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HURRICANE HELENE

by | Oct 23, 2024 | national | 1 comment

sailing ship

...Terror of the Holler

The Appalachian Region

Appalachia is a compilation of 423 counties across 13 states spanning 206,000 square miles, extending from southern New York to northern Mississippi.  The region’s extensive population resides in parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Eight native American Indian tribal communities also occupy Appalachian in Georgia, Mississippi, New York and North Carolina.

“My people, I am Almighty God.  Satan is sifting you like wheat    I am proving my trustworthiness to you.  I do not fail you.  Stand  together, trust me and encourage each other.”

Luke 22: 31 & 32

Chimney Rock, North Carolina

The history of Chimney Rock and Lake Lure begins with Dr. Lucuis B. Morse and his vision and foresight.  Chimney Rock, with its rugged beauty and surrounding geography, enthralled and shaped his life and the lives of his twin brothers.  The park and the Morse family remain entwined.  Dr. Morse was born in Missouri in 1871.  He was diagnosed with tuberculosis while a practicing physician.  Seeking a healthy living climate, Morse travelled to the thermal belt of western North Carolina.  He wandered the area down to Chimney Rock, the mammoth sarsen pillar towering above the ten-mile gorge.  Morse then hired a man and his donkey to transport him to the top.  Inspired by the panoramic view, he then focused on the development of Lake Lure and the township.  At the time, Jerome B. Freeman owned Chimney Rock.  Having purchased it and its surrounding 400 acres as a land speculation in 1890.

Turning Dreams into Reality

In 1902, with the financial support of his twin brothers, Morse purchased 64 acres of Chimney Rock mountains and cliffs.  In subsequent years, the park expanded to 1000 acres.

Tourists arrived by horseback and carriage from the Hendersonville and Rutherfordton railway stations.  The doctor and his brothers built a bridge across the rocky, broad river and a three-mile narrow road up to the base of the Chimney.

Historical recollections:

  • Native American Indians climbed the Chimney Rock to send smoke signals from the top.

  • The movie “The Last of the Mohicans” (based on the historical novel written by my relative James Fennimore Cooper) was filmed in the park’s best locations.  The climactic fight scene was filmed at the top of Hickory Nut Falls.

  • The new bridge was dedicated on July 4, 1916.  That same year, the beloved bridge was swept away by a flood.  Though this was a major setback, the people re-grouped and rebuilt the bridge, adding a stone gatehouse and gatekeepers’ lodge.  The stone gatehouse and lodge stood strong until replaced by a steel bridge in March 1984.

Chimney Rock management was formed in 2007, but its roots go back over 100 years to the Morse family, which sold the land to the state of North Carolina in the early 2000s.

Chimney Rock local comments on Hurricane Helene:

  • The innkeeper and restauranteur said the path forward is hard.

  • The backs of buildings and whole sections are washed away.

  • You cannot rebuild; there is no land.

  • Business owners denied insurance claims.  Without help there is no money to rebuild.

HURRICANE HELENE BECAME A WORST-CASE SCENARIO:

Days ago, the main road in Chimney Rock, a small mountain town in western North Carolina, stood on solid ground.  Hurricane Helene washed the main road away, but it was not the only one along the Appalachian Trail.

All along the Appalachian Trail, homes and towns are tucked away into the hollows between mountain ridges.  Built along the streams and rivers that carved grooves into rock, locals call these villages the Hollers.  They are reached only by roads cut through dense forest and crossing streams.

Helene has left many communities and individuals isolated, deceased, unrecognizable and destroyed within the Appalachians.

“I am your GOD.  I remind you that it is the Devil who steals, kills and destroys.  I have come to give you LIFE.”

John 10: 10

Conclusion:

Most likely many have watched alternate media coverage of the devastation of Helene across the Appalachians.  May we allow God to fill our hearts with compassion and be willing to help in any way he leads us to do so?  My background music as I wrote this has been the magnificent “BLUE-GRASS” music of the HOLLERS of Appalachia.  This article is my Tribute to the lives of these precious people.

 

“My precious Sons and Daughters, pour out all your pain, sorrow, grief, fear, trauma and devastation to me because I care about each of you.  I remind you that the devil as a prowling Lion is seeking to devour you.  I enable you to stand firm and to resist him.  I will restore each one of you, raising you up once again to be strong, firm and steadfast.”

I Peter 5: 7-10

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Sally Darlene Cooper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Comment

  1. ROCKY PASHKO

    HOWDY SALLY WOW THAT IS GREAT BUT SO SAD LOVE YOUR WRITING YES I PRAY FOR GOD TO HELP REPAIR THERE LIVES GOD BLESS

    Reply

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