Smith Lake Hat Company opened for business in the summer of 2023 with the idea of creating a staple source for quality custom headwear for the lake community.  They started simply with what they felt was the best symbolic beacon advertisement for Smith Lake Culture:  "the hat."  Our team first began to see the hats on Instagram, then Facebook, and soon we found them in a local store.  

Young owner and entrepreneur Jase Glasscock is excited to give the local market something new to check out in their shopping experience.  He has taken all the proper steps to be sure that his brand is one you'll be proud to wear.  He formed his LLC, procured the development of the first logo, selection of products and materials, and has started with a logo developed for the first run for 2023.  He tells us he is leaving the door open to change up the look and feel of his logo and designs to keep up with changes in styles and fashion as the passage of time requires and as he feels necessary.

The company seeks to grow from hats to other apparel items.  Since our team first began watching them online in summer 2023, they have already gone from offering the traditional baseball style hat with open weave back and front leather patch with embroidery on the sides, to a summer straw surfer-style hat, then to heavier materials for the fall and winter season for warmth, and have even added another straw "gambler" hat, as well as a hat for the ladies, and a line of sunglasses we have recently found on the website.

The company is excited to provide a branded experience of Smith Lake culture with fashionable headwear styles that exude a pride of the lake for locals and visitors alike. Their hats will include patches (leather patches, color leather patches, etc.), embroidery, print and even some new styles of PVC.  You'll have to watch as they slowly roll out the lines over time.

​They intend to provide the highest quality end product for their customers. They take great pride in every hat that ships out or sells in a local retail store.  At current, you can find them not only online to order for shipping, but also at the following retail stores:

• The Lake House Store - Arley, AL
• Sweatmon's Produce - Crane Hill, AL

Join in to support this ambitious new local company.  Find all the contact information below, and be sure to follow them on both Facebook and Instagram to keep up with company news and merchandise announcements.  ​

​Get your boat ready – it’s almost spring!
 
Groundhog Day 2023 brought news we lake lovers did not want to hear for the upcoming boating season… 6 more weeks of winter?!  BUT… that also means it allows 6 more weeks to prepare boats/marine vessels for spring break and beyond!  
 
Now is the time, before spring, to put boats in the shop for servicing, maintenance and upgrades before local shops are overloaded, resulting in sometimes serious delays to your boating season.  Also, maintaining and servicing a boat annually protects your investment, and upgrades can substantially help resale value.  

See a list of suggestions below (in alphabetical order):

7.  MARINE AUDIO/VIDEO - Upgrade the entire boat's A/V system if it is not performing on its limited stock system, or if the system is older and needing a few upgrades or component additions.  Perhaps everything is functioning fine, and the system just needs some tuning, repairs or refurb.  Be sure to use professionals who understand the nuances between name brands of equipment and how to get the most sound bang for your buck.  A company we recommend who has over 35 years experience in high end professional audio is MasterPro Audio with experience not just in marine audio and basic 12V, but also for commercial/home/worship/sports venues, entertainment venues, etc.  Ask to hear their demo boat system, on the water from a very far distance - you'll be shocked at what their patented tower speakers and component system are capable of - clean, clear high performance sound ready to energize your day on the lake.
 
8.  MARINE FLOORING - whether it's carpet, engineered marine flooring for an entire boat, or just pieces for a back platform, gunwales, or just to artfully replace a torn or damaged section, the following local companies can help get your boat looking the best - Duskin Point Marina, MasterPro Audio, and Russell Marine - Smith Lake.

9.  MECHANICAL SERVICE for BOATS & TRAILERS - schedule to get your boat serviced, tuned up, de-winterized and ready to take on the season.  Local companies we suggest:  Duskin Point Marina, Nelson Marine & Cycle Services, Russell Marine - Smith Lake.

​10.  TOWING SERVICE - get your annual membership NOW and boat worry free all year.  Contact Captain Terry Russeau of TowBoatUS Smith Lake.

11.  UPHOLSTERY - repairs or new - contact Bama Detailing or MasterPro Audio.
 
12.  WATERSPORTS EQUIPMENT - new equipment or rentals - try local shops like Lakeside Gear, Pine Valley Outdoor Living, Russell Marine - Smith Lake and Triple Creek Marina.   ​

Once you've got the boat tuned up, spruced up, fully loaded and ready to go, check out our other informational blogs to make sure you are fully prepared for the best boating season every year.  Check back on our blog often!

For more businesses in categories you are looking for, try our Business Listing - Alphabetical, and our Business Listing by Category, and check out more information in our LOCAL INFO tab.  

Latest update to this blog:  2/2/23.  
​

The TRIANGLE... how did it become a symbol for us?  Importantly for the founding family, and foremost, there is an obvious Christian connection to the Trinity.  Also, historically, an upside down triangle was used to symbolize water which seemed to fit well for a logo about a LAKE.  In mathematics and engineering, a triangle is known to be exceptionally strong, and psychologically it can represent wisdom and stability.  A triangle has 3 sides and the number 3 happens to play a huge part in the personal lives of our founders, the lake in general, and it is a collective favorite number of the team. Smith Lake has 3 main channels - Ryan Creek, Rock Creek and Sipsey Fork, and the lake lies in 3 counties we cherish:  Cullman, Walker and Winston.  ​

"A definition of Teal:  Teal is a blue-green colour. It can be created by mixing blue into a green base, or deepened as needed with black or gray." We often use several different Pantone colors from palettes of teal and aqua in production of our logo and products.  Teal is said to symbolize "morality and renewal" and evoke feelings of "tranquility, optimism, restfulness, reflection and understated elegance."  Pretty cool!  The colors of navy blue, charcoal and black (sometimes we use brownish, khaki & taupe hues) were chosen as natural toned colors (found in the rocky shorelines around the lake) to simply provide a nice contrast and complement to the base colors of creamy white (like fluffy clouds on a summer day) and shades of teal (as in the crisp clean cool greenish waters of Smith).  ​

McFee's Wodshop is the creation of Bryan and Carol McFee in Crane Hill, AL. They are both wood turners.  Carol is a "spindle" turner.  She makes bud vases, handles for bottle openers, ice cream scoops, pizza cutters, back scratchers, and similar items. The vases are all sizes, and we recently did a giveaway for a matched pair that were hard to let go.  They were small, dainty and so beautifully detailed.  We fell in love.  Bryan primarily turns bowls.  GORGEOUS bowls with veins of surprising colors in the wood grain, each one unique and precariously turned and polished to perfection.  He also makes coffee tables and end tables.  He takes special orders if it is something that he feels he can "do justice to."

They use only local hardwoods that they harvest themselves. Most of the trees that they use are dead, dying, or already on the ground. Occasionally they will remove a tree when asked to.  As the trees die, decay sets in.  In wood turner parlance this is called spalting.  It creates the beautiful colors and lines that are so prominent in their work. Bryan jokes "We throw the wood out in the front yard until it starts to grow mushrooms, then we know that the wood is ready!" This does sometimes create problems if the decay goes too far.  Then it gets "punky". This means that it is too rotten to work with.  It is always a fine line between "just right" and "too far gone."  

​They love for people to drop by and visit them in their shop.  In true southern fashion, they have a lot of extra chairs for company.  They are a beautiful couple, you will love every second of time you get with them.  Check them out on Facebook today:  @McFees Woodshop and you may contact Bryan by email:  bryanmcfee0425@gmail.com or phone:  205-541-0658.  

​DIRECTIONS

• Crack eggs and put contents in a microwave safe bowl.
• Mix with a fork then add milk.
• Continue to mix all together.
• Place bowl and contents in microwave and cook for about 3 and a half minutes (depending on your microwave setting) or until no longer runny.
• Place eggs in a tortilla.
• Top with shredded cheese mix and spinach leaves.

Add your choice of bacon, deli meat, or breakfast sausage for a little more protein. A couple of slices of avocado, to top it off, makes this burrito fast, wholesome and packs enough energy to get you through a hectic morning.

ENJOY  ...and see ya Lakeside!  

Subscribe to our magazine at  http://www.thelakesidelife.com/subscription.html. ​
​
​Updated 04/2020

As seen in our October issue, here is the recipe for a favorite Fall dip!
​

• 8 oz of cream cheese
• 16 oz bar of cheese
• 1 lb of chorizo
• 1/4 cup of 2% milk
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
• 1 can of mexicorn
• 2 cans of rotel
• scoops or crusty bread for dipping 

​Steps:
1. Cut cheese into small cubes and set aside. 
2. Remove chorizo from casing and brown in a skillet. Drain well. 
3. Reduce to medium heat, adding cheeses, milk, and garlic salt.
5. Cook and stir 8-10 minutes or until well blended. 
4. Drain corn and rotel, adding both to the mixture. 
5. Cook 5 minutes and serve from skillet. 
​6. Enjoy! 

You asked and we listened! Subscriptions are now available to The Lakeside Life. Since our publication is free, your cost is essentially paying for convenience, shipping and handling - the magazines are thick and heavy, so they cost more to ship and handle than most. 

The Lakeside Life is presently published tri-annually - Spring, Summer and Fall/Winter.  We had previously (pre-COVID19) released traditional quarterly style - in Spring, Summer, Fall & Winter. We hope to return to a 4-times-a-year conventional quarterly magazine, but honestly we've enjoyed the larger 3 issues a year, so who knows?  3 does kind of fit our brand after all.  Anyway, to subscribe, simply click here. 

See you lakeside,
The Lakeside Life Team 

Article originally dated 11/6/2017, updated 4/6/2021.