Labor Day Lake Lowdown

By BILL MARDIS, Editor Emeritus
Commonwealth Journal

Somerset September 04, 2007 04:21 pm

— “It’s beautiful ... I wouldn’t have known the water is down if someone hadn’t told me.”
Such was the reaction of a visitor getting her first look at Lake Cumberland. Amy Wallot, a native of Michigan and new employee in the Division of Communications, Kentucky Department of Education, was with a media tour of the lake on Labor Day. Wallot said she is familiar with lakes in her home state of Michigan but this was her first trip to Lake Cumberland.
“It’s really nice,” Wallot summarized.
A lot of people apparently agree with Wallot. Bernie Kearns, acting resource manager for Lake Cumberland, said 205,000 people visited the lake during the three-day Labor Day holiday. The number was up considerably from the 150,000 visitors on the weekend during a split July 4 holiday, but down from the 223,000 visitors recorded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during Memorial Day weekend.
Some marina officials were extremely pleased with the Labor Day holiday turnout.
For complete details, see Wednesday's Commonwealth Journal.

Photos

A personal watercraft speeds along drift-free waters of Lake Cumberland about noon on Labor Day. Tourism promoters point out that the palisade-like banks of the lake and its still-deep waters make it more beautiful than ever. Trees along the lake are taking on a hint of autumn colors.