Lake
Christmas
by JB Bonds
B
eing at Smith Mountain Lake during
the Christmas holidays has always been
something that my sister, Roz, and I wanted
to do. We grew up in the Roanoke, Virginia area
and actually got to see the creation of this beautiful
lake. Our cousin was a Virginia forest ranger during
the planning and construction of the dam and
flooding of the farmland. It’s hard to imagine that
the rolling farm land he showed us all those years
ago lies beneath all this clear, blue water. Roz and
I have been to the lake on numerous occasions over
the years and have fond memories of our time spent
there.
My sister and I are widowed and live together in
the Florida Keys year round. We don’t get to see our
families as often as we would like, so when it came
to our attention in early November that all of our
children and grandchildren were free to travel our
way this year for the holidays, we were thrilled. If
you have children and grandchildren you know what
a rare occasion that can be. Roz and I talked and
came up with the idea that Smith Mountain Lake
was the perfect place for everyone to meet and spend
Christmas together. It is centrally located and easy
to get to by car for all the children. Roz and I would
fly into the Roanoke Airport, rent a car, and drive
out to our rental on the lake. After some research
online, we were able to find a home large enough to
accommodate all twelve of us for the holiday week.
Over a period of several hours on December
23, everyone arrived safely and got settled into the
rental. Situated on the tip end of a spit of land
extending out into the lake, we could not ask for
a more picturesque and perfect location. We were
only a few miles fromMoneta and Westlake, and the
roads traveling to our house were very good.
The only snag in this picture-perfect holiday
was all of the electronics that materialized out of
suitcases and duffle bags. It seemed to consume all of
our children, and most especially the grandkids. We
two sisters are modern seniors and we each have a
cell phone and laptop, but we don’t depend on them
Jane and I were raised in Roanoke, Virginia. Our cousin was a Forest Ranger, and
brought our parents and us to see where Smith Mountain Lake was going to be. During
our drive he also told our parents they should buy some land at a place that was going
to be called Bernard’s Landing. I was about 10 years old and remember thinking all
those poor animals and people would drown. At one point during our tour, we got
out of the car on a hillside and our cousin said everything as far as we could see
would be under water. From where we were standing I could see farmhouses, barns,
outbuildings, and fencing. I can’t help but remember that view every time I’m out on
the water and think about what’s at the bottom of the lake. Our parents thought it was
a crazy idea to buy land way down here in the middle of no where, so they didn’t take
my cousins advice. In 1978, they did buy a house on a cove in Deer Creek Estates, but
lived there for only a year. My Dad worked at GE at the time and didn’t like the drive.
They also had very few choices for shopping at the Lake. My Mom felt very isolated, so
they sold the lake house and moved back to Roanoke. Jane and I have seen this area
grow immeasurably over the years, and find it hard to believe that all that farmland was
turned into the beautiful place that is Smith Mountain Lake today.
at the
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