LAKE-TIME TEMPTATION

BY TERRANCE GEESE

Should you be in search of a modern-day Renaissance man in the area of Lake of Egypt, head for the home of a “lake brat” who has returned home, Dr. Adam Connell.

Connell, like Renaissance men throughout history, has great talent bridging many areas. He is able to do almost every task dreamed up by his wife, Dr. Mary Connell.

Both are professionally very busy people as both are in the medical eld. Dr. Adam has a practice in psychiatry in Metropolis and Dr. Mary’s specialty is internal medicine, practicing at Lourdes Hospital in Paducah, Ky.

e couple met while attending medical school at the St. Louis University School of Medicine. For their residencies, both headed for Indianapolis, Ind. Dr. Adam completed his at Community Hospitals of Indianapolis and Dr. Mary at Indiana University Hospital.

While Mary is a St. Louis native, lake life was not a mystery to her as her family frequented a lake in Missouri, and she quickly fell in love with both Adam and his childhood home near Lake of Egypt. Dr. Adam, having grown up at Lake of Egypt, never lost his love for the area.

Adam’s father, a pharmacist in the Marion area, had moved the family to their rst Lake of Egypt home in 1980, Adam says. en, in 1995, the family wanted a larger home and his father wanted a log cabin-style residence.

A er a diligent search, the manufacturer of a home that could ful ll the family’s dreams was located in Wisconsin and construction was undertaken. e family moved into the new home, just “down the road” from the original home, in 1985.

When the doctors Connell had the opportunity to buy the homeplace earlier this year, they had no second thoughts. ey purchased it in about March.

When they took up residence at the family home, they launched a few updating projects. e rst item – and a major undertaking – was the exterior. e log nish needed some upkeep and the couple wanted it to have a lighter shade. e sandblasting project took a little longer than expected, about eight weeks.

eir entire project was caught in an unexpected situation that delayed a lot of the work. eir projects and COVID-19 were on just about the same track, so all of the interior work wasn’t completed until August, they recall. Of course, at the start the renovations weren’t quite as major a project as they developed to be. As remodeling o en does, the scope of work kept growing.

Adam says most of the inspiration comes from Mary and he carries her inspirations to reality. “We redid the oors on all three levels,” he said, “and we redid the bathrooms.”

“We brightened everything up,” Mary says.

A er years of being students, the money was nally there to continue, and they replaced the appliances.

Adam recalls the most tedious and stressful work involved the kitchen oor, which is stone. It took a period of learning to come up with the exact texture and color of grout and stone needed to make the oor perfect, he says.

e entire area surrounding the home is very relaxing for Mary as on one side of the residence, she enjoys the beauty and activity of the lake and on the other side, she is able to enjoy the

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While the forest side remained a quiet and relaxing scene, the advent of COVID-19 caused the reverse e ect on the Lake of Egypt. e lake side of the home had a good view of a recreation spot that was busy throughout the summer; COVID-19 slowed remodeling for the Connells, but it brought many people to the lake. “It is the busiest it has ever been,” Adam says. “People are enjoying it.”

e Connells don’t dislike the increased level of activity of the lake. “We like how it is now,” Adam said, noting the home is away from the busiest part of the lake. And he noted the increased activity has been good for businesses around the lake.

Mary said the beauty of Lake of Egypt is not lost on members of her family. Her parents frequently travel from St. Louis to Lake of Egypt to visit them. She says she tried to talk them into becoming permanent lake residents, and their answer was ready for her: Why should they move to Lake of Egypt when they have a place where they can stay for free at the Connell home?

With the total remodel of the family home compete, the Connells have not stopped to rest. Aside from rigorous careers, Mary keeps coming up with inspirations and Adam keeps bringing them to reality.

“Work hard, play hard is our lifestyle,” Mary says, and the work and play extend to several avocations.

One avocation, inspired by Adam’s father, is the couple’s love of ying.

“I guess I followed in my Dad’s footsteps,” Adam says. Like his father, Adam got his private pilot’s license and two months later, he followed up by getting his instrument rating. Now, the couple enjoys ights around Illinois and neighboring states and o en those ights in-

volve a visit involving another avocation.

Destinations for them will include custom brewery operations because Adam is well-equipped with all the gear for making custom beers. And he does. He makes a variety of beers, and it is not a small hobby.

“Sometimes I end up with so much beer, I give it to friends,” he says.

Interestingly, his medical training is a boost to his brewery operations as the basics of chemistry in the brewing operation intertwine with the chemistry background that was required in medical training.

Adam also made wine and all the beer and wine for the couple’s wedding reception were supplied by Smokestack Brewery, the name he has given his hobby operation, honoring the stacks of the generating station at the lake.

business at the lake featuring his brewery operation.

Of course he will need cheeses to go with beer or wine, and the Connells have that covered, too. ey make cheese with a preference for pepper jack.

Adam envisions being able to unveil a shingle on a Lake of Egypt business called Smokestack with a range of barbecue, beer, wine and cheese, all handcra ed by Mary and Adam Connell.

But don’t limit the possibilities to the current avocations; Mary may well come up with another inspiration and multi-talented Adam will carry it to success. n