Smith Mountain Lake News

Buying Lakeshore Property Part 3

For those who are interested in joining the great community at Smith Mountain Lake Virginia, Part 3 of Mike and Harriete Wock's article from Kenyon Blunt's Lake Home Tips on buying real estate at the lake, will be of much interest.

Seasonal Or Year Round Use
Do you want a “summer” home or are you also interested in using it year round as a get away? Do you snowmobile, cross country ski or ice fish? Is the house insulated for winter use? Have the water lines been plumbed so that you can readily drain them as winter approaches? Do you have to “crawl” under the cabin to get at the water lines?

Public Access
Does the lake have a public access? If it doesn’t – how are you and your guests going to get your water toys in and out of the water? Is the landing concrete or sand/gravel? Will you be able to launch your boat? Beware of lakes on “chains”. Is there a usable/navigable channel that will accommodate the size of boat that you have?

The Lake Outlet Grand Opening

Come join the residents of Smith Mountain Lake Virginia for the Grand Opening of our newest business, "The Lake Outlet" at 361 Scruggs Road (under the blue awning).

The Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening will be on Wednesday, December 12th from noon untill 2pm. Food and refreshments will be served and you will enjoy meeting some nice people.

Come and welcome Bob Stone, his staff and "The Lake Outlet" to the business community of Smith Mountain Lake. Dan Sink of Brenda's Pack and Ship is the Ambassador for the event.

SML Angel Tree

For several years, the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce has had a "We Care Angel Tree" on site at their visitors center for the Christmas holidays. 

Each angel hanging on the tree represents a needy child that is likely not to get much for Christmas. The residents of Smith Mountain Lake are given the opportunity to pick a child's angel hanging on the Christmas tree and then buy that child a gift. This year we have lots of angels still remaining on the tree. 
 
If you can, please stop by the SML Visitors Center to pick an angel and purchase a gift to be returned to the Visitors Center no later than Friday, December 14, 2007. If you need more information you can call 800-676-8203 or visit http://www.visitsmithmountainlake.com/.
 
We know the children will appreciate a gift!  Thank you.                     
 

Christmas Trees For Sale

If you live near Smith Mountain Lake Virginia, then you are blessed to see an abundance of beautiful trees all year round. But since this is the season when we particularly appreciate pine trees, I thought it would be fun to share a few Christmas tree facts.

Did you know that six species account for about 90 percent of the nation's Christmas tree trade? Scotch pine ranks first, comprising about 40 percent of the market, followed by Douglas fir which accounts for about 35 percent. The other big sellers are noble fir, white pine, balsam fir and white spruce. If you have not yet found the perfect tree for your home this Christmas then check out your local nursery or one of the local businesses below.

SML Rotary Annual Christmas Tree Sale will be held at Lake Auto Repair located at 210 Scruggs Road in Moneta.  Available will be 6' to 10' hand picked Frazier Firs.  Free delivery (within a reasonable distance) For more info call
540.721.5823.

Cold Weather Bass Fishing

Some might think that they have to put away their fishing poles when winter comes to Smith Mountain Lake. But Charles Stuart of the Bass Fishing Resource Guide says there is plenty of good fishin' to be done in the winter.

Fishing for bass during the late fall and winter months can be a daunting task. During the regular season, you have identifiable structure to fish, vegetation is in bloom and the sun offers you shaded areas, which will produce fish during the heat of the day. Winter however does not give you any of those visible signs.
   So what do you do? Well once again, you must turn to your understanding of the bass and its lifestyle during these "lean months". When I use the word lean, I am referring to the food chain which can be drastically reduced by the elements. Exceptionally cold weather can kill smaller fish and aquatic life leaving the bass only a limited diet for three or four months. You will often hear bass fishermen talking about the "big feed" prior to winter, when bass will eat anything and everything to carry them through to spring.

Local Colleges and Universities

Most of the colleges near Smith Mountain Lake Virginia are preparing for their Christmas/Winter break in the next couple of weeks. After that break is over they will begin a new quarter or semester whatever the case may be. If you have been considering going back to school to finish your degree or just to further your education, this list of schools near us may be helpful.

Community Colleges:

• Central Virginia Community College, Lynchburg 804-832-7600
• Danville Community College, Danville 804-797-3553
• Patrick Henry Community College, Martinsville 540-638-8777
• Virginia Western Community College, Roanoke 540-857-7231

Colleges

• Averett College, Danville 804-791-5600
• Ferrum College, Ferrum 540-365-2121

Christmas Tree Legends

Stories and traditions are a fun part of life in Viriginia's Smith Mountain Lake. And Christmas is a veritable banquet of such tales. Though I believe it is important for our childrens sake to separate truth from fiction, tradition is one way to teach lessons and draw the family together with special memories.

One story not told as often as others is that of the Christmas Tree. Perhaps part of the reason for that is that there are many legends regarding it's origins. I guess none of us will ever know for sure where the tradition came from, but it is rather interesting to speculate. Here are several possibilities as to the roots of our current practice of bringing trees into our homes and decorating them.

Late in the Middle Ages, Germans and Scandinavians placed evergreen trees inside their homes or just outside their doors to show their hope in the forthcoming spring. Some think perhaps our modern Christmas tree evolved from these early traditions.

Legend also has it that Martin Luther, one of the founders of the Protestant faith, began the tradition of decorating trees. One crisp Christmas Eve, about the year 1500, he was walking through snow-covered woods and as he walked he was awed by the beauty of millions of stars glimmering through the branches of the evergreen trees. The tree branches, dusted with snow, shimmered by the light of the moon and the twinkling starlight. So taken was he by this sight that when he got home, he set up a little fir tree indoors so he could share this story with his children. He decorated it by putting candles on all it's branches, which he lighted in honor of Christ's birth.

Buying Lakeshore Property Part 2

So you love Smith Mountain Lake as much as we do and plan to buy a piece of real estate for yourself? Make sure you pick the property that will suit you and your family for generations to come with the helpful information in Part 2 of Mike and Harriete Wock's article from Kenyon Blunt's Lake Home Tips. They bring up the aspects of lake living that may be important to you in years to come, but that might not all come to your mind in the excitement of the buy.

Fishing
Do you or your guests intend on fishing? Do you want to fish in summer and winter? Some lakes are not fishable in winter, others contain “hotspots”. What’s the quality of fishing – poor – good – excellent? What species of fish reside in the lake; walleye, muskie, bass, or rough fish? Is this what you want to catch? Is there winter kill?

Biodiversity
Some lakefront properties offer vast biodiversity. For instance, on Rice Lake near Brainerd and Clear Lake near Pequot Lakes you will find a mixture of beautiful sand lakeshore coupled with cool natural flowing springs. Biodiversity like this is rare and priceless, but within your grasp. Lakes that are fed by rivers like the Minnesota, St. Croix or Mississippi offer more diversity to explore and enjoy. The adjoining river is an extension of the lake. In essence, the river increases the lake size and opportunities.

Pittsylvania County Virginia

Smith Mountain Lake encompasses three counties. Of those three I hear alot about Franklin County and Bedford County, but for some reason I rarely hear much about Pittsylvania County. The interesting thing is that Pittsylvania County is the largest county in Virginia, consisting of roughly 980 square miles of lovely Virginia real estate.

Personally I think it is quite interesting to know a little bit about our neighboring counties, since each one is an important part of the Smith Mountain Lake Community.

Situated in the south-central Piedmont plateau region, Pittsylvania County land is rolling to hilly with elevations averaging from 400 to 800 feet above sea level. The highest point in the county is Smith Mountain which is 2,043 feet high.

Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce Awards

Within every community there are people and businesses who go above and beyond what is normally expected, in order to benefit those around them. At Smith Mountain Lake Virginia, we are blessed to have many such people, and the local Chamber of Commerce wishes to honor them for their work.

The following are the categories and criteria for the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce's annual awards:

Small Business of the Year - SML Chamber member with fewer than 10 employees.
Inspirational and visionary, this business operates at a level that inspires others and exhibits vision that goes beyond 'business as usual'. The Small Business of the Year demonstrates success and exceptional performance in business practices, customer service and community involvement.

Large Business of the Year- SML Chamber member with more than 10 employees. Demonstrating success, diversity of workforce, exceptional service and community leadership, this business promotes economic growth, stability and improvement in the area in which the SML Chamber serves.