Photography by Chip Pankey
Peggy McKnight’s handsome and well-appointed porch is the perfect perch to survey the Snow Lake scene.
When friends first told me about a wonderful place nearby called Snow Lake, I was baffled; I couldn’t figure out what such a place might have to do with Memphis. “Snow Lake” sounded to me like a resort that belonged in the wilds of Wyoming or Montana. How wrong I was!
In fact Snow Lake is a privately owned 1,230-acre lake in Benton County, Mississippi, located just about an hour’s drive southeast of Memphis. Fifteen miles east of Holly Springs, and four miles west of the small town of Ashland, Snow Lake is surrounded by scenic roads and fields in every direction. Formed when a local stream was dammed, this gorgeous, spring-fed lake is the heart of the small resort community of Snow Lake Shores, established in 1958.
The original 300 houses that ring the lake, on both its east and west sides, were built as simple, no-frills fishing cabins. Over the years, however, many of these have been modernized and/or renovated. A big plus is that Snow is a “no wake lake,” which means no jet skis or power boats, but lazy summer days spent on pontoon boats in a peaceful environment. Snow Lake Shores also includes Friendship and Freedom Parks, a community center, a town beach, and some picnic tables. That’s all, folks! Not exactly Pickwick.
Aside from the natural charms obvious in this hilly location on the edge of the Holly Springs Wildlife Refuge, what makes this place unique is that it has become something of a weekend artists colony for a group of well-known Memphians — a “bohemian Horseshoe Lake,” one might say. Many of the property owners are part of a creative set that includes Memphis-based painters, sculptors, interior and floral designers, and landscapers.
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The Baudoin/Campbell cottage's gorgeous terrace has a touch of French formality to it — the better for hosting soirees for friends and neighbors.
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The screen door and hammock at Carol DeForest and Barron Boyd's home are iconic images of lazy days at Snow Lake.
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Michael and Melinda Wayt are talented professional landscapers, which is clearly evident in this idyllic view of their lakefront property.
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Peggy McKnight, known by friends as the “lady of the lake,” takes the helm of her pontoon boat with beloved pooch Bella.
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Christine and Carroll Todd’s purple bedroom provides a bright jolt of color in their “mid-century meets the lake” home.
I learned that what also makes this place so special is many residents have become close friends — some long before they came to Snow Lake — and socialize with each other regularly. All agree that Snow Lake is a perfect getaway to “decompress” while detaching from hectic lives in the city.
Our photographer, Chip Pankey, along with his wife Janis and myself, recently visited Snow Lake on a beautiful fall weekend to take photographs and interview this lively Memphis coterie. In the process, doors were literally thrown open, and we were entertained royally.
Our tour guide, someone who might be considered “the lady of the lake,” was Peggy McKnight, who lives at Snow Lake Shores full-time and knows all there is to know about the lake and its residents.
We photographed her lovely home, as well as the homes of Christine and Carroll Todd, Cecil Humphreys and Brian Wamble, Greg Baudoin and Greg Campbell, and Carol DeForest and her husband, Barron Boyd. Given the artistic bent of all concerned, their homes, not surprisingly, have colorful art on the walls and splendid views of the lake, made spectacular in late October by the backdrop of colorful fall foliage. We also ran into Michael and Melinda Wayt, owners of Landscape Works in Memphis, and dashed over to photograph their expertly (of course!) landscaped lake-front property backing up to acres of unspoiled woodlands.
Upon our arrival, we lunched with Ms. McKnight, whose home is full of colorful souvenirs and artifacts from her travels, many from Guatemala. Her walls are filled with distinguished artworks including Walter Anderson paintings and an original Andy Warhol silkscreen. She told us that she had been looking for a place to retire having traveled as far afield as Canada, California, and yes, Guatemala too. However, after visiting Snow Lake as a guest of Memphis artist Valerie Berlin and her husband Tom Edwards, she bought a place three days later.
McKnight’s lake house was built in 1978 and was in “pretty good shape, relatively speaking,” she says. She added two porches and a patio, redid the kitchen and has lived there happily and comfortably for 14 years. Her great friend and designer, Margaret Barton, was a tremendous help with the interior design.
McKnight is herself an artist — she had a show at Askew Nixon Ferguson earlier this year — and paints four to six hours a day. Her late father, Bob McKnight, was himself a sculptor and a former director of Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.
We then dropped by to visit genial Greg Baudoin, owner of Greg Baudoin Interior Design, who shares a weekend retreat with Greg Campbell, floral designer and co-owner of Memphis' Garden District. Their house is a dreamy little white-shingled cottage, decorated in a rustic-lakeside chic style. They bought their place in 2013 and although the footprint is the same, it has been entirely rebuilt.
Among many changes, the windows were enlarged to capture an excellent panoramic view, and the vaulted ceilings also add a sense of space. Theirs is a haven to rest and relax, along with their two rescue dogs, Renard and Percy, and to entertain friends.
I asked Baudoin (Greg Campbell was away) if they had many houseguests, and he replied with a warm smile: “None.” The property is particularly large as they bought two adjoining lots, and there is a winding path down to their boat dock. It is a beautiful home, though, of course, I expected nothing less from this talented design duo.
We moved on to visit Cecil Humphreys and co-owner Brian Wamble. We passed Brian on a dog walk but caught up with Cecil in their spacious, contemporary A-frame house. Humphreys is famed for his artistic talent in creating fine, sculptural bronze bowls and other vessels. Unlike many of the other houses, his was not a fixer-upper and it came fully furnished.
The back story is that Humphreys kept hearing from people about a place called Snow Lake, and these were “all people that he liked.” So after the sixth mention of this wondrous locale, he went to take a look and soon thereafter bought his house.
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It’s no surprise the living room of the Baudoin/Campbell cottage, with its dramatic Michael Crespo Ibis painting, is surely one of the most beautifully decorated rooms on the lake.
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Cecil Humphreys’ modern A-frame cabin was move-in ready and fully furnished to boot when he took possession.
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Vintage French posters and other artworks line the stairs in the Todd home.
At Peggy McKnight’s suggestion, we had dinner Saturday night at the Marshall Steakhouse in Holly Springs since there isn’t much of a dining scene around Snow Lake. The restaurant was bustling with guests and music, and we were warmly welcomed by proprietor Randall Swaney.
A highpoint of our visit was receiving an invitation to one of the Todds’ famous Sunday brunches. This very busy couple regularly prepares an incredible and seemingly effortless seated meal for at least 20 of their friends and neighbors. Our timing was perfect this particular weekend because brunch was in celebration of Peggy McKnight’s birthday.
Carroll Todd is a nationally known sculptor represented by David Lusk Gallery in Memphis; Christine is a retired art teacher. Carroll Todd does a lot of the work on their house himself which has become a pragmatic weekend hobby, although he admits that the pace of renovation is slow. I heard someone describe the Todd home as “mid-century meets the lake,” which seemed a perfect description, although Christine’s original Paris poster art adds a touch of international glamor.
Frank and Carol Fourmy were part of the brunch fun, and Frank told me that the Todd home had once belonged to his family (albeit in an unrenovated fishing-cabin state!). Fourmy has many fond memories of weekends spent at Snow Lake as a child.
Artist Carol DeForest and her husband, Barron Boyd, the busy director of international programs at Rhodes, were unfortunately not at home when we visited; luckily, Chip Pankey had photographed their place on a previous weekend. I was told theirs was a significant renovation project, and that some of the furniture was found at Habitat for Humanity’s Restore on Winchester. The house is definitely eclectic, with a mid-century modern vibe. The DeForest/Boyd home is famous in the neighborhood in that theirs is a pink house, with a pink boat and pink marble in the kitchen. They clearly “think pink,” as the saying goes!
After my visit to this idyllic spot as a guest of such a cultured and hospitable group of Memphians, I well understand why visitors often decide to call a local real estate broker immediately. It is a very special place. By the way, in answer to my question about Snow Lake’s puzzling name, Peggy McKnight told me when surveyors were first in the area some 60 years ago, it was springtime. The ground was blanketed with dogwood blossoms, so much so that the landscape looked snowy.
And there you have it!
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The Baudoin/Campbell kitchen is compact but still very functional — the perfect place for the preparation of gourmet meals.
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The eclecticism of Carol DeForest and Barron Boyd’s lakeside cottage is clearly evident in the décor of their living room — look at all those interesting chairs!
