A Generation defining Event

  • Hurricane Helene...

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

  • The Aftermath...

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

a not so small, small town

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

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

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

accounted for

Release Date: January 21st.

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

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

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

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

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

Small Businesses Make A Small Town

Release Date: 26 January 2025

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

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

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

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

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