Steve Johnson

Member of American Marine Technicians

✓Computer Diagnostics for Most Models ✓Parts ✓Repairs ✓Maintenance ✓Pontoon Refurbish

4760 Cap Martin Dr. • Gainesville, GA30506

Hours: Monday - Friday 8 - 5 • Saturday 8 - 12 • Closed on Sundays

(770) 356-3024 Cell David Daniel (770) 887-6942 Shop

By Pamela A. Keene

Gainesville Marina and Boat Sales has added Viaggio pontoons to its new boat offerings. The upscale Italian-named line is manufactured by family-owned Misty Harbor of Bristol, Indiana.

“Viaggio is a high-value boat with a number of different floor plans and options,” said Philip Burton, managing partner of Gainesville Marina. “And it can be purchased with either Yamaha or Suzuki outboards in a nice range of horse powers.”

The marina also offers Berkshire pontoons and tritoons, as well as Stingray runabouts, center consoles and deck boats.

“With boat sales still brisk, we are accepting orders for the 2022 models that will be arriving soon,” he said. “Adding Viaggio will broaden selections for our customers.”

For more information, visit www.gainesvillemarina.com or call 770 536-2127.

A Viaggio pontoon.

Lanier Partners Board members take a break during a recent planning meeting, from left, first row: Richard Pickering, Dale Ozaki, Freddy Fonzo, Barkley Gieb; second row: Brenda Musone, Sheridan Renfroe Bazemore; third row, Leslie Kauk, Randy Kauk.

By Pamela A. Keene

Plans are moving full steam ahead for the two-day Pirates of Lanier Poker Run in mid-July. Registration opened in early May and officials are expecting a good turnout.

The weekend of July 16-17 will see boats from across the Southeast converge on Lake Lanier to raise funds for children’s charities – Camp Twin Lakes, Camp Sunshine, Boys & Girls Clubs of Lanier and Edmondson Telford Center.

The group has announced its officers for 2021, as well as three new board members.

See Lanier Harbor, page 41

PHOTO BY PAMELA A KEENE

The news cycle is filled with incidents regarding recreational boating. But, what happens if there is an emergency and you need help? Does your family, friends, or associates know your location with your intended routes and plans while underway on the water? Without time-sensitive knowledge about your location and the nature of your situation, you are basically out of reach. The practice of filing a conventional voyage plan on paper has long since vanished. The U.S. Coast Guard boating safety App, www.uscgboatingorg/mobile, is free and provides a user-friendly platform for operators to perform various essential tasks.

When you download the app on your device, this is the main menu you will see. Look at the left side, and you will find a button; File a Float Plan.

The benefit of this technology is that it is a ready source of information and communication to assist you in boating safely. In ad-

Steve Johnson

Boating Safety

n MORE INFO:

Steve@CPOJohnson.com, www.cpojohnson.com dition, the program is chock full of valuable elements to the mariner, trip planning, your vessel’s profile, federal and state regulations, including U.S. Coast Guard Rules of the Road, and other functions to make your trip safer and much more enjoyable.

It even has an emergency assistance button to press in case you need help, which contacts a Coast Guard Rescue Center that alerts nearby vessels or aircraft to assist. Other technologies in the marketplace can pinpoint your exact location, record your movements, store in the cloud, and provide real-time voyage awareness to your plan.

Contact me to discover more on these innovations, how to file a float plan using the latest in tech, or visit www.floatplancentral.org.

Steve Johnson, US Coast Guard (ret). is with CPO Johnson, Inc.

From the fascinating to the remarkable, Lake Lanier harbors many personalities and places along its shores. Lakeside presents “Shore Lines” – stories about people who live, work and play around the lake and the places that make the area special.

By Pamela A. Keene

Ever since he was a little boy, hanging around his father’s lawn-mower repair shop in Norcross, Rodney Hellemn loved to tinker. He also liked to collect things.

Both of his childhood hobbies are still a huge part of his life. When he and his wife Gina built their home five years ago on Lake Lanier, he made sure he had plenty of room to showcase his collections and do restorations. The home includes a separate workshop, styled like a 1950s Sinclair Gas Station, complete with old pumps – and retro prices of .29 9/10 a gallon for Power-X and .25 9/10 per gallon for Dino –a service bay and an office with, of course, an old Coke machine.

“I restored my first Coke machine when I was 12 years old,” Hellemn said. “I asked the salesman if he had an old drink machine and he just gave it to me. I still have that machine, plus several others from different decades, snack machines, juke boxes and pinball machines.”

His shop/garage is laid out like an old gas station; you can walk into the office from under the gaspump awning, then turn right into a large workshop. There, he restores older jukeboxes, motorcycles and vending machines, some older than he is. Popcorn anyone?

“Here’s my latest acquisition,” he said proudly as he pointed to a 1946 Manley Popcorn Machine, the kind those of us in our 60s remember from Saturday morning trips to small-town movie theaters. He nodded and smiled when the reporter mentioned those matinees shown for the admission price of six RC Cola bottle caps.

He and Gina frequently travel to coin-operated shows, swap meets and vintage events across the country. “We’re always looking for something special, something vintage to work on. And if you have something to sell, just give me a call at 770-945-9524.”

Several display cases with horizontal revolving shelves showcase old movie and concert tickets, pen lights, novelty cigarette lighters, campaign buttons and even his commemorative ring recognizing him as a 50-year attendee/spectator of Gator National Racing in Florida. Walls are graced with posters, gas station signs, motor oil advertising; the room is filled with works in progress, including old pinball machines and a 1978 Honda Minitrail 70 with part of the original license tag on the back.

“There’s just something about restoring these old machines, cars and other treasures,” Hellemn said. “I just love taking something with such a history and resurrecting it. Those were simpler times, when kids loved to drop a coin in dime-store boat machine for an imaginary adventure or when a Coke cost a nickel.”

In a climate-controlled space, he walks past a pristine 1970 white Pontiac Trans Am Firebird with a blue stripe purchased new at Tabor Pontiac in Buckhead. The light bounces of the sheen of the paint. “I learned how to drive and got my driver’s license in this car,” he says with a smile. “That’s a great memory.”

A trip to the home’s basement reveals more collections and a bar he built in tribute to his father’s

boat. “We used to go to Summerland Key in the summers and this bar is a recreation of my father’s boat.”

Receipts to hotel keys

The room is filled with Lake Lanier and family memorabilia. He picks up a high-school graduation program from Chamblee High School and points out his name. In the same case, he brings out a sale receipt from Bob’s Mower Center, which his father opened in 1967.

“We did some work for (Atlanta radio personality) Neal Boortz and he paid us with a $500 credit for legal services,” he said. “It’s right here, and I guess he still owes us because we never had to cash it in.”

There’s a key fob and key from Lakeside Campsites, formerly located outside Safe Harbor Aqualand Marina on Lights Ferry. “Yeah, we used to go there, too, and I have just always kept hotel keys. Even though the place is gone, I still have the key. And I’ve got a Trans Am keychain from years ago from Bald Ridge Marina.”

The basement includes a home theater decked out with movie posters, plus a recreation room with more games. Outside there’s a coin-operated boat on a stand. “That’s for the grandkids; I usually keep a roll of dimes so they can ride in it.” Staying busy

When he’s not collecting,

PHOTOS BY PAMELA A KEENE

Drivers do a double take when they see this gas station beside Hellemn's home.

The "Boortz" receipt from his dad's business.

The gas station is fully stocked with vintage items.