quarterly meetings. These meeting are always very informative and are a valuable tool for staying abreast on current trends in tourism. They help us know what to promote, how to promote and they give us a good sense of forecasting the upcoming year. In the state of Alabama, tourism dollars spent in our state have more than doubled in the last eight years. Much of this can be attributed to Director Lee Sentel and his staff who have consistently engineered award winning marketing programs to lure tourists to our state. Last week Lee told us the State of Alabama has had a fantastic year and the badly affected Alabama Gulf Coast had a banner year.
More and more cities, counties, states and the federal government are placing a lot more focus on tourism as the proof of economic development thru tourism has become an all star. The proof of our successful numbers both in collecting tax revenues and in creating jobs has created a focus by legislators at all levels to find a way to enhance tourism to the United States and to our local destinations.
This fall in DeKalb County has been a banner season. Colorfest in Mentone had its highest attendance in many years contributed by combining the Mentone Areas Art Council and Mentone Area Preservation Association to form a committee headed by Neal Whitt to re-invent the festival. It worked! Beginning in early October and still happening currently, guests to our county on fall foliage vacations is very high. We anticipate stable tourism through Thanksgiving then typically we have a soft time in total but will have good crowds at Cloudmont Ski and Golf resort in Mentone.

DeKalb County in full fall splendor by John Dersham

2011-10-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

I think we have the most beautiful fall foliage each year of any county in Alabama. There is a reason for this. These reasons are comprised of geography, climate, soil conditions and the types of trees that grow here. There is a lot of misunderstanding about what makes fall color and when it occurs. According to the United States Department of Agriculture fall color begins and is accentuated by cool nights and sunny days.

Why Are Some Autumns More Colorful?

Temperature and moisture greatly influence autumn color. Since each of these varies greatly, no two autumns are ever alike. A succession of warm, sunny days and cool, but not freezing nights seems to bring about the most spectacular color displays. Since carotenoids are always present in leaves, yellow and gold colors are fairly constant from year to year. In order for the brilliant scarlet, purple and crimson colors to develop, bright sunlight in the early fall is needed. Bright sunny days increase food production in trees and plants. These sugars are trapped in the leaves spurring the production of anthocyanin pigments, providing the red tints to fall foliage.

The amount of moisture in the soil also affects autumn color. A late spring, or a severe summer drought, can delay the onset of fall color by a few weeks. A warm period during fall lowers the intensity of autumn color. Trees defoliated by insects during the growing season may also show less fall color.

In DeKalb County we are blessed by being part of the Cumberland Plateau and belonging to the Appalachian foothills. This gives us our wonderful mountains and valleys but also gives us the wide variety of acid loving plant species associated with the Appalachian Mountains. This area predominately a deciduous hardwood area helps account for our beautiful fall color, as does the particular tree species in abundance here which include some our most colorful trees in the fall.

Our most colorful trees in fall:
Southern Red Maples (Red, yellow or orange in fall)
Sugar Maples (Orange-Red)
Black Tupelo/Black Gum (red-crimson)
Sweet Gum (yellow to purple)
Hickories (yellow)
White Oak (brown to purple)
Chestnut Oak (Yellow)
Dogwood (reddish purple)
Sourwood (crimson)
Post Oaks, Black Oaks, other Oaks (brown to yellow)

Many tourists start visiting us in early and mid October thinking they are hitting the peak of fall color. Records show that in the last fifteen years the peak of color has happened in early to mid November in our region. At DeKalb Tourism we get many phone calls and emails from tourists checking in advance so they time their trips here to match the fall foliage. The State of Alabama keeps a color tracker on their website in the fall to help tourist plan their trips. We use that to help assist our customers.

Beautiful fall drives:
*Little River Canyon-Canyon rim drive
*Lookout Mountain Parkway/DeSoto Parkway from Dogtown to Mentone
*The trails at DeSoto State Park
*Bucks Pocket State Park
*High Falls Park

Eddie’s Winter Wonderland By Kayla Worthey

2011-10-20T06:42:00.000-07:00

Christmas is one of my absolute favorite holidays! There is just something about Christmas traditions, spending time with family, our elf on the shelf, and delicious homemade foods; mamaw’s mashed potatoes, grandmother’s mac-n-cheese, auntie’s green beans, nana’s cookies and mom’s turkey and stuffing. One of my favorite Christmas traditions has become Christmas at Eddie’s! I have 10 Christmas trees inside my house that we decorate every year, each with their own theme. We have our formal tree, our family tree, Kowen’s tree, Kinsley’s tree, our Alabama tree (don’t hate me Auburn fans!), our hunting/fishing tree, and 4 small tabletop trees for the bathrooms! Each year we add at least one ornament to each tree, and this year was no different! This past weekend the Open House kicked off the holiday season at Eddie’s.
If you have ever been to a store that sells ornaments, they usually have them arranged in sections hanging on the wall or on racks. Well not at Eddie’s! Eddie has a special way of getting you in the Holiday spirit!
He runs a florist/nursery for most of the year that transforms into the most amazing Winter Wonderland I have ever witnessed. There are over 140 trees on display, each decorated exquisitely with their own theme. You will find ornaments ranging from western to whimsical, cartoons to retro, Victorian to collegiate – there is truly something for everyone. Eddie and his amazing entourage have decorated each tree with a stylish brilliance. As you enter the building, you will be greeted by the friendly staff and handed an empty basket, for your convenience, of course! My daughter happily took the role of basket holder.
You can stroll through each room and shop at your leisure. The rooms themselves are an amazing sight, decorated with props and insane artistic talent. Choose ornaments from the trees, from baskets scattered about, from the walls, or wherever you may find them. Decorations can be taken from the walls or mantels. Everything is for sale! It almost feels wrong to ruin their beautiful displays, but don’t feel bad, all the empty space you leave only creates a clear canvas for these artists to express their talents all over again. If you need assistance with an item, someone will be nearby to help.
If you need decorating ideas or inspiration, trust me, this is the place to get it! Visit Monday through Saturday from 8am to 5pm and Sunday from 1pm to 4pm in Henagar at 9112 Alabama Hwy 40.

It is Time for Some Fall Fun by John Dersham

2011-10-13T07:52:00.000-07:00

Here in DeKalb County Fall is a favorite time of the year for many tourists visiting our area. Many people come here for our fall foliage from the Gulf Coast and from the Coastal Plains where they are not as fortunate as we when it comes to fall color. Beginning now through Thanksgiving we will have many tourists spending time with us to enjoy our beautiful scenery and rich color.
There is a lot for our tourists to enjoy hare and equally as much for our local residents.
This weekend is our annual Colorfest in Mentone. This will be the biggest and greatest Colorfest in many years, as planners have really ramped up to provide the best artists, music, food and activities. There are more events than ever. It all starts on Friday evening and runs through Sunday at 5:00 pm. Leah Seawright with legendary former Alabama drummer Mark Herndon will perform Saturday night. For more information about this event you can contact DeKalb Tourism at 256-845-3957. In addition we have a brochure you can pick up at our information center at 1503 Glenn Blvd S.W in Fort Payne. This year’s Colorfest is a joint effort of MAPA (Mentone Area Preservation Assoc) and MAAC (Mentone Area Arts Council). Come out and enjoy fall at Colorfest.
For those of you who love family activities that revolve around the fall season we have two great places in DeKalb County for you to take your family this season. One is on Lookout Mountain at Dogtown and the other is on Sand Mountain in Rainsville.
Awe Shucks in Dogtown has opened its door for its first year. They are located on the Lookout Mountain Parkway (Dogtown Rd.). This Saturday Awe Shucks is having a craft fair starting at 10am, with several different venders, so come out and get some gifts, take a hay ride to get a pumpkin, see if you can find all the check points in the corn maze (Each check point has a different reward from local businesses) and have some fun with the family. Awe Shucks offers a beautiful pick your own pumpkin patch and a cornmaze. They offer the following fun things to do; 4.6 acre corn- maze, a country store, pumpkin painting, kid’s corner with games and a fun little train to drive the kids around. They also offer fire pits for rent and Smore kits for sale. Check Awe Shucks Facebook page to find hours of operation and upcoming events. For more information call 256-996-4657.
On Sand Mountain we have Down on the Farm. This is a wonderful place to take your school or church classes. Down on the Farm is another wonderful place to spend the day with your family. It offers pumpkin picking, a corn maze, hay rides, pumpkin painting, a goat walk, kids play area and a cow train. There is a snack bar and petting zoo. There are many other things to do here too. For more information about times, events, pricing and other activities visit www.downonthefarminal.com or call 256-638-6200.
I highly recommend that you take your kids or grandkids to either one of these great and fun places this fall. You will be pleased and the kids will have a great time.

Here is what Tourism provides to DeKalb County by John Dersham

2011-10-06T06:46:00.000-07:00

On September 22nd my staff and I attended the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association annual meeting. We are members and I am currently on their board and am presiding as Co-Chair for these next two years.
At our meeting we had as our guest speaker, Dr. Steve Morse from the University Of Tennessee (no bad words please). Dr. Morse is an Economist for the university with his specialty being Tourism. He came equipped with the economic impact numbers for each of North Alabama’s sixteen counties. It is very impressive to see how big tourism is to the income of Alabama. In fact, Tourism is the largest non-agricultural business in the state. Tourists last year spent nearly 94 billion dollars in Alabama and 171,000 people make all of or most of their living in tourism.
DeKalb County generated 62 million dollars in spending by tourists in the county last year. We have 1,000 full time tourism employees and 400 part time. Tourism generated $16,150 per day in tax revenue to the county and to local municipalities. DeKalb County tourists provided $9,358 to the state daily. In 2010 DeKalb County had 29,390 households. If every household in DeKalb County had to pay extra income taxes because there were no tourists, it would mean every house hold in DeKalb County would have to pay $201 more per year. Tourism is a clean industry whose jobs cannot be outsourced to another country. It does not require infrastructure to have tourists. No garbage collection, no schools and very little direct repair costs are caused by tourists.
Tourists are people who come from outside of our local economy and spend their money that was earned elsewhere, in our local economy on their visits. In recent years, as the rest of the economy has declined tourism has helped rescue the bad economy. People still travel. They need a break and a change of scenery and we are a tank of gas here and back for eleven million people. Tourism has become a favorite topic among federal, state and local governments as more effort is being placed nationwide to grow the economy through tourism.

The 56th Annual DeKalb County VFW Agricultural Fair by John Dersham

2011-09-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

Don’t miss the fun, it is going on now through Saturday.
We have one of the best county fairs anywhere in this part of the country. In fact our fair is like a state fair on a little smaller scale. Fair Chairman Charles Stephens and his VFW officers and all the volunteers have done a fantastic job this year, just as they have done every year in the past.
DeKalb Tourism sets up a booth each year at the fair and on Monday night we had the annual ribbon cutting to open the fair. The premises were beautiful and squeaky clean. You could not find any dirt, litter or debris on the floor or grounds by the time of the ribbon cutting.
The night the fair opens is always fun and rewarding because our local elected officials, business and community leaders all come out and greet everyone on opening day.
From the vantage point of a guy who moved around the country a lot before moving to Fort Payne, I find something unique about Fort Payne and DeKalb County. There is a fellowship and comrodary here that is strikingly noticeable to an outsider. All you have to do is spend a few hours or days here and you start noticing it right away. It shows up when you go to the store, or when you go get your driver’s license or conduct business at a bank or real estate office or restaurant. This is very evident when visiting our fair.
DeKalb County boasts one of the highest, if not the highest, return rates among it tourists in Alabama. People come here year after year. Yes, we have beautiful scenery, great parks and quaint downtowns and lots of places to spend the night. We have good places to eat and shop and lots of recreational activities and a lot of places to just plain relax. But with all that said the magic is in our people. We have the most consistently and genuinely nice people of anywhere I have lived, worked, or visited. This is an aspect of DeKalb County that you can say in tourism ads but it’s like car dealers saying they have the lowest prices ever. It is just words until you see for yourself. Our tourists return because they found what I say to be true and above all things that make them return to us each year it is the quality of the people, the customer service, the easy going pleasant way we do business. It is you that make my job easy and fun.
The fair continues through Saturday with lots of great fun and events. Come see the winning art, produce, animals, flowers, and baked and canned goods. There is entertainment each night and special events. For more information on times, prices and events check out www.dekalbcountyvfwfair.com

We Sure Live in a Wonderful Town by John Dersham

2011-09-23T10:37:00.001-07:00

It is a great pleasure for me to help promote our wonderful city. Anyone who visited Boom Days Heritage Celebration on Saturday would have to feel good about what they saw. The weather was perfect, the streets were filled with smiling faces, people meeting friends…laughing and sharing in a great day of entertainment against an extremely scenic backdrop.
I am thrilled with the work of Mayor Jordan and our City Council and all city employees and volunteer participants that have made our downtown area a show place. The restoration of the Iron and Coal Building is well underway and all the new windows and doors, along with the new sidewalk and fence were done for us just before Boom Days. Mayor Jordan along with lots of help from Johnny Eberhart in planning and execution along with wonderful carpentry and construction work by Tony Keef and his team are making our “Boom Days” heritage new again. The restoration of the “Opera Block” and currently the Iron and Coal building has come from grant monies achieved through historic building preservation grants. The city qualified for these grants which require the restoration to mimic the original 1889 construction as closely as possible. The city used a number of resources including some architectural professionals who helped review the building and helped uncover changes that were made over its 121 year history. This would enable restoration to look like the original construction. The city also used original Boom Days pictures of the building to help bring it back to the original appearance. If you were at Boom Days you saw the new windows and doors which are exact duplicates (in appearance) of the 1889 construction. The windows and doors were crafted in Alabama. As much work as possible has been as local as possible.
It was such a pleasure for me and my family to spend the day on Saturday walking around our beautiful town. My son was here from Nashville for Boom Days. It was his first visit to our Boom Days Heritage Celebration and he was impressed. He loved the music, the arts and crafts, the people, the weather and the layout of the festival and the whole theme of it. He commented on the cleanliness of the town and was impressed by the dedication to the downtown park system with our City Park, Alabama Walking Park, the idea of the new pavilion and the blending of the original 1889 Boom Days architecture into downtown. He liked the fountain in the park, the old Boom Days brick used in the making of the fence at City Park and The Depot Museum. As a tourist here, he was impressed.
We really do have a town to be proud of. Hats off to Mayor Jordan, the city council, Greg Conkle and the Parks and Recreation team and all the city employees and volunteers from Landmarks and others who have dedicated themselves to keeping Fort Payne a “one of a kind city” in Alabama.
The one comment I hear most from our out of town guest s and the one that makes me proudest is our people. I hear this comment everyday in my job and I witness it every day personally. We are the friendliest people and we provide the best customer service, anywhere and all with a smile.
I am proud to call Fort Payne my home.

Northeast Alabama Agri Business Center By Kayla Worthey

2011-09-15T09:08:00.001-07:00

The Northeast Alabama Agri Business Center opened its doors on September 12, 2010, with two of its three phases of construction completed and has been a major contributor in growing tourism in DeKalb County this year.
With the arena being just over 71,000 square feet and having a permanent seating capacity of 3,400, this facility has the capability to host some major events. Designed to specialize in rodeos, horse shows and other livestock events, this arena was created with a 250’ X 150’ dirt performance floor, a 25,000 square feet warm up and staging pavilion, a 214 stall stable barn, and an open air exercise area. In the past 12 months this spectacular building has been home to many rodeos, the World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions, Alabama Quarter Horse and Barrel Horse Associations as well as the US Team Roping Championship.

It has also housed main events like arena cross, motor cross, monster truck shows, truck/tractor pulls and demolition derbies, which are all entertaining shows to witness in person!
The facility also has the ability to transform into a concert setting with ease. Elevated lighting platforms for stage lights are already in place. Approximately 2,000 portable chairs can be set up on the temporary wooden floor in front of the stage making the total seating capacity 5,400 for hosting concerts like John Anderson and John Michael Montgomery. This setting is also ideal for events like high school and college graduations, wedding receptions, and other local events and shows.
Anyone wishing to stay overnight for an event has access to the 69 RV spots located behind the barn with full hookups including sewer for livestock trailers and recreational vehicles. In addition there are hotels and restaurants nearby.
You can visit the center’s website at www.nealagribusinesscenter.com for more information on the facility and for a complete list of their events.

Bringing New Life to Your Old Photographs and Negatives by John Dersham

2011-09-08T07:40:00.001-07:00

Remember all those old pictures you and your family have been taking for generations, on film? Do you have your negatives and prints in a drawer or shoe box, or neatly in a photo album? With the advent of digital imaging most people have changed the way they look at and share pictures. The standard has shifted from handing friends and family hard copies of pictures or showing them your photo album to emailing them or putting them on Facebook or other online photo galleries. In the last few years looking at pictures electronically has surpassed traditional viewing.
Let’s remember the purpose of taking pictures is so we can preserve a moment in time permanently. Traditional photographic materials like film and photographic prints can last for 100-200 years if stored under normal conditions inside a drawer or closet in a house. So now that technology has changed, what are you doing with your old prints and negatives? Are you showing them to anyone anymore? Wouldn’t it be nice to share them on Facebook or put them on an online gallery where you and the whole family and your friends can remember the old days again, even if they live far away? The answer is that you can. There are print and negative scanners available from all the major companies like HP, Epson, Lexmark, Kodak, Dell and many more. If you buy a dedicated film scanner there are models that allow you to scan negatives and slides of all sizes and prints too. The quality of your scanned images will be as good as your original negative, slide or print. If you had a good 35mm camera and have the negative, your images will be equal to those currently being shot on digital Single Lens Reflex. If you have a lot of images taken on the former 126 instamatic format or 110, the scanned pictures will be equal to the original quality. The nice thing about scanning your negatives, slides and prints is that once done, your images can be treated like any other digital picture. You can color correct them, crop, enlarge, print, email them or post them online. You can also take the digital files and have them printed at any photo lab. In addition you can name each image as you scan it, or you can name your whole roll of film you scan, or both. You can record your family history in chronological order. Storing the pictures on your computer will make for a great long term way to look at and share your memories.
Warning! Save your picture files to a back up drive, CD, DVD, thumb drive or online storage service. Do not think your digital images are safe and permanent on your computer without a backup. One day a computer crash, virus or the loss of your hard drive will take all your images away, including the ones you shot on digital to begin with. Digital photography is only as permanent as your storage methods. Always have a backup.
You can buy a dedicated film scanner at some mass merchants like; Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart and Camera stores. You can also buy them online at Amazon, Adorama, B&H Photo and Video etc. Canon and Epson seem to have the best film scanners for home use. Epson also makes professional film scanners, as does Nikon. You can pay from $75.00 to $300.00 for one that scans negative and slides. If you have a lot of negatives and prints to scan and they are different sizes, I recommend the Epson 700 or 750M Professional. These will scan negatives of all sizes up to 8x10 and also scan prints up to 8x10 and cost about $700.00 A 35mm negative or slide scanned at 6400 DPI will produce about the same file size as a digital SLR camera of about 18MP. Most people find scanning at 2400 DPI to be sufficient for their needs.

Ider mule Day

2011-09-01T08:35:00.001-07:00

Ider mule Day

Labor Day is always a great day because the town of Ider hosts its annual Mule Day. This is the 25th year of this all day fun filled family event. There are things to do from start to finish and you will not want to miss any of it. No need to pack a lunch, there is plenty of hot food, snacks and drinks for sale at multiple locations throughout the park.

While many years ago, farmers came to the Ider area to display their mules, today, the mountaintop town celebrates the tradition with the annual Ider Mule Day. Set for September 5, 2011, the event kicks off with the Wheels of Time Cruisers Open Car Show at 8 a.m. A parade featuring mules, horses, carriages, antique cars and tractors take to the streets at 9:30 a.m. Tests of strength follow with a mule pull at 10:30 a.m. and a draft horse pull at 1 p.m., and in between the fierce pulling competitions is the mule and draft horse show beginning at 11 a.m.

The day-long event also offers an antique engine and tractor display, an antique tractor pull, arts and crafts, and games for children. Live entertainment featuring bluegrass and gospel singing fills the air from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and plenty of barbeque and other food vendors along with Ider Rescue Squad’s famous homemade ice cream will be available.

Admission is $2 per person and children under 6 years old are admitted free. All activities are held in and around Ider Town Park located off of Highway 75 at 183 Sweet Gum Road.

For more information on this event, call DeKalb Tourism at 888.805.4740 or visit www.DiscoverLookoutMountain.com.

Photography Tips 101 by John Dersham

2011-08-26T08:09:00.001-07:00

In this day of totally automatic cameras that take good looking pictures without working hard for them, could also be the reason for a lot of bad photographs. Here is what I mean. Photography has always been about the finished image and not the medium to get the picture. Good quality images that are interesting to look at require some knowledge and some compositional planning. The ability to take clear photographs easy and fast does not have anything to do with taking GOOD pictures. A good picture is one you or anyone else will enjoy looking at time after time. It will look good in a photo album or on the wall, or in a publication. Here are some important tips for making your photographs stand out.
• Good lighting: For scenery shots the best time is early or late in the day. This time of year you should try 7:00am through 10:00 am and 3:00pm through 7:00pm. When the sun is at an angle in the sky the quality of lighting on your scene is much more interesting then when the sun is straight up as it is mid-day.
• Use your flash: When shooting people outside at a range of ten feet or closer, always use your flash. This helps eliminate unsightly shadows on your subjects’ faces.
• Hold your camera level: If you hold your camera level and parallel to your scene you will avoid distortion. Example: when you are at the beach, water is always level. If you hold your camera at even the slightest angle your water will look like it is going uphill. It is easy to tell if your camera is level by looking at the horizon line of your ocean view. If it is a straight line and not angled, then your camera is being held level. The same holds true for shooting landscapes, buildings, road scenes, etc.
• Composition: Good pictures are composed like a piece of art. Before you take a picture look at your available angles. Pick angles that flatter your scene by having a leading line running from the foreground into your scene. Do not crop important subjects to close the edge of the scene. Your horizon line should not be in the middle of your scene, in most cases your foreground should lead into the primary subject with the sky being a third or less of the scene, unless a primary element of the scene is the sky. Remember to hold your camera level and steady. Look at your lighting, shoot at angles where the lighting contributes to your composition. It is best when your primary subject is not in the dead center of the picture. It should be up or down or left or right of center.
• Use your viewfinder: If you have a viewfinder on your camera it is better to compose through it and not through the LCD panel on the back of your digital camera. Using the LCD panel is less stable, is prone to not holding the camera level and is harder to see your composition, especially outside. If your camera can only be used by viewing through a LCD panel then be aware of camera stability and composition.
• Hold your camera with both hands: Your camera should be held steadily using two hands with the camera held squarely and firmly. One hand shots are unsteady and will rarely be held level and parallel to the scene. This is true even if you are shooting at an unusual angle like down on the ground or crouched.
• Make sure when taking pictures of people, their faces are well lighted and do not have unattractive shadows on their faces. Make sure the background behind your subject is simple and free of distractive clutter, such as trees that appear to be growing out of your subjects head.
• If you are shooting a picture that is intended to deliver a message, such as a festival or fair, make sure you show people in the scene doing things and laughing and smiling. Show kids and babies. Show the action of people participating in the event. When promoting tourism or an attraction, you want it to look well attended.
• Shoot your digital pictures on your camera’s highest resolution then resize them smaller if needed for internet use or small print sizes.
• Download your pictures to your computer chronologically and by subject. Make them easy to find no matter how many folders you have.
• Always back up your image files and keep them stored in a different physical location. Use a storage service or back up to CD, thumb drive or other external drive and store those items in a different building or a safety deposit box. Remember, the purpose of photographs is to capture a moment in time, permanently. Losing your images due to computer crashes or accidental catalog problems is very disappointing and can be an irreplaceable loss.

Tourism Legislative Grants by John Dersham

2011-08-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

The Alabama Department of Tourism has been awarded a onetime pool of money to offer to tourism CVB’s, cities, communities and attractions to help bring tourists to Alabama. The state tourism budget was cut this year but the Alabama Legislature approved some onetime compensation in the form of this grant to help lure people to Alabama.
If you are interested in applying, time is running out. Grant requests must be filled out and a letter of support must come from Representative Greeson or Senator McGill. The State Department of tourism must have your request by September 1, 2011. The grant is for 2012.
Here are the guidelines:

ALABAMA TOURISM DEPARTMENT
Tourism Legislative Grant Guidelines
The 2012 Tourism Legislative Grants Program is designed to attract out-of-state tourists and generate revenues by promoting attendance at attractions and community wide special events. Since out-of-state visitors spent more money than local attendees, the highest priorities will be given to attractions and events that bring tourists from other states. Grants will be capped at $25,000.
It is probable that more money will be requested than the amount appropriated by the Alabama Legislature. Every attempt will be made to disburse funds broadly and fairly across the state to non-profits and historical attractions. Sen. Arthur Orr and Rep. Jim Barton, who chair the General Fund, favor funding as many different applications as possible. Should multiple applications from the same area be received, the highest priorities will be given to the project(s) with the potential of generating the highest returns to the state’s economy. This guideline may be waived depending on the total number of applications received. It should be noted that the amounts that applicants have received from the General Fund in the past will not be a factor in the amounts awarded in this process. The Alabama Historical Commission and the Alabama Tourism Department operate similar General Fund grant programs funded by the Alabama Legislature. No applicant will receive grants from both agencies.
Please attach a letter of support from a Legislator from your district.
A budget for your project should also be submitted. The deadline for applications is September 1, 2011. If your project is approved by Alabama Tourism, you will be notified by the Legislator who wrote your support letter. Funds will be dispersed on a quarterly basis, as funds are available from the State Finance Department.
PLEASE NOTE: A support letter from your Legislator must be submitted with this application. Any application without a support letter will not be considered.
Send questions to Leigh.Cross@tourism.alabama.gov 2

I. APPLYING FOR FUNDS
Requests for 2012 Tourism Legislative Grant funds must be made on an official form available from the Alabama Tourism Department. No organization, nor any of its subdivisions or affiliated groups, will be approved for more than one Legislative grant (as described in this package) from the Alabama Tourism Department. Each nonprofit organization will be required to submit its tax-exempt identification number or its tax exemption letter from the Internal Revenue Service.
II. DEADLINES
Please Note: Applications must be postmarked by September 1, 2011.
III. DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS
The Tourism Department will release no grant funds until the applicant and the Tourism Department have received a fully executed agreement signed by the grantee, the Director of the Tourism Department, and the Governor of the State of Alabama. Funds will be disbursed on a quarterly basis as funds are available from the State Finance Department.
V. USE OF FUNDS
A. Attractions and Tourism Agencies --
1) Attractions and tourism agencies are eligible for funds for operations, marketing and program enhancements.

B. Festivals and/or Events --

1) Grant funds to be used for marketing community wide festivals and/or events. No monies shall be used for talent or salaries or any other overhead costs.

C. Local Governmental Organizations –

1) Funds may be used for attractions or events as outlined above, or facility enhancements that will attract tourists or events.

VI. SELECTION OF PROJECTS TO BE FUNDED
A. All applications will be reviewed by the Alabama Tourism Department and recommendations for funding will be based upon the project's impact on tourism in Alabama.
B. The Alabama Tourism Department will make recommendations for funding of applications to the Governor for final approval.

Marketing College in Dahlonega Georgia by John Dersham

2011-08-11T07:56:00.000-07:00

Last week I completed my third and final year of Marketing College at North Georgia College. The program hosted by STS (Southeast Tourism Society) is now 20 years old. It is a certified education for people in the travel industry. It has been a wonderful education for me. I have looked forward to all the great educational tools I get each year in class. We also receive updates on the travel industry from people who make their livings forecasting travel trends.
Here are a few of those trends to 2011;
2010 was a rebound year after the 2008-2009 economic downturn which produced little growth or losses in most areas. 2011 has slightly fallen back into the economic downturn status. Here is what the forecasters are saying. People are travelling and spending nights out at a slight increase over 2010 but are spending less money on their trips. Travelers are eating well but not going to as many attractions per trip. Due to the conservative spending travel attractions are forecasted down from a year ago. Most impacted are museums, caves and other historical locations. High action locations like Theme Parks and children related venues are doing fine this year. Consumers are changing travel habits too. Hotels are doing well but B&B’s have suffered as Baby Boomers get older and desires are changing and the X and Y generations lean toward fast action, full service, pools and fast access to internet, good mobile connections, food and entertainment. In looking at our numbers here in DeKalb it appears the national trends are true here too.

Little River Canyon in Fort Payne atop Lookout Mountain By Kayla Worthey

2011-07-28T13:20:00.000-07:00

My family is what you would call an “outdoorsy” family. My husband and I have always enjoyed the outdoors, whether it is hiking, fishing, swimming, or just good ole yard work. And my kids LOVE the outdoors! From the time they were born, we have had them outside. They are the ones you see in the grocery store covered in dirt and you wonder why we never bathe them. Well, we do, most of the time twice a day. I say let them be kids. A little dirt and mud never hurt anyone. It is good for the soul, or so I have been told! We can only hope that is true.

Winter months are tough around my house because neither of my children handle being cooped up very well. Neither does my husband, for that matter. So at the first sign of warm weather our household becomes a much happier place! To celebrate the HOT weather we have been having, we decided to plan a family day at Little River Canyon.
Growing up here, Kevin and I have visited the canyon many times, but this would be my children’s first trip. Our first stop is to the new parking area on Hwy 35 at the falls. The kids were so excited to see the waterfall! Now, my children are 21 months apart so you can imagine the everyday battles that we go through. They will stop at nothing to protect each other, but they also have no problem trying to hurt each other! So while we are making our way down the paved path toward the falls, we referee between the two the whole way. “She is trying to get my backpack”, “KoKo, leave me alone”, “mom, Kinsley hit me”, “He is touching me”… you get the idea.
When we arrive at the water, a momentary calm comes over them. They forget that the other one exists for a moment and the looks on their faces are priceless. They turn to look at us as if to question, “Can we get in there?” and at the first nod of my head, they are gone! Kevin and I hurry behind them trying to keep up. There were so many children splashing about, you would think that we were in a water park. The water is so clean and clear and cool. It is so refreshing that Kevin and I eventually succumb to the temptation of basically bathing in the water ourselves. Watching my children play in the water reminds me of my childhood and makes me appreciate again having the opportunity to grow up in such a peaceful and beautiful place.
After a short while, they begin to notice that there is more around them than just water. Kowen begins to redirect his attention toward the rocks. After inspecting a large area, he finds his treasure. The most beautiful rock he has ever seen, or so he says. Kinsley finds herself at the water’s edge chasing a frog. He hops and she hops, over and over again. Finally she spots her own rock that seems to be much easier to catch and the poor little worn out frog has no idea how lucky he is.
So the kids with their new found treasures and us with a lot of wet clothes, we head back out toward the car. Now our next trip was supposed to be around the canyon rim for breathtaking views, but I think home is a better option at this point since both kiddos are already asleep. Sigh…

Daycation in DeKalb County by John Dersham

2011-07-21T09:29:00.000-07:00

How about a weekend day trip in your own home county?
We are blessed with a pleura of places to go and things to do just a short drive away.
Let’s begin early Saturday morning at Collinsville Trade Days. This is one of the south’s largest outdoor markets. It is located in historic Collinsville just south of town on H-11. The event held each Saturday morning hosts a multitude of shopping interests for every age and every interest including fresh fruit and vegetables, boiled peanuts, nursery plants, hardware, coins, antiques, toys, cloths, furniture, house pets and farm animals. If you are a collector this may be the place you find that one item of which you have been looking for a long time. Come early because by noon the event is winding down.
After completing your shopping spree at Trade Days go north on H-11 into the quaint and historic downtown Collinsville. If you are hungry try a great lunch at Nessa’s located on Main St., at the corner of Chambers. Nessa’s specializes in fine dining in a beautifully remodeled original downtown building. Look for their schedule for live music on some weekend evenings.
Now that you have filled your tummy it is time for a beautiful little drive. Travel H-11 north to Colbran at H-81 turn right and go up the Colbran gap to Lookout Mountain. Make sure you stop at the top of the Colbran Gap and enjoy one of DeKalb County's finest valley views. Get your camera ready for this photo opp. Next stop is straight ahead to Dogtown and home of world famous Akins Furniture, known for 135,000 square feet of great furniture at great prices. At the Dogtown intersection you will be at the junction of H-81 and Lookout Mountain Parkway. Go straight ahead through the intersection where it will become H-176 heading east toward Little River Canyon National Preserve and the canyon rim drive. Follow the sign for 176 to the left and enjoy one of our county’s most scenic and peaceful drives. Along this route you will have multiple scenic overlooks with good parking and great views of the canyon. At the end of H-176 you will turn right onto H-35. Cross the bridge and pull into the Little River Falls parking lot on the right. There is a short (handicap friendly) walk to the water falls. Here you can view the Little River Falls. This time a year there are some great little swimming holes carved into the rocks on the river floor, so bring your swimming suit, towel and suntan oil and enjoy one of the prettiest places on our planet… right here at home? Make sure you stop and explore the Canyon Center on H-35 just before you leave the park.
Your next jaunt is a mid afternoon drive north on the Lookout Mountain Parkway to Mentone. Head west on H-35 to the flashing yellow light and take a right onto H-89 (Lookout Mountain Parkway) and drive the mountain top road to DeSoto State Park and DeSoto Falls. For a fun break stop at the DeSoto State Park camp store. Here you will find refreshments, ice cream and nature gift items. If you would like a beautiful short hike take the Azalea trail that emanates just behind the camp store. When complete continue heading north on the lookout mountain parkway following the signs to Mentone. Once in Mentone it will be time for a stroll around town and a visit to the gift shops. This little town has so much character with its show place ion the Mentone Springs Hotel. This hotel built in 1884; now a B&B is one of Alabama’s premier historic buildings and is considered the oldest hotel in the state. The Mentone Springs Hotel offers a delight to the eye and to the palette with its two restaurants, including The Springs Restaurant. Now head down the mountain on H-117 and stop halfway down the mountain at Miracle Pottery and see the beautiful work of one of our county’s most known artist, Valinda Miracle. Now to end your day with a great cool down stop for a tour of Sequoyah Caverns, truly one of the prettiest caves ever to be seen.
For more information about things to do and see in DeKalb County for your “Daycation” visit us at www.tourdekalb.com Wow! What a great daycation.

True Adventure Sports By Kayla Worthey

2011-07-14T13:41:00.000-07:00

This area is known for its great outdoors. Our main attractions are some of the most beautiful natural landscapes around. You can visit Sequoyah Caverns in Valley Head for a guided tour of the cave and stunning reflecting pools. You can drive around the Little River Canyon National Preserve and witness breathtaking views. You can tour DeSoto State Park on its many hiking trails or you can stroll down for a refreshing view of DeSoto Falls. These are all great adventures to take, but if you are looking for something a little more adventurous, let me introduce you to Israel Partridge and his staff at True Adventure Sports.
They offer some kind of guided adventure almost every day of the week. You can choose from a list of adventurous thrills like Rock Climbing, Rappelling, Bouldering, Wild Cave Tours, Extreme Night Hikes, Zip Lining, a Sky Swing, Laser Tag and Treasure Hunts. They also offer Do-it-Yourself rentals on bikes, canoes, kayaks, mopeds, jet skis, and camping gear. If you are interested in learning, they have an array of classes such as GPS navigation, Practical Ingenuity, Orienteering, Certification classes and much more.
After my long, tiresome weekend, I decided to try the scariest (for me anyway) and least strenuous to start out, the Zip Line and Sky Swing Combo. We all meet up at the True Adventure Sports store located on Hwy 176. I was amazed at all the store had to offer. Drinks, snacks, t-shirts, Chaco and Merrell shoes, all kinds of camping gear, and a lot of things that were unfamiliar to me since I am not an everyday adventurer. After we sign our waivers, we load up to head out into the woods. I am starting to get a little nervous at this point, but am quickly calmed by the beauty of the Canyon. We drive a few miles down the canyon road before we arrive at our destination. We all unload and our guides grab the bags of gear. We hit the trail and almost instantly we are there. Our tour guides distribute our harnesses and helmets and then just sit back and watch as we make absolute fools of ourselves trying to figure out how to put them on. You can only imagine some of the conversations that came up in the next 5 minutes. Apparently there are a lot of different ways to incorrectly tie yourself up in one of these things, none of which are very flattering if you know what I mean. So after getting their daily intake of laughter, the girls decide that they better help us. Thank you very much since we have managed to embarrass ourselves beyond belief at this point. So, we get strapped in…correctly this time, and each guide double checks our straps and our helmets before we take off.
First up is the Zip Line! Towering almost 40 feet above us and spanning about 250 feet through the woods, it looks awesome! One by one we climb the tower and hook in. We get our brief lesson on what to do and then we are off. There are screams, yells, laughs, and hollers for the next hour! We even had a water balloon fight break out, staged by our hosts of course. Everyone was able to jump once facing forward and once going off backward. I think our nerves are gone now so bring on the sky swing!
We all follow the path down to the swing. Our guide makes his way up to the platform in the tree about 35 feet up. Who is first? I start my shaky climb to the platform and before I know it I am hanging backwards in a tree. What have I gotten myself into? All of a sudden I begin my free fall back toward the ground and I try to scream, but nothing comes out. Now I am facing the ground and heading into a full motion swing and finally I can breathe! What a rush of excitement! For the next few minutes I enjoy the breeze of the gentle, giant swing. After they release me from the swing and my feet are on the ground again, I can’t stop smiling!
Thank you Israel, Tyler, Elizabeth and Brandy. You guys were awesome and so was this trip! I can’t wait to come back for my next adventure!

DeKalb Tourism 2 by John Dersham

2011-07-07T07:08:00.000-07:00

DeKalb Tourism is the primary organization promoting tourism in DeKalb County. We are a non profit organization and are funded by the county lodging tax, grants and city appropriations.

Here are the ways we promote:
Tourist Information Center - We are open seven days a week to answer questions about our area, give directions and show guests places to go and things to do, where to eat and shop, historical locations, scenic attractions, lodging, parks etc. We promote businesses verbally and by giving our customers your printed information. We send visitors to you when they are looking for your kind of business.
Official DeKalb County Visitor’s Guide with QR code – Our guide provides current and potential tourists information about all the things to see and do in DeKalb County, which would be inviting to the tourist. This guide is the single most distributed travel guide promoting DeKalb County. We give our visitor’s guides out in our information center; we mail them out from phone and internet requests, we distribute them at conventions and travel shows, at welcome centers, mini markets, hotels, motels, state parks, and many other places all throughout the southeast.
Official County Tourism Website – Tourism related businesses are included on our website with a description of your business, a direct link to your website and email, phone number, address and other requested information. We average 30,000 website visits a month and we are the primary resource worldwide for people needing travel information about our county. Included in our website is an interactive version of our DeKalb County Visitor’s Guide. This one can be printed or viewed on line. It has a page turn feature, you can magnify the images and it contains live links to your website. In addition our website has links to online video’s and articles. You can request to have your video or article reviewed for inclusion on our website.

Travel Writers - We work closely with travel writers and other news media to see that articles are regularly considered for publication in magazines and newspapers nationwide. We submit press releases to magazines, newspapers and radio stations to promote travel articles on places, events and businesses in DeKalb County.
State Affiliations - We network closely with the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association, The Alabama Tourism Department, the Alabama Travel Council, Chambers and CVB organizations all across our state.

Here are additional services we offer:
* Digital Marquee at one of Fort Payne’s busiest intersections. We promote your tourism related business on it.
*Weekly newspaper Column to promote Tourism in DeKalb County
*Member? educational seminars
*Television advertising campaigns
*Radio Advertising
*Magazine and Newspaper Ads
*Website
* YouTube video’s
*Facebook
*Presence as an exhibitor at state and regional travel shows
*Provide education and presentations to local clubs, civic organizations and area businesses
*Provide help with member ad campaigns
*Support local activities and festivals
*Provide general information about our county, our towns, municipal services, churches, history, maps and a host of general information for the community, for the traveler and for new residents.

*We promote businesses that out of town tourists would be interested in visiting. We do not represent local businesses that do not have a tourism draw. We do, however offer information at our information center to guests that ask about non tourism businesses like, auto service, health care, construction, retail (non tourist related) etc. We keep information on real estate and related information for people who would like to move to DeKalb County.

If you have questions please contact DeKalb Tourism at 256-845-3957

DeKalb Tourism by John Dersham

2011-06-30T08:34:00.000-07:00

In 1953 the DeKalb County Tourist Association was formed by a group of local attractions. They joined together to form an association that would help promote their attractions to potential tourists that lived outside of DeKalb County.
Over the last 58 years tourism to DeKalb County has dramatically grown and has gained many facets not present at the beginning, such as Agri-Tourism, Eco Tourism, Festival Tourism, History and Genealogy Tourism, food and music tourism, antique and flea market tourism and artists and craftsmen related shows, businesses and events. During all of these years you had to become a member of the DeKalb County Tourist Association in order to be included in our advertising plans.
As the gamut of things visitors like to do when they travel has grown and the dollars they spend in our county has grown it became apparent to us that a more inclusive business model would help bring more business to our county and a chance to grow tourism to the next level here in DeKalb. Since we are funded by dollars collected in taxes at lodging facilities and on Alcohol sales it became important that we deliver a message about tourism that covers all the topics that a potential visitor would find appealing here in DeKalb County. As tourism grew the portion of dollars from memberships became a smaller part of our income and the larger part became the dollars coming from public spending.
Last year our board voted unanimously to become a non-member organization that would promote all entities in the county that would be a draw to the potential visitor. Beginning January 1, 2012 we will no longer have members. The conversion process began January 1 of this year when we began our transition year from a member to non member organization. Since memberships were paid on anniversary dates it required a year for all memberships to expire. Beginning next year we will add in other venues that appeal to the traveler but would typically have not drawn membership. Examples of this would be things that appeal to our tourists like food and entertainment, Agricultural events and farmers markets, sports events, flea markets and antique shopping. DeKalb Tourism promotes on TV, radio, in magazines and brochures all throughout the Southeast and Midwest. We promote beginning 50 miles away and go up to 500 miles. We are a drive to market so we do not spend ad dollars to promote longer distances. By definition, a tourist is someone visiting and spending their money 50 miles or more from where they live. DeKalb Tourism’s ad campaign is to entice people to make us their travel destination by talking about the big picture, our beautiful scenery, parks, cabins, campgrounds, B&B’s, Hotels, artists and shows, restaurants, hiking, waterfalls, relaxation, good food and music. Once the consumer is interested in us then our website and brochures help direct them to where they want to, stay, play, eat, shop, etc.

Summer Tourism Update by John Dersham

2011-06-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

Last week I attended the annual retreat for the Alabama Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (AACVB). AACVB consists of organizations throughout the state that are in the Destination Marketing business, just like DeKalb Tourism.
At this meeting we always have guest speakers that are experts in various parts of the destination marketing business. This year we had seminars on the latest products and services for mobile applications and internet marketing. This is an ever changing realm and our industry has to stay on the cutting edge of this technology. It is imperative that we stay up with the current trends so we know the way our potential visitors get their information. We had seminars dealing with budgets and our current political climate. The trend is to do more with less money. Many budgets have been cut. This increases the need to work smart and utilize free or low cost internet marketing as much as possible, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Blogging etc. Another seminar concerned itself with current trends in advertising, what works, what does not and what has cooled off and what is hot. The bottom line is tourism is like all other industries we have to stay up with the current trends that work or get outdated and loose market share.
Much of this years meeting dealt with the current state of tourism in Alabama, how are we doing, and what are our challenges. Most CVB’s had an opportunity to talk about their results and their marketing plans for this year. Some of the challenges for all of us are the sluggish economy, a tendency to hold on to money, high gas prices and severe weather conditions. In north Alabama and in Tuscaloosa the April 27th tornados have negatively impacted tourism. The consumer thought is much like last years oil spill in the gulf. The perception is that our area has been ruined by the tornados and we will not be a good place to visit this summer. We are currently running a TV, radio and press campaign telling our potential travelers that DeKalb County and all our tourist attractions are open and looking good...
Overall there is a downward trend in tourism for most CVB’s this year. 2010 was a greatly improved year over the prior several but this year is tending to look more like 2008 and 2009 for most of us.
DeKalb Tourism is dedicated to trying to maximize our money to spend as much of it as possible on advertising. It is critical that we track the results from each type of advertising we do. This way we know what works and what does not and how much it costs for each form of advertising. DeKalb Tourism will keep doing all we can to bring those very important tourism revenues into our area. Tourism is big business and it is especially large here when considering the small size of our population.

Summer Tourism Has Begun by John Dersham

2011-06-02T09:04:00.001-07:00

Our official beginning of the summer tourism season began last weekend with our traditional Memorial Day Holiday. For many years school has ended just before Memorial Day and people make their first summer trips. Destinations to water and mountains are very big on Memorial Day. It is usually the first time weather is warm enough for swimming and sunbathing. Picnics and camping are big on this holiday too.

This year we have some challenges to overcome in order of having a successful summer season. We have been impacted by a consumer belief spawned by television media that north Alabama will not make a good summer destination because it was so badly damaged during the April 27th tornados. Even though all of DeKalb County's tourist attractions are open and look fantastic a perception contrary to that exists.
In order to get the word out that we are open for business, DeKalb Tourism has sent out an “Open for Business” press release of which we have already received some television and newspaper coverage. We are running a radio and television ad campaign across north and central Alabama and southern Tennessee that starts out by letting people know that despite severe damage and loss of life and property in parts of DeKalb County that our famous and beautiful tourist attractions are open. This includes all parks, museums, hotels, cabins, B&B’s, campgrounds, artist shops and sports locations. We are hoping this ad campaign will invite people to plan their summer vacations here in DeKalb. The other challenge we have is our high gas cost. This is having a nationwide impact on travel but I believe we will be ok. The fact that we are only one tank of gas away for 11 million people and we have a good interstate system coming to us should entice visitors who do not want to make a longer trip this summer.
Last year we had an excellent year in tourism. We rebounded from the economic downturn of the prior couple years. This year has been soft however beginning the year with snow storms, then ice and finally the tornados. I feel good about our recovery now and feel we will have a good summer vacation season.
I’d like to pass along a special thanks to all the wonderful people in DeKalb County that rallied to support all the people who lost loved ones, were injured or lost material property during the tornados. We really shined here in DeKalb. When the chips were down we showed just how much we care with the tremendous outpouring of physical and financial help. Thanks, everyone.

Proud to be a Rural Southerner! By Kayla Worthey

2011-05-27T08:18:00.001-07:00

I was born in Fort Payne, Alabama and raised in Mentone on Lookout Mountain. I went to Moon Lake Elementary School and graduated valedictorian from Valley Head High School. I went on to Northeast Alabama Community College until I moved to Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta is still in the south, but big cities do not possess that sweet southern charm that the rest of us small towns so proudly boast.

Growing up here, there were a few things that I learned in my adolescent and teen years. People here are friendly. Everyone here waves, weather they know you or not, or at least gives you a raised finger (and no, I don’t mean the middle one either). They speak when they pass you by, it doesn’t matter if they have never met you. And we say yes ma’am and no sir. The recent comradeship after the storms just proves that our communities are families and not just a group of towns.

Now I had a lot of new lessons to learn when I moved to Atlanta. Everyone in the south is not so friendly. But I managed to spread a little of my southern charm to some great friends and my accent earned me the nickname “Bama” by few. At first, I was embarrassed, but quickly learned to be a proud “southerner” and embrace my southern heritage!
While I enjoyed my years learning new cultures and ways of life, refining myself and my palate, when the time came I was glad to be back home. I learned to appreciate our southern lifestyles and our natural surroundings. There is a lot to be said about trees, and grass, and rocks and NOT so much concrete, asphalt and steel. We are so fortunate to live here and I think we take for granted what beautiful lands and natural resources and attractions we have.
I challenge you to show your family DeKalb County and the surrounding areas. Have you or your family ever been to Little River Canyon National Preserve, DeSoto State Park, High Falls Park, Bucks Pocket State Park, Sequoyah Caverns, Fort Payne Depot, the list goes on and on. Did you know that we have a State Scenic Byway right here on Lookout Mountain? There are so many things in our area that we take for granted, or at least I know that I do. Beautiful, natural landscapes surround us every day and we tend to forget that they are so rare.
If you want to show your family the area, visit our website at www.TourDekalb.com or come by our office at the corner of Airport Road and Hwy 35 and we will give you maps and informational materials. We can even help you plan your journey if you like. With so many things to see and do, the possibilities are endless!

DEKALB COUNTY ATTRACTIONS ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS

2011-05-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

Fort Payne, Ala. – On April 27, 2011, cities and communities came to a halt as over 40 tornadoes came through Alabama killing over 230 and leaving millions of dollars in damage. While DeKalb County was severely impacted in certain areas, its visitor information center and all tourist attractions and accommodations were spared and are open for business as usual. Volunteerism has been spectacular throughout DeKalb County as many people have opened up their homes and there wallets to help victims of the deadly tornado’s. Now a massive effort to restore and clean up damaged or destroyed properties has begun.

The beautiful tourist areas in Fort Payne and Mentone (on Lookout Mt.) are ready and anxious for their summer vacationers to come and enjoy the quaint peaceful beauty and to enjoy all the wonderful things to see and do in the area.

“The summertime is an excellent time to visit DeKalb County,” said John Dersham, executive director of the DeKalb Tourism. “We want to encourage visitors to not cancel vacation plans as all attractions throughout DeKalb County are open and ready for summer travelers.”

The 23-mile drive along the Little River Canyon National Preserve provides countless photo capturing moments of the 700-foot deep gorge. For those wanting to experience nature on foot or by water, miles of hiking, whitewater kayaking, and canoeing are available at Little River Falls, DeSoto State Park and High Falls Park. “The scenic areas of Lookout Mountain, Little River Canyon, DeSoto State Park, and High Falls Park were unaffected and still remain beautiful today as before the outbreak of severe weather,” added Dersham.

Situated atop Lookout Mountain among the many scenic waterfalls and majestic overlooks are a variety of accommodations. According to Dersham, none of the cabins, B&B’s, hotels, or campgrounds located in DeKalb County sustained any damage and are available for reservations. For those with any concerns may contact the property directly to confirm or inquire about reservations.

Tucked away at the foot of Sand Mountain is beautiful Sequoyah Caverns and its “looking glass lakes”, which reflect the thousands of intricate rock formations and nature’s magnificent underground creations. Sequoyah Caverns is a comfortable 60 degrees year round making a summertime visit an ideal time to visit.

“Tourism and travel are important to DeKalb County and we realize we are very fortunate that these areas were not directly impacted. Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to those in our county and state that were not as fortunate,” said Dersham.

For information on all attractions and special events, contact the DeKalb County Tourist Association at 888.805.4740 or visit www.DiscoverLookoutMountain.com.

Alabama Showbird by John Dersham

2011-04-21T07:55:00.000-07:00

Events generate tourism dollars to our community. Many people think of tourists as the people that visit us on their vacations. The ones that come to our State Parks, Little River Canyon, our camps or to the Alabama Museum and Gift Shop. The same people that rent our cabins, stay in Hotels, campgrounds and B&B’s. The same ones that eat in our restaurants, shop in our stores. These visitors come for a leisurely trip to enjoy our fantastic scenery and pleasant small town experiences. This has been our traditional tourist in DeKalb County.
There is another kind of tourism that is critical to any community and we are beginning to receive more of it. It is event based tourism. Event tourism is travelers coming to our area for a specific event, such as; a local festival like Boom Days, Ider Mule Day, Sand Mountain Potato Festival, Mentone Rhododendron Festival, Collinsville Turkey Trot or Fyffe UFO Days. They may be here for a concert, rodeo, horse show or ATV event at our new Agri Business Center. It can be a sporting event like a baseball or swimming tournament at our Parks and Recreation locations. All of these events bring money to our communities from people to who travelled from outside our area to come here. They buy gas, eat, shop, spend the night in our hotels, cabins, campgrounds etc.
The weekend before last the Alabama Showbird Association had a big event at our VFW Fairgrounds. Many people may not realize just how big of a tourism draw an event like this might be. Heath Locklear is Vice President of the Alabama Showbird Association this year. He asked us to have a booth at the event to promote our county. In a note to me from Heath on Facebook here is how he recapped the event,

“Hey John. I wanted to thank you for sending Misty over to the show with the tourist info. I wanted to give you some figures that I thought were really encouraging for this being our first show. At 9:00 am I had several club members go around and try to get a rough headcount. We took those figures and estimated 450 people inside the show at one time. That's not counting the 30 or 40 people that were outside selling and buying birds and supplies. We had 700 birds in the show. This did not count all the birds that were for sale. We confirmed 29 motel rooms that were rented for the show that weekend. Not counting the people that stayed at the State Park. We could not have been happier. We have already begun work on our next spring show and have plans for it to be even bigger. We have decided on doing a show program next year and selling ads to help cover the cost. Our idea is to target mainly the local mom and pop stores so that the exhibitors will be encouraged to visit downtown and other local businesses. Any ideas that you have on the subject would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for all your help.
Talk to you soon,”
Heath

Heath’s comments point to the local aspects of an event like this and making sure our local businesses feel the benefit of visitors spending money in our town.

The Alabama Showbird Association is a non-profit group dedicated to the raising and showing of all breeds of poultry. Founded almost 50 years ago, they believe today just as the founders did, that raising poultry is a great hobby for young and old alike. Nothing quite compares to the pride and feeling of accomplishment that one gets from seeing one of his or her birds being admired by a large group of his or her peers. And the lessons learned and passed to younger generations are priceless.
For more information visit www.alabamashowbird.webs.com

A Manager is as Good as his People by John Dersham

2011-04-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

I just began my fourth year in tourism. When I was hired by our board of directors I had been a 30 year veteran at Eastman Kodak, in management and marketing. I was convinced from the job description that the job as Executive Director of Tourism would be a good fit for my history. I already had a sincere love and passion for our beautiful county. After being moved four times by Kodak to different parts of the country our move here was hand picked by my wife Kyle and I who started coming here on vacation a few years prior.
The first thing I asked our board when hired, was to tell me about our staff, how long have they worked here? What are their ambitions and do they feel they are stable performers who have accrued a solid working knowledge of our business? I learned a long time ago that a manger is only as good as the people who report to him/her. I hit the jackpot in this category. So much so, that we have the exact same staff that I started with four years ago. These individuals are dedicated, reliable, and loyal and they offer first class customer service to our visitors at our information center and to our phone callers. They also help the hundreds of people each week requesting information from our website or from social media accounts. They, along with our board which is made up of seasoned tourism professionals and local business professionals really helped me jump start my career at DeKalb Tourism. The board also introduced me to the key players in state and regional tourism that would help me even further.
At DeKalb Tourism we have four employees. They include me as Executive Director, Kayla Worthey (Marketing Manager), Michele Wooden (Administrative Assistant) and Avice Pearson who works Fridays and every weekend including most holidays. Avice is 100% reliable, she is always here when she is supposed to be and she is always early. Last year we promoted our Administrative Assistant Kayla Worthey to position of Marketing Manager and promoted Office Assistant Michele Wooden to Administrative Assistant.
You may have noticed Kayla Worthey is now writing some of our weekly columns. Some weeks when I am traveling it is hard to get the column done and turned in on time. Kayla came to me with a couple very interesting pieces of writing she had done. She wrote first person about herself and family’s personal trips to locations around DeKalb County. I was so impressed by her writing and by the idea she had that I asked Jared Felkins at the Times Journal if we could use Kayla’s articles on weeks I could not produce one. They agreed and now you will see Kayla’s very personal stories of journeys around beautiful DeKalb County. Kayla is a graduate of Southeast Tourism Society’s Marketing College. Marketing College is a certified continuing education degree for the tourism industry.
I feel very fortunate after having a very wonderful career at Kodak to reside in another extremely interesting and rewarding career and it is a sincere blessing to have begun this position with wonderful, hard working knowledgeable people whom were already in place.

Southeast Tourism Society Spring Symposium by John Dersham

2011-04-08T08:20:00.000-07:00

Last week our marketing manager (Kayla Worthey) and I attended the Southeast Tourism Society’s Spring Symposium at the Sand Destin Golf and Beach Resort. The Southeast Tourism Society (STS) is a member organization that provides tourism promotion and education to its members. They cover 12 southern states and are known to be a leading provider of educational services to the tourism industry, including a certified continuing education program called STS Marketing College which is held every summer in Dahlonega, GA. It is a three year program of which you graduate. Another series of classes is held each year for alumni. At our just completed spring conference our class of 2010 was given their diplomas at a luncheon to honor them. One of our own, Kayla Worthey graduated last year and I am due finish this summer. People from throughout the tourism industry are invited to attend this one of a kind program. STS is in their 21st year of offering Marketing College.
Twice a year STS hosts their symposiums, once each spring and another in the fall. The location moves around so that each of the 12 states will eventually be included. The Sand Destin Golf and Beach Resort is a gated 2400 acre resort complex of homes, condo’s, hotels, vacation rentals, golf, swimming, the beach and a town of it’s own with shopping, restaurants, entertainment etc. This facility has 800 employees. STS always picks a member business to host its conferences.
I really like the spring conference because it consists of two educational components. There are the general mainstream seminars then there are the more specific SETTRA White Paper seminars which deal with the academics of tourism. Here we learn the forecasts, trending, short and long term projections, etc. One of the White Paper seminars dealt specifically with the short and long term effects of the gulf oil spill on tourism, the overall economy and the environment. Since Kayla comes to this symposium too we get to split up and she goes to one and I go to the other. This way each seminar is covered by one of us.
The forecast for this year in tourism is good in most of the 12 states covered by STS. In North Alabama we are in the zone that shows the best growth. There are several other areas in the same zone, some are in Tennessee and North Carolina.
Among the seminars some of the topics included were; The Gulf Oil Spill, Engineering a Tourism Experience, Attracting increased revenue at College sports events, Hiring an Efficient Staff, The Political Advocacy Game, The National and Regional Forecast and a panel discussion about successful Main Street Programs.

The Moonlight Bistro in Mentone By Kayla Worthey

2011-03-31T10:20:00.000-07:00

My family and I went to dinner last week at the Moonlight Bistro in Mentone. All I can say is DE-LI-CIOUS! In case you don’t know, The Moonlight Bistro used to be the famous “Log Cabin Deli”. Owners Michael Goss and Christine Ballenger bought the restaurant back in August, made some minor changes, did some spring cleaning and voila! The place has a warm and cozy atmosphere, with a wood burning fireplace and candlelit table centers. The staff is very friendly and adds to the total ambiance of the place.
To start us off, we got greedy and ordered two appetizers because we couldn’t decide. The Fried Calamari…tender golden brown rings mingled with fried peppers dipped in succulent sauce…superb; and the Anastasia Island crab dip…warm, served with toasted freshly baked bread, I couldn’t stop eating…to die for. Before we had time for all of that to fully digest, our entrees had arrived.
My husband dined on Lemon Pepper Rainbow Trout with mashed potatoes and pasta salad. Of course I had to try it, just a taste. It was absolutely perfect! I went on the lighter side (wink) and ordered the fried green tomato sandwich. Beer battered and fried perfectly with the most delicious aioli to top it off. I honestly could not put it down. Let me go back a moment and tell you that I was very reluctant to order this meal. Fried anything on bread is not appealing to me, but I LOVE fried green tomatoes, so I had to give it a shot. One of the best decisions I have ever made (in the way of food anyway). It was out of this world!
My children are Kowen, 3 years and Kinsley, 17 months, and they are very pick-and-go eaters. We decided after all the appetizers they could just share a corn dog basket with fries, thinking they would never eat it all. We were wrong! It must have been yummy in their little tummies because there was none left and that never happens! The French fries were very good.
For dessert, we tried the hot fudge cake, one of their delightful homemade treats! Warm, rich, delicious chocolate with ice cream, do I really need to say anything more?
So with that said, our compliments to the chef and his team! We will back again, maybe for lunch next time. On my list are the gourmet chicken salad and Philly Cheese Steak sandwich! And for dessert I must try their deep fried oreos.

Springtime in DeKalb County by John Dersham

2011-03-24T09:01:00.001-07:00

We have some of the most beautiful places anywhere, right here at home. It is time to renew your love for all the natural attributes and beauty of our county and get out there and enjoy spring. Our water falls are at their max. They are gorgeous right now.
It has been a cold cloudy wet winter but the sun and the warmth are here for us all to enjoy.
Here in DeKalb County we are blessed with plant species from the north and from the south. This gives us a wider gamut of beautiful spring flowers in bloom at the same time. Nothing like getting out there for a drive or a hike and seeing our wide variety of blooms from our early Daffodils and Bradford Pears to Redbud, Cherry, Plum and Peach to White and Red Dogwoods, Azaleas, Mountain Laurel and Rhododendrons. The sky is blue, the air is warm so head out and enjoy beautiful DeKalb County.

Here are some places that are at their peak of spring beauty right now.
Little River Canyon and Canyon Center: Little River Falls, Graces High Falls, hiking trails, scenic drive on the canyon rim, picnics, boulder outcrops with white water. The Canyon Center at the Preserve. 256-845-9605 www.nps.gov/liri
DeSoto State Park: DeSoto Falls (104 foot drop), picnics, hiking trails, playground, country store (souvenirs, local crafts and basic groceries), nature center, swimming pool (summer), resort lodge and cabins. 13903 County Rd 89 Fort Payne 256-845-5075. www.outdooralabama.com
Sequoyah Caverns and Ellis Homestead: beautiful scenery, famous cave with spectacular reflecting pools, swimming pool (summer only), historic location since 1841, picnics, rock climbing/repelling, store, crafts, souvenirs and restrooms. 1438 County Rd 731, Valley Head 256-635-0024 www.sequoyahcaverns.com
Buck’s Pocket State Park: Camping, picnics, fishing and boating, hiking and beautiful scenery. 393 County Rd 174, Grove Oak 256-659-2000. www.outdooralabama.com
DeKalb County Public Lake (New Improvements) 120 acre lake, fishing, boat rentals, bait, picnics, refreshments. 720 County Rd. 194 Sylvania 256-657-1300
High Falls Park: Beautiful vistas, large water falls, walking bridge, hiking trails, picnics, rest rooms and playground. 256-623-2281 www.seehhighfalls.com
www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/ehere/lakes/dekalb/
Fort Payne City Park and Alabama Walking Park and Depot Museum:
Located in downtown Fort Payne- walking, picnics, playgrounds, museum, shops and restaurants.
Historic Town of Mentone: located at the top of Lookout Mountain on H-117. Visit quaint gift and craft shops, antique stores and restaurants. For a beautiful view from the brow visit the Mentone Brow Park just behind the White Elephant Antique store and Mentone Springs Hotel.

For more information visit us at the DeKalb County Visitor Center located at 1503 Glen Blvd S.W., Fort Payne or call 888-805-4740.
Please visit www.LookoutMountainAlabama.com to see all of the wonderful places to go and things to see in our wonderful county.

Northeast Alabama Home & Garden Show By Kayla Worthey

2011-03-17T06:38:00.000-07:00

The Northeast Alabama Home & Garden Show is a non-profit corporation that was founded 28 years ago for the purpose of giving businesses in our area an opportunity to exhibit their company’s products. Every year The Home and Garden Show is held at the DeKalb County Schools Coliseum in Rainsville on the third weekend in March. And every year, my family and I attend.
The first year, my husband and I were building a home and found a lot of useful information about windows, vinyl siding, shutters, gutters, bath tubs and showers, flooring, landscaping, and so much more. Going in, I think I just expected to hopefully find some new ideas, but we actually found a supplier for our siding and gutters and set up an appointment with a landscaper. We also came away with many other new ideas for the house and made some contacts for furniture in the future.
The second year, we had just moved into our new house and had a four month old little boy running the household! We were “strolling” this time and found all kinds of children’s clothing and accessories just perfect for the new little man in our lives. I spent some time at a booth specializing in Tupperware products that proved to be very handy for a new mom. Then I quietly tip-toed over to a booth advertising the word “spa”, while the boys picked out rose bushes as part of my first Mother’s Day. On our way out, I was paid back for the “spa” stop. The boys spent an hour touring the tractors, lawnmowers and other equipment outside.
I won’t bore you with any more of our personal findings, but you can see why we return again and again! I even saw booths for financial investment planners and tax preparation, both of which I already take advantage of! This year with two children in tow, I can only imagine what this adventure will bring.
Now on top of just being a visitor myself, I also have the pleasure of working this event one day each year and meeting a couple thousand or so of the friendliest people around. I forget sometimes how nice it is to live in the south, with everyone’s sweet southern charm and hospitality.
I would like to personally thank the board of directors for their time and efforts each year making this show such a great event! Well done ladies and gentlemen and I can’t wait to see what this year holds!
Hope to see you all there this weekend, March 19th & 20th!

Accidental Tourism by John Dersham

2011-03-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

Most people think of tourists as people who have planned their travels and are taking their vacations to a particular planned destination. They have booked their lodging, figured out what they are going to see and do. Many even plan where they will eat or shop. It is true that much of tourism is done this way, especially if the tourist is going a long distance and especially if they are flying.
There is however all kinds of tourists and all kinds of tourism that generate income to whatever destination, of which, they arrive. By definition a tourist is anyone traveling and spending money more than fifty miles from the area of which they live. This means business travelers are also tourists. This is why a big part of the tourism industry focuses on attracting conventions and special events like trade shows to their town or city. Sports events are a major tourism draw, as are festivals and concerts. Many larger cities focus much of their tourism attention on attracting the major events and conventions. In order to solicit this business your location must be able to accommodate large groups for lodging and for meetings.
Another form of tourism is the “Accidential Tourist”. These are tourists who venture out on a day trip, or a weekend trip without a plan. They hit the road with a basic direction and a possible final destination but their trip is comprised of finding things to do and see along the way. This is very popular tourism to DeKalb County. We get many people year around that come in our information center whom have more or less just stumbled into our area, they like what they see and what to do more. They see our road signs for different attractions, they see our mountains and they find us inviting. They may have heard a little about us already and decided to come this way and see for themselves. They travel without reservations. They shop, eat and see attractions on any visual whim they get. Motorcycle tourists are especially prone to this type of tourism. Tourists are also people who stop and get off the interstate because what they see at our exit(s) attracted them. We may have been just the right spot at the right time of day to find lodging for the night. They same is true for people stopping to eat at any time of the day, or to fill up with gas and buy snacks. All of these people are spending money in our communities and bringing in badly needed tax revenue.
DeKalb County is historically a leisure tourism county. People come for our relaxing scenic environment. They come for our state parks and national preserve, they come to rent a cabin or camp or stay in a B&B. They come to mill around Mentone or Fort Payne. They come for our yard sales and antique shops. They come to relax. The opening of our N.E. Agri Business Center in Rainsville has added event tourism to our list of attractions. Event based tourism attracts people to an area specifically because of an event like our upcoming rodeo at the Agri Center or the upcoming John Michael Montgomery concert. A fishing tournament at DeKalb County Fishing Lake is event based tourism too.
Tourism is a critical part of our revenue stream in DeKalb County. We are very fortunate to have so many wonderful things to do and see here in DeKalb County.

What a Difference 100 Years Makes by John Dersham

2011-02-24T07:17:00.001-08:00

One hundred years ago my grandfather John Alexander Dersham, of whom I am named had been married to Lena (Shoemaker) Dersham for only two years. Lena received her college education graduating in 1906. 100 years ago not many women graduated from college. She went on to teach school for 35 years. My grandfather was an accountant for the Pennsylvania railroad. Soon they would have three children, one was my father. All three kids received Masters Degrees from Penn State and Bucknell. Even in the 1930’s the percent of kids going to college was very small. They lived in Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania. Mifflinburg was a German farming community about 40 miles from State College, the home of Penn State University. Mifflinburg had a cabinet factory and a silk mill but mostly they were known as the Buggy Capital of the US. At one point there were more than fifty shops making buggies. Some were large companies and some where one man shops. My Great Grandfather Alexander Dersham was a farmer and buggy maker. Mifflinburg was the Detroit of buggy making. Then one day came the horseless carriage and Mifflinburg began building bodies for cars. Mifflinburg had no river close enough to get steel to them in large enough quantities and Mifflinburg had no way to keep up with Detroit and other cities on the Great Lakes, or on a major river system. By 1910 demand for horse carriages was nearing its end and Mifflinburg was beginning to loose out in the increasing demands for auto bodies.
One hundred years ago Fort Payne had already seen its Boom Days come and go. In the late 1880’s and early 1890’s New Englanders brought wealth and industry to Fort Payne. They built fine homes, factories and buildings, many of which are still with us today. In 1889 Fort Payne had grown to more then 3,000 people but by 1910 the Boom had been over for nearly two decades and Fort Payne had all but dried up leaving buildings empty and beginning to crumble with age and neglect. There were more houses, buildings and factories than there were people and companies to occupy them. By 1910 Fort Payne was down to only 300-400 residents which was nearly the same as the pre Boom Days. In 1907 the first hosiery mill opened and very, very slowly the town began to grow again as Fort Payne became the “Sock Capital of the World”.
Just for fun I have listed some facts from 1910. This came from the National Archives and floated around on the internet last year.
The average wage in the US was 22 cents per hour. The average worker made between $200-400 a year. A Dentist made $2,500 and a mechanical engineer around $5,000. The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower. The average life expectancy for men was 47 years. Only 14% of homes had bathtubs. 8% of homes had a telephone. There were 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads in the US and you could only buy gas from a drug store. 95% of births took place at home. 90% of doctors were not college educated. Sugar cost 4 cents a pound, eggs were 14 cents a dozen and coffee was 15 cents a pound. Most women washed their hair once a month and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo. The five leading causes of death were pneumonia and influenza, Tuberculosis, Diarrhea, Heart Disease and Stroke. The population of Las Vegas was 30. Crossword puzzles, canned beer and ice tea had not been invented yet. Two out of ten adults could not read or write and only 6% of Americans had graduated from high school.18% of households had at least one full time servant or domestic help. There were only 230 murders reported in the entire US.

Follow me around DeKalb County, Alabama! By Kayla Worthey

2011-02-22T06:39:00.000-08:00

Wildflower Café in Mentone atop Lookout Mountain

For Valentine’s Day, my sweet husband made reservations at the Wildflower Café in Mentone. See I am not a flower girl and I don’t eat a lot of chocolate, so the typical Valentine’s traditions don’t really work on me. But I do like to eat! And my husband knows this, so he decided to take full advantage and made reservations at one of my favorite places to eat. It is close to home and the food is out of this world.
If you have never been to the Wildflower Café, I highly recommend it. The building was once a home to a local resident and still has that basic floor plan today. A cozy fireplace helps to warm the guests, while the enclosed porch allows you to view the beautiful scenery of Mentone. The walls are blanketed with local art and on weekends the air is too! Chef Ben and L.C. Moon do a wonderful job of keeping this restaurant alive!
We arrived five minutes prior to our reservation time and were immediately seated in the room just off the porch. Me with my bottle of wine and my husband with his small cooler of beer in tow. You see, the Town of Mentone is “dry”, so the Wildflower cannot sell alcohol, but they don’t mind you drinking it. They will even provide the appropriate glassware. So as our server arrived with a wine glass, a beer mug and two glasses of water, she began to explain the Valentine’s Special to us in depth.
The restaurant was very romantic. White linens covered the tables with red candle lit center pieces and a little “I Love You” balloon. We were wooed by the voice of Amanda Quarles as she strummed her guitar and filled the room with soft tunes of romance. Some guests made special requests to which she fulfilled beautifully! Great job Amanda! You were very enjoyable.
Our server explained the Valentine’s Special so vibrantly that we decided to try it. We began with an appetizer of garlic parmesan cream cheese dipping sauce with bread. This was a first for me and I really enjoyed it. Up next was a mixed green salad with homemade raspberry vinaigrette. The raspberry vinaigrette was also a first for me and I was impressed. I will be having that again. That was followed by the main course which was a platter of absolute indulgence! A hormone free, fresh cut of the most tender filet mignon wrapped in bacon and grilled to “medium” perfection; a fluffy crab cake topped with spicy aoli and ripe avocado; and a skewer of grilled succulent shrimp! It makes my mouth water just thinking about it. We also chose the garlic smashed red potatoes and grilled purple cabbage as our sides. If you like cabbage, this is a must! And then to top off a fabulous romantic dinner, we shared a piece of Hummingbird cake. I am a sucker for cream cheese icing!
Thank you Wildflower chefs and staff for another wonderful meal and great entertainment!

Follow me around DeKalb County, Alabama! By Kayla Worthey

2011-02-17T07:19:00.000-08:00

Cloudmont Ski Resort in Mentone atop Lookout Mountain

Ok, so I became eager to learn and tried to “hone” my skills at Cloudmont Ski Resort. You can go ahead and laugh now, I am laughing hysterically inside because my outside is too sore to laugh.
I step into the rustic mountain lodge and order my boots and skis from the lady behind the counter. Size 7 please. She is very polite and helps me get my boots and my skis picked out and hands me my poles. No way am I trying the snowboard very first thing. That will come after I have mastered the skis. She asks, “Is this your first time skiing?” I reply, “Yes maam, it is.” She proceeds to tell me about the FREE beginner lessons that are offered. Thanks, but no thanks. I can do this. I am a natural athlete, I will be fine. So I politely decline.
I am an athlete. I have played basketball, softball, volleyball, ran track, you name it and I have done it. I can ice skate, roller skate and roller blade. Surely I can ski, even though I have never tried. How hard can it be? I don’t need to waste my time taking lessons on the “bunny slope”. I AM AN ATHLETE!
So I grab my lift ticket and head over to the benches around the fire to sit down. I put on my boots and bundle myself up then I head out the door. I walk (looking somewhat like a robot, I am sure) through the snow toward the ski lift. I drop my skis, pop them on and glide over to hop on the pony lift.

So this looks easy enough. The cable comes around, you grab the T-bar, hold on tight and it takes you to the top. No problem. Here I go. The cable comes around, I grab the T-bar, hold on tight and there I go…face first into the snow. What just happened? Why am I lying on the ground? Then I hear someone say, “roll out!” Roll Out? What? Then I realize and begin to roll from under the lift cable. I look up to see a nice young gentleman standing there to help me up. Thank you kindly, young lad. So with my mildly bruised ego I head off to try it again. This time I am victorious and make it all the way to the top. This is going to be fun. So I glide over very gracefully to the top of the hill. Here goes nothing.

I push off with a gentle glide and my downhill decent begins. Three seconds later I am on my butt, but not stopping. I have managed to sit down on my skis just perfectly so that I can’t get back up, I can’t use my poles (which I promptly drop), I can’t steer, and my speed downhill is rapidly increasing. This is just great! So I hold on for dear life and scream like the girl that I am. Finally I land mangled in the orange netting at the foot of the hill. By the way, you are supposed to stop yourself way before you get to this point!
I gather my composure and bring myself to my feet only to hear that tiny part of my brain screaming, “How about those FREE lessons now?” Yes, I think so.
So, I take my free lessons on the bunny slope as first suggested, too bad I didn’t listen. The instructor was great. He showed me how to keep my knees bent, but not so far that I actually sit down, and keep my skis pointed slightly inward so that I can keep them in control (somewhat). He spends enough time with me so that I am now comfortable and am taking the bunny slope like a champ!
I spent the rest of the day perfecting my stride down the hill, not without a few tumbles, bruises and yells along the way. The fellow skiers were great and the staff was fantastic. I highly recommend you test your skills at Cloudmont. This was an adventure well worth the money. I do suggest the free beginner lessons if you have never been. They are a must, athlete or not!

State Tourism Meetings by John Dersham

2011-02-10T11:14:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday and Wednesday I attended the quarterly statewide tourism meetings held this time at Vulcan Park, in Birmingham. These meetings consist of four statewide organizations that play different roles in promoting tourism in Alabama. This year I have the honor of being the Vice President of the Alabama Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus, which is one of the four organizations.
These meetings were extremely well attended last week. Many people wanted to hear the forecast for tourism this year and to see all the new marketing plans being unveiled by the state. The forecast for tourism this year is better than last. Several key areas of the economy have improved and along with that have come improved tourism trends which began last year. Gas prices are a definite concern for many markets. We feel here in DeKalb County we will do pretty well even with higher gas prices due to the fact we are a fairly short drive for most of our demographics. On average our tourists come from up to eight hours away and most from five, or less. This means we will remain an affordable trip for most. The other good thing is that once a tourist is here we are a low cost destination to visit.
Lee Sentell, State Director of Tourism brought his entire staff. They presented the new marketing plans for this year. This year’s theme is the “Year of Alabama Music”. This theme will be promoted in brochures, magazines and on television. Raycom is a chain of nearly fifty network television stations around the country. Raycom is owned by the Retirement Systems of Alabama, Dr. David Bronner, CEO. In addition to the television stations RSA has the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail and Renaissance Hotels. The tourism commercials will be aired on Raycom stations, nationwide. In the eight years Lee Sentell has been Director of Tourism, the Alabama Department of Tourism has won four major industry awards for its “Year of” marketing programs. The ad company that produces all the advertising both in print and visual is Luckie Marketing out of Birmingham. DeKalb County is well represented in the Year of Alabama Music. Each county is included in the publication with their past and present music artists with historical notes on their history or if a current artist it tells us where they are currently playing music. Also included are the name of restaurants and lounges that play live music all around the state. A picture of Fort Payne’s Ol’ Tymers Bar B Que and Blues is featured as a cover picture on the Year of Alabama Music Facebook page (Year of Alabama Music). For more information on the Year of Alabama Music visit their website at www.yearofalabamamusic.com

Tourism Legislative Prayer Breakfast by John Dersham

2011-02-03T11:40:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday North Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association sponsored its second annual Legislative Prayer Breakfast. This year it was held in the Magnolia Room in Decatur. The prayer breakfast titled “Turn Your Radio On”, was a celebration of support through prayer of our elected officials in advance of their upcoming legislative session. Members of Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association were invited along with all north Alabama elected officials.

This year 38 elected officials were present at our prayer breakfast, including 31 legislators, 5 mayors, Governor Bentley and Secretary of State Beth Chapman.
Dana Lee Jennings, CEO of Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association, Thereasa Hulgan, Executive Director of the Chamber/Tourism in Cherokee County and I spoke about tourism in North Alabama. We spoke about Alabama Mountain Lakes contributions to the sixteen North Alabama counties of which it covers. Governor Bentley spoke about tourism’s important role in our beautiful state’s economy. He seemed proud and enthusiastic that we had so many wonderful reasons for people to visit Alabama from our northern mountains and lakes to the beautiful white sand beaches of the Alabama gulf coast. There were three area ministers who gave prayers and our guest speaker was Reverend Phil Waldrep. Phil’s ministry is out of Decatur. He travels nationwide giving his motivational, funny, interesting, and up lifting message of hope and thankfulness.

We are very fortunate in North Alabama to have a well organized tourism department in each county but also to have the best regional tourism organization in the state, in Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association. North Alabama tourism is big business. In most of the northern 16 counties tourism brings in the largest amount of tax revenue to the cities, counties and state from any single entity. Tourism is also the largest non agricultural employer in North Alabama. Tourism is clean money made. It has very little crime attached to it, it has no infrastructure cost to it like schools, trash collection, phone systems, etc. Visitors come to our areas; they spend money on attractions, hotels, food, entertainment and sight seeing. All of these things bring money to our local businesses and they bring in tax revenue.

The Year of Alabama Music by John Dersham

2011-01-24T07:11:00.001-08:00

Lee Sentell, Director of the Alabama Department of Tourism and Travel has been reappointed by incoming governor Robert Bentley. This is the first time a Director of Tourism has been reappointed by a new administration. It was a very wise move to do so. Here is why. When Bob Riley appointed Lee Sentell eight years ago the state of Alabama collected $6.5 billion in tourism expenditures and in 2009 (2010 report not in yet) it had grown to over $9 billion. It did not happen automatically. It happened because Lee Sentell was an established tourism professional who knew how to advertise and promote effectively and efficiently. He knew Alabama was an undiscovered paradise for many travelers, but they needed to learn what we had to offer. This is what has successfully transpired via Lee and his talented professionals in the Alabama Tourism office.

From the beginning Lee recognized a need to say something about Alabama that would intrigue the potential travelers. Thus began the “Year Of” advertising campaigns which have included; The Year of Small Towns and Downtowns (last year), The Year of Alabama History, The Year of Alabama Arts, The Year of Outdoor Alabama, The Year of Food, and in 2011 The Year of Alabama Music. This theme will promote our talented historical music figures from Alabama but also the current artists making their livings singing in clubs, restaurants, hotels, bars etc. Thanks to a lot of creativity in the state tourism office and a lot of help from people like Dr. David Bronner of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Retirement Systems of Alabama, Renaissance Hotels and approximately fifty Raycom Television stations around the country. The Raycom television stations have provided tourism in Alabama a place to advertise nationwide. Alabama has become the place to come for golf. It has also become a major destination for beach travelers. It is an attraction to fisherman due to our fantastic lake and river systems. We are a leisure travel state for people seeking mountain relaxation; we have wonderful state and national parks, rental cabins, campgrounds and B&B’s. We attract hundreds of thousands of people annually for sporting events. (Yea, I heard of a couple well known teams down in Auburn and Tuscaloosa that can draw a crowd.) We are a leader in Civil Rights tourism, we have a wine trail, a birding trail system, the 100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama before You Die and in North Alabama we have the Hallelujah Trial (a driving tour of historic churches) and much more. In addition we are a low cost state of which to travel, and we have good year round weather when compared to most of our country.

Sometimes in living here we forget just how much diversity there is in things to do in our beautiful state. From the mountains, to the costal plain, to the gulf. From small towns to downtowns the state of Alabama has a lot to offer our tourists.

Promoting Tourism in DeKalb by John Dersham

2011-01-13T08:32:00.001-08:00

Winter is the time for the large travel shows that are held in many major cities during the winter months. These shows give people something fun to do during those cold winter weekends and nights. The shows promote the travel industry. In fact anything to do with taking a trip will be represented there. There are RV sales exhibits, boats, camping supplies, fishing and hunting booths. Our booth will be part of the Tourism and Travel section where exhibitors pitch their venues via conversation, brochures, videos and pictures that will help attract visitors to each area. At most of these shows the Alabama Department of Tourism has a booth, and so does North Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourism Association who represents the northern 16 counties in Alabama. I will work at their booth promoting DeKalb County.
The shows we are attending this year will be AAA Vacation Show in Columbus, Ohio, the Indianapolis Travel, RV, Boat and Sport Show, the Southern Women’s Show in Nashville and the She Show in Chattanooga. All of these shows are held in convention centers and are attended by 20,000-40,000 people. All attendees are potential customers to DeKalb County. Attendees are looking around trying to figure out their summer vacation plans. Many will buy boats or RV’s at the show.
Last year approximately 40% of tourism to DeKalb County came from other parts of Alabama, especially Birmingham south. That leaves 60% of our tourists coming from out of state. The areas where we attend shows have proven to be our larger secondary market areas. The states giving us the most business are Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana. The tourists from the I-65 corridor coming from the north love our area because we have easy access to mountains, lakes and good weather, all at a low cost to visit. It is also an easy half-day drive for most of them.
We are very fortunate here to have such a large population within a 200-300 mile radius. They have the big populations but they come here because of our rural scenic beauty, mountains, lakes, state parks and national preserve. They come for our cabins, B&B’s, hotels and camping. They come for our great water falls that are rare in most of the states I mentioned above. They come because of a host of things to do in Fort Payne and Rainsville, like the Alabama Museum and Gift Shop and statues in Fort Payne City Park, The Depot Museum, Hosiery Museum, and the N.E. Agri-Business Center and mostly they come to enjoy a low cost, scenic and relaxing vacation.

A White Christmas by John Dersham

2010-12-30T12:07:00.000-08:00

Wow! Wasn’t this the picture perfect White Christmas in DeKalb County? The last time we had snow on Christmas day was in 1989 and the last measurable one was 1969 (I have been told). Snow actually occurring on Christmas day is not very common in the southeast. I was not able to find out how many white Christmas’s we have had in Fort Payne but I was able to find out about Nashville TN and Atlanta GA. Nashville has only had a white Christmas three times in 100 years and Atlanta had it’s first White Christmas in 186 years.
Our snow here was a pretty one and great for making snowmen. We had all of our family with us arriving on Christmas Eve and staying through our Christmas snow. We played outside, built a snowman and enjoyed the beautiful scene out our front window. Our two granddaughters, ages nine and two, enjoyed it a lot.

Speaking of winter in DeKalb County, here are a few outdoor things to do this winter. Take your camera and capture our beautiful winter scenery.

Cloudmont Ski and Golf Resort

It has been a good season for skiing at Cloudmont this year. If you have not been please come up and visit. Cloudmont offers two 1000’ beginner-intermediate slopes. Enjoy two “pony lifts” to take you to the top of the slopes. The slopes have an elevation of 1,800’ and a vertical rise of 150 feet.
If you have never skied, don’t worry. Personalized instruction is given to skiers of all ages. Group or private lessons are available. Cloudmont has skis, boots and poles available for rent in the Ski Lodge.
Please call before you come to verify skiing conditions. Cloudmont is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and from 6-10 p.m. Call to check conditions at 256-634-4344 or go to www.cloudmont.com

Water Falls and Hiking

Now is a great time of the year to hike or tour our water falls. There is plenty of water to really enjoy the scenery of our rivers and water falls. If you don’t mind the cooler temperatures it is a great time to hike and enjoy our beautiful woodlands without the canopy of leaves. We have plenty of hiking available at Little River Canyon National Preserve, DeSoto State Park, Bucks Pocket State Park and High Falls Park. We have wonderful water falls at Little River Canyon, DeSoto Falls and High Falls Park.

For more information on places to go and things to do, contact us at the Tourist Association at 256-845-3957 or visit us at www.TourDekalb.com

Kodachrome film, digital Photography and Photo tips for Christmas by John Dersham

2010-12-09T12:58:00.000-08:00

“Kodachrome, it gives you those nice bright colors”…from the hit song written and recorded by Paul Simon in 1975. It is the only hit song ever about a film.
Kodachrome was invented by Leopold Gadowsky and Leopold Mannes, two American musicians working for Kodak in 1935. Their invention brought color photography to the amateur picture taker for the first time. Kodachrome also became the film of professionals. All those famous old National Geographic pictures were taken on Kodachrome. Kodachrome is 75 years old this year. Kodak stopped making Kodachrome about a year ago and on December 30, 2010, Kodachrome will officially die. The only lab left in the world processing Kodachrome (Dwayne’s Photo-Parsons, Kansas) will discontinue this very unusual and difficult process called K-14. Kodachrome film is archivally stable and images from its early years still look as they did when they were made.
Just how good is Kodachrome? Kodachrome 35mm equals a digital camera that shoots 40 mp. There are only a few professional digital cameras that resolve that high. The real difference in Kodachrome is the color pallet. It has wonderful skin tones and a broader range of tone, color and contrast than is available on any digital media.

Tips for Christmas pictures: Most digital cameras have very good low light sensors. This means you can take pictures in your living room in low light. Unless your room has a lot of window light, I recommend you use your camera flash. It helps fill in shadows and people will look better. Try to shoot close to your subject so you do not have too much in your scene that is not part of your subject. To shoot nice portraits use window light. Place your subject near a window and look at their faces to make sure shadows do not fall in the wrong places. Hold your camera level and still. Use your camera viewfinder to compose, if it has one. If you are shooting at night and want a good Christmas tree picture and you want it to look like it is night, then turn off your flash and sit the camera on a tripod or other stable hard surface to keep it from shaking during exposure. You should not hand hold a camera with a shutter speed of less the 1/30 of a second. Set your ISO on your camera to at least 800 to 2000 for nighttime interior scenes. Remember to switch it back to 200-400 when outside. Take time to compose your pictures before you shoot them. This will help you have more interesting compositions. Remember, the purpose of photography is to record history. Once you snap the picture it becomes history. Careful consideration of composition will give you pictures that you will what to look at over and over. Download your pictures often and file them with a description as well as the date. Back up your pictures to a CD or another off line backup system. You do not want to loose your valuable memories the next time your computer crashes. I suggest you have the pictures you like best printed on photographic paper at a lab, like Walgreens or Wal-Mart. Photographic paper will last 100 years or more, as long as they are not hanging in direct daylight. For more detailed information on taking good holiday pictures you can Google “photo tips” and you will find a lot of quality picture taking information.

American Trails Symposium by John Dersham

2010-11-23T09:41:00.000-08:00

Last week I attended the 20th bi-annual American Trails Symposium. This year it was held in Chattanooga. There were 600 hundred attendees from all across the US and Canada. Chattanooga was chosen this year, much in part, due to its progressive implementation of various types of trail systems throughout the city and on Lookout Mountain, Raccoon and Signal Mountains. Chattanooga in conjunction with its Parks and Recreation Department has been aggressively pursuing various forms of alternative transportation for residents and tourists, including an electric bus system that runs through downtown. If you have been to the Chattanooga riverfront area lately you will see the great walking and bike trails along the Tennessee River. You will also find the historic Walnut Street Bridge (1890) that was saved from the wrecking ball by volunteer groups whom raised money to restore it to a fantastic walking bridge across the Tennessee River. This bridge leads you to the great parks, shopping and entertainment on the west side of the river. On the east side is downtown Chattanooga and The Aquarium, The Hunter Museum and all the river attractions, food, shopping and entertainment. Chattanooga is currently in the process of developing a rental bicycle system for downtown and electric car recharge stations. These are progressive systems of which there are only a few already in operation in the US. All of this helped capture the City of Chattanooga this very exciting and very lucrative conference at the Marriott/Chattanooga Civic Center.

Many of the attendees of this conference work for our National Park System, National Forest Service, the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Land Management.. There were many people representing private environmental groups like the Nature Conservancy, etc. There were educators, Parks and Recreation and tourism people there. Everyone was interested in learning the process of planning, developing and executing the construction and maintenance of a trail or trail system. The conference began on Sunday and concluded on Wednesday. There were multiple classes being held at the same time. Each attendee selected the classes that best fit their needs at the time. I choose the seminars that dealt with the development and marketing of trail systems that would have a tourism faction to them. In these times of concern about our overweight population and lack of exercise, outdoor exercise and entertainment has become an increased area of focus in the United States. I represented North Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association which includes our northern 16 counties of which DeKalb is a part of. As you may have seen Alabama Mountain Lakes has a fall promotion called “Go Take a Hike” which is intended to help get people out on trails and get some exercise and enjoy all the beauty of North Alabama. It is of interest to tourism to encourage tourists to make part of their travel plans, hiking. In DeKalb County we are blessed with many trails of which can be used to help market the total tourist experience in DeKalb County. There is currently a Lookout Mountain Trail being developed that will begin in the new Moccasin Bend National Historic Park in Chattanooga and go all the way to Gadsden on Lookout Mountain. It will take about seven years to complete.

Fall in DeKalb County by John Dersham

2010-11-11T10:52:00.001-08:00

Fall in DeKalb County

There are a lot of people visiting our county this fall. Our visitor numbers have been very good despite less than great fall color. From mid October thru mid November each year DeKalb County is full of people making there fall foliage journeys to our area. There are a number of reasons we are the destination of choice for people on there fall pilgrimages. We are a short drive for a weekend trip for 11 million people living in a 200 mile radius. We are the nearest mountains for people coming from the coastal areas and we are the first area coming north that has outstanding fall color. We have a good interstate system to get tourists here. We are a relatively low cost destination. We have the kind of lodging choices that are popular for leisure weekend get-a-ways. We have wooded rental cabins in the mountains, B&B’s, beautiful campgrounds and plenty of hotel rooms. We have good roads that don’t have a lot of traffic. This makes the fall scenic drives more relaxing. Our tourist customer picks us for these reasons. We are not crowed like Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge but we have the beautiful fall foliage, great fall temperatures, good places to eat and shop and plenty to see and do. Our Lookout Mountain Scenic Parkway which is listed in Readers Digest’s top scenic American drives is always a popular choice for auto and motorcycle visitors. Once on the parkway tourists can take the Canyon Rim Drive at Little River Canyon. They can visit Little River Falls then drive the scenic parkway north to DeSoto State Park and Falls. After that Mentone is a sure choice for their fall foliage pilgrimage.
One of the great things about our area is our growing diversity of things to do. Every year we are adding more destinations for tourists to visit. This year we added the fantastic new N.E. Agri-Business Center in Rainsville. They are booking events very quickly and are an all new source of tourism for us. We have always been a leisure tourism county but now with the Agri Center we are an events based tourism county too. This weekend it is the Tri State Arenacross, motorcycle and ATV event. The event features professional freestyle riders. The events are on Friday and Saturday at the Agri Center.
Also on Saturday is our annual Turkey Trot Festival in Collinsville. This is a great fall event full of fun activities including music, food, kid’s games, the famous greased pig chase and Turkey Toss. There is much more too. It is held in the center of downtown Collinsville.
For more information about these events and more things to do in DeKalb County this weekend visit us at www.tourdekalb.com or call us at 256-845-3957. You can visit our information center at 1503 Glenn Blvd S.W. (H-35) in Fort Payne.

Made in the U.S.A. by John Dersham

2010-11-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

Made in the U.S.A.

I attended a tourism conference last week in Oxford Mississippi. One of the topics was entitled “Extraordinary Results in Ordinary Communities” by Vaughn Grisham. He is currently the Director of the McLean Institute for Community Development and he is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Mississippi. His lecture was about developing tourism in extremely small rural towns. In his discussion he talked about the ever changing culture in our country and in the world. He gave some interesting statistics about our cultural shifts that I want to share with you. In 1800, 95% of the U.S. population was farmers and it was pretty much the same worldwide. 100% of the population lived in cities smaller than 50,000. This was because in 1800 there were no cities of 50,000 people. New York City was the largest city (still is) and New York City and all its boroughs were only 30,000 in population. Then came the industrial revolution and by 1959 nearly 50% of our population worked in manufacturing jobs of some type and 75 % of our population lived in cities. Now 15% work in manufacturing and more than 90% of our population lives in cities (including suburbs). The largest segment of our population now works in service related industries, food, retail, medical, information management, IT support and the largest of all industries in the US is tourism. Tourism brings the most dollars into local economies and employees the most people of any other industry in the U.S. Here is the good news for us. Tourism is 100% made in the U.S.A. and cannot be exported…ever. Tourists visiting DeKalb County every year provide my job and my staff’s, all the hotel/motel jobs, State and National Parks, attractions, museum’s, etc. Even a portion of the jobs at restaurants and mini markets are there due to tourism. These jobs cannot be exported. Last year 67 million dollars were spent by tourists visiting DeKalb County. This money brought in badly needed tax revenue and provides 171,000 jobs in Alabama, 29,000 jobs in North Alabama and nearly 1,500 jobs just in DeKalb County. Tourism is a Green Industry. It does not pollute the environment and the crime rate among tourists while on vacation is lower than local crime rates nationwide. It requires no local funding for schools, trash collection or other city services. The money coming in from tourism helps support our city and county governments so they get more money to support us that live here. In a time when our country is in dire need of jobs and income we are blessed to have tourism that remains strong and is growing. This year federal tourism programs hope to attract more international business than ever before. This will help bring more international income to the US economy.
Yeah Tourism!

Tourism Hierarchy by John Dersham

2010-10-07T07:54:00.000-07:00

The DeKalb County Tourist Association is one of sixteen counties that comprise North Alabama. All sixteen counties are included in Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association. We at the DeKalb County Tourist Association focus our efforts on bringing travelers to DeKalb County. Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association concentrates on bringing people to all of North Alabama and the State Department of Tourism and travel markets the entire state of Alabama. In addition we belong to the Southeast Tourism Society which works with 12 southeastern states marketing travel to the southeast. Then lastly there is the US Department of Travel and Tourism which promotes travel nationwide and internationally. All of these entities focus on getting people traveling and showing them where to go and what to do. We all tell our potential customers about the highlights of our areas, the key tourism draws and we inform them about lodging, food, shopping, attractions, museums and festivals etc.
Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association is an extremely valuable tool to all of us in the tourism industry in North Alabama. Since they are a larger size than any of the individual counties they have more buying power with magazines, newspapers and other forms of advertising, in turn, they offer co-op advertising to their members, giving us the opportunity to buy advertising at lower prices. They have an extensive brochure rack system spread all across North Alabama of which we as members get to have our brochures delivered across the region. AMLA communicates our press releases and other information on their extensive communication network. They include our things to do and see on their website. They offer educational seminars to members and they play a major role in helping tourism related issues be heard by city, county, and state elected officials. AMLA attends major travel shows in Indianapolis, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Columbus, Nashville, Chattanooga and New Orleans all of which members may attend also to promote their businesses. I attend several of these each year to promote DeKalb County. The show is free to us as a member when we help work the show, so all we pay is travel expenses. AMLA is a top performing organization headed by Dana Lee Jennings. She is an extremely dynamic individual with a skilled team of tourism professionals whom help all of us improve tourism results in North Alabama. This is one of the reasons tourism is a shining star in a tough economy. North Alabama consistently outperforms the economy and outperforms tourism in other parts of our state. Next week AMLA will have a press conference to introduce one of its quarterly advertising plans. This one is called “Go Take a Hike” which focuses on the promotion of hiking in North Alabama. For more information about North Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association visit www.northalabama.org

Fairs, Festivals and Tourism in DeKalb by John Dersham

2010-09-29T07:20:00.001-07:00

Fairs, Festivals and Tourism in DeKalb

This week is the 55th annual DeKalb County VFW Agricultural Fair. This is an extremely well attended event each year in DeKalb County, and rightfully so. This fair is not your ordinary county fair thanks to a lot of hard work from Charles Stephens (Fair Chairman) and all the volunteers and members of the local VFW Post. The thing that separates our fair from other county fairs is the abundance of true leadership from volunteers and local clubs whom are well organized. These organizations provide us great exhibits like; the flower show, bakery show, vegetable show and canned products show. Then there is the 4-H club and all of its animal entries, demonstrations, competitions, all of which add animals to the visitor’s plethora of things to do and see at the fair. If you are an artist then you can enter and show your art or photography. There is a tractor show and on Friday and Saturday nights there is live music. All of this is in addition to the great midway games, food and rides.

The next big event after the Fair (not counting the fact Football is a weekly big event) is the Colorfest in Mentone on October 16-17. This festival is one of our local favorites bringing many local people to it, but it also attracts many out of towners who plan their fall trips here based on this wonderful weekend of fun activities. This same weekend we have the 1st Annual Alabama Thunder Bikers Festival and Concert in Dogtown. There will be live music from Adam Tomlin Band, Jonathon Alverson & The Hillbilly Circus Band, Cool Hand Luke and more. Tickets for the three day event are $30.00. It will be located at North South Cycles- 665 County Rd 251 off Jennings Rd.

DeKalb Tourism summer review:
This was a good summer for DeKalb Tourism. We started the summer with radio advertising all across the gulf during the oil spill. Our ad did not mention the disaster but was an invitation to come spend some time with us in the mountains and valleys of DeKalb County. We talked about our scenic attributes, our places to stay and things to do and see. Year to date we are up compared to last year by 10%. This is a great contribution to our local economy in a time when the economy continues to struggle. Tourism is a clean industry that brings in tax revenue without the built in cost of supporting a full time resident. In talking to other tourism organizations our growth is well above average for the year. Additional advertising included TV ads on 33/40 in Birmingham and on Comcast in North AL and TN. We continue to use some newspaper and magazine ads in addition to our heavy use of the internet and social media sites. Our new fiscal year begins in October and we will have the added advantage of having the new N.E Agri Center events added into our portfolio of offerings here in DeKalb County.
For more information on events in DeKalb County contact the DeKalb County Tourist Association at 256-845-3957 or view us at www.tourdekalb.com

2010-09-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

All New Tourism for DeKalb County

On Sunday my wife and I went to the ribbon cutting ceremony at the all new Northeast Agri Business Center in Rainsville. This facility is something we can all be very proud of and promises to be the beginning of some all new entertainment for us, but will also provide an all new source of tourism to the county and a new source of revenue for our cities and towns.
In looking at the history of tourism in DeKalb County we have been a leisure tourism destination for more than 100 years. Our first tourists came to beat the summer heat from Birmingham and other places where the mountains provided a little relief. The Mentone Springs Hotel opened in 1884 to accommodate tourists coming to the Inn’s healing springs. In the 20’s came the Mentone Inn. We had summer camps opening, and cabins being built as second homes. Other early attractions were Sequoyah Caverns and Cloudmont Golf and Ski Resort and Shady Grove Dude Ranch. In 1939 DeSoto State Park opened its doors to camping and cabins and a little later the lodge. On Sand Mountain, Buck’s Pocket became a state park in the 60’s. Later came the group Alabama. They have been a tourist attraction for three decades now. In the early 90’s Little River Canyon became a National Preserve. In recent years many more rental cabins, B&B’s and hotels have been added to our area. We’ve added some fun county festivals along the way in many of our towns to attract tourists and locals to a day or two of special entertainment. Throughout all this time DeKalb County has remained primarily a leisure tourism county using our scenic beauty and friendly fun small towns as our draw.
It is only now that we have a new tourism draw that is event based. The new Northeast Agri Business Center in Rainsville is a state of the art Agri Center that will be attracting a wide variety of one, two and three day events. All of these have a regional scope and are sure to attract overnight visitors from all over our southeast region. Many of these events will take place at night leaving visitors the daytime hours to eat, shop, tour our attractions, parks, towns, museums and all will add dollars to our local economy. Many of the tourists coming to these events will be new visitors to DeKalb County. It is our desire to show our visitors the upmost in southern hospitality so when they go home they will tell their friends about us and from that we will continue to grow. It is very exciting that in these difficult economic times we are getting this wonderful uplifting boost to our economy. To learn more about the new Northeast Agri Business Center visit their website at www.nealagribusinesscenter.com.

John Dersham

From Mule Day to Boom Days by John Dersham

2010-09-08T09:53:00.001-07:00

From Mule Day to Boom Days

Monday my family and I attended our fifth Ider Mule Day in a row. We love this annual festival. This year we had the perfect weather and the attendance was outstanding. We love the traditional rural events like the Mule and Horse Pulls. We like looking at the classic tractors and walking around seeing all the animals that are in the parade then go into the festival to compete in various shows. It is fun to see the covered wagons and the classic cars. My granddaughters love the animals too, but they especially like to play in the amusement area.
Our next big event in DeKalb County begins this evening with the Willstown Conference. Make your plans now to attend as many of these fantastic events as you can at this year’s Boom Days Heritage Celebration. For more information check out www.boomdays.org or view the DeKalb County Tourist Association’s website at www.tourdekalb.com
BOOM DAYS 2010 – Event List
Dates, times, events and participants are subject to change.
Thursday, Sept. 9
Willstown Conference – City Hall Auditorium / 7:00 pm - Willstown Conference
Saturday, Sept. 11
First Federal Country Music Show - DeKalb Theatre / 8:00 pm
Leah Seawright
Sunday, Sept. 12
WZOB Joe Underwood Gospel Concert – City Hall Auditorium / 3:00 pm
Monday, Sept. 13 thru Friday, Sept. 17
Pap Baxter Singing School – Opera House / 6:00 pm
Thursday, Sept. 16
Mayor's Cup Golf Tournament – DeSoto Golf Course / 9:00 am
Times-Journal Keynote Concert – City Hall Auditorium / 8:00 pm
Rodney Dillard & The Dillard Band
Saturday, Sept. 18 – BOOM DAYS HERITAGE CELEBRATION
Hannah Martin Scholarship 5K Run – First Methodist Church Parking Lot / 8:00 am
Pancake Breakfast – City Park Parking Lot / 7:00 am – 11:00 am - Pancakes! Yum!
Bud Light Wheels of Time Car Show – Alabama Park Parking Lot / 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
SPCA Pet Parade – Depot Museum Parking Lot / 10:00 am
101.7 The Storm Theatre Courtyard Stage – DeKalb Theatre Courtyard / 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Southern Vogue
Mike Cooley
Terry Hutcheson
D-C Gas Barbecue Bash – Alabama Park / 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
WQSB Alabama Park Stage – 11:30 am – 3:30 pm
Rock Candy Band
Gildan City Park Art Show - 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Lisa Opielinski - Lisa O., Artist
Jimmy Frazier
Frederic Payet - Payet Art
Athlone Clarke - About Athlone
Fleetwood Covington - Fleetwood Covington
Kenny “The Tin Man” Hoff - The Tin Man Art
Lydia Randolph - Lydia Randolph
Andrei Palmer - Andrei's Artistic Automobiles
Will Henry Cobble - Will Henry Cobble
Katie Bird Cobble - Katie Bird Cobble
Gee’s Bend Quilters - Quilts of Gee's Bend
Mae Gray - Mae Gray Pottery
Mike Miller
Randy Cochran - Wood Studio
Robert Frito Seven - Robert Frito Seven
Cal Breed - Orbix Hot Glass
Walter Howell - Walter Howell
Terry Hale - Hale Fire Glass
Kimberly Dawn Clayton - Kimberly Dawn Clayton
Lenton Williams - Lenton Williams
Mighty Fine Art Assault Team - Tommy Moorehead
Charles McFarland - Art Sculptures By Charles
Verizon Wireless City Park Stage – City Park - 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Dean Mitchell
Daddy Grant & the Williams Brothers
Un-reconstructed - Un-Reconstructed
Smoky Greenwell & Mark Penton
Pierce Pettis & Grace Pettis - Pierce Pettis & Grace Pettis
Sacred Harp Singers - Sacred Harp Singers
The New Binkley Brothers
Depot Museum Exhibits - 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Hosiery Museum Exhibits - 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Landmarks of DeKalb Book Sale – Hosiery Museum / 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Quilt Exhibit – Richard C. Hunt Hall / 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Devan Lowe Downtown Stage – 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Asbury Methodist Praise Band
Stranded
Dewey Wayne - Dewey Wayne
SuperSkunk
J.M. Van Eaton & The Rockin’ Sunabillys - J.M. Van Eaton
Johnny Neel & Criminal Element - Johnny Neel & Criminal Element
Blackberry Smoke
Holiday Inn Express Children’s Activity Center – City Park / 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
WFPA Food Court - 4th St. NE Parking Lot / 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
WoodMasters Opera Block Stage – Gault Ave. @ 5th St. NE / 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
The New Binkley Brothers
Terry Hutcheson
Mike Cooley
Fleetwood Covington
Kyle Langley
Corvette Show – Gault Ave. @ 3rd St. NE / 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Westmoreland Tire Carriage Rides - Downtown District / 12:00 noon - 6:00 pm
FPFD Fire Simulator / Ladder Truck - 400 Block / 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Pap Baxter Heritage Gospel Singing – Opera House / 6:00 pm
Fort Payne Cinemas Rock & Roll Show - DeKalb Theatre / 8:30 pm
The Handlers
Anders Osborne

Governors Conference on Tourism by John Dersham

2010-08-27T10:52:00.000-07:00

Governors Conference on Tourism

Last week I attended the 40th Annual Governors Conference. This year it was at the Renaissance Hotel in Montgomery. Every year the Alabama Travel Council Inc. and the Alabama Department of Tourism host this great annual event. Attendees represent individuals whom make their living in the tourism industry throughout our state.
The primary function is to learn what is going on in our industry, nationally and in Alabama. We have guest speakers from all over the US who teach us the latest in tourism marketing and advertising. We get updates on how each area of Alabama is doing this year. We get to network with others and get great ideas to bring home with us. Some of our guest speakers this year were:

* Roger Dow-President of U.S Travel Association- Roger is the official face of tourism for the U.S. He can be seen regularly on network and cable news.
*Lee Sentell- State Director of Tourism and Travel - Lee unveiled the marketing and advertising plan for 2011 with a recap of this year. Lee and the Alabama Department of Tourism have won multiple prestigious nationwide tourism awards for their “Year of“ programs such as: Year of Small Towns and Downtowns (this year), Year of Alabama History, and Year of Alabama Arts. There have been eight such themed “Year of” programs all focusing on one aspect of our great state. Next year will be the Year of Alabama Music.
* David Bronner - CEO Retirement Systems of Alabama and the owner of Renaissance Hotels, Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail and 46 television stations in 13 states.
*Legislative Update with Representatives Craig Ford, David Grimes, Johnny Mack Morrow, Cam Ward, Richard Lindsey and Senators Lowell Barron, Wendell Mitchell and Del Marsh. Each Legislator updated us on issues and legislation concerning tourism related subjects. The primary legislative issues tourism is interested in are; Later School Start Date and regulated, taxed Gambling. Passage of each would generate more tourism to Alabama and more money to the general fund of Alabama which helps support education.
*Roger Brooks-CEO of Destination Development International - Roger is a leader in developing long term branding for tourist destinations.

In addition to a great three days of continuing education concerning important tourism topics, we had our two gubernatorial candidates speak to us. Dr. Robert Bentley and Ron Sparks took the stage to tell us their platforms and to comment on their position in tourism related legislation. They both agreed that tourism is crucial to the income of Alabama and critical to the state’s general fund. Tourism is the state’s largest employer with nearly 168,000 jobs. Last year tourism brought 9.3 billion dollars in spending to Alabama.

Yard Sale Travelers Love DeKalb County by John Dersham

2010-08-13T07:26:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday and Friday I spent most of each day at The World’s Longest Yard Sale. In the last couple years we have been talking to yard sale customers finding out where they are from, how far they are going in the yard sale and why they picked our portion of it. In doing this we learn a lot about our area. We also get the opportunity to give people our travel brochures and tell them all the things we have to do and see in DeKalb County. We invite them to make DeKalb County an overnight stay on their journey and encourage them to come back for a vacation.

This year I talked to people from Iowa, Indiana, Missouri, Virginia, Ohio, Florida, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana, Kentucky and of course Alabama. In my rather informal count of out of state plates I found in my couple days we seemed to have the most traffic from Georgia, Florida and Mississippi. I think many people coming up from the gulf start in our area since it is near the beginning entry of the yard sale. The DeKalb County Tourist Association is a key contact for the World’s Longest Yard Sale. Our website is linked to the WLYS and our phone number is given out as a source of information. Due to our high number of calls we get the opportunity to encourage our callers to visit our area for the yard sale. We tell them that we have a lot of yard sale vendors to visit but they also have a scenic venue to enjoy. We explain how the yard sale runs along the 93 mile Lookout Mountain Parkway, passing by Little River Canyon National preserve, DeSoto State Park, waterfalls and Mentone. We tell them about our nearly 150 rental cabins and 9 B&B’s. We tell them about Fort Payne, our hotels and restaurants, shopping, parks and museums.

In speaking with yard sale visitors I found some common reasons they landed in our area. Here are some of the reoccuring responses; scenic beauty, lots of vendors, no big cites with high traffic, lots of places to eat and spend the night. Some other comments came from people who make a vacation out of the yard sale. They have family or friends with them and they enjoy the leisure aspects of our area, such as hiking at DeSoto, taking the Little River Canyon rim drive, stopping at the water falls or milling around Mentone. Several stated they had been to various parts of the yard sale in the past, but were returning here because they like our section the most.

I feel DeKalb County is the ideal setting to combine shopping with vacationing. This is a theme we are trying to promote at the Tourist Information Center. We feel the language of yard sale combined with leisure travel fun, attract people to our area.

The WLYS is big business for DeKalb County. It fills our lodging facilities and restaurants. It brings unusually high sales to our area mini-markets and gas stations. Tourism is clean money that brings great amount of revenue to our county without high costs. Our visitors come and they spend money and add valuable revenue to our County and to our communities without the high cost of providing city and county services. Tourism usually brings quality people with good expendable income. We rarely have tourists committing crime in our area. The yard sale is big business and is very important to our local economy each year.

Collinsville Trade Day by John Dersham

2010-08-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

It seems most everyone loves to mill around looking for a particular item they need or want to have. In just a couple weeks thousands of people from all over the USA will descend upon our area for the World’s Longest Yard sale. For us living here in DeKalb County we have something equivalent every week of the year. Every Saturday morning 52 weeks a year from daylight till noon you can shop for your treasures.
Collinsville Trade Day is an entertainment format of its own. People of all ages will find something there to occupy their time. My family loves to go to trade days. My wife, my daughter and granddaughters love the animals. It’s like a petting zoo with everything for sale. There are miniature horses, goats, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, pigs and more dogs and cats of every breed than you can imagine. For the animal lovers there are also the suppliers of cages, leashes, collars, dog clothing and maintenance items. The men in my family usually separate from the women at some point so we can concentrate on our “stuff”. First there is hardware and lots of it. If it’s a tool you will find it there. I like coins. There are a number of coin sellers there every week. The same is true for knives, sports cards and other collectibles. If you want fresh vegetables then you’ve come to the right place. If you like gardening, trees and shrubs you’ll find multiple vendors selling plants. You will find hand made arts and crafts, furniture, antiques, clothing, cosmetics, toys, cd’s, household décor, and several places to buy food and drinks while you are there. If you liked boiled peanuts you have come to the right place. Do you need fishing or hunting gear then Trade Day is the place.

Collinsville Trade Day is more than just one of the largest outdoor markets in the south; it is an experience all in its own. Even if I had nothing in particular I was interested in looking at, just watching the people scurrying around having a great time is well worth the trip. All age groups are well represented and with that come a great diversity of interests.

Collinsville Trade Day is truly a DeKalb County Icon. It is very special. It is not just another flea market or outdoor market, it is an entertainment experience. It is located just south of downtown Collinsville on H-11. The property is appealing adding to the overall experience. It is a rural setting with a great view of Lookout Mountain just to the east.
If you haven’t been or haven’t been lately I recommend the trip. It will be well worth it and may start a habit. For more information visit www.collinsvilletradeday.com or call 866-262-2127.

Traveling the USA on a Photo Trip by John Dersham

2010-07-09T13:50:00.000-07:00

Last week I spent the entire week on a photo excursion through seven states. Over the last forty years I have taken trips like this nationwide. In doing so, I have gotten a very intimate look at our wonderful country from coast to coast. I usually travel the back roads using interstates only to pass through sections I was not planning to photograph on the current trip. Most of my images are subjects I find as I travel. I shoot the “Americana” landscape and town views and not so much of the well known attractions or destinations. The work I like to do is spontaneous to the moment, determined much by the look of the moment. The quality of light plays a big role in whether I will shoot a particular scene. Some scenes I really like but the lighting is not suitable at the time. In those cases I make a note of the location, the time of day the light will be better and hope to return one day to take the picture. The photography I pursue requires quite a bit of preparation. I shoot large format sheets of film in a camera that requires a tripod for use. The sheets of film have to be loaded in a darkroom. When I travel I have to stay in motels/hotels where I can make the bathroom totally dark to reload. The camera takes a film holder which holds two sheets of film. I carry twenty-five film holders. This gives me fifty pictures before I have to re-load the holders. It takes about 10 minutes to set up the camera, adjust the movements of the camera for correction of distortion, figure exposure and focus. This type of camera is totally manual. The sheets of film I use are 4x5 inches. Because of the size of the negative and the high resolution of the lenses, my images equate to 400 million megapixels in digital terms. I process the film and print the film in my darkroom. Once the film is scanned on a high resolution scanner then my image is digital and I can do anything with it just as if I started with a digital camera. The reason for using large format film to begin with is the unbelievable difference in quality from the standpoint of resolution, tonality, and contrast. Film contains subtle differences in color, contrast and overall tonality not possible in digital. Film contains 32,000 variations of tone, contrast and color where digital is capped at 1,000. This is why most movies are still shot on film and then scanned to digital. The subtle nuances are important to the film maker and to fine art photographers, such as me.
On this trip I visited Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. I took two lane roads through the mountains and small towns. Everywhere I went I met friendly people whom stop to see what I am doing. Not many people these days see someone along the road with their head under a black focusing cloth looking like its still the Civil War era. Most people think my equipment must be antique but actually my equipment is still currently available gear. There are many photographers using the same kind of equipment professionally or for their art. To see my work visit www.johndersham.com

Travel and Tourism Trends by John Dersham

2010-06-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

We live in a world of which our needs, desires and goals are changing rapidly, as our technology and economic trends continue to dramatically impact our culture. We no longer live in an environment where any of us can expect our careers to be for a lifetime, or the products we buy to still be current technology just a few years later. I worked for Eastman Kodak for nearly 30 years, film had already been around for almost 100 years when I started my career with the company. During my tenure we continued selling more rolls of film and processing more rolls than any year prior, for nearly 130 years. In the early 2000’s, film and processing sales declined to the point that more than one half of Kodak’s worldwide jobs were eliminated. Kodak is just one of the examples of how our culture changes with technology. The way we view, handle and share pictures has been re-invented with these technology changes.

The travel industry is no different. Tourists are doing things differently than they used to. Travelers are changing as the culture changes and the things travelers wish to do on their vacations are changing too.
This spring I had the opportunity to attend the spring conference for the Southeast Tourism Society. At this seminar guest lecturers from the tourism industry gave attendees updates on tourism trends concerning what people are doing, where they are going, how they use technology to plan their travel, where they spend money, and what they expect out of their travel experiences. Last week I had the opportunity to have a one and one half hour private consultation with Judy Randall of Randall Travel Marketing. Judy is one of our nation’s foremost travel and tourism experts. She was also a speaker at the seminar I had recently attended. Judy gave me the opportunity to talk about DeKalb County. Her role was to help me utilize proven travel trends to help us plan how we promote and advertise DeKalb County.

Here are some current travel and tourism trends:

*Internet (Websites) is now the single largest way potential travelers plan their vacations.
*Social Media has become a credible source for travel information for many consumers, because it is not paid advertising.
*The consumer is responding to things they see and hear and are less reliant on the older technology of reading brochures, newspapers and magazines. The consumer will not spend much time viewing any given destination. They want to see a visual that will make a quick impression.
*Tourists are changing their destinations. Our National Parks, for many years, were our nation’s largest tourist attraction. In recent years, attendance has been down as tourists pick destinations that offer temperature control, push button entertainment, and a faster pace.
*Young people as a whole are not as outdoor oriented as former generations and mothers planning family vacations are picking locations that will keep the kids motivated.
* During this time of economic downturn travelers are spending less per trip on food, less on retail shopping and they are looking for bargains in lodging and packages that bundle travel plans.
* Billboard advertising is being replaced with travelers whom have GPS and internet services in their hand as they travel.
*Leisure scenic travel is still big, but people travel with air conditioning, GPS and Internet connections with DVD players for children in the backseats.
*International Travelers are looking for the “Americana” experience. DeKalb is a perfect fit. They have already been to New York, Disney and Vegas.
*Lodging is changing too. The Baby Boomers who were attracted to Bed and Breakfast locations are aging and with that their desires for quaint and cozy has changed to easy, fast service where they can enter easily, leave easily and have all the conveniences within arms reach. According to Judy Randall, young adults want service, comfort, and an electrical outlet within arms reach at all times. They insist on a strong cell signal everywhere they go. Judy says B&B’s have been especially impacted by the cultural and economic shifts of the last several years. Cabins remain a popular choice among couples and families. Customers want the modern conveniences at their cabin rental. Hotel chains are constantly upgrading to meet customer demands.
*Festivals are still big, and growing due to the fact they offer lots of things to do that are fast paced, entertaining and are usually full of music and food and don’t cost much to attend.
*Attractions are changing too. The high tech attractions that are visual and electronic oriented are very popular among thirty-five and younger ages while the Baby Boomers and seniors like more traditional scenic or educational attractions.
*Motorcycle tourism is big now due to high gas prices and the popularity of group motorcycle clubs. We get a lot of motorcycle tours here especially on the Lookout Mountain Parkway.
Here in DeKalb County we are blessed with beautiful scenery, easy driving tours and lots of places to go and things to do. Our primary audience here is the Baby Boomers who enjoy the beautiful relaxing venues we have to offer. Of the younger population we attract those who have an outdoor preference. Those who like hiking, bicycling or do more adventure sports like rock climbing, repelling, kayaking, etc.

Summer Tourism in DeKalb County by John Dersham

2010-06-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

Summer Tourism in DeKalb County

We are cautiously optimistic that this summer’s tourist season in DeKalb County will be better than one year ago. We are currently running television commercials in Birmingham on 33/40 which covers most of the middle portion of Alabama. We are running another set of commercials and infomercials on the Comcast interconnect that covers eight cable TV channels in a viewing area that includes North Alabama and Southern Tennessee. These commercials cover two week periods at peak travel planning times.

Last year DeKalb County outperformed the state and the country in tourism revenue. With that said I must note that tourism was down nationwide for one of the first times in history. Major tourism cities suffered as did major destinations, like Orlando-Disneyworld and Las Vegas. These declines ranged from eight to twenty percent. Tourism as a whole out performed the economic trends of the nation. Alabama was down a modest seven percent and DeKalb was down five percent. These numbers are based on calendar year. DeKalb ended up in the top ten percent of the best performing counties in Alabama. Counties in Alabama ranged from being down thirty percent to up twenty percent based on tourism conditions particular to each county.

We are a return destination. Our visitors love DeKalb County and they return to us often. We are a short, easy drive for points south to the coast in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida. Approximately thirty percent of all tourism in Alabama emanates from Alabamians. Our second largest group of travelers comes from the above mentioned coastal states. The reason being that we are among the first picturesque, tourism related mountains as you travel north from the gulf coast. In tough economic times like now we feel assured we will continue to perform well based on our historical travel trends.

We are very concerned about the situation in the gulf. The impact of the oil spill on our environment and on tourism is not well known or predicted yet. According to state tourism the beaches in Alabama have remained free of oil, thus far. The cancellation rates have been high anyway and that impacts north Alabama too. Many people coming from northern points to the gulf stop and spend some time with us before going to the coast. If they cancel their gulf coast visits we could be impacted. We feel comfortable, however that we are located so well that we will pick up new short drive (300 miles or less) customers that will come here instead of the beach.

Thus far this year our tourism numbers are a mix of growth and declines. Much of this year’s successes or failures have been based on weather conditions. Rain this spring and cold weather in the winter kept many home. On the other hand we have had periods of significant tourism in the county and our year to date numbers are up a little from a year ago.

Working for You- The DeKalb County Tourist Association by John Dersham

2010-05-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

Working for You- The DeKalb County Tourist Association

Over the last few weeks we have had inquires about the various services we provide to our members.
To help you better understand all the things we do, I have included our Mission Statement and a list of services we provide.
We very much appreciate our members and we strive to be a service to them and to our community by bringing important tourism related spending to our county.

Mission Statement

• To perpetuate economic growth and development through tourism.
• To promote, advertise and publicize natural, historic and man-made attractions.
• To serve in cooperation with state, county and city governments to promote tourism.
• To work with our local Chamber of Commerce, schools and colleges to encourage and develop long lasting educational and promotional development of our industry.
• To belong to and work with other tourist associations on a regional, state and national level to build relationships that educate and promote a healthy tourism industry.
• To provide outstanding marketing and promotional support to assist in the growth and development of our member’s businesses.

Membership Benefits
The DeKalb County Tourist Association is the primary organization promoting tourism in DeKalb County. We are a non-profit organization and are funded by the county lodging tax, memberships, grants and city appropriations.

Here are ways membership works for you:
Tourist Information Center - We are open seven days a week to answer questions about our area, give directions and show guests places to go and things to do, where to eat and shop, historical locations, scenic attractions, lodging, parks etc. As a member we promote your business verbally and by giving our customers your printed information. We send visitors to you when they are looking for your kind of business.
Official DeKalb County Visitor’s Guide - Members are included in the single most distributed travel guide promoting DeKalb County. We give our visitor’s guides out in our information center; we mail them out from phone and internet requests, we distribute them at conventions and travel shows, at welcome centers, mini markets, hotels, motels, state parks, and many other places all throughout the southeast.
Official County Tourism Website - You are included on our website with a description of your business, a direct link to your website and email, phone number, address and other requested information. We average 30,000 website visits a month and we are the primary resource worldwide for people needing travel information about our county. Included in our website is an interactive version of our DeKalb County Visitor’s Guide. This one can be printed or viewed on line. It has a page turn feature, you can magnify the images and it contains live links to your website. In addition our website has links to online video’s and articles. You can request to have your video or article reviewed for inclusion on our website.
Travel Writers - We work closely with travel writers and other news media to see that articles are regularly considered for publication in magazines and newspapers nationwide. We submit press releases to magazines, newspapers and radio stations to promote travel articles on places, events and businesses in DeKalb County.
State Affiliations - We network closely with the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association, The Alabama Tourism Department, the Alabama Travel Council, Chambers and CVB organizations all across our state.

Here are additional member services we offer:
*Digital Marquee at one of Fort Payne’s busiest intersections. We promote your business on it.
*Weekly newspaper Column to promote Tourism in DeKalb County
*Member educational seminars
*Television advertising campaigns
*Radio Advertising
*Magazine and Newspaper Ads
*Website
*YouTube videos
*Facebook and other social media sites
*Presence as an exhibitor at state and regional travel shows
*Provide education and presentations to local clubs, civic organizations and area businesses
*Provide help with member ad campaigns
*Support local activities and festivals
*Provide general information about our county, our towns, municipal services, churches, history, maps and a host of general information for the community, for the traveler and for new residents.

Fort Payne Boom Days Images by O.W. Chase circa 1889 by John Dersham

2010-05-13T08:38:00.000-07:00

It is an honor for me to present twenty nine archival printed silver halide photographic prints to Landmarks of DeKalb County, Inc. This is a gift from myself and family and is an intended contribution to the preservation of our rich history here in Fort Payne. The prints presented here are part of the original 6 ½ x 8 ½ glass plates/negatives photographed by O.W. Chase circa 1889. Mr. Chase was hired to make these images for the purpose of making brochures promoting Fort Payne to New Englanders during our Boom Days. These images now 121 years old, are a blessing to our community and serve as an unsurpassed view backward into our rich history. I want to thank Judy and Joe Brown for entrusting me with these delicate glass negatives, so I could print them in my darkroom.
O.W. Chase was a hired professional photographer using a professional large format view camera. Due to the large size of the negatives, the capture of detail and tonality is still unsurpassed by any professional digital camera today. Only today’s large format cameras with improved film emulsions and sharper lenses could improve the technical quality of O.W. Chase’s body of work.
In the days of O.W. Chase’s photography only trained professionals were doing this work. A little later in the same era George Eastman (Kodak) was introducing the first ever consumer photographic cameras and film. Prior to this time there were no snapshots. This means many small towns like Fort Payne had no photographic history dating as far back as the late 1880’s. We are very fortunate to have had a Boom Days.
The prints in this collection are from twenty nine of O.W. Chase’s collection of an estimated 85 glass plates shot in or around 1889, in Fort Payne.
For the sake of historical preservation I have printed these images using archival printing, processing and mounting processes. I have used silver rich double weight fiber based photographic paper of Chlorobromide formula that appears similar in tonality to the photographic papers of the 1880’s. All of the prints have been Selenium toned which further protects the silver from oxidation. This collection of prints is printed to provide medium to medium soft contrast in order to preserve the delicate details in the highlights and shadows of the scene. In accordance with the archival process used, these images should provide a lasting image for several hundred years.

Travel South Showcase by John Dersham

2010-04-22T12:20:00.000-07:00

Travel South Showcase

Last week I attended the Travel South Showcase in Birmingham. This convention gives us the opportunity to sell group tour operators our destination. Travel South is an organization that includes representatives in the tourism industry from twelve southern states. The annual showcase, which can take place in any of the twelve member states, is an intense two days of scheduled meetings with tour providers. The providers that come to this convention may be different each year. The companies present each year are the companies interested in booking tours to southern destinations.
Each year people like myself who are in the tourism industry sign up to attend this convention. The work begins a couple months in advance when each attendee begins booking their appointments for the upcoming convention. Each appointment is an opportunity to convince a tour provider to use our destination, as a trip. The tour providers come from all over the world and they number into the hundreds. They have one thing in common this year; they are at this convention because they want to plan some southern tours.
I booked as many appointments as I could get into the two day schedule. I came prepared with tour plans, brochures, maps and a cover letter. I had nine minutes available per individual meeting. In these nine minutes I got the chance to sell the tour planner on using DeKalb County as one of their upcoming destinations. This year I had 40 meetings. The tour providers I met with came from all over the country and the world. Some of the meetings I had were with tour providers from Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Mississippi, Kentucky, Ohio, Iowa, Missouri and three different ones from the UK. We are beginning to receive more interest in our area from international markets.
In the last couple years DeKalb County has had five tours. Each tour spends an estimated $28,000 dollars in DeKalb County. The groups usually come by bus and have between 35 and 45 people on the tour. We strive to get them to spend at least one night in one of our lodging facilities. We help with their planning, where to go and what to do. We often ride on the bus with them and serve as an on bus guide and also give the history and key footnotes about our area.
Each tour we line up adds important dollars of revenue to our local economy. Each tour also increases our visibility and promotes valuable word of mouth advertising. This is why we try to provide the very best customer service to these companies and to the guests on board the buses. We want them to go home and tell their friends and family that DeKalb County Alabama was one of the prettiest and friendliest places they have ever visited.

True Adventure Sports by John Dersham

2010-04-08T10:53:00.000-07:00

True Adventure Sports

Ah, it is finally spring in beautiful, wonderful DeKalb County. It is time to get out after having to hibernate most of the winter and enjoy all the wonderful outdoor venues we have in our county.
One of our outdoor venues may be one you have overlooked, or have never participated. True Adventure Sports is a local guide service and outfitter. They specialize in guided trips which include; rappelling, rock climbing, flat-water and whitewater kayaking or canoeing, backpacking, extreme night hiking, wild cave tours, mountain biking, camping, hiking and zip lines. True Adventure Sports can provide food, lodging and transportation for groups and they provide all necessary gear for their guided trips. TAS offers classes in rappelling, rock climbing and knot tying. If you want to go it on your own but do not have the equipment, True Adventure Sports offers rental equipment for canoeing, and kayaking. They offer rental tents, backpacks, sleeping bags, headlamps, shoes, trailers, jet skis and mopeds. Note: minimal rental times vary by product.
A few days ago I spoke with owner, founder and entrepenuer Israel Partridge about his ever growing business. He reported to me a number of projects in the works and some others scheduled to begin in the near future.
“We have added a permanent 250’ Zip Line just off Little River Canyon that is now in operation, and are adding five more segments to that to make it a canopy tour. We offer it day or night, with it being lit by tiki torches by night making it a tiki tour.
We also have two 80’ swinging bridges under construction connecting the zip line tour.
We have added a 100’ sky swing at the same much like a sky coaster location off the canyon.”
“We are under construction with a new building featuring a full climbing gym, indoor rappelling towers, confined space rescue chambers, retail store, and bunk rooms. In addition we have plans for a coffee bar in the gazebo connected to the outside of the building.”
“By next summer we are adding an Olympic size swimming pool for classes and swim membership.”
Israel stated the building project is under way, but will most likely not be finished until the end of the summer. You can see some earlier pictures of the construction at the website listed below.
True Adventure Sports is located at 13102 AL Hwy. 176 in the Dogtown, Lickskillet area near Little River Canyon National Preserve. For more information about True Adventure Sports and a list of their upcoming events call True Adventure Sports at 256-997-9577 or check out their website at www.trueadventuresports.com.

Selling DeKalb County at Travel Shows by John Dersham

2010-03-04T08:46:00.001-08:00

Selling DeKalb County at Travel Shows

This year the DeKalb County Tourist Association will attend a number of travel shows. These travel shows help us sell our area as a travel destination. The DeKalb County Tourist Association works at these travel shows in conjunction with North Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association and the Alabama Department of Tourism and Travel. In total we have about 50’ of exhibit area. Thousands of people over a 7-10 day period visit each large travel show. We get hundreds that come by our exhibit and talk to us about our area. It gives us a chance to encourage potential travelers to come here on their vacation. This winter I worked the Cincinnati and Indianapolis travel shows. Other people representing tourism in North Alabama worked Louisville, St. Louis and New Orleans. Later this spring the DeKalb County Tourist Association will have our exhibit at three mall travel shows, including; Cool Springs Galleria in Franklin, TN, Hamilton Place in Chattanooga, TN and Mt. Berry Square in Rome GA. We pick the markets we want to attend based on a collection of information coming from website inquires, information collected in our information center guest book, and phone calls. This gives us information on where people are from. We are a drive to market. We find most of our visitors come from 300 miles or less. Our guests come because of our relaxing scenic venues. They come from non mountainous areas just to have a mountain get-away. We are the closest mountains for many parts of Louisiana, Southern Alabama, Florida Panhandle, Mississippi, Central Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio, mostly along the I-65, and I-59 corridors. We find East Tennessee and North Georgia are not big customers of ours because they have their own mountains. Many people coming to our area and to other locations in North Alabama are coming to fish, hike and camp. Others come on scenic driving tours and many of these tourists seek out B&B’s or rental cabins. Golf at the Robert Trent Jones trails is big in some parts of North Alabama as is sports tournaments. DeKalb County fares best in the leisure traveler market. Our area is very well known and very well liked in all of the areas I mentioned above. Our Lookout Mountain Scenic Parkway is host to many motorcycle tours, antique auto tours and regular scenic passenger travel through Little River Canyon National Preserve and DeSoto State Park and DeSoto Falls. In addition our scenic parkway is the host road through our section of the extremely popular World’s Longest Yard Sale, every August.
In addition to visitors, we are getting quite a few people moving to our area from the above mentioned; especially Louisiana and Mississippi. During the winter months we get a nice share of Canadians and Northeasterners coming south to escape awful cold and snowy weather. Many go to Florida and work their way back up through our area.

Beautiful, Wonderful and Historic Fort Payne by John Dersham

2010-02-03T12:46:00.000-08:00

We live in a wonderful town. It is very scenic and is full of friendly people. It is a wonderful place to work and to do business and it is a fantastic town to raise a family. The Boom Days of Fort Payne helped give our town a very distinct history, visually and culturally, Fort Payne is very special and quite different town from any other in Alabama.
Some of you may know I am a photographer with a perpetual darkroom for nearly 50 years. I am also a history buff. The combination of the two interests allows me an opportunity and the desire to combine my interests toward preservation of historical photographs.
Last summer Judy and Joe Brown were nice enough to entrust me with their 6x8 Glass Plates (negatives) taken in the late 1880’s for a brochure of Fort Payne with the intent of promoting Fort Payne to New Englanders as a prosperous and upcoming industrial town focusing on coal and iron. The brochure would hopefully inspire new business and industry to move their operations to Fort Payne. The plates themselves are unusual in that they are 6x8 instead of the customary 5x7, which was popular at the time. It is believed the original camera that took the pictures is the one that is part of the Landmarks of DeKalb County Inc., archives.
The plates that I am printing will be done on 11x14 silver rich bromide photographic paper which is archival in nature and will provide a look similar to the papers of the subject matter era. I am using archival chemistry and putting the images through a selenium toning process that turns the silver to selenium, which is more stable. I will dry mount the images using 100% acid free rag mounts with acid free dry mounting tissue. The expected life of the prints is 300 years. In order for the prints to be archival, no retouching can be done on the prints. This means whatever is on the negative will show on the print. Over time many of the negatives have scratched, or patches of the emulsion have come off. At the same time I make the prints I will make a high resolution digital file on Cd. Once the images are digital then the blemishes can be removed for future digital printing or publication.
The prints (approximately 35), will be a donation from me and my family to Landmarks of DeKalb County Inc. Judy Brown has told me they plan on exhibiting the prints in Hunt Reception Hall. I am honored to play a role in helping preserve our rich history here in Fort Payne.

Lookout Mountain Photography Club by John Dersham

2010-01-27T09:21:00.000-08:00

Lookout Mountain Photography Club

There is a new Photography club in DeKalb County for all of you photo enthusiasts.
The Lookout Mountain Photography Club formed on Jan 15th and is part of the Mentone Area Arts council.
The Lookout Mountain Photography Club has the intent to create the following;
A place for photography lovers to meet and talk and learn about photography on a monthly basis.
The club will have guest speakers whom will talk about their area of expertise in photography.
The club will have show and tell. You will be invited to show your prints, slides, or digital media.
The club will offer photo contests to interested parties. The competitions will be done by subject matter. A guest judge will pick winners based on the criterion of the subject matter chosen for that month.
The club will have field trips for its members. The field trips will provide an opportunity to photograph interesting or scenic places with other interested parties whom you can share information and photo technique.
The club will have a Facebook Fan Page (Lookout Mountain Photography Club) for members to submit photos and to talk about their work.
Photography is a wonderful hobby. It allows you many diverse niches of which to become interested. Any subject can become your art. It can be people, sports, landscape, still life, texture, close up, flowers, insects or it can be a host of fine art alternative methods. You can use film, shoot digital, video, have a darkroom, use Photoshop or pursue both. Photography equipment is fun to own and talk about. Photography is a hobby for anybody, at any age. The more pictures you take and the better your technique becomes the more enthused you get about improving your work.
The next club meeting will be February 19th at 6:30 p.m. at the Mentone Inn. I (John Dersham) will give a PowerPoint slide presentation on photo composition and impact. There are no dues to join. The club is open to all people interested in photography.
For more information contact John Dersham at the DeKalb County Tourist Association 845-3957 or Neal Whitt at the Mentone Area Arts Council at 634-3334.

Let’s Ski! by John Dersham

2010-01-18T10:44:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I spent much of the time driving around our county taking pictures related to tourism for our county. The roads were mostly free of travelers until I got to Cloudmont Ski Resort and it was packed. What a great sight it was to see so many people enjoying DeKalb County and the only Ski Resort nearby and the only one in the state of Alabama. It was a beautiful Saturday morning about 10:00am when I arrived to find a crowded parking lot and skiers lined up to take the pony lift to the top for their exciting ski ride to the bottom. It was the perfect day for such a thing. It was cold but the sun made it perfect out here. Both slopes were in full operation and all the surrounding scenery was snow and ice covered. This is exactly why hundreds were there and thousands will come during the season at Cloudmont which lasts from the middle of December till it becomes too warm to make snow and keep it on the slopes. There have been some years skiing continued into March and occasionally April.
Cloudmont is fun for the whole family from the beginner to serious amateur. Equipment to ski and lessons are available as you arrive.
If you haven’t been skiing now is the time to give it a try. You will have fun. For more information call 256-634-4344 or go to www.cloudmont.com

Lookout Mountain Scenic Parkway by John Dersham

2009-12-31T06:53:00.000-08:00

We have one of America’s most scenic drives right here in DeKalb County. The Lookout Mountain Scenic Parkway is a state scenic byway and is in the beginning stages of becoming a National Scenic Byway. Lookout Mountain Parkway runs from Gadsden, Alabama to Chattanooga, Tennessee through the Northwest corner of Georgia. The parkway runs 103 miles from its beginning at Noccalula Falls in Gadsden to its terminus at Ruby Falls in Chattanooga. The mountain itself is 93 miles long but the parkway meanders for added scenic value to its travelers. Over the last several years Lookout Mountain Parkway has been honored by Readers Digest as one of America’s Most Scenic Drives and by National Geographic Traveler Magazine’s Driving Tours of Appalachia. Thirty seven miles of this beautiful drive are in our county giving our county the longest single portion of the drive.
Lookout Mountain Parkway is beautiful year-round with its host of scenic venues along the way including Noccalula Falls Park in Gadsden, Alabama then north through beautiful rural countryside up to Little River Canyon National Preserve. The scenic parkway includes an alternate drive along the rim of the canyon with multiple easily accessible overlooks that provide breath-taking views into the canyon. Little River Canyon National Preserve is host to many, many plant and animal species, some of which are native only to the canyon. Lookout Mountain Parkway runs through the portion of the eastern USA that is the transition geography between northern and southern plant and animal species and in this particular area many species of both northern and southern plants and animals thrive. After Little River Canyon you head north toward DeSoto State Park. From DeSoto State Park you will enjoy a seven mile wilderness drive to Mentone. Along the way you will see a short drive off the parkway to go visit the 104 foot DeSoto Falls. In Mentone you will find a host of cabins, B&B’s, restaurants and quaint artsy gift shops. Located in Mentone is the Mentone Springs Hotel built in 1884 which is now a B&B, it is the oldest hotel in Alabama still in operation. From Mentone follow the LMP signs that will lead you into Georgia and north along the eastern brow of Lookout Mountain. You will gradually work your way north toward Cloudland Canyon State Park, which is a short drop off the parkway. Cloudland Canyon is another marvel of Mother Nature that will make your Lookout Mountain Parkway trip well worth while. As you head toward Cloudland Canyon you will finish your trip back on the western brow of the mountain until you head down the mountain in Chattanooga. Along the western brow you will find Lookout Mountain Flight Park. It is the largest and most popular Hang Gliding resort and school in the US. Later along the drive you will pass Covenant College, known as the castle in the clouds from its prior days as a resort hotel. It can often be seen covered in fog when viewed from I-59 and I-24. Other things to see in as you head toward Tennessee are the famous Rock City located just before the Tennessee state line. Rock City is known for its view of seven states and for its incredible rock formations. As Lookout Mountain begins its decline down to Moccasin Bend on the Tennessee River you will find the quaint artsy town of Lookout Mountain Tennessee. Just off the parkway are Point Park Civil War Park and the famous incline railroad bringing you up or down from the foot of the mountain below. Finally there is Ruby Falls. This water fall is underground inside Lookout Cave. You ride in an elevator into the cave for this magnificent view of Ruby Falls. Lookout Mountain Parkway is the host to the southern portion of the very popular World’s Longest Yard Sale every August.
John Dersham Executive Director of the DeKalb County Tourist Association will serve as President of the Lookout Mountain Parkway Association in 2010.

DeKalb County Has Two Great Arts Councils by John Dersham

2009-12-03T07:15:00.000-08:00

Considering we are a relatively small county from a population point of view we are blessed with an inordinate amount of interest in the arts. We have two large arts councils in our county in the Big Will Arts Council and the Mentone Area Arts Council.

The Big Wills Arts Council (BWAC) is designated by the Alabama State Council on the Arts (ASCA) as a Local Arts Council (LAC) and has operated under the authority of the City of Fort Payne since the early 1990s. Since that time, the BWAC, under the directorship of Russell Gulley, has been noted as an exemplary rural arts program by the Southern Arts Federation (SAF), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and the ASCA.

The mission of this 501 (C3) non-profit organization is:
To aid, encourage, advise, and to correlate all activities dedicated to the promotion of cultural arts in this area, to include, but not be limited to, increasing our youth's appreciation of the arts through education, preserving this area's contribution to the arts and humanities, and encouraging an on-going participation therein.

Today the organization’s primary focus is arts in education programming. Director Russell Gulley is one of the few teaching artists in Alabama that has been studying "Integrated Arts Curriculum" as sponsored by the Alabama Institute for Arts in Education (AIEA) and instructed by Karen Erickson, noted master teaching artist with the Kennedy Center in Washington. Russell is on the ASCA's Roster of Arts in Education Artists, has for two years (2007 and 2009) participated in the ASCA’s Alabama Rural Schools Touring Program presenting his “Intro: Folk Music, Blues and Tradition” residency and concert program, and is currently serving the Fort Payne City Schools as an Artist in Residence in Music in his 3rd year.

Russell has been involved in local community arts for over 2 decades and has served the state on grant review panels, as President of the Board of Directors for the Alabama Folk life Association (AFA), is a graduate of the AFA's "Alabama Community Scholars Institute" sponsored by the ASCA and the NEA, and is dedicated to preserving the state's cultural heritage. (Information and text provided by Russell Gulley.)

The Mentone Area Arts Council was established by a group of farsighted individuals in 2004 and was incorporated in 2006. It received its designation as a private, non-profit organization in 2007. Growing steadily from humble beginnings, the Council now has well over 100 members, from as far west as Fort Worth , Texas, as far north as Bethesda, Maryland, and as far south as Tampa, Florida.

The Arts Council plays a significant role to enrich the quality of life for people in Mentone and neighboring communities by raising funds for the arts, sponsoring events, providing educational opportunities, and strengthening cultural resources for the benefit of all businesses and citizens in the Mentone area. Our primary focus is on three areas, namely, our artists, the Lookout Mountain community, and providing educational opportunities for children in our local schools and adults as well.

Our artists are an overlooked, valuable part of the cultural makeup of the Mentone Area. In the 1920’s, people from all over the country were attracted by the clean air and mineral springs in the Mentone Area for health enrichment, rest and relaxation. For the same reason, artists settled in the area where mountain environs were conducive to creativity and innovation. Their skills have been passed down for generations and today, we have located over 250 fine artists in the area who are contributing to the cultural fabric of the community and its economy on a daily basis. (Information and Text provided by Neal Whitt.)

This Christmas buy local and buy some of your gifts from our very talented artisans in DeKalb County.

Lookout Mountain Photography Club

2009-11-25T08:14:00.000-08:00

Mentone Area Arts Council to Form Lookout Mountain Photography Club
With John Alexander Dersham
A new club for photography buffs is forming. The Lookout Mountain Photograpy Club is to be an informal group, sponsored by the Mentone Area Arts Council, with the specific purpose of bringing together people who have an interest in photography and to promote fellowship, fun, education and knowledge of photography. It is for all skill levels and the goal of the club is to encourage members to develop their photographic skills and to provide a venue for members to learn, share and display their photography, in their endeavor to become better photographers. To this end, the club will conduct programs, competitions, seminars, workshops and field trips. The club will also be a good neighbor to the community and wherever possible, engage photography in the community.

You Are Invited To Attend The Organizational Meeting
of the Lookout Mountain Photography Club

The organizational meeting of the Lookout Mountain Photography Club will be led by John Alexander Dersham. John was a career executive with Kodak prior to becoming the Executive Director of the DeKalb County Tourist Association. His photographs are prominently displayed throughout the corporate offices of Kodak around the country. His works are also displayed in a number of galleries in North Alabama. He recently participated in the highly acclaimed, Alabama Waterways, A Photographic Celebration, photography exhibit in Mentone.

When: 6:30 PM, Friday, December 11, 2009

Where: The Mentone Inn
Highway 117
Mentone, Alabama

For additional information, contact John Dersham at dcta@tourdekalb.com

Collinsville Historic Turkey Trot was a Hit!

2009-11-17T10:10:00.000-08:00

November 14th was the Annual Collinsville Historic Turkey Trot. The Cherokee Ani-Yun-Wiya Nation shared a piece of their heritage beautifully in song, dance and drumming. The weather was perfect for their historic “turkey toss” from the roof of the newly restored library. The festival was very well attended by those listening to local musicians, tasting great southern food, enjoying the tractor show and participating in such games as the “greased pig chase” and “money in the hay”, great for all ages! They also introduced a new event this year called “Poker Run”.

Don’t Say there is Nothing to do in DeKalb County by John Dersham

2009-11-12T07:53:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I hear people say there is nothing to do in our area. They must have blinders on. Every week 52 weeks a year there is more than any one person could attend. If you doubt this please view the DeKalb County Tourist Association website www.tourdekalb.com, and click on our calendar of events. You will be amazed at the fun things we have to do.
This last weekend was Canyon Fest at Little River Canyon National Preserve and The Battle of Missionary Ridge at Sequoyah Caverns and Ellis Homestead, just to name two. It was the perfect fall weekend, with some fall color still abounding and both days were clear, sunny and warm. The two events I am talking about were fantastic and both were extremely well attended. Roy Jones of Sequoyah Caverns said 1,400 people were present for their two day event re-enacting the Civil War Battle of Missionary Ridge. The property at Sequoyah Caverns and Ellis Homestead is tucked at the foot of Sand Mountain and Little Wills Ridge. It is a large, extremely scenic acreage and a perfect location for this event. Civil War re-enactments are much more than the battle itself. It is a view of life of that era. Present at the re-enactment are artists and craftsmen making Civil War era goods. They are all dressed in the period. There is period music, food, a tin type photographer and a Ball on Saturday night. The Battle of Missionary Ridge is held each November and is a must see if you have not been yet. If you have not visited Sequoyah Caverns and Ellis Homestead, or have not visited lately it is well worth going. The spectacular property and beautiful cave with its famous reflecting pools and formations makes for a great outing. For more information visit www.sequoyahcaverns.com or call 256-635-0024.
On Saturday Canyon Fest was held at JSU’s Canyon Center at Little River Canyon National Preserve. There were more than 1,000 people at this beautiful day full of arts, crafts, music, food, games, rock climbing, a dog agility demonstration and much more. We are very blessed in DeKalb County to have a lot to see and do and even more so when you figure in the scenic aspects of our events and the beautiful drive to get there.

We have had an outstanding fall tourist season here. There have been a lot of people in town since middle October. People from all over the country have stopping in our information center. We find the majority of our visitors this time of year are from points south that come here because of our outstanding fall color in comparison to where they live.

10 Ways to Sing in the Rain on Lookout Mountain in Alabama by Sarah Wilcox from Moutain Laurel Inn

2009-11-10T07:48:00.000-08:00

1. Relax while listening to the wonderful sound of the rain through either an open window as you nap or sleep for the night or in a rocker on a porch found at a store, restaurant, cabin or bed and breakfast.
2. Investigate the many historic buildings and stories on Lookout Mountain starting in Mentone with St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church, Mentone Springs Hotel, Hitching Post and the White Elephant galleries. Historic buildings abound in Fort Payne with Sallie Howard’s Memorial Chapel, the Depot Museum, the Old Mill Antiques and DeKalb Theater.
3. Shop until you drop. Go bargain hunting at Dixie Salvage in Fort Payne, Akins Furniture in Dogtown or Upscale Resale in Valley Head. Discover unique shops in Mentone’s Log cabin village, downtown Fort Payne or atop Sand Mountain. Experience artists working in their own studios and galleries such as Orbix Hot Glass in Lickskillet and Miracle Pottery in Valley Head.
4. Explore Sequoyah Caverns where the weather forecast is always 60 degrees, no rain and cool (oh so cool reflection pools and passageways). Learn the history of Ellis Homestead and feed the animals.
5. Release the artist from within. Perfect opportunity for unique photography, for painting on the porch, for writing poetry or for playing a song on the instrument of your choice at any of the variety of lodging in the area.
6. View all the waterfalls in the area that will love the rain: High falls in Geraldine, Desoto Falls in Mentone, and Little River falls in Fort Payne to name a few.
7. Treasures abound. Perfect opportunity to find one of the 258 geocaches in the area and not be discovered in your journeys. See www.geocaching.com to get going. If you are clever, bury your own cache to add to the website.
8. Excite your taste buds. Go on a scavenger hunt to discover which restaurant in the area has the best appetizer and the most decadent dessert. It will be a hard choice as the area has great “hole in the wall” type restaurants with grandma’s buttermilk pie to fine dining with crab cakes and homemade sauce.
9. Refresh and renew. What a great excuse for finding the time to truly relax and enjoy a good book, watch a movie or have a great conversation. Many businesses in the area such as a restaurant, hotel, cabin or bed and breakfast provide the perfect atmosphere for physical, mental and emotional refreshment.
10. Start singing with good rain gear and the right spirit to enjoy all the great hikes and views in the area such as DeKalb County Public Lake, Little River Canyon and DeSoto State Park. Unless you are the wicked witch of the west, you won’t melt.

DeKalb County on Lookout Mountain in Alabama is open and inspiring during sun, rain, sleet or snow so come enjoy today. For more details see www.discoverlookoutmountain.com or call 1-888-805-4740

Look What is Happening on Lookout Mountain Alabama

2009-11-05T11:37:00.000-08:00

Looking for something to do this weekend? Visit Lookout Mountain Alabama and see the beautiful fall foliage as well as the many activities to keep you busy!

Check out all of these Holiday Open Houses going on November 7th & 8th:
Eddie's Florist is host to more than 75 beautifully decorated Christmas trees, each with a different theme. Ornaments ranging from whimsical, cartoons to retro, Victorian to collegiate - there is truly something for everyone in the tastefully decorated Christmas Wonderland! Open Saturday from 8am to 5pm and Sunday from 1pm to 4pm. Located on Sand Mountain at 9112 AL Hwy 40 in Henagar. 256-657-3841

Myrtle Jane's Antiques is home to unique furniture, gifts, and a selection of architectural items to beautifully decorate your home or cabin. Come by and visit Saturday from 9am to 5pm and Sunday from 12pm to 4pm. 256-845-4830

The Wishing Well has a beautiful assortment of home decor, including tableware sets, fine china, wall art, and of course Holiday decorations. They also carry children & women's clothing and accessories. Stop by & visit on Saturday from 10am to 5pm and Sunday from 1pm to 5pm. 256-845-7355

Little River Canyon is hosting Canyon Fest this Saturday, November 8th from 10 am to 3pm. Come enjoy live music, nature & arts activities, arts demonstrations & sales, great food, children's activities & fun at this festival designed to celebrate our natural world and to benefit the children of our community. For more information call 256-782-5697.

Take a scenic moped tour on Lookout Mountain and let your guide lead you on a breathtaking ride that will make several stops such as scenic overlooks, tourist shops, antique stores, nature walks, a cafe for lunch, water falls, and art galleries. Gas is included. Saturday, November 8th from 10am to 4pm. For more information call 256-997-9577.

The Battle of Missionary Ridge will be taking place at Sequoyah Caverns & Ellis Homestead this weekend, November 7th & 8th. This event features A Sutler’s Village, live re-enactments with artillery and Civil War cannons, Civil War-era food, and much more. 800-843-5098

Try your hand in a Paperweight Class at Orbix Hot Glass. Feel the heat, gather from the furnace, sculpt the glass into your own design. It is ultimately about the experience, some experimentation and a couple nice paperweights to take home or to the office to show your friends. Class size at the largest will be five students so everyone has adequate time at the bench working. There will be material provided before the class for you to review and become familiar with concerning safety and basic glassblowing vocabulary. November 7th from 5pm to 9pm. 256-523-3188

Take a guided Archaeology Tour of Cherokee and DeKalb Counties on Saturday, November 7th. Join JSU archaeologist Dr. Harry Holstein for a guided tour of sites throughout Cherokee and DeKalb counties. Participants will visit the 19th century Cornwall Iron Furnace, a Spanish contact site at Coosa village, a rock shelter in use as early as 3000 B.C., and much more. Bring your own food and drinks. Pre-registration is required. November 7th from 9am to 3pm. (Ages 14 and over). For more information call 256-782-5697.

Tourism Fiscal Year Results by John Dersham

2009-10-30T06:41:00.000-07:00

Despite tough economic times tourism in DeKalb County maintained results well above national averages. The key to our success in tough times is our location and low cost to visit. We are blessed with a great amount of natural beauty and the venues to support tourism. We have 11 million people within a 200 mile radius of us and a good interstate system to get people here. We have become a regional favorite for tourists seeking a relaxing scenic get-a-way where parks, attractions, lodging, restaurants and shopping is all readily available at costs well under the national average. Our top states for DeKalb County tourism are Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Georgia. We also get many visitors from Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana whom love our mountains and lakes and we are not too far for two or three day vacation. This year there has been a strong nationwide trend toward shorter travel distances and a lower expenditure per person. We are ideally suited for these trends. Lodgings income reports for the year show tourists are continuing to visit our area in substantial numbers. The area adversely affected is a loss in lodging year to date due to fewer corporate travelers on the road. This is fueled by a high un-employment rate and a trend toward companies cutting travel budgets and using electronic communications in place of face to face visitation.
This spring when the calendar year results are released we think tourist’s revenues for the state will be down especially in the areas of retail and restaurant spending. Our overall income from tourism should come in well above the national average in DeKalb County and in the state. Alabama is an upcoming state in the area of tourism. Unlike Florida, New York, Vegas etc, we are still developing our markets and should have solid long term growth for years to come in DeKalb County and in our entire state.
I am including a press release from the state concerning Alabama’s fiscal year results.
Alabama’s hospitality industry fares much better than rest of nation
Alabama's hospitality industry fared much better than the national average during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the Alabama Department of Revenue says. Because of the recession, spending in the state dipped approximately 7 percent while the national average was down 14 percent. Tourism Director Lee Sentell said the department reduced spending by 12 percent in anticipation of the national slowdown in travel. "The Gulf Shores/Orange Beach area had a good summer and we anticipate travel to pick up in 2010," he said.

54th Annual VFW DeKalb County Agricultural Fair by John Dersham

2009-10-08T07:53:00.000-07:00

Our fair is another example of the close fellowship we enjoy here in ....DeKalb.. ..County..... The fair exemplifies of a whole lot of people volunteering their time, working together with civic organizations, agricultural organizations, art and cultural clubs, local businesses and schools to produce one of the finest county fairs you will see anywhere in our region. Year after year our VFW fair is a big success. It is the effort of so many people representing various entities in our county that make it so successful, including the efforts of the fair staff and committees headed up by VFW Fair Chairman Charles Stephens. The difference in our fair, compared to other counties in our region has nothing to do with the midway and the carnival portion , but instead, the well organized, highly attended locally produced venues.

We treat our fair just like most everything else we do here in ....DeKalb.. ..County..... We get involved and we participate. If you question this go to any local football game on Friday night and further more go to an away game and see how many are there from our home towns. We are exactly how we Americans like to define ourselves. We support the efforts of our communities in the area of schools, law enforcement, political offices, volunteer agencies, churches, local civic organizations and clubs. We support fighting for our freedom and for our way of life. When there is a disaster we are out in force to help.

Today in this crazy world where everything seems to be changing minute by minute it is nice to live and work in a community that has transcended these changes and kept its identity even in a world of high tech, population shifts and population diversity. We still seem like the good old ..USA.. and for that I am proud to call ....DeKalb.. ..County.... my home.

Now is a time we are being tested. Now is a time we must come together and hold up our values and our heritage of living and working in the best country in the world. It is up to each of us to uphold the values of which we have lived our entire lives. Maybe it is time we stop complaining about losing anything and instead put all our effort toward becoming what we want to be, as an individual and as a country. We can speak out about the injustices we see and we can also take action. One action is to tell companies choosing to make their products in other countries that we will do without their products, until they are made here again. It is a small step but all steps are small. My wife and I check every label to see where a product is made, if it is not made in the ....USA.... we will try to find a similar product, that is. I know this will not work on all items but it will work on many. If we all do this, maybe the message to corporate ....America.... will resound with more authority. We obviously expect other countries to make things too but what we don’t expect is our American companies with an office in the US and expecting us to buy their products that keep officer paychecks coming… at the same time offer no employment to their own people. Also, maybe we should let Wall Street know it’s not ok to hoard the profits at the cost of US citizens. The list goes on and the element most honored in our county is what will ultimately make a positive difference. These things are honestly, integrity, moral values, determination, invention, persistence and community spirit.

All in a Day’s Drive-Fall Foliage Package for Holiday Inn Express

2009-09-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

Take a scenic drive that showcases the beauty of Lookout Mountain all adorned in its beautiful array of fall colors. As an afternoon scenic drive beckons you along the Lookout Mountain Parkway, through Desoto State Park and Little River Canyon National Preserve and across Sand Mountain to DeKalb County Public Fishing Lake, High Falls Park and Buck's Pocket State Park, enjoy the brilliant colors from sugar maples, scarlet oaks, hickories, red maples, and sweetgums. Accommodations are provided by the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Fort Payne and will include a full hot breakfast, snacks and bottled water, and dinner for two at Golden Rule in Fort Payne (two entrees and drinks).
Packages start at $ 139.99 (for a standard room) Code IJHD1- Call (256) 997-1020 for reservations or visit our website at hiexpress.com/ftpayneal. Blackout dates apply.

News Flash! Sequoyah Caverns #1 on Trip Advisor

2009-09-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

As everyone knows social media is one of the biggest things going right now in promoting tourism.
We are very excited to announce that Sequoyah Caverns is currently the #1 ranked attraction out of 245 in the state of Alabama on Trip Advisor.
Consumers rank their experiences at attractions, lodging restaurants and other tourist related venues. Each location will have an average score based on all the input they have received. Travelers rank their experiences 1-5. There are requirements for number of inputs in order to have fair averages.

Congratulations to Roy Jones and all the people at Sequoyah Caverns in Valley Head-DeKalb County Alabama for holding the number one position.

A Great New Agri-Tourism Attraction is Coming to DeKalb County by John Dersham

2009-09-24T06:38:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I attended the ground breaking of the new Agri-Center of Rainsville. The ground breaking was well attended. Reports said there were more than 200 people present for the event. The Agri-Center has been in the planning stages for eight years. Carey Baker (Chairman of the Agri-Center Board) and the Agri-Center board members have been diligent planners for this complex. They have all worked very hard together with the community to get the funding required to have a state of the art facility that will be a first class facility and the very best Agri-Center in our region.
The Agri-Center is slated to be open by November of next year, with a projected economic impact of $8mil the first operating year and the potential of doubling the second year. Carey and the Board are intending to hire a professional facility manager with experience in booking major events at large facilities. The search for this professional will begin soon. This facility will function as a regional Agri-Center and will draw attendees from all over Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi, with some events reaching further.
The Agri-Center of Rainsville is a 43 acre development consisting of a 17,000 square foot Community Affairs building, a 71,300 square foot arena seating 3,800 for performance events with additional seating to 5,400 for concerts. There will be 208 covered stalls with all the amenities, a 25,000 sq. ft. warm up pavilion, a picnic area, a two acre lake with a fountain and a RV campground. The arena is heated and cooled and will be equipped with high versatility lighting and electrical needs to accommodate the most sophisticated concert or arena event.
Some of the events the Agri-Center will be seeking are as follows; concerts, trade shows, motocross, ATV, horse shows, tractor and truck pulls, monster truck shows, bull shows, Rodeo’s, circus, Television tapings, dog shows, flower shows and the list is endless. The arena floor is 150’ by 250’ with a 40’ high ceiling. The seating capacity and arena size enable this facility to host an extremely large range of major events.
The DeKalb County Tourist Association is looking forward to the Agri-Center becoming a major tourist draw to DeKalb County.

Ider Mule Day John Dersham

2009-09-10T07:10:00.000-07:00

Every Labor Day for more then 100 years Ider has held Mule Days. In the early years Mule Day was a time for farmers to come to show off their mules and to buy, sell trade and barter their animals. Much of DeKalb County’s rich agricultural past is anchored in the hard work and labor of a mule or a team of mules.
Ider Mule Days is now a very successful highly visited festival in celebration of Ider and Sand Mountains rich agricultural traditions. Every year I and family go to Mule Day. We love it. Mule Day is a delightful mix of traditional Agricultural related events like, horse, mule, donkey and miniature horse shows and competitions, horse and mule pulls, a tractor show and carriage rides. Mule Day is still a day to buy, sell, trade and barter your animals. In addition to the traditional aspects of Ider Mule Day there is an antique and collector car show, arts and crafts, food and music, kiddie games and rides, including pony rides.
Mule Day begins every Labor Day with a grand parade which brings in the animals and owners into the Ider City Park. The parade begins with local fire and police vehicles, the Ider marching band, area elected officials, local civic organizations, antique cars, horse and mule drawn carriages and individual riders of horses, mules , kids on miniature horses and even Uncle Sam was there in his classic horse drawn carriage.
Ider Mule Day is a very well attended that is well planned and is always a pleasure for people of all ages. Mule Day was wonderful this year, the weather was perfect and there were plenty of events and things to do that fill the entire day.

2009-09-10T07:09:00.001-07:00

Big Things are Happening in Fort Payne and Fyffe by John Dersham

2009-08-27T12:02:00.001-07:00

This weekend is the opening of our highly anticipated Smithsonian Exhibit called New Harmonies. New Harmonies will be held at Richard C. Hunt Reception Hall from Saturday August 29 through Saturday September 19, with it’s conclusion in conjunction with our Boom Days Heritage Celebration. Admission is free.

The DeKalb County Tourist Association is running a series of television commercials about New Harmonies and Boom Days. They will run on Comcast’s entire cable network throughout North Alabama and Southern Tennessee. The commercial will be aired 386 times on the following channels; CNN, Fox News, the Travel Channel, Discovery, TNT, USA, The Golf Channel and Animal Planet. In addition we will have a 10 minute infomercial on Comcast’s long play channel. These commercials will begin on September 3 and air through September 19. Our objective is to bring an increased number of out of town guests to New Harmonies and to Boom Days. We are promoting these events in a way that will encourage tourists to spend several days with us to see the sights of our area including New Harmonies and Boom Days. Our strategy is to grow our attendance at our festivals and at the same time grow sales to area attractions, accommodations, retail and to restaurants.

New Harmonies is a wonderful exhibit. I drove down to Chatom Alabama a few weeks ago to photograph the exhibit in order to make our commercial. New Harmonies is a must see for all of us. It is a celebration of American’s musical roots including an exhibit of DeKalb County’s rich musical heritage and culture. To enhance the total offerings of New Harmonies and Boom Days there will be a series of musical events and concerts nearly every day from this Saturday through the end of Boom Days on Saturday September 19.

A tremendous amount of planning and strategizing has gone into making New Harmonies and Boom Days an unbelievably wonderful and rewarding three weeks of music, education and fun for the whole family. Russell Gulley (Big Wills Arts Council) and Collins Kirby (Boom Days Heritage Celebration) and their committees have done a wonderful job at filling the schedule with quality events and at the same time bringing a real sense of community spirit and volunteerism that will help make this a wonderful three weeks in our community and in our county.

A brochure with all the dates and events for New Harmonies and Boom Days is available at the DeKalb County Tourist Association 845-3957 or the Fort Payne Chamber of Commerce 845-3957. A majority of these events are FREE to the public.

Fyffe UFO Days is this Friday and Saturday. This event was spawned from international media coverage pertaining to hundreds of reported UFO sightings in Fyffe in earl y 1989. There will be fun for the whole family beginning Friday morning with the lift off of hot air balloons. The event will have live music both days with Billy Joe Royal as the featured performer on Saturday night at 8pm. Additional events will include a civil war reenactment, a tractor show, The 501^st Legion Star Wars Storm Troopers costumers and lots of street vendors for gifts and food. For more information call the DeKalb County Tourist Association at 845-3957.

Great Community Spirit by John Dersham

2009-08-20T08:18:00.000-07:00

There are many things that contribute to making Fort Payne a very special city. We are a city of wonderful community spirit and unity. I have found the people of our town work together with a wonderful sense of caring about each other and share a genuine concern for our town, and our county. This can easily be seen in the multitude of civic and social organizations that thrive in Fort Payne. Considering our relatively small size we have unusually well developed long term community organizations that have been in existence for many years. In my position as Director of Tourism I have had the opportunity to be the guest speaker from time to time at our local organizations. I always come away from these meetings so very impressed with the sincere effort each of these organizations and their individual members make toward the humanities. I also find this community spirit to exist in our city and county government and in this newspaper. It is a blessing to work with city and county leaders who are focused on maintaining and improving the quality of life for everyone. I have found a genuine concern for our citizens is the norm in our community and not the exception. Every where I go I find people are guided by strong deeply rooted religious, moral and ethical values. The presence of these things has become the foundation of our outstanding quality of life. We are blessed with the happiest friendliest people you will find anywhere. This fine attitude emanates from our rich religious and cultural background. For those of you who are new to our area or are not familiar, here are a few of our local organizations of which you may want to inquire; The Rotary Club, The Lions Club, The Kiwanis Club, The Master Gardeners, Fort Payne Garden Club, The Culture Club, Landmarks (history), Big Wills Arts Council, Mentone Area Arts Council, Altrusa International, DeKalb County Amateur Radio Club, DeKalb County Council of the Alabama Homemakers and Community Leaders Club and Duos and Solos Square Dancing. Many of our other DeKalb County towns have excellent civic organizations and clubs. For more information about these or others you can call the DeKalb County Tourist Association at 845-3957.

More Community Spirit:

The DeKalb County Tourist Association has been honored by receiving a beautiful landscaping job by Lee Buffington at Turf Tamer and a host of volunteers and donors whom provided this beautiful new look under a community project called Project Green Shape. Many, many thanks to all involved. I also want to thank the Master Gardeners and the DeKalb County Commission for our gardens and the maintenance of our property.

“I Drove, I Stopped, I Shopped Till I Dropped” by John Dersham

2009-08-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

World’s Longest Yard Sale

America’s most scenic shopping mall begins its 23rd annual event Thursday, August 6th and runs through Sunday, August 9th. This year the yard sale covers 654 miles from Gadsden, Alabama to West Unity, Ohio.
The World’s Longest Yard Sale has become more than a place to shop for that special item you could not find anywhere else…it has become an annual vacation for thousands of people who flock to various parts of the yard sale. They shop, they visit state and national parks, they camp, they stay in hotels/motels, B&B’s or cabins. They visit attractions along the way, they eat and buy gas. All of these things add tax revenue to our local economy. This year we expect more than 30,000 visitors will participate in DeKalb County. Governor Bob Riley has named the yard sale one of Alabama’s top ten events. HGTV runs an annual TV show about the WLYS and Jay Leno included a clip on The Tonight Show.
During our economic downturn more people are using this event as a vacation. They are taking an extra day or two before or after the yard sale to see the sights. During our recession second hand merchandise has been the only retail category showing substantial growth.
The DeKalb County Tourist Association receives more requests for information pertaining to the WLYS than any other event held in our county each year. Everyday, all year long we get phone calls and internet inquires from people nationwide and from all over the world requesting information. In addition to the requests for information coming directly to us through our marketing, we are linked to the official WLYS website and get many requests for information via that source.
Our portion of the yard sale is very, very popular due to our total travel experience. People wanting to make this a scenic get-a-way love our area. The DeKalb County portion of the yard sales runs across Lookout Mountain (Scenic) Parkway. The Lookout Mountain Parkway has received national recognition in National Geographic Traveler and Reader’s Digest Magazines as one of America’s best scenic byways. We have Little River Canyon National Preserve, DeSoto State Park and falls, the city of Fort Payne and Mentone as places to visit; tourists can spend the night and eat without getting far from the parkway. Many tourists tell us they enjoy our area the most because we offer great value. Our prices for accommodations and food are under the national average and we are an easy drive for more than 11 million people living within a 200 mile radius of DeKalb County. DeKalb County offers a great mix of attractions and things to do along the way.
If you have not participated in this event I encourage you to get out and enjoy yourself. You will find food vendors, restaurants and portable toilets along the way all to help make your search for treasures more comfortable.

Bucks Pocket State Park by John Dersham

2009-07-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

Bucks Pocket State Park is a narrow gorge cut into Sand Mountain on the western edge of DeKalb County. South Sauty Creek has gradually carved out this beautiful heavily forested area with high bluffs and scenic views. Bucks Pocket is and upstream tributary of Lake Guntersville.
Nobody today seems quite sure of how Bucks Pocket got its name. Folklore legend ranges from renegade Cherokee Indians living nearby trapped a buck deer on a high rock ledge. The deer decided to take leap off the ledge into the deep rock pocket below, thus creating the name Bucks Pocket. A second version of the name is said to come from a farmer named Buck who once owned the land now in the park. He would build fences and ran cattle across the canyon. People would come by and ask his wife where Mr. Buck was and she would tell them he was in his pocket. Other folklore claims the park was once a battleground for buck deer that roamed the area by the hundreds. Another story tells of unsuccessful candidates for public office would go lick their wounds at this location after an unsuccessful run for office. No body knows for sure how Bucks Pocket got its name but in makes for an interesting conversation.
Bucks Pocket State Park is a beautifully secluded wonder of nature considered a natural pocket of the Appalachian Mountain chain. It is a 2,000 acre nature lover’s paradise. The parks picnic area offers a canyon rim vista into the pocket below. Bucks Pocket State Park offers fishing, camping, hiking and a picnic area with a playground. The campground hosts 36 sites. If you have not yet invested in an RV the campground can rent one to you. The campground is complete with tables, grills, shelters, laundry, bathrooms, showers and a playground.
One of the really great hikes at Bucks Pocket is the Point Rock Trail. The trail runs from the park office along Little Sauty Creek up the canyon to Point Rock. Another hiking trail is the Primitive Trail which begins in the Privative Campground and follows South Sauty Creek until it flows in Lake Guntersville. This trail is and easy walk along an old road. This trail is good for a larger group or horseback riders.
Fishing is available in the park. There is a boat launch and fishing area at Morgan’s Cove on Lake Guntersville, just downstream from Bucks Pocket.
For those of us living on the eastern side of DeKalb County, Bucks Pocket provides a nice little vacation without spending much on gas or drive times to get there. Take your tent or RV, your fishing rod, hiking shoes, a picnic lunch and your camera and go have a great day or two in a quiet place that seems a million miles away, but is close to home. For more information call 1-800-ALA-PARK or visit www.alapark.com

A Piece of Paradise by John Dersham

2009-07-16T11:28:00.000-07:00

DeKalb County Alabama is a piece of paradise in the Northeast corner of Alabama. Here you will find beautiful and famous Lookout Mountain and Sand Mountain. Between the two mountains is Wills Valley. DeKalb County is a county full of scenic wonders and peaceful serene views. On Lookout Mountain you will find The Lookout Mountain Scenic Parkway and along its way you will find Little River Canyon National Preserve the second deepest canyon east of the Mississippi River. When you travel north on the parkway you will see DeSoto Falls (104 feet) and DeSoto State Park. The scenic parkway winds through the woodlands with trees overhanging the road; here you will see log cabins (some for rent) and fabulous fall color. Soon you will come to the quaint mountain village of Mentone. Here you will find the oldest hotel in the state of Alabama. It is called the Mentone Springs Hotel built in 1884 and is now a beautiful B&B with a fabulous restaurant called Caldwell’s named after the hotel founder.
Once you have left Mentone you can come back down Lookout Mountain to the small scenic village of Valley Head. Valley Head has a backdrop of Lookout Mountain. Head south in Wills Valley and you come to Fort Payne. Fort Payne is a beautiful small town that is home to the singing group Alabama. Fort Payne has a historic past. In the late 1880’s business men from Boston came here thinking they would mine Coal and Iron Ore from Lookout Mountain. They came here in high numbers with a lot of wealth. They built an Opera House (still here) and beautiful New England style homes and downtown buildings, many of which are still standing. The Fort Payne Boom Days were short lived however as the Iron and Coal company failed to find much Iron or Coal. In Fort Payne you will find the Depot Museum which is housed in the beautifully restored Fort Payne train depot. Before you leave Fort Payne and you can visit the group Alabama Museum and gift shop.
If you are in the area on any Saturday, 52 weeks a year, you can visit Trade Days in Collinsville. This is one of the largest weekly flea markets you will find anywhere.
Now let’s go up to Sand Mountain. Sand Mountain is a beautiful rural mountain with wonderful small towns and is well know for Agriculture. On Sand Mountain you will find the towns of Rainsville, Fyffe, Henagar, Sylvania (home to DeKalb County Fishing Lake) and Ider. Each of these towns is fun to mill around and shop in. When you go to the western part of Sand Mountain you can visit High Falls Park and Buck’s Pocket State Park. High Falls is one of the most impressive water falls you will see anywhere.
A trip to DeKalb County is a great way to spend a week or of a few days. You will love the relaxing environment and our wonderfully naturally friendly people. Come see us and enjoy!

Summertime Tourism by John Dersham

2009-07-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

We are currently at the peak of our annual travel season here in DeKalb County. This year we have suffered some of the consequences of our nation’s economic downturn, but not nearly as much as the national numbers for tourism. There are several reasons for this. DeKalb County is a drive to destination with an audience of 11 million people within 200 miles. This makes us an easy two or three day vacation. We are blessed with an interstate system that is easily accessible from most every direction. Over half of our tourist visitors are from Alabama and many of them are from Birmingham and south Alabama where we are viewed as a beautiful quiet mountainous departure from the flatter terrain to the south and from the bigger noisier cities. The same is true from some of our other large markets, which are, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Florida. In a time of a suffering economy, high job losses and more expensive costs of living our fairly close drive to destination fits the bill.
Alabama is a young upcoming state in the area of tourism. We are just getting a good foothold in nationwide and international tourism. Places like Orlando and Florida in general have the opposite problem of being mature travel destinations. This makes it very difficult to achieve growth, especially in a down economy. Orlando tourism is down 40% right now while DeKalb County and the State of Alabama are lest then minus 10% year to date.
Much of our success in tourism is because of you our Tourist Association members who are making your living in the tourism industry. You have done a great job at developing businesses to be consistent with the type of leisure tourism we attract. Tourism entities in DeKalb County have done a great job at developing businesses that fit comfortably into our environment and culture. This is why our tourists come here so often. We have a very high tourist return rate.
Everyday at the tourist association we hear how beautiful, well laid out and relaxing our area is. We often hear people say they are coming here for the same reason they used to go to Gatlinburg, but now, Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area is so overdeveloped that it is no longer a comfortable relaxing vacation. Our goal at the Tourist Association is to develop growth in tourism without destroying the very elements that made us a great destination to begin with.
If you have ideas and thoughts about the above subject or any others and you are willing to share we would love to hear from you. Please email us your thoughts, ideas, concerns, success stories and other comments. Email info@tourdekalb.com

Happy 4th of July by John Dersham

2009-07-02T11:34:00.000-07:00

Here are some ideas about things to do this weekend in our area:
DeSoto State Park and DeSoto Falls- Picnics, swimming pool, hiking, water falls, park store and playground. More information call 256-845-0051.
Little River Canyon National Preserve - Picnics, Swimming holes, hiking, water falls. Scenic overlooks on the Canyon Rim scenic drive. More information call 256-845-9605
Bucks Pocket State Park - Camping, picnics, hiking, boating and fishing. More info call 256-659-2000.
High Falls Park - Picnics, swimming holes, water falls, playground, hiking trails and walking bridge over Town Creek near the falls. More information call 256-623-2281.
Sequoyah Caverns - Fantastic cave. Known for reflecting pools and beautiful formations, camping, store.
Tigers for Tomorrow. Take a trip to Untamed Mountain, exotic animal park. Here you will be up close and personal with over 40 big cats, wolves and bears in the carnivore compound. Children can interact with barn yard animals at the personal contact yard. Call for hours of operation. 256-524-4150
Alabama Fan Club and Museum. Gift shop and museum. Museum houses awards, achievements and memorabilia of country music’s historic super group, Alabama. More information call 256-845-1646.
Collinsville Trade Day - Saturday morning only. Experience historic Collinsville’s weekly Trade Day. Considered one of the south’s largest outdoor markets. Purchase boiled peanuts, fresh fruit and vegetables, farm animals, pets, antiques, tools, knives, coins, household collectables, toys and much more. Located south of Collinsville on H-11. Come early.
Shady Grove Dude Ranch. Guided hourly horse trail rides. Bunk in the “Roundup” or one of the rustic cabins. More info call 256-634-4344.
True Adventure Sports. Your enthusiastic guides to outdoor activities on Lookout Mountain and Fort Payne, including rock climbing, rappelling, camping, canoeing, kayaking. Call for schedules and costs 256-997-9577.
Golf at Saddle Rock Golf Course. Part of Cloudmont this golf course is open seven days a week. Pretty scenery and some fun challenges for the armature or professional. More information call 256-634-4344.

Current events this holiday weekend:
Thursday July 2
Independence Day Celebration in Fort Payne. Enjoy Fireworks, free hot dogs, soft drinks and American flags. Music by Eclipse. Festivities are at the Fort Payne High School football stadium. More information call 256-845-1524.
Saturday July 4
25th annual Sand Mountain Potato Festival in Henagar. Come see agricultural products, including potatoes. Celebrate our heritage with live music, arts and crafts, entertainment, games and fireworks. Events begins at 10:00am and culminates with a beautiful fireworks display. More information call 256-657-6282.
Saturday July 4
Independence Day Celebration at Sequoyah Caverns. Fireworks and bluegrass music will fill your soul with joy! Come out for a good time at Sequoyah Caverns & Ellis Homestead. 800-843-5098
Saturday July 4
Rock Climbing Adventure with True Adventure Sports. Nestled in the NE corner of Alabama are some of the best and unique sandstone cliffs in the country. Come experience first-hand what rock climbing is all about with guides who are fun, safe and energetic. This trip includes all the gear plus basic instruction. No prior climbing experience is needed. Meet at True Adventure Sports. $34 per person. 10 p.m. to 2 p.m. 256-997-9577
Saturday July 4
Low Country Boil at The Mentone Springs Hotel. We pride ourselves with an array of fresh shrimp, sausage, corn, and potatoes. This is our most popular dining experience at the hotel. Call ahead for reservations, seating is limited. 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. 256-634-4040
Saturday July 4 & Sunday July 5
Invitational Art Show at the Mentone Springs Hotel. Several local and invited artist will be displaying their arts at our chapel. The chapel is located one block from the Hotel. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 256-634-4040
Saturday July 4 & Sunday July 5
Overnight Camping Skills Class with True Adventure Sports. Most needed camping skills are brought to you as well as advanced skills such as how to find dry fuels, how to build a fire without smoke, how to start a fire without matches or flint, lean to construction, and safety barriers. Contact True Adventure Sports to see what gear you need to bring. $15 per person 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. 256-997-9577
Sunday July 5
Rappelling Adventure with True Adventure. Come experience the thrill of rappelling down the sheer sandstone gems of NE Alabama. No previous experience necessary. Each trip includes all the gear plus basic instruction. $37 per person 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 256-997-9577

Tourist Association Is Working For You by John Dersham

2009-06-23T10:46:00.000-07:00

Our new sign is up and working and our digital display is back in business. Our new sign is more colorful and includes a phone number and website address. Our digital marquee is higher on the pole and easier to read from more directions.
We appreciate all the support we receive from the Times Journal and from the city of Fort Payne and from DeKalb County. Tourism is an important income provider to our cities and our county. We are very fortunate at the tourist association to have leaders whom fully understand tourisms important role.
For those of you unsure of how a tourist association works I wanted to tell you about ourselves.
In 1954 a bill passed that provided a lodging tax to support promoting tourism in Alabama. Many other states operate the same way. The bulk of our income is from this lodgings tax and from our annual membership fees.
Our job is to promote tourism statewide, regionally, nationwide and worldwide to get people to plan a vacation in our county. Here are some of the ways we promote. We run Television commercials, radio ads, newspaper and magazine ads, we attend travel shows where we pass out travel guides and provide information about our destination which includes information about our members. We have a website which includes all the information available about our county, things to do, places to go and where to eat. We circulate travel brochures all around our region. These are displayed in travel racks throughout the southeast. We distribute brochures and other printed media to callers on the phone and ones who order information from our website. If you are a member of our association then your brochures and website information is distributed at our information center in Fort Payne. We pass out your flyers, we advertise your business on our digital marquee and we include you in our advertising and brochure distribution. We make sure visitors to our area know who you are and what business you are in.
Thanks again to all of you for supporting tourism in DeKalb County. If you are interested in membership please contact us at 256-845-3957 or email us at info@tourdekalb.com

Movin’ on up in Valley Head, Alabama! By Kayla Worthey

2009-06-10T12:39:00.000-07:00

This past week I decided to get out and visit some very unique places in Valley Head. My first stop was at the Upscale Resale & Gift Shoppe in Valley Head. This is a consignment store of really nice pre-owned clothing, belts, shoes, hats, purses, wallets, jewelry, books, and VHS & DVD movies. You will also find many brand new items including BeeBop & Maggiez flip flops, Reverse-a-purses, and local artist’s handcrafted jewelry and art. The shop is owned by Dianna Carden and has recently been upgraded from her original shop which consisted of about 700 square feet to a newly renovated shop just around the corner of about 5,000 square feet. Much needed space for the quickly expanding shop. Dianna has done a fantastic job of decorating, using beautiful colors and designs and very artistic arrangements of complete outfits for every taste. Since I am 7 months pregnant, I wasn’t really able to purchase any clothing, but I can tell you that I will be back once I have packed my maternity clothes away! I saw some really cute brand name clothing and many of them still with tags! I did however, become the proud owner of a few pair of flip flops, a purse, and a locally handcrafted bookmark. While I am more than pleased with my ever-so-comfy Maggiez interchangeable flip flops, I can’t seem to stop thinking about those other items that I wish I would have bought…I think I may go back this week. Upscale Resale & Gift Shoppe is located at 62 Winston Street on the square in Valley Head. They are open Wednesday thru Friday from 10am to 5pm and Saturday from 10am to 2pm.

My second stop was at Miracle Pottery and Art Gallery where they opened their new showroom this past weekend and let me tell you, it is fabulous! It is owned by Valinda Miracle and she has some of the most amazing pieces of functional and decorative pottery I have ever seen. I honestly believe that she has thought of everything when it comes to pottery creations. Some of my favorite pieces include the salt crock, butter bell, egg scrambler and the bacon cooker. She also has a variety of coffee mugs, baking dishes & serving dishes, complete custom dinnerware sets made to order, mugleys & jugleys, birdhouses, piggy banks, oil lamps, honey pots, apple bakers, business card holders, napkin holders, canvas oil paintings, art prints & much much more! All of their pottery is made with stoneware or porcelain clay and is food safe, dishwasher friendly, oven and microwave proof. I am proud to say that I now own quite a few pieces of this exceptional pottery. Valinda too has made some expansions for her business. Just 3 years ago, she was selling her art from her tiny front porch. As business grew, she moved into a building behind her house and not long after doubled the size of the showroom and redecorated. Now, they decided that time had come to once again expand and she did so in a brand new beautifully designed showroom right next door. She plans to continue to use the old showroom to expand her workspace and also host workshops. She actually has 2 workshops planned for this month for kids! Thanks to a grant from ASCA, the cost is only $3 for children and that includes the 2 day workshop, snacks and self-hardening clay! June 17 & 18 she will be at JSU’s Little River Canyon Center and June 24 & 25 at her shop in Valley Head. The morning workshops are from 10:00-11:45am for ages 6-10 and the afternoon workshops are from 12:00-1:45pm for ages 11-16. Miracle Pottery and Art Gallery is located at 7871 AL Hwy. 117 at the foot of Lookout Mountain and is open 7 days a week.

Next time you are in town or even near town (totally worth the drive!), be sure to stop by and visit these ladies. I am sure you will be happy you did!

Alabama Department of Tourism, Mentone and B&B’s by John Dersham

2009-06-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

We are very fortunate in Alabama to be an up and coming state in the area of tourism. When you think about tourism you often think about Orlando, Las Vegas, New York, Gatlinburg, New Orleans and the list goes on. People outside of Alabama have not traditionally thought of Alabama as a tourist state, until recent years. Tourism has become big business for our state. It is an enormous income generator and it produces jobs. Much of our success in recent years can be attributed to our State Director of Tourism, Lee Sentell and the Alabama Department of Tourism. Lee is a career tourism professional who was appointed by Governor Bob Riley in his first term. Lee has brought a lot to Alabama tourism through extensive advertising and by creating themed tourism related venues like “The Year of Alabama Food”, “The Year of Alabama Arts”, “The Year of Alabama Sports”, and now “The Year of Alabama History” and next year “The Year of Alabama Small Towns and Downtowns”. We have the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, the Birding Trails and a newly developed Wine Trail. All of these themed programs encourage tourism through a host of nationwide and worldwide adverting. They include extensive television and print ads including books and travel guides. Lee Sentell and the state Department of Tourism have won national recognition for their marketing and advertising plans. They have received top honors from various nationwide marketing organizations in the tourism industry. Lee loves DeKalb County and in an article published recently in the Birmingham News Lee was discussing tourism in Alabama and he mentioned that one of our true tourist gems in Alabama are the Bed and Breakfast Inns, in and around Mentone and the Lookout Mountain area.
Here is a little history…Mentone is a quaint mountain village on top of Lookout Mountain at an elevation of almost 2,000 feet. Mentone was founded by John Mason of New York City, who as a young man joined the U.S. Calvary and served a tour of duty in the Mid-West. In 1870, Mason moved his family to Mentone in hopes the pure mountain air would restore his ailing health. He lived until age 92. In 1884 Dr. Frank Caldwell from Pennsylvania whom was an associate of John Mason came to the yet unnamed Mentone destination because of the healing spring he heard about from Mason. Mason’s daughter Alice told of a news article she read talking about Queen Victoria having visited a place in France called Mentone. The article stated Mentone meant “Musical Spring”. Alice requested Dr Frank Caldwell, who was building a resort hotel at the healing springs, to name it Mentone Springs, thus the name Mentone. The Mentone Springs Hotel is the oldest hotel still standing in the state of Alabama. It is now a Bed and Breakfast Inn and has a restaurant called Caldwell’s in honor of Dr. Frank Caldwell. Other B&B’s in the Mentone area are Mountain Laurel Inn (recently featured on Alabama Public Television), Crystal Lake Lodge, Raven Haven, The Mentone Inn, The Antebellum Winston Place (c.1831 mansion) and The Secret. All of these locations offer there own special ambiance. They offer great breakfasts, scenic surroundings and wonderful hospitality from Inn Keepers who know the stories of the area and can give you all the information about where to go and what to do.
Alabama is still in its youth when it comes to tourism. This means we have many years of growth, of which, to look forward. DeKalb County and the Lookout Mountain area have always been tourist destinations dating back to our historical beginnings. With that said we are still unknown to many people inside our state and lesser known to those outside of our state. Everyday at our Tourist Information Center here in Fort Payne we hear our visitors tell us how beautiful our area is. They often seem surprised because they did not realize we had the mountains and the water falls and State Parks and the National Preserve with that beautiful deep canyon.
Thank you, Lee Sentell and the Alabama Department of Travel and Tourism for helping spread the word about our little niche of paradise.

We are the lucky ones! by John Dersham

2009-05-21T11:16:00.000-07:00

It took me a long time to make it to DeKalb County Alabama to live. I came here by way of Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Missouri, Mississippi then Birmingham and finally DeKalb County. It took me more then 50 years to find the place I never want to leave. Some of you may wonder why I feel this way. If you have lived here all your life (you lucky ones) you may not view it from the perspective of having lived other places to form my comparison. Since I don’t have space here to write a book about this subject I’ll keep it to a few reminders of how wonderful living here is.
Last week I went to our county courthouse to get my drivers license renewed. I was greeted at the front door by a couple gentlemen working the security checks. They were friendly and courteous and laughed at the junk I took out of my pockets to pass through security. They directed me to the location of the driver’s license renewal and upon entering that location I was greeted by a very nice and highly professional lady whom took all my information. If you want to understand how this simple process functions as a comment on the quality of life in our area then go to Philadelphia or Birmingham and do the same thing. When you come out two hours later beaten and abused and having stood in line for hours then you will understand.
We are blessed to live in an area where people are extremely friendly and helpful by nature. They are not stressed out by years of battling the system of living and working in high traffic, long lines, high costs and among people too busy and stressed out to be friendly.
Here in DeKalb County we have a low comparative cost of living. Housing is affordable, property taxes are generally low. We have great churches, plenty of shopping and eating locations and abundance of natural beauty and wide open spaces. We have great attractions to enjoy like Sequoyah Caverns, DeSoto State Park and Falls, Little River Canyon National Preserve and Canyon Center, Bucks Pocket State Park, High Falls Park, DeKalb County Lake, Fort Payne Depot Museum, Alabama Fan Club and Museum. We have seven annual festivals in our county and a host of quaint towns to visit and shop in. There is no better place anywhere to sight see than on our back roads. We are blessed with an abundance of Flora and Fauna and are proud to host both northern and southern species of both. If on occasion you get that itch to shop at a large Mall or eat at a restaurant we don’t have then you are only an hour or a little more to all of that you want in Chattanooga, Birmingham, Huntsville, Rome or Gadsden.
The next time you are out and about in our fine county, think about what I have said and enjoy yourself and feel blessed, as I do, to live here.