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Lake Tillery
has always been known to me as just "the river," as I have grown up
and spent all my life just a few miles away in the small town of
Mount Gilead. Except for some school years spent in Winston-Salem,
NC; Athens, Georgia; Denver, Colorado; and, Des Moines, Iowa, this
wonderful spot in the center of the state known as the Piedmont has
been my home turf. The spectacular vistas of the western part of
North Carolina have called me many times, as have the drama of the
Carolina coastlines, but the area immediately around Lake Tillery
holds its own share of beautiful hills, water, forests and, yes,
even dramas of color and light. Living in a subdivision directly by
the lake now, I've found many pre-dawn hours by the lake to generate
just as much anticipation of color and light as a Blue Ridge Parkway
dawn.
Like most recreational lakes, Tillery is not the quiet, sparsely
developed lake it was in the 60's and 70's when most houses along
its shores were simple, tiny weekend "river cabins." Boating on a
weekday with too little gas or a bad battery could mean a long
paddle with little chance of a tow. Those days are long gone, but,
hopefully, Tillery will benefit from the areas protected by Morrow
Mountain State Park on its northern Stanly County side and by the
Uwharrie National Forest on the northern Montgomery County side.
I hope the images in this collection convey some of the lake's
mystery and quiet beauty that might be missed by busy Sunday
afternoon boaters, skiers, and grillers. For those with a life-long
appreciation of this stretch of the Pee Dee River between Hydro and
Falls Dams, I hope it brings a smile and some pride that your
"river" is still beautiful. For everyone, I hope there can be
renewed or continued desire to preserve and protect that which is
close to us, so precious and delicate, and so important to our
quality of life.
Deb
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