A Generation defining Event

  • Hurricane Helene...

    On the morning of September 27th 2024, after a week of heavy rainfall, Hurricane Helene brought more rain to an already flooded Western North Carolina.  Rivers like the Swannanoa, Broad River, the Pigeon, the Toe, Nolichucky and French Broad broached their banks leaving scars of massive destruction.  The winds uprooted whole mountainsides of trees, and the land itself gave way in mudslides in some cases burying whole communities and families.  The fatalities attributed to the storm, and displaced persons left by the receding waters was unlike anything this region has ever experienced. 

  • The Aftermath...

    In this series we listen to the stories of those who endured, and continue to endure the fallout of a natural disaster in small town Appalachia. Resilience of community, finding gratitude in tragedy, their’s is a story all too common in the ever changing world we live in.

a not so small, small town

Black Mountain, NC may seem small on the outside as it is home to only 8,500 individuals. Yet many have been influenced as the town is the center of a number of Religious Conference Centers and Camps. A town that doubles and triples in size over the summer with tourists, many took interest when suddenly it was on national news and along with its neighboring community of Swannanoa as the center of a major disaster that claimed many lives and homes.

In this conversation we talk with Town Council Member, Doug Hay to get a sense of place, while discussing what challenges the town was facing leading up to Hurricane Helene, and what challenges it faces in the aftermath.

But more than anything else, we discuss a town that came together in the face of trauma and disaster to support each other through a generation defining event.

accounted for

Release Date: January 21st.

Daniel Wigg is a public works employee for the small mountain town of Montreat, NC. But on the night of Hurricane Helene he found himself a first responder evacuating its residents from rising waters as fears over the local dam’s potential to fail nearly became reality.

The week following was one of relentless effort as he and a five man crew worked around the clock to open up the roadways and rebuild bridges so that the town’s cut off population could be provided for and utility vehicles begin piecing back together critical infrastructure.

When told to go home and rest, Daniel went on to help shuttle supplies to the hard to reach communities along the Broad River over the continental divide.

A lifelong resident, Daniel is a true and honest voice of Southern Appalachia, representing this regions compassion for their neighbors, call to service of community, and grit in the face of adversity.

An honor to interview, this story will fill you with awe at what we are capable of when triggered, and hope as you hear a witness to the power of community.

Small Businesses Make A Small Town

Release Date: 26 January 2025

Black Mountain’s small quaint downtown area dates to the 1920’s.  Shoppers and diners make their way from restaurants to storefronts surrounded by some of the largest ranges of deciduous forest land in the Appalachians.  As such, October is a particularly popular time to stroll down Cherry, Broad, or State Street, while breathing in the crisp air of fall immersed in the changing of the seasons.  Unfortunately, this October of 2024 was different

Instead of couples and families wandering from store to store getting an early start on their Christmas shopping, the scene was that of supply convoys, water trucks, and national guardsman.  Some small towns in Western North Carolina were able to open, but Black Mountain lacked the infrastructure to support the large crowds of leaf season that usually in just a few weeks time accounts for well over one quarter of these small businesses annual income. 

 In short, October is how small businesses survive dead of winter.

 Our guest, Sarah Vekasi is a potter and small business owner.  Her store is right in amongst the bustling downtown, but without the usual leaf season she was unable to sell her work, and her studio being attached to her home was without water and power for over three weeks, leaving her unable create inventory.  To complicate matters her supplier along the French Broad was completely washed away disrupting her supply chain.

 Today we look at small businesses in this small town and how they have been impacted by the storm. 

Has Everyone Been Fed?

Release date: 13 Feb 2025

Described as a Beacon of Light in the midst of a storm, Black Mountain Presbyterian Church has found itself in a vital role in the community following Hurricane Helene.  Located across from the Fire Department and town square, their location made them an essential part of the initial response as they provided housing for the first responders, food for the thousands in need of a warm meal, a collection point and distribution center for donations, but perhaps more than anything the church provided a place of gathering where a community could come together to process their grief that was still so raw.

Without any playbook this congregation showed up to volunteer long hours of service to their community, working from the question inscribed on their sanctuary alter which asks, “Has everyone been fed?” 

Today’s guest, David Carter-Florence serves as the Associate Pastor for the church.  Recalling the events of that week David reminds us of what church can be, if we let it.  A place that cares for those most in need, a community with working hands and open hearts with a mission to selflessly serve any and all who come in seek of help.

But his is also tale of the heavy toll of grief that follows a natural disaster, and that sometimes what is needed most is a place of sanctuary, fellowship, play, and counsel so that we may not become overburdened by the trauma, but remember that there is a lot of good to be found even in the most difficult of struggles. 

Venture Unknown

Release Date: 15 April 2025

Venture Unknown, is a community of off road and camping enthusiasts.  More than that, they are stewards of public forest lands, organizing massive trash and debris clean-up projects they call “Sweep up the Southeast”.  So when Hurricane Helene happened and one of their members was unaccounted for, they showed up to help.  But when Venture Unknown showed up, they showed up big, and what began as a wellness check on a friend ended up changing an organization and its members in a profound way as they exploded into a full blown mission control camped out in the field of a brewery rolling out convoys to help deliver supplies of food, fuel, formula, and at times lifesaving medicine that last mile to those who still hadn’t had contact with the outside world.

 What follows is a story of adapting and overcoming insurmountable challenges in the service of others.  It is further proof that in time of need there is an instinct that kicks in for all of us, an instinct to serve our fellow man and woman.

Beyond the Trauma

Released 04 March 2025

Nellie is no stranger to trauma.  Having worked as a counselor in correctional facilities, serving on the front lines of the aids pandemic, working one on one with sex offenders and victims alike, she specializes in helping others to understand themselves and their actions, to process their trauma.

 A victim of three very personal traumatic deaths herself, she would eventually find healing in a deeply spiritual life.  Hurricane Helene looms large in our conversation as Nellie helps us to process what we have endured by shifting our perspective.  She helps us look deeper through the pain to see beyond the devastation, for what we once knew has changed, it is not gone.  Beyond all the wreckage there is still quiet to be found, we only have to listen for it.