Low Water Blues & BBQ - Saturday, September 18th

I met Mildred Wilkerson in the Chapel kitchen 15 years ago. She had prepared her popular cheese and sausage strata dish for breakfast. Following the service that Sunday, I poked my head into the kitchen to compliment her on the tasty dish. Although Mildred had been cooking all morning, she was tastefully dressed in a beautiful sweater. In fact, she always dressed immaculately, in a handsome outfit with nails and makeup done. We took a liking to each other immediately and she invited me to stop by her home at 888 Lakeshore – the house with the stained glass windows. She had something she wanted to share with me.

Later that day, my husband Bob and I went over to visit. We took our son Bobby with us, who was probably 18 months old at the time. Mildred loved children, although she and Jack never had any of their own. We chatted for a while and admired her garden. She then presented me with a prized possession, her strata recipe printed on an envelope (Mildred and Jack were known for their frugality!). She told me she was no longer going to cook at the Chapel – it was just too much work for her. At the time of this meeting, Mildred was probably in her late 70s. She seemed to know I was a good cook and wanted me to carry on her tradition of preparing strata for Chapel breakfast. It was a job I readily agreed upon – anything to get that recipe! And, since then, once a year for close to 15 years I have prepared strata because Mildred asked me to.

Firstly, I would like to thank the 2005 BLHA Board of Directors, Mr. George Kaffezakis, and all the BLHA members who elected me to the Lake Maintenance Director position. George has done such an outstanding job over the years with the lake and thankfully has offered his assistance with some of the lake maintenance tasks. He has already spent a good bit of time educating me and getting me up to speed. My goal is, that the needs of boaters, fisherman, swimmers, native wildlife and fish will be met under my term of service. This is a balancing act at times, but one I believe has been well accomplished under George's term of service and I will do my best to continue his effort going forward. Over the last few months, George and I have been working with our lake biologist, Shan O'Gorman of ProPonds. Shan had recommended the placement of 100 tons of lime into our lake. Lime will help stabilize the pH level by reducing the current acid level. Just like Georgia red clay is acidic, so is the soil beneath our lake. Therefore, by adding the lime, we lower the acidic level. Consequently the placement of fertilizer in the lake becomes much more effective, and we will have a proper algae bloom. Why is this important? Well mainly for no other reason than weed control. Our lake is naturally so clear, that without the lime and fertilizer, we would soon find ourselves in a lake choked with weeds. This change will allow the free flow of water and recreational boating activity without clogging propellers, plus the ability for swimming without being tickled by submergent vegetation.