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Having a heART for the community

CUBB (Citizens United for a Better Bridgeport) is extending a warm and gracious thanks to one of its own humanitarians, Art Roper, a gentleman with an extraordinary heart and many talents.

Roper has been a mainstay for Bridgeport’s Christmas parades for 31 years, expecting nothing and giving everything. He arrives early and devotes many hours to the job of DJ, emcee, announcer of the floats and any other role that he sees a need to step into at any given moment.

Roper gives of his time not only during this all-important date each year, but also at many other times. He plays drums at his church. He has served on the mission field in Guatemala. He is a member of the Jaycees. He works on the committee for the Trail of Tears. Roper’s Sound Production has provided services for such performers as Exile, Confederate Railroad, Rhonda Vincent, The Rave, Ricky Skaggs, Bryan White and others.

Roper and his wife, Melissa, reside in Bridgeport. The couple have three children: Judd, Jazz and Jacy. They are also very proud grandparents. He has always remained close with his father, Charles Roper, and his sister, Cindy Roper Cagle. Thank you, Art Roper, with heartfelt appreciation and love from your hometown of Bridgeport. We are so proud to call you ours.

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Kelly Stacy knows he can express how he feels about something verbally, but he prefers to use photographs to communicate.

“You can read a whole chapter in a book, but if you see one picture it explains a lot more,” he says.

A retired boilermaker, Stacy once spent his days working with construction crews to build power plants. Originally from Hindman, Kentucky, he ended up settling in Stevenson after his work brought him to the area.

Stacy always enjoyed dabbling in photography. But after his retirement in 2005, he began pursuing it with more passion.

“I started shooting film in the 1970s with a Yashica camera,” says Stacy, who now prefers Nikon equipment.

He photographs a variety of subjects, including wildlife and local scenic landscapes. Birds, however, are his favorite to capture. He’s spent hours sitting in a blind on his property, waiting for the right moment. The birds will eventually show up – especially if there’s food involved.

“You can chase them, or you can feed them,” he says.

His camera has captured a variety of different birds, including osprey, ducks, eagles, hummingbirds, and cardinals. He says the easiest bird to get photos of is the hummingbird because of it’s predictability of showing up at the feeder. “They’re all colorful and different,” he says of the tiny birds, but they also present a challenge, which he loves. “They’re only still for a split second.”

Stacy says inspiration comes from the drive to always improve himself and hone his craft. “You never get the perfect picture,” he says. “I like the challenge of picking the right light. That’s the most important thing: light.”

In fact, light is so important in making or breaking a photo, Stacy has been known to scope out a scene at different times of the day, waiting for the light to be perfect.

Once, while on a drive with his wife, Deborah, he pulled their car over at the bridge near South Pittsburg, Tennessee. “It took me five years of watching that bridge to get the right light for a photo, and I knew I had to get one that day,” he says.

Since rekindling his love of photography, Stacy sees the world around him in a new way.

“I love to get out in nature,” he says. “You just start looking at things differently. Like the old barn, I see regularly. I start thinking, ‘If I come back later in the day, the light will be much better.’”

It isn’t just the barn Stacy cares about, but the entire scene. He considers it to be a story he has to tell without using words.

“I just let people make their own judgment,” he says of his work. “I don’t want to pollute their mind.”

Stacy says if you’re learning about photography, the first step is to gain knowledge about aperture, ISO, and shutter speed.

“Shoot in manual mode,” he says, “You’re never going to learn photography until you twist a few dials.”

But the real secret to good photography, he says, is just having fun and doing it because you enjoy it.

“Just take pictures of what you like,” Stacy says. “If no one else likes it, it doesn’t matter. Don’t make it hard, and don’t be hard on yourself.”

Don’t let the winter chill crimp your finances. Just a few simple steps can close the gap between you and lower electric bills.

1. Replace the furnace filter: A dirty furnace filter can block airflow, especially during cold months when heating systems work overtime. Regularly change the filter, and set your calendar to remind you. Or, invest in a permanent filter and never worry again.
2. Reverse your fans: Ceiling fans are for more than cooling. Running a fan counterclockwise produces cool breezes, but running it clockwise warms rooms by pulling cool air toward the ceiling. This one change can cut heating expense by 10%.
3. Block the draft: Many snakes are good, especially those you can use to block drafts, which can increase your energy costs as much as 30%, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Make a simple draft snake by rolling a towel and placing it under a drafty door.
4. Cover your windows: When properly installed, plastic window insulation is practically invisible, and it can add a buffer against drafts that will keep more heat inside. Affordable insulation kits are available at most hardware stores.
5. Check weatherstripping: Check spots in your home where two types of building materials meet. Plug any holes with caulking and weatherstripping. Common culprits include corners, the area around chimneys, spots where pipes or wires exit the wall and along the foundation.
6. Add insulation: Upgrading or adding insulation between walls is one way to improve the energy efficiency of your home. Double-check your attic floor and basement ceiling to make sure they’re well-insulated.
7. Cover the water heater: Is your water heater in a garage or unfinished basement? That means it may be surrounded by cold air. Consider covering your tank with a water heater blanket to reduce heat loss by 25% or more.
8. Seal switches and outlets: Did you know that as much as 5% of air seeping into your homes comes through electrical outlets and switches on outside walls? Properly sealing those outlets helps prevent unwanted drafts.
9. Insulate pipes: Insulating pipes can be a good way to reduce your hot water costs and to decrease the likelihood of the pipes freezing. Most hardware stores carry pipe foam rated by R-value, a measure of its heat-blocking power. Insulation with an R-3 rating works for most pipes.

White Peake Market In Woodville Offers Local Produce and Products

From left, Sally White, Deidra White, and Mary Peake help keep local produce and baked goods on the shelves at the White Peake Market in Woodville.

In 2019, Huntsville residents Mary Peake and her husband, Kirk, purchased a farm in Woodville. The couple had long wanted to own land and they knew this was the right place when they found it.

Mary’s mother, Sally White, always had a green thumb, so the Peakes designated a couple of acres of their property just for Sally‘s garden. She did the planning, and Mary and Kirk helped with the planting, tilling and harvesting.

“The garden did well that year,” Mary says.

So well, in fact, that after a good first growing season, the Peakes decided to sell their produce at the Madison County Farmers Market in Huntsville. In the second year of planting, they added pumpkins to the mix.

Business began to pick up and the Peakes realized a need in the community they could help meet — a place for people to buy fresh produce without having to drive too far.

Also, they grew tired of shuttling the produce to and from the farmers market week after week, so they considered other, more permanent options for their growing business.

Growing Food, Building Community

In the winter of 2021, Sally noticed a building for sale in Woodville, only about a mile and half from the farm. The family considered the new location and decided it would be the perfect spot to sell their produce.

“Things started coming together and we felt led by the Lord that this was the right direction,” Mary says.

During this time of growth, Mary decided to ask her sister-in-law, Deidra White, if she would like to get involved as the manager of the store. Deidra, who lives in Owens Cross Roads, agreed and began helping develop a plan for the market to thrive.

The family decided to keep things simple in the beginning and only sold produce. The first spring crop was planted in April 2022 and the White Peake Market opened that May, welcoming customers every Saturday through November.

The first “official” season went well and the family loved the positive reception from people in the community. They’ve made contacts and built relationships with other local farmers to help fill in the gaps where their own produce offerings are limited.

“We’re just doing everything we can to try and give people enough variety so they can shop,” Deidra says.

Today, White Peake Market offers everything from locally grown fruits and vegetables to honey, farm-fresh eggs, handmade soaps, crafts, home decor made by local artists and fresh-cut flowers.

Sally’s baked goods are a staple item offered in the market. “She’s famous around here for her baking,” Mary says.

Sally learned to bake by watching her mother and grandmother, and also credits her home economics teacher in high school with helping her hone her skills. She raised 5 children, making them homemade biscuits every morning and cinnamon rolls during the holidays. Sally uses that same cinnamon roll recipe for the ones she sells at the market, and whenever Mary smells them baking, it takes her back to Christmas Eve as a child.

“She’s always had a fondness for baking,” Mary says. “It’s how she expresses her love for people.”

The building that now houses White Peake Market was the train depot in the early 1900s, and was moved to its current location from another spot in town. Earlier in its history, an addition was constructed on the building and that market occupies that space. The original depot area — featuring hand-hewn beams and other original design details — is currently closed off. The White Peake Market team has plans to work on reviving that part of the building during the winter, after the market closes for the season.

The Christmas Market, which was in November, was a way to bring the community together to end the season with something fun. “Since produce has slowed down, we wanted to pull together some crafts, holiday decor and something people could buy as gifts for friends and family,” Deidra says.

A concrete 2023 opening date is not yet set, but the family plans on returning in the spring. “I think you’ll see in the next couple of years it will look very different,” Mary says. “The potential for growth is there.”

Deidra says they will use the offseason to figure out the logistics to stay open later into the year and to continue to improve what they’ve established.

“The first season has been really humbling,” Deidra says. ”The response from the community has been incredibly flattering. Who are we? We’re just outsiders who got a farm and a building, they’ve all been so accepting of our presence.”

When customers shop locally, not only do they help stimulate the economy, but they gain a sense of community and a connection with the products and the people they’re buying from.

“Small businesses are the backbone of this country. When you shop local, you’re supporting a family, not a corporation. We are trying to support the local community by providing an outlet for other artists and farmers to have an outlet for their things as well,” Mary says.

A Luxury Glamping Resort Offers Relaxation

Troy Hopkins believes he’s the luckiest person in the world. “I get to drive a 4-wheeler to work every day,” he says.

Hosting and customer service are 2 of Troy’s greatest joys, and he gets to see the results of his efforts daily in the smiles of his guests.

Troy and his wife, Patti, own and operate ReTreet, an innovative luxury glamping — glamorous camping — resort on Lake Guntersville. On a 40-acre property, ReTreet features extreme glamping tents, treehouses, and tiny cottages.

How It Started

The Hopkinses moved to Lake Guntersville in 2020. Patti works as a registered nurse, and the couple have owned a variety of businesses over the years, including a commercial cleaning company and The Interior Marketplace in Hampton Cove.

During their daily walks near their home, the couple noticed a beautiful piece of undeveloped property and dreamed of the possibilities. At first, they thought about building an angler’s retreat, but their daughters suggested another idea. With the growing popularity of glamping, they felt like a rustic retreat would draw visitors to come and enjoy the beauty of the area.

The terrain is steep, so the couple began by building 6 treehouses. “These aren’t just any treehouses,” Troy says. They are outfitted with granite countertops and king-size beds.

The first building phase of the property was so successful that in January 2023, the Hopkinses decided to branch out and build platform glamping tents and tiny cottages. While the tents are just that, a tent, they have interior walls and roofs. Also, each tent has its own theme. The Hogwarts House is very popular with Harry Potter fans. The Love Shack — which offers guests a private hot tub — is the most popular glamping tent.

All ReTreet guests are given access to a golf cart upon arrival. Troy says the first thing a lot of guests do is take a photo with their golf cart, which has their name on it. “We really give our guests a concierge experience,” he says. “It feels like camping at a very nice hotel.”

The Tiny Cottages, which are named after Sherwin Williams paint colors, are 280-square-foot studio spaces. Guests have access to a disc golf course, dog park, horseshoe pit, a general store, and more.

“We recently added a spa with a cedar soaking tub and an outdoor sauna so that everyone can enjoy a hot tub experience,” Troy says. “The Love Shack stays booked because people love the hot tub, so we are looking into adding more.”

1 of the most recent additions to the property is the Ekodome, a glass dome custom-made in Turkey and shipped to the property. Some of the plans for the future include a pop-up restaurant in the Ekodome featuring the talents of local chefs.

Coming Together

Troy has always been an entrepreneur. At 5 years old, he delivered fresh eggs from his family’s hens to customers for 50 cents per dozen. Today, he pays homage to his early entrepreneurial spirit by including fresh eggs in each cabin when guests check in.

Theories abound about the origins of Maine coon cats.

Are they descended from the Norwegian forest cat brought to North America by the Vikings? Or the Turkish angora cats Marie Antoinette sent to Maine in advance as she planned her escape during the French Revolution? Do their genetics come from a wild cat? Are they the result of long-haired cats that escaped to New England’s shores when a cat-loving British mariner named Capt. Charles Coon made port? Are they part raccoon? No, they’re not. It’s genetically impossible.

“You can make up your own story and it would be just as logical,” says Mitzi Guess, owner of Congocoon Maine Coon Cattery in Stevenson. “They just found them in the wilds of Maine.”

Whatever their pedigree, the official state cat of Maine is a working cat built for harsh weather. Their large paws function like snowshoes. Their fur is water resistant. Tufts of extra hair on and inside their large ears provide protection, and their long-furred tails curl around them for warmth.

Maine coons are tall, long, and muscular cats. While females are smaller, males can weigh up to 20 pounds, stand 16 inches high and stretch to out to more than 30 inches in length. A neutered male can weigh up to 30 pounds, Guess says.

“I just fell in love with them because they act like a dog,” Guess says. “They don’t meow like a regular cat. They chirp and chortle.”

A Purrfect Business Opportunity

Guess opened her cattery in 1992, buying adult Maine coons and several litters of kittens from a cat fancier in Tennessee who wanted to retire. Prior to that, Guess bred and showed champion German shepherds and Dobermans in the protection sport known as Schutzhund and Shetland sheepdogs in breed conformation shows.

“Then, I was in the cat business, and I didn’t know anything about it, and it was a very sharp learning curve,” Guess says.

She collaborated closely with a local veterinarian as she learned the differences between canine and feline husbandry.

When Guess first started, she showed her cats and had champions. In the 32 years since she opened her cattery, the look of Maine coons has changed as people want the heavy lynx tipping on the ears for a more feral look.

Designed With Cats in Mind

Guess tailored Congocoon Cattery after European catteries. It’s built to be a safe space — enclosed but also providing exposure to the outdoors and privacy areas for adult cats. The large, landscaped cattery has the look of a garden, and the “retirees” that Guess keeps as pets are allowed time to roam. Several adults live together in each enclosure. There is a queen’s cottage for new mothers and their litters, a nursery building for older kittens and a cub cabin for kittens that have been selected by new owners. There’s an area for grooming as well.

There’s usually about 30 cats at the cattery at any given time.

A garden path winds through the enclosures. Among the greenery, flowering plants, and driftwood are statues of jungle animals and fantasy sculptures. There’s even a “garden” of empty bird cages. The adult cats have unconventional names like Dragon, Murder of Crows, Ironhawk, Game of Gemstones, and Fear the Reaper. The cattery space is shared with 2 dogs, chickens, and a golden pheasant.

Guess refers to her place as a cross between a zoo and a miniature golf course.

Among cat people, Maine coons are popular, not just because of their size, but also their personality. Known as gentle giants, Maine coons typically love people — including children — and dogs. The felines have a variety of coat colors from brown tabby to silver, black, tuxedo, and calico. Polydactyly, or extra toes, is common in some breeding lines.

Slow to mature to their full size, Maines is intelligent and social. They love water — splashing it from a bowl, laying in it — and they’re known to follow their owners everywhere, Guess says. In families with kids, a Maine coon will tend to stick with the children, wanting to be among the action in a home.

“They’re not a catty cat,” Guess says. “They want to be with you, and they want to be with you so much that they’re a nuisance. Anything you’re doing, they’re in the middle of it. They make every trip you make to the bathroom with you. If you’re folding clothes, they’re folding clothes. If you’re writing checks, they’re going to write a check.”

Many of the kittens she sells are to previous buyers, Guess says. A Maine coon kitten sold by a reputable cattery can run up to $2,000. Guess says she collaborates closely with her vet to screen her cats for any health issues that may affect them later in life. Congocoon Cattery has been testing its felines since 2006 for the genetic mutation that causes hypertrophic cardiomyopathy to ensure its breeding cats are free of the heart disease mutation.

Congocoon Cattery doesn’t ship cats. Instead, people come from all over the U.S. and Canada to pick up kittens. Over the years, the cattery has actually imported cats from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, and Russia to add some of the European traits to the Congocoon breeding line.

Turning 70 this year, Guess has already started making plans for her retirement. The cattery will remain at her home, but her cattery assistant, April Thrasher, will take over operations when the time comes. Thrasher has worked at Congocoon Cattery for 2 years.

“When I met Mitzi, I knew this was going to be what I wanted to do the rest of my life because I just love cats and I love Maine coons,” Thrasher says. “I’ve got big shoes to fill that’s for sure.”

Cathedral Caverns Wows Visitors

The ceiling soars up to 123 feet in places, offering a stunning view down toward the path.

Cathedral Caverns is a natural treasure. Everything about it is astonishing — from the 2-story-high entrance, listed as the largest cave opening on the planet by Guinness World Records, to the majestic formations within.

Visitors first gained access to the cavern in 1955, when it opened as a private attraction dubbed Bat Cave by owner Jacob Gurley. His wife talked him into changing its name to Cathedral Caverns because its soaring ceilings, stalactites, and stalagmites resembled the inside of a Gothic church. It was declared a National Natural Landmark in 1972, but just 2 years later it was sold at auction when the Gurleys reportedly ran into financial trouble.

In 1987, the state of Alabama bought the cave and surrounding property. In the summer of 2000, Cathedral Caverns State Park was opened.

So Much To See

Archaeological excavations near the entrance indicate the cavern’s connection with humans dates back 8,000 years. And while 11,000 feet of passages have been mapped, the total extent of the cave system is unknown. Some of the passages are subject to flooding by the cave’s Mystery River, and others are off-limits to protect fragile formations.

A paved public trail within takes visitors more than half a mile into the cavern, where the temperature stays steady at 60 degrees. Strategic lighting reveals stunning formations like the massive stalagmite Goliath, which at 243 feet around and 45 feet tall is 1 of the largest in the world. There’s a 135-foot-long flowstone wall that looks like a frozen waterfall, and a grouping of stalagmites resembles an enchanted forest.

The park has much more than the cavern to offer within its 493 acres. There are 5 separate hiking trails, 4 of which intersect to combine for more than 5.5 miles of beautiful wooded scenery. Near those trails and the cave are spots for camper parking, tent camping, or enjoying modern comforts within a rustic cabin.

Even visitors who live just down the road will find that Cathedral Caverns State Park is a vacation destination. There are 25 full-service sites for campers to choose from with power, water, and sewer hookups. The park also offers 11 basic sites with power and water, 10 primitive sites, 2 backcountry sites, and 2 primitive group sites. A bathhouse sits nearby.

For a more homey stay, the park’s 4 tiny cabins provide a host of conveniences wrapped in a rustic package. 3 of them are two-bedroom designs furnished to sleep 6 people. The accessible one-bedroom cabin sleeps 2.

Ready To Run

Cathedral Caverns has also become a mecca for runners, who show up in droves for races the park hosts each year. The first weekend of March, the park held its Race to the Cave events, a 5K and the Half Marathon + 5K Challenge on Saturday and a 10K and half marathon on Sunday. The races all are on paved roads and end with a run through the cave itself.

Fall brings 2 more annual epic races, the Conquer the Cave 5K and the Cathedral Caverns 5K and 15K Trail Run. For those who prefer a leisurely pace, there’s a Walk in the Park, a 1.5-mile guided hike scheduled for the first weekend of April. But whether a run or a walk, much of any route will involve challenging hills.

Cathedral Caverns Park also offers a full slate of activities to educate and entertain. April’s scheduled events range from an art class, Cave Art: Turning Stone Into Paint, to a study of Fossil Features and an ode to the start of Dark Sky Week with the program Looking Into the Dark.

Gem mining is a big draw at the park every day, for every age. Mining dirt purchased in bags and buckets yields rough-cut gemstones or fossils when sifted through flumes of running water, and there’s a handy chart to help identify each find.

North Alabama Electric Cooperative (NAEC) opened its first office in 1940 in downtown Stevenson and finished its first year of operations with 126 miles of power lines and 1,026 members.

As state Representative Mike Kirkland reminded cooperative members and employees during the 2025 Annual Meeting, NAEC has come a long way in the past 85 years. Today, the cooperative maintains more than 2,300 miles of power lines and serves more than 19,000 members with electricity and fiber.

“It is more than a utility — it is an integral part of the community,” Kirkland says. “From providing reliable, affordable electricity to fostering local economic development and supporting sustainability efforts, you make a real difference. As we all know, the cooperative model isn’t just about providing a service. It’s about creating a sense of shared purpose where each member has a voice and a stake in the outcome.”

Members gathered August 16 at the Stevenson Park Amphitheater for the 2025 meeting, hearing from cooperative leaders, state legislators, and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who is running for the U.S. Senate. Marshall is running for the seat currently held by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor.

Others who spoke during the Annual Meeting included state Sen. Steve Livingston and Jackson County Schools Superintendent Jason Davidson.

While 257 members attended the meeting, a quorum requires 655 members. The lack of a quorum means current trustees will continue to serve for districts 3, 4, and 9.

The grand prize was a 75-inch smart TV. Other prizes included freezers, motion-sensor outdoor security lights, an air fryer toaster oven, multiple smart TVs, vacuum cleaners, and routers. Members 80 and older received NAEC stadium cushion seats, and also received numerous electric bills and fiber credits.

Door Prize Winners

• Brandon Maynor, Stevenson $100 electric credit
• Henry Axley, Stevenson LG UHD 75-inch smart TV, grand prize
• Clarence Smith, Stevenson $50 fiber credit
• Calvary Baptist, Stevenson Dirt Devil Power Max vacuum, church prize
• Enola Godwin, Scottsboro $150 fiber credit
• Samantha Avans, Scottsboro Keurig K-Mini-Go
• Bobby Sanders, Scottsboro $150 electric credit
• John McBride, Scottsboro Levoit mini air purifier
• Lee Chambers, Woodville Hoover Power Drive XL vacuum
• Greg Burnette, Bridgeport $50 fiber credit
• Jeff Arnold, Scottsboro Power XL 8-quart air fryer
• Leonard Rogers, Stevenson Roku 4K streaming stick
• John Elkins, Bridgeport Hisense 5-cubic-foot chest freezer
• Jimmy Kelly, Stevenson $50 fiber credit
• Joseph Hollis, Stevenson LG 55-inch smart TV
• Billy Westbrooks, Bridgeport $100 fiber credit
• Chris Gulley, Bridgeport Frigidaire upright freezer
• Ronald Towers, Stevenson Hyper Tough 3-gallon wet/dry vacuum
• Mary Grace Miller, Paint Rock $100 electric credit
• Clyde Evans, Stevenson $100 fiber credit
• Angela Brown, Scottsboro Cuisinart air fryer and toaster oven
• Brenda Cunningham, Hollywood Solar security light
• James Davis, Stevenson $50 fiber credit
• Sadie Miller, Woodville Google Nest Hub
• Mary Pope, Bridgeport $100 fiber credit
• Don Privette, Stevenson LG 55-inch smart TV
• Stanley Sanders, Stevenson $50 fiber credit
• Thomas Shoemake, Hollywood TP Link Wi-Fi router
• Melisa Robison, Guntersville $100 fiber credit
• Steve Helms, Woodville iRobot Roomba 105
• Patricia Osborne, Scottsboro $100 electric credit
• Chris Helms, Woodville $50 fiber credit
• Michelle Edwards, Guntersville Roku 4K streaming stick
• Brian Abernathy, Bridgeport Hart 8-gallon wet/dry vacuum
• Billy Burton, Stevenson $50 fiber credit
• James Buzbee, Bridgeport $100 fiber credit
• Ella Wisdom, Stevenson $50 electric credit

North Alabama Electric Cooperative (NAEC) prides itself on having a team of dedicated office employees and lineworkers who work tirelessly to deliver reliable and affordable services to members.

But it also takes a strong team at the management level to ensure members receive the quality services they deserve, whether electricity, fiber internet, or phone. With a service territory that covers Bridgeport to Claysville and west to Paint Rock across mountain terrain, it takes experience to guide projects that improve and expand services for members.

The management team is focused on ensuring the cooperative is prepared for challenges as well as growth.

Not only are the members of NAEC’s management team experienced and dedicated, but they are part of the community, living and working alongside the cooperative’s members.