Meet fellow lake dwellers and accomplished photojournalists Bill and Diana Gleasner. Having known the Gleasners for many years, and knowing that they have spanned the globe writing and photographing travel articles, I wondered why they chose Lake Norman for their home. Recently I heard the story of how Diana found her “dream come true.”
Fulfilling her lifelong desire, Diana (along with husband Bill and teenagers Stephen and Suzanne) moved to Kauai, Hawaii, with every intention of returning to their home in Buffalo, New York, when the school year was over. During that year, Diana and Bill produced 5 guide books and a number of magazine stories while the family explored Hawaii. One fine January day as they were driving their daughter to her piano lesson, they heard the mayor of Buffalo on the car radio declare that the blizzard of 1977 had crippled the city, that it was in “state of emergency.” The Gleasners realized they were going to have to find a place to live, and it would definitely not be in Buffalo!
Diana went to the public library on the island of Kauai (we didn’t have Google back in the mid 70s) and researched the best places to live. Their dream was to live on a large freshwater lake within a half hour of an international airport and a major metropolitan area. Good schools were important and warm weather a necessity. Diana found Lake Wylie, but the out-of-date library maps didn’t even show Lake Norman. Luckily, she found our lake in a Woman’s Day magazine featuring good places to retire.
Diana called a real estate agent in Charlotte, said she wanted to live on Lake Norman and made plans to spend a week exploring the area. The agent was unfamiliar with Lake Norman but learned you could get there from Hwy. 16, so they headed for the lake. The Gleasners, with a budget of $80,000, needed a 4-bedroom home on the water. They ended up spending just $77,000 and, within a week, they owned a home on Lake Norman. Having only been in North Carolina once on the way to Disney World, suddenly, they were residents. They relocated the family to the South where we only have an annual snowfall of less than 6”. Although it was a gamble, Diana and Bill have never regretted the move to Lake Norman.
Diana loves to water ski and tries to ski every day during the season. Her goal was to ski the length of the lake and 9 years ago she finally decided to try. They got up early. The lake was like glass, and the two of them decided that day was “the day” so they cruised to the dam, Diana slipped into the water and they were off. Bill pulled her to the Hwy. 150 bridge, then dropped her and they drove under the bridge (not breaking any laws here), then continued her quest to the bridge at Bill’s Marina. The entire lake, all 25 miles of it, in 53 minutes. I got tired just thinking about it!
Bill and Diana have written numerous travel books and articles and in talking with friends, they constantly were asked why they did not create a book on Lake Norman. Finally, Bill had a terrible nightmare that someone else had tackled the project, but the result was a cheap version loaded with ads, not the quality book he envisioned. He woke at 3:15 A.M., went into his office and filled a legal pad with topics and ideas for the book. Those notes became the framework of “Lake Norman, Our Inland Sea.” He made one phone call, then told Diana, who was busy writing an article for Good Housekeeping, that he had sold 4,000 books that morning! That first book has over 25,000 copies in print!
Their newest book “Lake Norman Reflections” is more than just an update 22 years later; it’s an entirely new project with all new photos and traces the lake from its headwaters near Morganton to Cowans Ford Dam. The towns and the area surrounding the lake, each with its own unique history and personality as well as the dynamic story of the lake itself, make this a must-have for area residents.
Diana wanted something for everyone, and this book has it. For the engineering minded the statistics cover everything from the depth of the lake to the height of the concrete portion of the dam (with enough concrete in it to build a sidewalk all the way to the Pacific Ocean) and for those who enjoy a whimsical slant, there is the true story of the black dog and the red barn.
When asked how long the book took to write and shoot, Bill’s answer was “a lot longer than we thought,” and when asked why, he said it took longer because they wanted to be sure every image was the best it could be. They would proof the book and see one picture that needed to be taken again, so they would go back out and spend the hours necessary to do it right. I can’t imagine hiding in the bushes, waiting for the osprey to fly by with the fish in its talons so you can get it coming into the nest, but that’s what it takes.
If you have the original book, then the latest book is a great companion piece. If you don’t have the Lake Norman coffee table book, then “Lake Norman Reflections” is the perfect Christmas gift for you, your family and friends.
Tags: bill and Diana gleasner, bob hecht, book about lake norman, hecht, lake Norman, lake Norman reflections, visit lake norman
