On clear, warm days in Tuscaloosa, students, locals and visitors from around the world can all be found hiking, swimming, fishing and enjoying Lake Lurleen State Park. Staff member T.K. Shaw talked with the Crimson White about her experiences with this wide range of visitors and her favorite parts of the park.
How long have you been working at the park?
I’ve been at the park for 14 years. I started as a seasonal worker– seasonal workers are just here from March till November, and then I was laid off in December and January. It varies based on how busy we are. I’m a staff worker now.
What did you do during the offseason?
I stayed at home; I was a mom and a grandmother. I have seven grandkids. The age range is from 14 [years] down to 21 months.
Why did you decide to work at the park?
Me and my husband came out camping one weekend, and I told him I would really love to work here because it’s so pretty. Then it just worked out that they had a seasonal spot available.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I come in to the office and check the emails, then I have the daily paperwork to do, and I have to post it.
I feed the cat and the turtle [in the nature center], and I check the entrance stations and see if anyone’s come in and left something in the honor system box. After that it just depends on what sort of day we’re having.
Is the honor system generally successful?
Most of the time people follow it. We have a few that come in and don’t understand that there’s no one in the building and they have to leave exact change in the box on the back. A very, very, very good percentage of visitors use it.
Who is the majority of the traffic through the park?
We get people from all over. I told my husband once that I actually work at a place where I meet people from around the world. I’ve met people from China, from Germany, from Australia, from Great Britain.
It’s because it’s so pretty, and we have access to the city, but we also have access to the country part. Most of the time they come in and ask, ‘Okay, where’s the nearest town?’ and we can tell them we’re 15 minutes away from a Wal-Mart. The majority [of our traffic] is because of the university especially during the football season. People will come and camp, even people who don’t have tickets. They’ll come and camp and then go to the campus to tailgate and see everything, then come back and watch the game on their TV at their campsites.
What do you think draws people to the park?
We the staff and the volunteers, we try to make everyone as welcome as possible. Do we get some bad eggs sometimes? Yes, we do. It’s people who complain about how their site isn’t level or about the trails or something. But we do the best we can. We have what we have and we do what we can.
We are a family-oriented park. We try to make it as safe as possible for people to bring their kids. We have canoeing and fishing and trails and the beach and playground. Now we have the nature center. It has one little live turtle who the kids just love, and stuffed animals, like a hawk and a bobcat. You should really come see it. You’d be surprised at what all we have in there.
Plus, we have a lots of space and facilities. We have four pavilions and a banquet room. We actually have weddings out here. And we have a whole lot of fishermen. We have a lot of fishermen who come out and are regulars, and they have an annual pass. Our lake is man-made. People are surprised by that. They ask all the time if we’re part of Lake Tuscaloosa, but our lake is completely man-made.
What is your favorite part of the park?
It’s kind of hard to say. I’d have to say the beach. You can get in and cool off, and just relax. It’s a safe place for children to play. Even though it needs some work, kids love it because they can swim out to the rope and feel like big people and still be safe.
