Author: janetsm

In November 2025, I published Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories. In the fall of 2025, I published a devotional book: I Need The Light! 26 Weekly Devotionals to Help You Through Winter AND I Need The Light! Companion Journal and Diary. I write North Carolina local history and Southern American colonial historical fiction. I enjoy doing extensive research as well as the writing that research supports. My stories and novels-in-progress are about the common people. I'm the author of Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Books 1 and 2 and a vintage postcard book titled The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

The Black Architect of Duke University and a Hurricane Helene Update

This my 700th blog post! I started blogging in 2010 but didn’t begin to make much traction and attract views until 2017. Over the years I’ve played around with content and scheduling. Posting once-a-week works best for me.

The best part of blogging is the friends I’ve made from all around the world. It has also enabled me to connect with other writers, which has truly been a blessing.

Thank you for following my blog and encouraging me along my journey as a writer!

Since I did not finish reading any novels or nonfiction books of general interest in November, today I’m sharing some highlights from my April 25, 2022 blog post about the black architect who never got the credit he was due for designing the iconic buildings on the West Campus of Duke University.

Everyone reading my blog has probably heard of Duke University. It’s a world-renowned university located in Durham, North Carolina. You might not know of its meager beginnings, and you might not know that the architect responsible for its magnificent West Campus was a black man, Julian Francis Abele.

First, here’s a very brief early history of the university.

In 1838, a subscription-supported school called Brown’s Schoolhouse was established in the Randolph County community of Trinity. The school’s name changed a couple of times over the years but was settled as Trinity College in 1859.

In 1892, Trinity College moved to Durham, North Carolina. With heavy financial support from Washington Duke and Julian S. Carr – both Methodists – the name was changed to Duke on December 11, 1942. That was when James B. Duke, son of Washington Duke, established The Duke Endowment. It was a $40 million trust fund set up for its interest to be divided between various hospitals, orphanages, the Methodist Church, three colleges, and the university to be built around Trinity College. In today’s dollars, the $40 million endowment would be equivalent to more than $813 million. (That’s up from $630 million when I wrote the original blog post in the spring of 2022!)

But what did Julian Francis Abele have to do with this?

Julian Francis Abele was born April 30, 1881 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1902, Abele was the first black graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Design. All four years of undergraduate school there, Abele worked in the mornings as a designer at the Louis Hickman Architectural Firm and took afternoon and evening classes at the university.

Horace Trumbauer, a nationally-recognized Philadelphia architect, hired Abele. He sent Abele to study abroad for three years. Upon returning from Europe in 1906, Abele joined Trumbauer’s firm and by 1909 had become the company’s chief designer. When Trumbauer died in 1938, Abele became head of the company.

The company designed numerous buildings in Philadelphia, a number of mansions in Newport and New York, and the Widener Memorial Library at Harvard University.

But my interest in writing about Julian Francis Abele today is his contributions to the gorgeous English Gothic and Georgian buildings at Duke University. Over the 30-year period of 1924 to 1954, he was the primary designer of the university’s West Campus.

If you’ve not had the pleasure of visiting Duke University…

Photographs of the buildings on the Duke University campus don’t do justice to the beauty of the architecture. The centerpiece of the campus and grandest example of Julian Francis Abele’s work is Duke Chapel.

A front view of the magnificent Duke Chapel at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
Duke Chapel, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Photo by Charles Givens on Unsplash

“Chapel” in this case is an understatement, for the chapel is more of a cathedral than a chapel in the common sense of the word. The chapel interior is 63 feet wide, 291 feet long, and the nave proper is 73 feet tall.

Standing on the highest point on the planned campus in 1925, James B. Duke said that it was on that place that the chapel should be built. It would be the highest point and the center of the campus. The cornerstone was laid in 1930, and it is said that students enjoyed watching the stone cutters and the progression of construction of the chapel over the next two years. Little did those white students know that the chief designer of the edifice was a black man.

Inside Duke Chapel. Photo credit: Chuck Givens on unsplash.com

In fact, it wasn’t until Julian Francis Abele’s granddaughter, Susan Cook, brought to public light in 1986 that a person of color had designed the magnificent focal point of the Duke campus. While students protested apartheid in South Africa, Susan Cook wrote a letter to the student newspaper to make it known that her grandfather had designed their beloved West Campus.

Portraits of Abele now hang in the main administration building on campus and in the Gothic Reading Room in Rubenstein Library alongside those of former Duke presidents and board chairs. In 2016, and the main quadrangle on campus, which stretches from the Clocktower Quad to the Davison Quad – and to the Chapel Quad – was named the Abele Quad.

As quoted from https://today.duke.edu/2016/03/abele, upon the naming of the Abele Quad in 2016, Duke University President Richard H. Brodhead said, “Julian Abele brought the idea of Duke University to life. It is an astonishing face that, in the deepest days of racial segregation, a black architect designed the beauty of this campus. Now, everyone who lives, works, studies and visits the heart of Duke’s campus will be reminded of Abele’s role in its creation.”

Shocking to our 21st century minds, is the fact that the racial prejudices of the early- and mid-20th century deterred Mr. Abele from visiting the Duke University campus to see his designs come to fruition and caused him not to be admitted to the American Institute of Architects until 1942.

Mr. Abele died in Philadelphia on April 23, 1950.

Visit Duke University in person or virtually

If you’re ever zipping along on Interstates 40 or 85 in Durham, take several hours to leave the hustle and bustle behind and visit the Duke University campus. Duke Chapel is open every day from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Stroll around the campus and be sure to visit the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. (Visit https://gardens.duke.edu/ for information about parking and what’s in bloom.)

If you wish to read my original blog post about Julian Francis Abele, here’s the link: You should know who Julian Francis Abele was.

December 2, 2024 Hurricane Helene Update on Western North Carolina

Just to give you an idea about the recovery situation 67 days after the storm hit western NC…

Housing: With more than 125,000 homes damaged or destroyed by the storm, recovery for those individuals and families will take years.

Roads: Interstate 40 is still closed near the TN line. Hopes are high that two lanes (one lane in each direction for non-commercial traffic) will be opened around the first of January through the Pigeon River Gorge. As of Friday, of the 1,329 roads that were closed in September due to Hurricane Helene, 266 remain closed. 

Blue Ridge Parkway: There is still no estimated date for all the parkway in NC to be reopened. Some 140 miles of the parkway in NC remain closed due to damage sustained from Hurricane Helene. As usual during the winter months, additional sections of the road were closed this weekend and will continue to be closed from time to time due to snow and ice.

A fresh fir Christmas Wreath from Avery County, NC: Do you remember in my November 18, 2024 blog post (Some Things Aren’t Funny, & Hurricane Helene Update) in which I wrote about how one Christmas tree farm in western NC that lost 60,000 trees in the storm was making wreaths out of the tops of their trees whose lower branches were destroyed by Hurricane Helene?

The wreath my sister and I ordered was delivered on Saturday, and it is beautiful! I wish my blog had a way for me to convey the wonderful scent to you! Here’s their website, in case you want to place an order for a wreath or a virtual tree:  https://www.averychristmastrees.com/

Here’s our wreath…

Our fir Christmas wreath from the Avery Family’s Trinity Tree Company, Newland, NC

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read and enough quiet time to read it.

Treasure your time with friends and family.

Remember the people of Ukraine; western NC; and Valencia, Spain.

Janet

#OnThisDay: Evacuation of British Troops from NYC, 1783 & a Hurricane Helene Update

When did the American Revolutionary War end?

It depends on how technical you want to be, and – like they say about real estate – it might depend on location, location, location.

Photo from Bookbrush.com

Dates of various events

In school we learned that it ended on October 19, 1781 with British General Charles Cornwallis’ surrender to General George Washington at Yorktown, Virginia.

We also learned that the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783.

The treaty had to be ratified by Congress. That happened on January 14, 1784.

I never gave any thought about the logistics of the departure of British troops. Do you know when that happened?

November 25, 1783. It was 241 years ago today that the last British troops left the United States of America via New York City.

In school we tended to study the battles of the American Revolution but not the day in and day out of the war. New York City was occupied by British troops from September 1776 until November 25, 1783. That’s more than seven years! With the outcome of the war in question until 1781, those years of British occupation must have been nerve wracking for residents.

After the last of the British troops left, George Washington received a hero’s welcome in New York City. Four months later, the city was declared the capital of the new nation. It remained the capital until Philadelphia was chosen in 1790.

How would you answer?

If asked when the American Revolutionary War ended, which date would you think of?

October 19, 1781 – Cornwallis’ surrender

September 3, 1783 – Signing of the Treaty of Paris

November 25, 1783 – Departure of last British troops from the US

January 14, 1784 – Ratification of the Treaty of Paris by the US Congress

Location, location, location

I imagine most citizens considered the war over when Cornwallis surrendered, but the residents of New York City probably did not consider it over until the last of the British troops left.

This isn’t a quiz. It’s just something to think about.

Hurricane Helene Update on Western North Carolina

Just to give you an idea about the recovery situation 60 days after the storm hit western NC…

Roads: Of the 1,329 road closures due to Hurricane Helene, 1,076 are fully open as of Saturday. Interstate 40 is still closed near the TN line. It is hoped that two lanes – a lane for each direction – can be opened by January 1. It is my understanding that this will not be open for commercial traffic. Prior to Hurricane Helene, this nine-mile stretch of I-40 carried more than 7,600, trucks per day and more than 26,000 total vehicles per day.  

Water system in Asheville: The City of Asheville Water Resources serves about 160,000 people in Buncombe and Henderson counties. The Boil Water Notice was lifted last Monday! That is huge!

Photo of a glass of clear, clean water
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

Blue Ridge Parkway: There is still no estimated date for all the parkway in NC to be reopened. It’s winter now and the first measurable snow of the season fell on Friday. For mile marker-to-mile marker closures, visit https://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/roadclosures.htm. For photographs of the damage and clean up along the parkway, visit https://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/hurricane-helene.htm.

Public School Systems: All the affected counties continue to struggle with bus routes due to so many road closures.

Baxter International in Marion: I mentioned weeks ago that this facility that makes 60% of the IVs used in the US was completely shut down by the flooding. They’re finally back in business! The first shipment of product left the business last Monday, and they hope to be back to full operation by the end of the year.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have at least one good book to read this week – and the time to read it.

Take time for friends and family. Brace yourself for Thanksgiving, if members of your family come from different political persuasions. Wouldn’t it be nice if politics could be put aside for just one day?

Remember the people of Ukraine; western NC; and Valencia, Spain.

Janet

Some Things Aren’t Funny, & Hurricane Helene Update

Some things are not funny. One of those is hearing loss.

I was blindsided after I got hearing aids the first time when a friend made fun of me over it.

Those expensive hearing aids served me well for about seven years. When they ceased to work, I could not afford to replace them.

Six years have passed, and I recently decided to buy MUCH cheaper hearing aids from one of those membership warehouse stores. What did I have to lose but $1,499 this time? That’s a drop in the bucket compared to what my first pair of hearing aids cost, not to mention that I had to periodically pay for replacement batteries. Thank goodness my new ones recharge in a little box every night!

I was once again caught off guard a couple of weeks ago when a friend (a different one) thought it was hilarious to mouth silent words in my direction since I have hearing aids.

Where do adults get off making fun of those of us who have lost hearing?

It is a widely mistaken understanding that hearing loss is just the loss of ability to hear sounds below a certain volume. Volume is only part of the problem. Hearing loss is the loss of the ability to understand certain letters/sounds of the alphabet. In addition, some people lose the ability to hear bass sounds, some lose the ability to hear high-pitch sounds, and some of us lose the ability to hear somewhere in the middle. The electronic diagram of that sort of hearing loss resembles what a cookie looks like after someone has taken a bite out of it.

Hearing is a precious gift from God, along with eyesight, the ability to walk and move our arms, and feel a soft summer breeze on our faces.

I would never make fun of someone who was losing their sight or someone who has become paralyzed… and I doubt my two friends would either. Therefore, it baffles me that they both thought it was funny that I have hearing loss.

I mention this today to remind each of us to stop before we speak or laugh about someone else’s health problems.

Hurricane Helene Update on Western North Carolina

Just to give you an idea about the recovery situation 53 days after the storm hit western NC…

Roads: Interstate 40 is still closed near the TN line. As of Friday, of the 1,329 roads that were closed in September due to Hurricane Helene, 270 remain closed.  The last report I heard said the NC DOT hopes to open the westbound lanes of I-40 to two-way traffic (but probably not trucks over a certain size) on New Year’s Day. Rebuilding and opening the eastbound lanes will take years.

Water system in Asheville: The City of Asheville Water Resources serves about 160,000 people in Buncombe and Henderson counties. They are still under a Boil Water order; however, if three days of water testing expected to be completed today gives good results, it is possible that the Boil Water Notice will be lifted in a couple of days.

Blue Ridge Parkway: There is still no estimated date for all the parkway in NC to be reopened. Approximately 150 miles of the parkway remains completely closed. Another 15 miles of the road are subject to partial closures and one-lane traffic as paving is done.

Public School Systems: All the affected counties continue to struggle with bus routes due to so many road closures.

How you can help a family business: The Avery family in Newland, Avery County, NC owns Trinity Tree Company. The farm has been in their family since the 1700s. They grow Fraser Fir Christmas trees. On September 24 their farm was decimated by Hurricane Helene. They lost 60,000 Christmas trees along with a house, barn, office, and their equipment. (That’s not a typo: sixty thousand.)

Photo from https://www.averychristmastrees.com/

They are selling “table top” trees from the undamaged tops of some of their trees, Christmas wreaths, and “virtual” trees for a donation. The entire farm will have to be bulldozed. It takes 15 years to grow a Christmas tree. Here’s their website: https://www.averychristmastrees.com/.

United Cajun Navy

I’m not sure I’ve written about the United Cajun Navy in any of my Hurricane Helene updates, and for that I apologize. They have been in western North Carolina helping people since the day after the storm hit. Literally, the next day! The Facebook posts stated that they plan to work in western North Carolina for “years” to help the area recover from Hurricane Helene.

Since my last blog post

Have you subscribed to my e-newsletter, which at least for the time being has been converted into a short weekly e-mail? If not, finish reading this blog post and then visit my website, https://www.janetmorrisonbooks.com , where you can click on the “Subscribe” button. As a bonus, in addition to being on my e-mail list, you can download a free copy of my historical short story, “Slip Sliding Away.”

Until my next blog post

I hope you have one or more good books to read this week.

Take time for friends and family.

Remember the people of Ukraine; western NC; and Valencia, Spain.

Janet

#OnThisDay: The Edmund Fitzgerald, 1975 & a Hurricane Helene Update

Although I usually blog on Mondays, due to a live-streamed event I will tell you about in a few paragraphs, I am publishing this week’s blog today.

The Edmund Fitzgerald

I have always loved a variety of music, but one of my favorite genres is ballads. When I think of ballads, the first one that comes to mind is “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” which was given to us so beautifully by the late Gordon Lightfoot.

Yesterday marked the 49th anniversary of the loss of that ship on Lake Superior. I have never seen Lake Superior, so it is difficult for me to grasp its size. When measured by surface area, it is the largest freshwater lake in the world. By volume, it ranks third in the world. Its surface area is comparable to that of Austria or the State of South Carolina. Whoa!

Now that I have a better understanding of the size of Lake Superior…

The 729-foot Edmund Fitzgerald sailed from Superior, Wisconsin, headed for Detroit, Michigan. It carried 26,116 tons of taconite pellets to supply steel mills.

On November 10, 1975, the ship was driven 530 feet to the bottom of Lake Superior by 90 mile-per-hour winds and 30-foot seas. All 29 crew members perished.

The ship’s 200-pound bronze bell was retrieved on July 4, 1995. It holds a place of honor in the Great Lakes Shipwrecks Museum – Whitefish Point, Paradise, Michigan.

Why I chose to post this today

The Great Lakes Shipwrecks Museum holds a ceremony annually on November 10 to honor the memory of the 29 men who perished in the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The ceremony today is not open to the public; however, it will be live streamed at 7:00 p.m. EST on Facebook Live and YouTube. For links to those venues, visit https://shipwreckmuseum.com/edmund-fitzgerald/.

That website includes a beautiful photograph of the ship, but I did not have permission to include it in this blog post.

Hurricane Helene Update on Western North Carolina

I live 100 miles east of the hardest hit areas, but as a North Carolinian I feel compelled to use my platform to remind the world that western NC is still dealing with Hurricane Helene. Just to give you an idea about the recovery situation 46 days after the storm hit western NC…

Roads: Interstate 40 is still closed near the TN line. As of Friday, of the 1,329 roads that were closed in September due to Hurricane Helene, 293 remain closed and an additional 95 have partial access.

Electricity: Duke Energy and other electric utility companies and co-ops are working diligently to get power restored to the most remote/rugged areas.

Water system in Asheville: The City of Asheville Water Resources serves about 160,000 people in Buncombe and Henderson counties. They are still under a Boil Water order. Water treatment and testing continue daily. Imagine being without potable tap water for drinking, cooking, bathing, washing clothes, etc. since September 26!

Blue Ridge Parkway: An 11-mile stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway has opened near Asheville after the removal of 350,000 cubic feet of storm debris! Another way of looking at that figure is to imagine almost 150 shipping containers being filled. That section of the parkway goes from the NC Arboretum to the Folk Art Center. Giving the public access to the Folk Art Center is a huge step forward as artisans of numerous crafts from throughout the Appalachian Mountains display and offer their artistry for sale there. If you’re planning a trip, visit https://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/roadclosures.htm. It is a great source for details of closures from milepost to milepost. As the fall tourist season winds down, there is still no estimated date for all the parkway in NC to be reopened.

Public School Systems: All the affected counties continue to struggle with bus routes due to so many road closures.

Tourism: Towns are opening back up to visitors, but many rural areas are still very much in recovery mode… and will be for months, if not years. Check reliable sources before making travel plans.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read.

Value the time you have with friends and family.

If you haven’t subscribed to my newsletter yet, please do by visiting https://www.janetmorrisonbooks.com and clicking on the “Subscribe” button. You will receive a free downloadable copy of my historical short story, “Slip Sliding Away” and my e-newsletter. I’m starting a new, shortened e-newsletter format on Tuesday, November 12. Sign up today so you won’t miss out!

Remember the people of Ukraine; western NC; Valencia, Spain; and all the areas affected by the numerous wildfires in the United States.

Janet

Books Read in October 2024 & a Hurricane Helene Update

I struggled to get any books read or listened to in October. It seems I spent too much time watching webinars about the craft of writing and picking up and burning the limbs that came down in our yard during Hurricane Helene.

We had no property damage, but when you live on several acres of big, old hardwood trees, this is a constant chore. Perhaps I need to add “Lumberjack” to my business card! (In case you’re wondering, I burned the limbs in a big, old, steel oil drum set on bricks on a crushed stone driveway, away from anything that could catch on fire.) Not exactly what I want to do with my time and energy, but….

The Three Books I Read Last Month:

Poster Girls, by Meredith Ritchie

Poster Girls, by Meredith Ritchie

This novel had special meaning to me because it is set in Charlotte during World War II. The specific setting is “The Shell Plant” – a 2,300-acre facility in south Charlotte where 75-millimeter anti-aircraft shells were assembled for the US. Navy around-the-clock from January 1943 until the end of the war.

The plant was operated by United States Rubber Company and employed 10,000 people. The book tells the story of the women who worked at the plant and how that was a huge cultural shift in the country during the war. Prior to the war, women were mostly relegated to jobs as nurses, secretaries, and teachers.

The book addresses the discrimination women employees face due to their gender, and how women can bond and work together against their common enemy:  misogyny.

The book also addresses racial mores of the day, as it follows several black female workers and how they were treated by their white counterparts – both male and female. The black and white workers were segregated and the book explores what happens when attempts were made to break down racial barriers.

The book also addresses how these women, who had worked so hard on the home front to win the war while balancing raising children in the absence of husbands who were overseas for the duration of the war, had to adjust to the sudden post-war days when men returned from the military and women were no longer wanted or considered for work outside the home.

As a child in the 1950, I heard my parents make references to “the shell plant,” but I was too young to take an interest or ask questions about the facility. Not having lived through World War II, it all seemed like ancient history to me as a little child.

There has been a spate of World War II novels over the last few years and many readers are yearning for a new topic; however, I found this novel to be different from other war-era books because it explored some down-to-earth real issues women faced at that time.

Fire and Bones, by Kathy Reichs

Fire and Bones, by Kathy Reichs

This is the 23rd and latest novel in Kathy Reichs’ Temperance Brennan Series. I haven’t read all of them, but I have enjoyed the ones I’ve read.

Fire and Bones finds Tempe Brennan called away from her job at the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s Office in Charlotte to help with an arson investigation in the Foggy Bottom section of Washington, DC. She stumbles upon a body in a burlap sack in the bowels of a burned building. As is prone to happen, she gets dragged more deeply into this investigation and a longer-than-anticipated absence from Charlotte than she wanted.

There is friction between Tempe and the DC police, and there is an awkward alliance formed between Tempe and a TV news anchor.

The references to Charlotte and this area were pluses for me. I think most people enjoy an occasional novel with locations with which they are familiar. It was coincidental that two of the three novels I read last month fell into that category.

Table for Two: Fictions, by Amor Towles

Table for Two: Fictions, by Amor Towles

I have enjoyed other books by Amor Towles, including A Gentleman in Moscow, so I looked forward to Table for Two – a book of short stories.

I made the mistake of trying to listen to Table for Two on CD. Since I don’t have consistent time in which to listen to a book, I found it difficult to keep up with which story I was listening to. This is not a reflection on the writing by any means. It is just my poor choice in how I chose to “read” the book.

I usually only get to listen to books now late at night when I’m tired, so I tend to drift off and miss key points. This is especially not ideal when listening to a recording of short stories. While I was distracted (or dozing off?) I sometimes found that I’d missed the end of one story and landed in the next story.

My favorite story in the collection was “The Ballad of Timothy Touchett.” I loved the humor and the fact that the main character was a writer trying to learn his craft. I could identify with that! The poor guy, though, gets sucked into a scheme of forging authors’ autographs.

I also enjoyed “Hasta Luego” in which a man finds himself befriending a stranger while stranded in a snowstorm. Things take a turn when he discovers his new friend has a drinking problem and the friend’s wife starts hounding him long-distance to do something about it.

“The Bootlegger” involves a couple attending a series of concerts and being stuck in seats next to a man who insists on illegally recording the performances.

“I Will Survive” was one of the weaker stories in the book. It is about a woman who is convinced her husband is having an affair. She recruits someone to follow him and report back to her. When the true is revealed, the story sort of fell flat for me.

I think I would get more out of “The DiDomenico Fragment” and “Eve in Hollywood” if I checked out the printed or Kindle book. I’ll get on the waitlist for one of those formats.

If you’d like to read what a professional book reviewer had to say about each of the stories in Table for Two, I recommend this blog post from FictionFan: https://fictionfanblog.wordpress.com/2024/09/30/table-for-two-by-amor-towles/.

Hurricane Helene Update on Western North Carolina

I’m pleased to be able to give a shorter hurricane recovery update today for western NC as we come up on the six-weeks anniversary of the storm.

Statistics: The death toll from Hurricane Helene in NC exceeds 100 now.

The estimated damage from Hurricane Helene in North Carolina is a staggering $53 billion.

Timber: I read that more than 800,000 acres of timberland in western NC sustained damage due to the 100-mph winds, torrential rain, and mudslides during the hurricane.

Roads: Interstates 26 and 40 are still closed near the TN line. Some 400 roads remain closed and 140 bridges are still in need of repairs or replacement.

Electricity: According to Duke Energy, “The remaining outages are largely concentrated in Bat Cave, Spindale, Lake Lure, Spruce Pine, Swannanoa, and other communities where there are broader recovery efforts due to catastrophic damage to buildings and infrastructure. We’re using helicopters and tracked vehicles to assist operations in the hardest-hit areas.” On the accompanying map, a strip from Hot Springs to Marshall was also shown as catastrophic damage.

Water system in Asheville: The City of Asheville is still under a Boil Water order. Water treatment and testing continue daily. Turbidity reports are moving in a positive direction. A Mama Bear and her cub took an interest in the treatment and testing activities at the North Fork Reservoir on Thursday.

Blue Ridge Parkway: There is no estimated reopening date for all of the beautiful parkway in North Carolina. Portions of it that are used by residents to get from one side to the other for work or school are receiving top priority in reopening efforts, so there are places where two-mile sections have reopened. Debris removal continues and much repaving is taking place. There are places where the roadbed itself is gone. If you’re planning a trip, visit https://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/roadclosures.htm is a great source for details of closures from milepost to milepost.

Public School Systems: Just to give you an idea about the recovery situation 39 days after Hurricane Helene hit western NC…

Avery County. Today and tomorrow are required teacher work days. School reopens for students on Wednesday on a two-hour delay with modified bus routes and pick-up/drop-off points.

All the affected counties continue to struggle with bus routes due to so many road closures.

Colleges and universities:

Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk: Classes will be conducted online through today.

Tourism: Towns are beginning to open back up to visitors, but many rural areas are still very much in recovery mode… and will be for months, if not years. Check reliable sources before making travel plans.

Until my next blog post

Pray for a violence-free Presidential Election Day in the US tomorrow.

I hope you have a good book to read.

Remember the people of Ukraine; western North Carolina; and Valencia, Spain. As western North Carolina slowly recovers from flooding, the Valencia region of Spain is in the early days of unimaginable flooding and destruction.

Janet

#OnThisDay: Statue of Liberty Dedicated, 1886 & a Hurricane Helene Update

Lots of Americans have Statue of Liberty stories. It was a welcome sight for many immigrants coming into the port at New York City. It was a welcome sight for one of my first cousins when he came home from serving in the US Army in Europe during World War II. And it was a thrill when I saw it from a Staten Island Ferry back in the mid-1980s.

The statue was being restored and prepared for its centennial when I saw it from afar. It was closed to visitors and completely encased in scaffolding. I could barely tell Lady Liberty was in there, yet it was still a thrill to see this national landmark and prized gift from the people of France.

The Statue of Liberty was dedicated by President Grover Cleveland 138 years ago today. Imagine the excitement on that day and the days leading up to the event as people watched the progression of the construction process!

Never having seen it close up, it’s difficult for me to grasp the size of the 151-foot- tall statue. I read that the American people paid for the granite foundation and pedestal, while the people of France paid for the statue itself.

Photo of the Statue of Liberty
Photo by Vinayak Sharma on Unsplash

The statue was sculpted by a Frenchman, Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, who consulted with Gustave Eiffel about structural issues.

In doing research for this blog post I also learned that William Tecumseh Sherman of American Civil War fame (though more infamous here in The South!) selected the site for the statue.

The statue is made of copper sheeting over an iron framework. The flame of the torch held by Lady Liberty is coated in gold leaf. The seven spikes on her crown represent the seven seas and seven continents. The tablet she holds represents knowledge and is inscribed with the date of our country’s Declaration of Independence.

The Statue of Liberty is an international symbol of liberty and the freedoms we enjoy as citizens of the United States of America.

Hurricane Helene Update on Western North Carolina

I hoped today’s update would be shorter than the previous ones I’ve given, but there is a lot to report. If your time and interest are limited, please take advantage of the headings in bold print. Much of today’s update is positive, while some of it is daunting.

Governor Roy Cooper announced that first responders and others have come from 39 states to help with rescue and recovery efforts in western NC! Thank you to each of you!

Hay bales: Last week I reported on hay bales coming from farmers in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Add Kentucky to that list… and no doubt other states I just didn’t hear about. I read a report online from the newspaper in Boone that more than 50 tractor trailer loads of hay bales came to Watauga County from Ohio! They also brought feed for various farm animals, tarps, baby supplies, and posts and barbed wire for fencing.

Photo of a field dotted with big round bales of hay
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

I read a report from Haywood County, about 100 miles south of Watauga, on smokymountainnews.com,. That county’s Agricultural Extension Office knew hay was coming and worked out the logistics of storage and distribution. The agent there said some farmers lost more than 300 bales in the flood.

Farmers helping farmers…. It’s what they do!

Precision Grading:  I’ve been following a small grading company, Precision Grading, in Saluda, NC on Facebook, and I’m just blown away by what this man is doing. He has worked free-of-charge with his bulldozer and backhoe 12 hours a day since the storm to help individuals with debris pickup on their land, cutting new driveways for them, and literally cleaning out the Green River.

If you’ve ever driven I-26 between Asheville, NC and Greenville, SC, you probably remember the section that traverses the Green River Gorge. The bridge is so high, you can’t see the river below. There are runaway truck ramps along the southbound lanes. That area is more isolated than Asheville, Chimney Rock, and Bat Cave, so it is not getting any media attention. This man is not charging anyone for his work, except for the occasional job that insurance is paying for. He says the work is gut wrenching because everything he pulls out of the river was someone’s car, house, or prized possession.

If you would like to support Jake Jarvis’ work, you can send a check to Precision Grading, 99 Polaris Drive, Saluda, NC  28773. He did not want to take donations but finally concluded that donations will enable him to do more work for people in need without charging them. Fuel and maintenance on his heavy equipment is not cheap. I do not know him personally, so do your own research about him.

It is heart-warming, especially in today’s political environment to see that a disaster brings out the best in most people.

Brother Wolf Animal Rescue is still accepting monetary donations to enable the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization to rebuild on higher ground in Asheville. They lost all physical assets in the flood. Here’s the link to their website (https://www.bwar.org/) where you can donate and read about their work. There’s a touching story about Gandolf, a dog rescued from the flood waters.

Statistics: The death toll from Hurricane Helene in NC now stands at 98.

The estimated damage from Hurricane Helene in North Carolina is a staggering $53 billion.

Roads: The storm severely impacted approximately 5,000 miles of state-maintained roads in western North Carolina. Interstates 26 and 40 are still closed near the TN line. A total of 404 roads remain closed.

Electricity: I’ve seen videos online of power poles being brought in by helicopter to places inaccessible by vehicle. One Duke Energy representative said the helicopters make it possible to set a pole in an hour instead of what would be a 10-hour job. The terrain is challenging under the best circumstances, so the helicopters have been a game changer.

Water system in Asheville: My sister learned from a friend there last week that they can flush toilets now, which is a huge milestone for the residents. Here’s the link to an informative briefing by City of Asheville Water Resources on October 25: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6EH3zKjaGE). You’ll learn in this 6.5-minute briefing how the Hurricane Helene flood catastrophe could have been “exponentially worse” if the government had not put in an auxiliary/emergency spillway as a safeguard less than four years ago!

(If you’re a nerd about such things, as I am, here’s a link to a document about the planning and construction of that spillway by McGill Associates: https://www.mcgillassociates.com/north-fork-auxiliary-spillway-and-embankment-improvement-project/.

Blue Ridge Parkway: There is no estimated reopening date for the beautiful parkway. Portions of it that are used by residents to get from one side to the other for work or school are receiving top priority in reopening efforts. A 20-mile stretch near Grandfather Mountain opened last Wednesday. The other 250 miles in NC remain closed.

Public School Systems: Just to give you an idea about the recovery situation 32 days after Hurricane Helene hit western NC…

Avery County. Schools are scheduled to reopen on November 6.

Ashe County. Schools are scheduled to reopen on tomorrow.

Buncombe County. Schools reopened on Friday.

Watauga County. Schools reopened on Thursday.

With so many roads still closed, the school systems have had to scramble to work out bus routes and designated pick-up and drop-off locations.

Colleges and universities:

Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College: Classes resume today because the campus now has power, non-potable water, and internet.

Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk: Classes will be conducted online through November 4.

Warren Wilson College: In-person classes resume today. Still under a boil water order, the college has secured potable water for meal preparation from their food provider.

IV Bag Manufacturer:  Through the US Department of Health and Human Services, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act so Baxter International will have priority access to specific material needed so it can get back to production. One production line is scheduled to start operations this week.

World Central Kitchen (WCK) is still serving the people in western NC and eastern TN. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden volunteered at their walk-up meal, fruit, and water distribution site in Asheville on Friday. According to the WCK website (https://www.worldcentralkitchen.org/en-us/news/jill-biden-visits-wck-asheville-north-carolina) , since the September 25 flood, “With 84 restaurant partners in North Carolina and Tennessee, we’ve served 979,976 meals to date in the southeastern US. Given the ongoing challenges with water access, we’ve also channeled our efforts to distribute more than 768,000 gallons of potable water in North Carolina alone…. In areas like Swannanoa, Hendersonville, Burnsville, Marshall, Yancey County, and more, power and water restoration is slowest, and we expect our support to be needed there for longer.”

Fundraising Concert

Ironically, the “Concert for Carolina” at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Saturday started at 7pm after a two-hour rain and lightning delay… the first rain the area has had since Hurricane Helene in September. I got to watch the live stream and heard/saw portions of it mixed in with a lot of buffering. It was the best concert ever!

Organized by Luke Combs and Eric Church, all artists (including the Avett Brothers, James Taylor, Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow, Billy Strings, Scottie McCreery, Chase Rice, and Parmalee) donated their time and talents so all proceeds and donations could go to help specific organizations in western North Carolina.

The concert raised $24,513,185, included $1 million donated by Dolly Parton. A surprise during the concert was when Nicole Kidman joined her husband on stage and announced that it was his birthday. Then, Eric Church led the 82,000 people in attendance in singing “Happy Birthday to You” to Keith Urban.

Tourism: I found a list online last Thursday of 10 towns in western NC that were still “closed to visitors” and four towns (including Asheville) that were “open with limitations.” Towns are beginning to open back up to visitors, but many rural areas are still very much in recovery mode… and will be for months, if not years. Check reliable sources before making travel plans.

Maybe next Monday’s update will be shorter!

Until my next blog post

Don’t forget to sign up for my e-Newsletter by visiting https://janetmorrisonbooks.com/ and clicking in “Subscribe.” You’ll receive a free downloadable copy of my “Slip Sliding Away” short story. My next e-Newsletter will be sent to you during the first full week of November. Teaser: My “field trip” report this time is Boone’s Cave Park on the Yadkin River.

I hope you have a good book to read. I have several I’m trying to finish by Thursday, so I can blog about them next Monday.

Remember the people of Ukraine and Western North Carolina.

Janet

My DIY Writer’s Retreat & a Hurricane Helene Update

I read about various writers’ retreats and they sound wonderful, but I don’t have the money or necessarily the energy to participate in them. Therefore, I decided to have my own private Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Writer’s Retreat a couple of weeks ago.

It went so well that I intend to do more DIY retreats in the future.

I planned a schedule for it to last on a Thursday through Saturday. It was going to be three days for me to do nothing but write. Specifically, except for writing a blog post, I planned to work on my historical novel, The Heirloom (tentative title).

As I blogged on September 30, 2024 in Best laid plans…, life happens. None of the three days went exactly as planned, but overall, it was a productive time for me.

I learned on Day 1 that by the time I had written an hour that morning and five hours that afternoon, it had been a big mistake for me to schedule three more hours of writing that night. Hence, my schedules for Friday and Saturday were amended. Lesson learned!

Photo by Kaitlyn Baker on Unsplash

On Day 3, I needed to take a break from writing and burn some of the limbs picked up after Hurricane Helene. My writing and that project are both works in progress. Such is life when one lives on several acres of big trees out in the country.

However, in those three days I added 6,000 words to my 35,000-word manuscript in addition to writing a 2,100-word blog post for October 7. Not bad for me, after accomplishing very little on the novel so far in 2024.

I took a Resilient Writers “Book Finishers Boot Camp” online class leading up to my DIY Writer’s Retreat. The class emphasized the importance of writing consistently and measuring writing goals on a weekly basis by whatever measuring stick one chooses.

Word-count goals never worked well for me, so I took a suggestion from the class and have started setting scene goals for myself. They are flexible and based on looking ahead at my calendar. Some weekly goals are higher than others, but the point is to have an end date insight for completing the first draft. In fact, the class instructed participants to have a projected completion date and a “life happens” completion date additional weeks or months down the road.

My ideal rough draft finish date set on September 18 is November 30, 2024. My realistic rough draft finish date set on that same day is January 11, 2025. So far, I’m just one scene behind schedule, with seven of my remaining 30 scenes completed. I admit, though, that no weeks since September 18 have gone as planned. These dates aren’t deadlines, they are self-imposed goals.

It has been fun (and hard work) to get back into the heads of my characters. I “talk” to Sarah, my main character, during my daily walks and ask her what she has for me that day. The great thing is that sometimes she answers!

Hurricane Helene Update on Western North Carolina

Since I live in North Carolina, I decided to give western NC recovery updates in my weekly blog. I hoped today’s update would be much shorter than last week’s, but the recovery efforts are still beyond comprehension 25 days after the disaster.

Weather conditions: Parts of the mountains received the season’s first snow last Tuesday and freeze warnings as some people are still sleeping in tents.

Statistics: As of last Tuesday, 92 people were still unaccounted for in NC. The death toll from Hurricane Helene stands at 95 in the state, but that number will surely rise.

Roads: As of Friday, October 18, 670 roads in western NC had been reopened, but more than 500 remained closed, according to WNCN in Raleigh. There are more than 6,900 sites where roads and bridges were destroyed, according to the NC Department of Transportation.

Electricity: As of last Thursday, 8,400 homes and businesses were still without power in five counties. Helicopters and off-road vehicles are being used to install power poles in some otherwise inaccessible areas.

Water system in Asheville: Water is slowly being restored in Asheville. Due to low water pressure where the system is in operation, residents are still under a Boil Water Notice. As of Saturday, the city reported that the treatment of water in the North Fork Reservoir will be a long process to deal with the high level of sediment resulting from the flooding.

The Rocky Broad River in Chimney Rock was restored to its original channel last week with the help of the US Army 101st Airborne Division.

Blue Ridge Parkway: The Blue Ridge Parkway remains closed in North Carolina, with tens of thousands of trees down and across the roadway and more than 30 rock and mudslides. There is no estimated reopening date for the beautiful parkway.

Public School Systems: Just to give you an idea about the recovery situation 25 days after Hurricane Helene hit western NC…

Avery County. Schools are scheduled to reopen on November 6.

Ashe County. Schools are scheduled to reopen on October 29.

Buncombe County. Schools are scheduled to reopen on October 25.

Watauga County. Schools are scheduled to reopen on October 24.

Colleges and universities:

Appalachian State University in Boone: The campus reopened for students to return as of 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Classes resumed in all but one classroom building on October 16.

Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College: Closed until at least October 28.

Blue Ridge Community College: Reopening today.

Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk: Classes will be conducted online through November 4.

Montreat College: Started welcoming students back to campus yesterday.

Warren Wilson College: As of last Thursday, planning to welcome students back to campus on October 27. Roof and other repairs will continue over the coming months.

IV Bag Manufacturer:  Through the US Department of Health and Human Services, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act so the company will have priority access to specific material needed so Baxter can get back to production.

Convoy of Farm Supplies from Ohio

A convoy of trucks pulling trailers of hay and other farm supplies from Ohio arrived in Deep Gap, Watauga County, on Tuesday! Thank you, Ohioans! The videos were heart-warming! I read of hay bales also coming in from Pennsylvania. Thank you, Pennsylvanians!

Fundraising Concert

The Avett Brothers from here in Cabarrus County and another North Carolinian, Scotty McCreery, have been added to the lineup for the October 26 “Concert for Carolina” at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The concert is sold-out, but can be live streamed for $25.

Tourism: Autumn is the peak tourism season in the mountains. Some towns are accessible now and encouraging tourists to come and support the local economy. Those invitations are accompanied by words of caution to travel to the towns you know are ready for you and don’t venture out in the countryside where your presence will be a hindrance to recovery efforts. If you want to visit our beautiful mountains, do your research online or call your destination to learn about current conditions.

The Biltmore Estate announced on Friday that it will reopen for visitors on November 2

Until my next blog post

I hope you have at least one good book to read this week.

Don’t take family and friends for granted.

Remember the people of Ukraine and western North Carolina.

Janet

By the way… if you have not signed up for my e-Newsletter, please visit https://www.janetmorrisonbooks.com, click on “Subscribe,” and enjoy a free downloadable copy of my “Slip Sliding Away” short story which is set in the Appalachian Mountains. Then, look forward to my November e-Newsletter!

The Wreck of the Packet Home off the Outer Banks in 1837 & a Hurricane Helene Update

With seven weeks remaining in the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, today I’m writing about a hurricane in 1837.

An update about the status of Hurricane Helene cleanup in western North Carolina is also included in today’s post, since I live in that state.

The October 8, 1837 Hurricane in North Carolina

While planning my trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina last May, I read about some of the shipwrecks that justify the Outer Banks’ moniker, The Graveyard of the Atlantic. In the process, I learned about one of the great hurricanes of the 19th century.

One of the ships that met a watery grave off the Outer Banks was a side-wheeled steam packet named Home.

The ship, on her third voyage from New York City to Charleston, South Carolina, was fast but no match for a hurricane. In fact, it was designed for river sailing and never should have been in the Atlantic Ocean – much less in the vicinity of where the warm waters of the Gulf Stream and the cold waters of the Labrador Stream collide off the Outer Banks.

She would have been an elegant river vessel but was sorely lacking in design features needed for sailing the Atlantic.

Hurricanes were not usually named in 1837 like they are today, but the one that took out the Home was called “Racer’s Storm.” It became known as “Racer’s Storm” because it damaged the HMS Racer in the Caribbean.

“Racer’s Storm” or “Racer’s Hurricane” formed in the Caribbean Sea around September 25, 1837, striking Jamaica and Cuba before entering the Gulf of Mexico. It dumped torrential rain along the northeastern coast of Mexico. Next, the coast of the then Republic of Texas was left in shambles. Buildings all along the Gulf of Mexico coast were ravaged. It traveled across southern Georgia and emerged on that state’s Atlantic coast.

I have read that heavy rains and winds destroyed sugar and cotton crops throughout the southeastern states and high winds were reported as far inland as eastern Tennessee.

Reports indicate that there were three lifeboats and only two life preservers onboard the Home. It sprang a leak on the night of October 8. By morning, virtually all passengers were ordered to help the crew bail water. Captain Carleton White tried in vain to get the vessel to slightly more safety on the Sound side of the barrier island, but the 220-foot ship was overwhelmed and torn to pieces.

Ninety people perished in the shipwreck and 30 survived. Among the survivors was Captain White.

Captain White was one of eight or ten people who clung to the vessel’s forecastle and made it safely to shore on that piece of the packet.

“Racer’s Storm” lasted so long (at least 15 days) and wreaked havoc over such a wide area that it became the benchmark for hurricanes in the 1800s.

According to Shipwrecks of the Outer Banks: An Illustrated Guide, by Kevin P. Duffus, “As a result of the Home disaster, Congress passed legislation which required an equal number of life preservers for each person on board a U.S. flag vessel.”

Shipwrecks of the Outer Banks: An Illustrated Guide, by Kevin P. Duffus

Another source of information about this event is https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hurricane_blog/180th-anniversary-of-racers-hurricane/.

Hurricane Helene Cleanup Update on Western North Carolina

Ways to Support Children and An Independent Bookstore in Brevard, NC as it tries to help children affected by the hurricane: Highland Books in Brevard, North Carolina has reopened. This independent bookstore depends on the fall tourist season and holiday shopping, but this year there will be no autumn tourists due to all the flooding and damage caused by Hurricane Helene in Transylvania County. (No, I’m not making that up. That’s the name of the county.)

Leslie Logemann, the owner hopes to have enough business not to have to let any of her staff go. Highland Books was kind enough to sell my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina when it was published in 2015, so there’s a special place in my heart for the shop. I follow Highland Books on Instagram and saw this the other day: 

“HALLOWEEN BOOK DRIVE  If you are able, we hope you’ll consider helping us make Halloween a little brighter for a local child who has been impacted by Hurricane Helene.

Visit our website (or stop by the store), choose any Halloween (or other) book to donate, and we’ll give you 20% OFF. Use code HALLOWEEN & mention it’s for donation.

THANK YOU for considering!
Offer valid through 10/25/24.”

If this particular event pulls at your heartstrings, here’s the website through which you can place an online order: https://www.highlandbooksonline.com/.

Also, through October 31, any order of $25 or more ships FREE, in case you want to do some early Christmas shopping or just want to support an independent bookstore in western North Carolina!

Additional Updates on the ground…

Current weather conditions: Wind Advisory issued from 2:00 this morning until noon today for Avery, Buncombe, Burke Mountains, McDowell Mountains, Mitchell, Rutherford Mountains, and Yancey counties.

Although some politicians and “news” organizations have reported to the contrary… as of last Wednesday, October 8, FEMA had spent $60 million in NC resulting from Hurricane Helene. FEMA had helped 126,000 people in the state and provided temporary housing for 2,500 people. FEMA, the NC National Guard, and the 82nd Airborne Division of the US Army are still on the ground and in the air aiding western North Carolina.

Electricity: With the help of 21,000 storm restoration personnel from across the US and Canada, as of Friday, Duke Energy had restored power to more than 2.6 million homes and businesses in NC and SC. However, much infrastructure restoration work remains to be done in the mountains. You can visit at https://www.duke-energy.com/info/carolinas-restoration for updates. With temperatures dipping below freezing this week, the situation is becoming more dire.

Water system in Asheville: As of 1 a.m. last Thursday, the North Fork’s 36-inch bypass line to the water distribution system was connected. Full service restoration is still weeks away. The EPA and engineering firms are helping Water Resources work toward clearing up the highly murky water in North Fork’s reservoir, according to the Asheville Fire Department Facebook page.

A mobile post office has been set up in Marshall, NC because the post office there was destroyed by the flood.

Mountain Mule Packer Ranch: The mules and their handlers returned home in the piedmont of NC for the weekend for some much-needed rest, but they will return to the mountains to continue their volunteer service of taking supplies into areas still inaccessible by motor vehicle.

Public School Systems: I checked on 10 school systems in western NC yesterday. Two reopened on October 8, several are reopening sometime this week; however, the systems in a few counties are still in dire straits. Just to give you an idea about the recovery situation 19 days after Hurricane Helene hit western NC…

All students have been accounted for in Avery County. Once water and electricity have been completely restored, authorities will announce reopening. With so many roads and bridges washed away, school bus service will be a challenge for a long time.

Ashe County Schools remain closed at least through this week. Updates will be made as possible. Bus routes are being planned in coordination with the NC Department of Transportation.

Although 44 of the 45 schools in Buncombe County now have power, on 13 schools have water.

Schools in Watauga County are still closed this week. Weekly updates will be issued as progress is made.

Colleges and universities:

Appalachian State University in Boone: The campus reopened for students to return as of 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Classes will resume in all but Rankin Hall on October 16.

Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College: Closed until at least October 28.

Blue Ridge Community College: Reopening today.

Lees-McRae College: Classes will be conducted online through November 4.

Mars Hill University: Classes resume today.

Montreat College: Online classes begin today. Return to campus tentatively set for October 21.

The University of North Carolina at Asheville – Instruction and coursework will resume online on October 28 and will remain online for the remainder of fall semester.

Warren Wilson College: “Class will resume October 21 online. Our plan is to be in-person starting on October 28, if water service is restored. The City of Asheville Water Resources has announced that progress is being made. Therefore, we are optimistic but cautious.”

The Orchard at Altapass: “Due to ongoing road conditions, lack of water, and power in many areas, and the fact that Helene was hungry for all of our apples, we will remain closed to the public for the remainder of the season.”

IV Bag Manufacturer: Baxter International makes 60% of the IV bags used in the United States at its plant in Marion, NC. Hospitals are beginning to ration IV bags because that manufacturing plant is still closed due to damage from Hurricane Helene.

Fundraising Concert

North Carolina natives Eric Church and Luke Coombs announced an October 26 “Concert for Carolina” at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte to raise funds for various organizations in western NC, including Manna Food Bank in Asheville. I mentioned it in my blog last Monday, What I Read Last Month & a Hurricane Helene Update. With headliners including James Taylor, Keith Urban, and Sheryl Crow, the concert is, of course, sold out, but check the website (https://www.concertforcarolina.com/) for future announcements about an auction and a raffle.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read, a roof over your head, clean water to drink, and electricity.

Remember the people of Ukraine.

Janet

What I Read Last Month & a Hurricane Helene Update

I did more reading in September than this blog post will reflect, but there was only one book I read from cover-to-cover: White Robes and Broken Badges, by Joe Moore.

White Robes and Broken Badges, by Joe Moore

Photo of book cover for White Robes and Broken Badges by Joe Moore
White Robes and Broken Badges, by Joe Moore

This nonfiction book will stay in my mind forever. The author infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) not once but twice. He infiltrated it both times to a level never done before, gaining access to the top echelon in the organization.

I’ve never known many details about the workings of the KKK. Never needed to. Never wanted to. However, considering where society in America stands today, it seemed like a good time to get better educated about the threat the KKK holds.

This book sheds light on just how insidious the work of the KKK is and how many its members are employed as law enforcement officers in our country. It is widespread and probably even more of a problem than the FBI knows.

It was through the undercover work of “Joe Moore” that the FBI was alerted that the problem is greater than had been realized. Joe was not an FBI agent. He was recruited by them because of his skill set.

After infiltrating the organization the first time, Joe never imagined he would be called on to do it a second time. But he was so good at it, the FBI needed him. Joe and his wife and children sacrificed a lot for what he did. Ultimately, they lost their home, most of their earthly possessions, their family connections, and friends in a matter of several hours.

The book is chilling. I know of no better word to describe the effect it had on me. Chilling. The details should make every law-abiding citizen in the country – no matter your color, race, ethnicity, or nationality – shiver.

After reading this book, I now have a better understanding of why black people in the United States do not trust law enforcement officers. How can they, when they don’t know in a traffic stop whether they are being pulled over by an honest police officer or sheriff’s deputy or if they’re being pulled over by a member of the KKK who just doesn’t happen to be hiding under a white hood?

It has always seemed a great sign of cowardice that when members of the KKK do their dirty work, they hide in their white robes. If you’re doing something you shouldn’t be doing, though, I suppose you don’t want to reveal your identity.

These are misguided people, and as a Christian I am offended that they use the cross as their symbol. Jesus Christ died on a cross for me (and for them!), so how dare they desecrate that symbol of Christ’s great sacrifice!

I highly recommend this book. It is not a pleasant read, but how do we improve as a society if we bury our heads in the sand and don’t open ourselves up to what is going on not only in the shadows but also in broad daylight?

I learned about this book while listening to National Public Radio (NPR) in August (https://www.npr.org/2024/08/12/g-s1-16223/white-robes-and-broken-badges-exposes-the-inner-workings-of-the-ku-klux-klan)

Update on Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina

I wish I could include photographs, but I don’t want to run the risk of sharing an image that is undocumented or not in the public domain. You can use some of the links below if you wish to see pictures.

Another reason I am not including photos is that I know from my own experience after Hurricane Hugo in 1989 that pictures don’t do a disaster justice. Unless you are in the middle of a natural disaster and destruction is all you can see, hear, smell, or touch in any direction, you can’t grasp the enormity of the situation.

I know that Hurricane Helene left a wide path of destruction in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia; however, I have lived in North Carolina all my life – four of my 71 years in the mountains. The mountains are near and dear to my heart. I will blog about North Carolina and leave it to people in those other states to blog about the conditions in their states.

A couple of my blog readers said they hoped I would continue to shine a light on the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene in the mountains of North Carolina on September 26.

I do not live in the disaster zone. I’m about 100 miles east of the mountains. We just had a lot of rain, some wind, and a lot of tree branches to pick up and deal with. That is ongoing, but that and our 13-hour power outage pale in comparison to what happened in our beautiful Appalachian Mountains.

Ten days after the storm, many areas of the mountains are still inaccessible. Damage assessments are still being made. Recovery will be measured in years, not months. Some locations were wiped off the map and will not be restored because the landscape has been changed completely and forever.

The United States Geological Survey has identified 244 landslides caused in the Southeast by Hurricane Helene. Most of those are in North Carolina. More landslides will, no doubt, occur in the coming weeks with additional rainfall and freezing conditions.

As of the data I found last night, the death toll in North Carolina so far was 115, with 72 of those being in Buncombe County. There are still people unaccounted for. Many communities still have no water or sewer service. Cell phone service was spotty before the storm and restoration has been slow.

Hundreds and hundreds of power poles and thousands of miles of overhead power lines are down. Thousands of people are homeless. You might grow weary of hearing about it, but many of the people of western North Carolina are in dire straits.

As always, though, the worst of nature brings out the best in most people. The outpouring of support has been amazing. Electrical workers have come from all over the country and from Canada. Four hundred nurses have arrived in Asheville from as far away as Alaska to pitch in and help local medical personnel who have worked around the clock since September 26 even though most of them have catastrophic damage at their own homes.

Pack mules are being utilized to haul water, non-perishable food, and other necessities into the steep and rugged terrain where vehicles cannot gain access.

Two interstate highways are closed. I-40 near the Tennessee state line will probably be closed for a year. Repairs to I-26 might allow it to reopen next March. Roads and bridges washed away, houses, cars, and businesses floated away, and overnight all the necessities most of us take for granted every day vanished.

The area of devastation in western North Carolina alone covers more than 600 square miles, and it is not flat land! Every mile of those 600 square miles is not devastated. The severity of destruction various from place to place as rain totals were, of course, higher in some places than in others. Also, some areas of the mountains received more rain than others in the days leading up to the arrival of Hurricane Helene. Elevations range from around 1,500 feet to more than 6,000 feet. The destruction is unprecedented. Since 1916, all floods in western and piedmont North Carolina have been measured against The Flood of 1916. Future floods will be measured against The Flood of 2024 because by all statistics it surpassed the one in 1916.

Classes at my alma mater, Appalachian State University in Boone, have been cancelled until at least October 16. (That’s three weeks of fall semester lost.) Students at Lees-McRea College in nearby Banner Elk were evacuated by air to Hickory. Classes have been cancelled at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee the University of North Carolina at Asheville, Montreat College, Warren-Wilson College, Mars Hill University, and numerous community colleges. Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock, NC is closed indefinitely. Some county school systems are unable to announce when they will reopen.

The beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway that I’ve waxed poetic about so many times is closed indefinitely. US-441/Newfound Gap Road through Great Smoky Mountains National Park has reopened; however, it was not designed to handle commercial traffic, so it is not an alternate to I-40 or I-26 for large trucks. Sadly, a few people decided that did not apply to them, so they attempted to drive on Newfound Gap Road. Two serious accidents resulted – one caused by a car hauler. The highway will be closed to all traffic from 10pm until 7:30 a.m. until further notice. (https://www.nps.gov/grsm/learn/news/update-on-us441-newfound-gap-road-overnight-closure.htm)

The images coming out of the mountains are gut-wrenching. The needs are great and will continue to be for a long, long time. I hesitate to start naming charities because there are hundreds of reputable ones that are on-site and providing remarkable goods and services. World Central Kitchen (https://wck.org/), the Cajun Navy from Louisiana, Mountain Mule Packer Ranch (https://www.mountainmulepackers.com/), the Red Cross, and Samaritan’s Purse are just a few.

The Manna Food Bank (https://www.mannafoodbank.org/) which serves the Asheville and surrounding areas lost their facility and its contents. Brother Wolf Animal Rescue (https://www.bwar.org/) was flooded out but the 150 animals they were housing on September 26 were rescued by volunteers. Organizations like food banks and animal rescues need to be rebuilt and aren’t necessarily eligible for government assistance. (I saw on the Brother Wolf Animal Rescue website last night that donations to that organization are currently being matched!)

The Appalachian State University Disaster Fund (https://www.appstate.edu/disaster-relief/) is another organization for you to consider. It has stepped up to assist students, staff, and faculty members who have lost their homes. The fund also provides much-needed counselling for those traumatized by the storm.

Atrium Medical Center in Charlotte has set up its mobile hospital in Tryon in Polk County. Many towns and counties across the state have sent teams of medical personnel and swift water rescue teams to assist with the aftermath of the storm. The National Guard and 1,000 active-duty personnel from Fort Liberty (formerly, Fort Bragg) were deployed and have been on the ground since weather allowed access. Numerous restaurants are giving out free meals as they are able to prepare food.

Having just visited Boone and West Jefferson on September 12-13 and having visited Hendersonville, Asheville, Bryson City, and Cherokee this summer, it is difficult to grasp the scope of the damage. I drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway from Asheville to its southern end at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in June. I drove from Hickory through Old Fort, Black Mountain, Asheville, and Canton and into Tennessee on I-40 the last week in August.

I always breathe a sigh of relief when I make it through that treacherous stretch of I-40 approaching Tennessee because rock slides are not unusual. To know that part of that interstate literally washed away 10 days ago is hard to get my head around, though.

Know that any support you can give to the people of western North Carolina is appreciated.

Since my last blog post

I was told (again) in a webinar last week that the purpose of a blog is to solve someone else’s problem. Until I figure out how to do that, I’ll just keep blogging like I have for the last 10+ years. As of last week, I have 1,200 subscribers to my blog, so maybe I’m doing all right. If you came to my blog today seeking a solution to a problem, you are probably disappointed.

On the other hand, if you were looking for a way to lend a little aid to people trying to rebuild their lives after Hurricane Helene, I hope one of the organizations I mentioned today struck a nerve with you.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read, a roof over your head, enough food to eat, and clean water to drink.

If all you are hearing is that FEMA and all levels of government are failing to respond to those affected by Hurricane Helene, then you are listening to the wrong sources. More than a week of lies about this from the immediate-past-twice-impeached-34-times-indicted-president is wearing thin here in North Carolina. Please fact check your sources and get your news from a variety of reputable news media.

Hold your friends and family close, for we never know what tomorrow will bring.

Don’t forget the people of Ukraine or the people of western North Carolina.

Janet

Best laid plans…

Do you ever over-organize your life?

I’m a planner. A list maker extraordinaire. The trouble is, I tend to think I can do more in a day than I actually can accomplish. Every. Single. Day.

Several inexpensive and two free online writing courses came along at the same time, and I took the bait.

As if that weren’t enough… along came Hurricane Helene.

I had a full schedule of webinars to participate in and other writing-related things I wanted/needed to do.

The rain poured on Thursday, and that was from a whole different weather system. They said it had nothing to do with Helene… that Helene’s winds and rain bands would arrive overnight and last most of the day Friday.

I got up early Friday morning to listen to the news and weather reports. It was still raining, but I thought we were probably going to be all right. Just as I started to put a pot of water on the cooktop to boil for a nice oatmeal and blueberry breakfast… the power went off.

I forget how addicted I am to writing at the computer… until the power goes off.

I’m trying to take the high road and not whine about the power being off for 14 hours. I live out in the country and have a well so when the electricity is off I don’t have any water. Things get interesting fairly quickly. However, this was a minor inconvenience compared to the widespread flooding and devastation that has and continues to occur in western North Carolina.

I live about 500 miles from where Hurricane Helene made landfall on the Gulf coast of Florida. It was hard to grasp that Helene would still be packing such a punch when she got to North Carolina, even though meteorologists warned that this could be a rain event of historic proportions in the mountains of the state.

Hurricane Helene and her remnants caused devastation in biblical proportions over hundreds and hundreds of miles. What I experienced here in the piedmont doesn’t hold a candle to what happened in the Appalachian Mountains 100 miles to the west.

Asheville, North Carolina is getting the bulk of the media coverage, so you might not be aware that the entirety of western North Carolina is in a world of hurt right now. Some areas received over 25 inches of rain from Helene.

Chunks of I-40 were washed away by flood waters while other sections are under mudslides. Virtually every highway and country road in the mountains were or still are impassable. (That total was 400 on Friday and Saturday, but dropped to 280 yesterday.) Town after town after town in addition to Asheville experienced record-breaking flooding. Not to mention all the nooks and crannies that aren’t towns but tiny communities. Many areas have not been accessed yet as I write this.

Roads are gone. Communications are down or spotty at best. The situation is dire and becomes more dangerous by the day.

Two weeks ago I blogged about my visit to my alma mater, Appalachian State University, in Boone, North Carolina (Who says you can’t go home again? Revisiting a university campus). Seeing aerial pictures of the Town of Boone under water has been gut wrenching the past days. The 21,000 students must be shell-shocked! I would have been if this had happened while I was a student there.

If you have subscribed to my monthly e-newsletter, earlier in September you read about my “field trip” to Swannanoa, North Carolina. I gave some of the history of the construction of the Western North Carolina Railroad through Swannanoa Gap in the 1870s. Sadly, the sketchy reports coming out of the Swannanoa/Black Mountain/Montreat/Old Fort area a few miles east of Asheville indicate that those particular towns are suffering severely from the flooding and landslides caused by Hurricane Helene.

The quaint small town of Chimney Rock was practically wiped off the map. Isolated communities and small towns are scattered throughout western North Carolina. The death toll is rising as search and rescue operations continue. Even the interstate highways are steep and winding.

Almost every one of the mountain towns I can think of was flooded on Friday. Cell, landline service, and electricity were knocked out. I’ve seen pictures of almost every town I can think of being under water.

Although served by two interstate and several US highways, on Friday and Saturday the city of Asheville (population 95,000) was only accessible by air.

I’m afraid the news cycle will transition to the fighting in the Middle East and back to the coming US elections. The public will soon forget Hurricane Helene. Or, there will be another natural disaster that needs our attention.

The devastation from Hurricane Helene covers hundreds of square miles in western North Carolina.

As the area slowly recovers over the coming months and years — when you know you won’t be in the way of first responders and second and third responders — visit the area and patronize the small businesses. Eat at the diners instead of the chain restaurants. Shop at the little shops and independent bookstores instead of at the big-box stores.

Western North Carolina’s economy depends on tourism. Autumn is the biggest tourist season as the native hardwood forests put on a colorful show. Tourists will not be visiting the area this fall because so many of the roads are in shambles.

Western North Carolina is famous for its apples. This is the beginning of apple season. Many orchards were severely damaged last week, but if you have the opportunity to purchase apples from North Carolina this fall or any time in the future, do so to help the farmers get back on their feet.

Western North Carolina is also famous for its Christmas trees. Many of the fir and spruce trees that have graced the White House through the years were grown in North Carolina. If you can buy a tree from North Carolina in December, do so.

Western North Carolina is known for its artisans. Quilt makers, glass blowers, textile artists, weavers, woodcrafts people, painters, musicians, potters, makers of corn husk dolls, knitters, and crocheters depend on tourists to purchase their wares. But now many of their retail outlets are gone. Seek them out online on marketplaces such as Etsy.com.

Mountaineers are sturdy, intelligent, talented, resilient, resourceful people. They roll with the punches during winter blizzards and hard times, and many of them are about as self-sufficient as a person can be in the 21st century. But when they experience a 1,000-year flood followed by the remnants of a hurricane all in the span of three days that affects every community in the region, they need a hand up. They don’t want our pity. They need our support.

If you are so moved and are able, do what you can to help the hurting people of southern Appalachia. Donate what you can to a reputable charitable organization of your choice.

Since my last blog post

I got to visit a veteran of World War II and the Korean War last week who celebrated his 100th birthday this weekend. How many people get to do that?

Until my next blog post

I’m writing this on September 29 and scheduling it for September 30. A fiber optics cable is being moved a couple of miles up the road and my internet service is going to be interrupted any minute now for an undetermined length of time. Not that Windstream gave us any warning. If not for word-of-mouth, we would have been blindsided. On second thought, I think I’ll just go ahead and hit the “publish” button and not rely on the “schedule” button! So much for my best laid plans for tomorrow!

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read.

Don’t take your family or friends for granted.

Remember the people of Ukraine and the people of western North Carolina.

Janet