I write southern historical fiction, local history, and I've written a devotional book. The two novels I'm writing are set in Virginia and the Carolinas in the 1760s. My weekly blog started out to follow my journey as a writer and a reader, but in 2025 it has been greatly expanded to include current events and politics in the United States as I see our democracy under attack from within. The political science major in me cannot sit idly by and remain silent.
There are so many battles and skirmishes that were fought during the American Revolution that most of us have never heard of!
The blowing up of the King’s shipment of munitions in present-day Cabarrus County, North Carolina in May 1771 comes to mind. But that event has been blogged about here in Mays of the past and will, no doubt, show up on my blog in future May posts.
The little-known battle I blog about today is the Battle of Great Bridge which took place 249 years ago today in Virginia.
I’d never heard of it until I happened upon it in The American Book of Days, Fourth Edition, by Stephen G. Christianson. The day that reference book was weeded from the public library’s collection and sold for almost nothing was a profitable day for me. I have relied on this book for many of my #OnThisDay blog post ideas. I still question the wisdom of the library staff deciding this was not a useful book, but the public’s loss was my gain. But I digress.
Let’s move on now to the importance of the Battle of Great Bridge and some information about the free black man who displayed heroics in the battle.
Fearing a rebellion, Virginia’s Royal Governor, John Murray, the Earl of Dunmore, ordered the seizure of the gunpowder stored in Williamsburg. Word spread quickly and militias converged on the town. Lord Dunmore fled to Norfolk.
Great Bridge spanned the Elizabeth River, was the primary approach to Norfolk, and was surrounded by the Great Dismal Swamp. The swamp greatly limited accessibility to Norfolk.
Lord Dunmore ordered the construction of a stockade on the north side of the Great Bridge. Patriots grouped on the south side. Skirmishes ensued for days leading up to the battle.
Battle of Great Bridge
Although the Battle of Great Bridge lasted only a half hour on December 9, 1775, it was the first Patriot victory in the Revolutionary War.
It is said that this battle forced Lord Dunmore to leave Virginia along with his soldiers.
Four days after the battle, the Virginia Convention adopted a statement of independence.
Photo from a reenactment (obviously!) by British soldiers
Waves of British soldiers bore down on the Patriots. According to the website of the battle’s museum, https://gbbattlefield.org/learn-the-history, the patriots were joined by reinforcements and ordered to hold their fire until the British were within 50 yards.
Billy Flora
The website states, “It is historically significant to note that the last among the Patriots to retreat was Billy Flora, a free black man. Before retreating into the Patriot breastwork, he ran back to take up a plank of the bridge amid a shower of musket balls to slow the British advance.”
The significance of the Battle of Great Bridge
The museum’s website also states, “In winning the battle of Great Bridge on December 9, 1775, the Patriots effectively denied the British Norfolk, the finest seaport between New York and Charleston.”
How different the war might have unfolded if the British had captured the port at Norfolk!
Hurricane Helene Update on Western North Carolina
Just to give you an idea about the recovery situation 74 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. In fact, that’s four more than indicated in last week’s NC Department of Transportation report. (Perhaps I miscalculated the total last week.)
Blue Ridge Parkway: There is still no estimated date for all the parkway in NC to be reopened.
A fresh fir Christmas Wreath from Avery County, NC: I was going to repeat the information I shared last week about a Christmas tree farm in western North Carolina, in case you missed my last blog post. I wanted you to have a chance to order a wreath or a tabletop Christmas tree from the Avery Family’s Trinity Tree Company in Newland, NC. HOWEVER… I have some great news! They have received so many orders they’ve had to shut down their online store! I’m so glad to get to end this week’s Hurricane Helene update on a good note!
The wreath my sister and I ordered was delivered nine days ago. It’s beautiful and smells great!
Here’s our wreath…
Our fir Christmas wreath from the Avery Family’s Trinity Tree Company, Newland, NC
(If you wish to still support the Avery Family as they are just two months into their years of recovering the family farm and business since they lost 60,000 trees to the hurricane, you can “order” a virtual tree or make a recovery gift on their website: https://www.averychristmastrees.com/. It takes about 15 years to grow a Christmas tree, so it will be long time before this family farm is back on its feet.
Since my last blog post
I continue to work on the devotional book and the historical novel I’m writing. I’m still adjusting to trying to post something on Instagram every day but Sundays. The world of social media is challenging and consumes more of my time than I’d like.
Photo by Alexander Shatov on Unsplash
Until my next blog post
Read something uplighting or enlightening every chance you get. Support your local public library and your local independent bookstore, if you’re fortunate enough to have either one.
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!
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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 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!
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.
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!
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!
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
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?
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.
Several weeks ago, my sister and I spent several days in Cherokee, North Carolina. We have visited Cherokee many times, but I had never seen the “Unto These Hills” outdoor drama. Since the drama was rewritten a few years ago to give a truer presentation of the Cherokee Indian perspective on their history, I was eager to see it.
A leisurely drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway is always an activity we enjoy, so we got on the parkway on the southern edge of Asheville and took it to its end at Soco Gap. We went through 15 tunnels on that 80 or so southernmost miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Various wildflowers, including the Flame Azalea (or native/wild azalea) was at or just past its peak.
Flame Azalea along the Blue Ridge Parkway
National Park Service sign noting the highest elevation on the Blue Ridge Parkway Motor Road at 6,053 feet.
We had perfect weather all week, including the night we had tickets to see “Unto These Hills.” The acting was superb. It was amazing to see the history of the Cherokee people presented in two hours.
The play emphasized how the Cherokee and the European explorers, traders, and settlers had a congenial relationship in the beginning. It wasn’t until the Europeans started cheating the Cherokee and tricking them into poor decisions and hollow treaties that things deteriorated.
Another scene from “Unto These Hills”
A scene from a visit to the White House in the “Unto These Hills” outdoor drama
The last straw, of course, was when the United States forced the Cherokee to give up their beautiful and lush ancestral lands for what turned out to be a death march to the Indian Territory of present-day Oklahoma. They were promised a good life, but it was just another broken promise by the white man.
A scene from “Unto These Hills” outdoor drama in Cherokee, NC
The Cherokee people who refused to leave the Great Smoky Mountains hid in the hills. It is the descendants of those brave souls who now populate the Qualla Boundary and are officially known as the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians.
By visiting the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and the Oconaluftee Indian Village, you can learn a great deal about the Cherokee Indians’ rich history and traditions. For instance, they lived in houses, not teepees. They did not wear elaborate feather headdresses like the Plains Indians. Cherokee men back in the day were up to seven feet tall and the women averaged only a few inches shorter.
An example of a Cherokee house from an earlier century. (The cutaway is not a window; it is there to show the wall’s construction. Cherokee houses did not have windows because they were only used for sleeping. All their work was done outside.)
Weaving display at Oconaluftee Indian Village in Cherokee, NC
A pottery display and demonstration at Oconaluftee Indian Village in Cherokee, NC
Many Cherokee people continue to master the time-honored crafts of making clay pottery, intricate bead work, exquisite basketweaving, and wood carving. It takes weeks and sometimes months for the native plants and other natural resources for these items to be gathered and prepared, not to mention the intricate work to create the finished products. Those priceless items can be admired and purchased at the Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, Inc.
Cherokee ceremonial masks were made from various natural resources, including wood and even hornets’ nests (as seen on the left in the photo.)
Although some of the signage indicates otherwise, the Qualla Boundary is not a reservation. The Cherokee people own their land and the Qualla Boundary is held in trust for them by the United States Government.
The Cherokee not only had their own written language; they also had their own newspaper starting February 21, 1828. Although the United States Government tried to eradicate the Cherokee language and traditions, that policy failed. Today the Cherokee language is making a comeback. There is even a Cherokee immersion school in which only Cherokee is spoken.
On our recent visit, we used Cherokee as our base. One day we drove through the center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to and including Little River Road and Clingman’s Dome and back to Cherokee.
Another day we drove 10 miles to Bryson City, North Carolina and the Deep Creek entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We hiked to three waterfalls we’d never seen before and enjoyed learning lots of facts about the park along the way to two of them with a park ranger.
When planning your trip, check online for the planned hikes and lectures offered by park rangers at the Oconaluftee Visitors Center near Cherokee, NC, the Sugarlands Visitors Center near Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Cades Cove near Townsend, Tennessee, and at the Deep Creek entrance to the park at Bryson City.
The Cherokee honor water and the residents and visitors alike are blessed to have the Oconaluftee River flowing right through the town of Cherokee. This shallow, wide, rocky river is the perfect place for tubing and splashing around in the water. I have memories of enjoying the river on my first trip to Cherokee when I was a young girl.
Deep Creek in the section of the national park is a popular creek for tubing. Many families were taking advantage of the creek for tubing on the very warm day we were there. If I were just younger and braver…. It looked like a lot of fun!
People tubing on Deep Creek near Bryson City, NC in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
All that hiking and tubing will make you hungry. My sister and I enjoyed the buffet at Granny’s Kitchen Restaurant on US-19 North going from Cherokee toward Maggie Valley. The wife in the couple who own and operate the restaurant is a Cherokee Indian. It is said if you want to find a good place to eat, look where the locals eat. This was certainly the case at Granny’s. (I am receiving no compensation for publicizing the restaurant. It is a good value and experience for the money. You will not leave hungry!)
People from all over the United States enjoy the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Qualla Boundary, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We kept track of the different license plates we saw. When the trip was over, we had seen cars from 42 of the 50 states and several from Ontario, Canada.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most-visited national park in the country. People are drawn to it by its beauty and biodiversity.
If you wish to learn more about Cherokee, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the Blue Ridge Parkway, I recommend my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. I packed as many facts and as much history into the book as Arcadia Publishing would allow. The book is available in paperback and e-Book from Amazon.
Since my last blog post
I continue to declutter by going through closets, old magazines, and boxes of memorabilia, photographs, newspaper clippings, and recipes. It is satisfying to look at what I’ve accomplished. My fiction writing has suffered for it, but this really needed to be done.
Until my next blog post
Keep reading and traveling every chance you get.
Visit your local public library, if you are fortunate enough to have one. If you haven’t visited it recently, you might be surprised to find some of the things it offers: Internet access, free access to software such as Ancestry.com, magazines you would like to read but cannot afford to subscribe to, music CDs, used books for sale, a magazine swap, ….
The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina by Janet Morrison
I indicated that all the answers could be found in the vintage postcard book I wrote, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. These trivia questions (and the answers supplied in today’s blog post) are my way of celebrating the fifth anniversary of the publication of the book by Arcadia Publishing on August 25, 2014.
Here are the questions and answers
1. Why was Grandfather Mountain named a member
of the international network of Biosphere Reserves in 1992? Because it supported 42 rare and endangered
species. Just on that one mountain!
2. What does
Linville Falls in North Carolina have in common with Niagara Falls? They are both caprock waterfalls, meaning the
top layer of rock is harder that the underlying stone. Erosion causes the
waterfall to migrate upstream over time. It is believed that Linville Falls was
once 12 miles downstream from its present location.
3. How did Edwin Wiley Grove make his fortune
which enabled him to build the Grove Park Inn in Ashevile, North Carolina? He sold Grove’s Tasteless Chill Tonic.
4. What part did the Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC) play in the construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway during The Great
Depression? The men who were members of
the CCC assisted with the paving and landscaping of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
What a magnificent gift they left us!
5. When George W. Vanderbilt purchased Mt.
Pisgah in 1897, what grand plan did the mountain become part of
temporarily? The 125,000-acre Biltmore
Estate. (It’s no longer part of the estate.)
6. What groups of people were housed at Assembly
Inn in Montreat, North Carolina in 1942?
290 Japanese and German internees.
7. Jerome Freeman bought 400 acres of land in
Rutherford County, North Carolina that included the Chimney Rock around 1870
for $25. How much did the State of North Carolina pay for Chimney Rock Park in
2007? $24 million.
8. What new breed of hunting dog was developed
by a German pioneer family in the late 1700s in the Plott Balsams subrange of
the Blue Ridge Mountains? The Plott
Hound, which just happens to be the official State Dog of North Carolina.
9. What is an early 20th century feat
of engineering on the Newfound Gap Road in Great Smoky Mountains National Park?
The road crosses over itself. This
example of a helix is called “The Loop.”
10. How fast can a black bear run? 30 to 35 miles per hour.
11. It is illegal in Great Smoky Mountains
National Park to willfully get within how many feet of a black bear? 150 feet.
12. What is the name of the 57,000 acres of land
purchased by the Cherokee in the 1800s and held in trust by the United States
Government? Qualla Boundary
13. Is Qualla Boundary technically a reservation?
No, a reservation is land that the United States Government gives to an
American Indian tribe. The Cherokees purchased their land.
14. Did the Cherokee people lived in tipis in the
1700s and 1800s? No, they lived in
houses.
15. What forest contains one of the largest
groves of old-growth trees in the Eastern United States? Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest
16. What hydroelectric dam was used in the 1993
Harrison Ford movie, The Fugitive? The Cheoah Dam
17. What is the tallest dam east of the Rocky
Mountains in the United States? Fontana
Dam.
18. One of the oldest postcards in my book is of
Cullowhee Normal School in the mid- to late-1920s. What is the name of that
school today? Western Carolina
University.
19. Started in 1935, the Blue Ridge Parkway’s
“missing link” was completed in 1987. What is the connecting one-fourth-mile
long piece that filled the “missing link” called? The Linn Cove Viaduct.
How did you do?
How many of the 19 questions did you answer correctly? I hope you enjoyed trying to answer the questions and seeing the answers today. If you want to learn more about the mountains of North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, please ask for The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, by Janet Morrison, at your local bookstore, online at Amazon.com, or purchase it directly from the publisher at https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/. It’s available in paperback and as an ebook.
The contract
I signed with Arcadia Publishing was for five years, so you’d better get a copy
of the book while it’s still being published. I don’t know if my contract will
be extended.
Since my last blog post
I’ve finally gotten into a rhythm for writing the scene outline according to C.S. Lakin’s template. It sounds backward to be writing the scene outline after writing the book, but the questions asked in the template, along with five questions I added after reading a couple of articles by Janice Hardy, are making every scene in the book stronger. It’s slow going, but well worth the time and effort.
Due to technical problems, I was unable to include images of any of the postcards from my book in today’s blog post.
Until my next blog post
If you’d like to follow me on Twitter, @janetmorrisonbk. If you’d like to follow my business page on Facebook, it’s Janet Morrison, Writer.
I hope you have a good book to read. I’m reading The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead and still listening to Resistance Women, by Jennifer Chiaverini.
If you’re a writer, I hope you
have quality writing time.
Thank you for taking the time to
read my blog. You could have spent the last few minutes doing something else,
but you chose to read my blog.
Let’s continue the conversation
Feel free to
let me know in the comments section below or on Twitter or Facebook how you did
on the trivia questions. If you have any other comments or questions for me
about the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains, I’ll welcome and try to answer them.
Janet's Writing Blog 