Community remains crucial component in Swannanoa storm recovery
Locals organizing distribution centers, hot meals and medical services amid Helene aftermath
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
October 17, 2024
An inspirational message of strength greets drivers along U.S. 70 in Swannanoa, where Tropical Storm Helene forced local communities to rely on each other in the aftermath of the devastation. Photo by Fred McCormick
Nearly three weeks since Helene knocked out power and water for thousands across Buncombe County, evidence of the storm’s fury is prominent along U.S. 70 in Swannanoa. A once buzzing business district is now reduced to rubble, while piles of debris clutter nearby neighborhoods.
Amid the devastation, residents of the unincorporated community are relying on localized efforts for vital support.
The tropical storm that left 27 Western N.C. counties in a state of emergency hit Swannanoa, where the river with which it shares its name surged, particularly hard. Cars, trucks and tractor-trailers litter the main thoroughfare, west of Black Mountain, while the overwhelming majority of structures along the Swannanoa River were damaged or destroyed.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, as of Oct. 16, has verified 95 fatalities related to the storm, while 92 people remain missing, according to Governor Roy Cooper. Thousands of area residents remain without power or water.
The grim reality of the situation rippled throughout the scattered communities of Swannanoa, some of which remain inaccessible 19 days later.
Beacon Village, once the epicenter of Swannanoa before the 2002 closure of Beacon Manufacturing, established itself as a disaster relief hub in the hours after the storm, which left piles of mangled debris nearby and washed out large sections of roads.
Blunt Pretzels, which moved to its location on Alexander Place in 2020, immediately began serving food to scores of shocked residents descending upon downtown. Owner and operator Eddie Schoeffmann and his girlfriend Emily Smith have been working tirelessly since.
“On day one, power and water were out, and they came out and started feeding people who were nervous and scared,” said Chris Smith, who came to the location three days after the storm. “They baked pretzels and cooked bratwurst using propane and started giving them to people. It has definitely evolved since then.”
Chris, who had prior experience operating a catering business and food truck, worked with Schoeffmann to retrofit the pretzel shop.
“We made a bunch of changes and turned it into a full-scale commercial kitchen,” he said.
Blunt Pretzels, in the center of downtown Swannanoa, continues to serve hungry residents weeks after Tropical Storm Helene devastated the unincorporated community. Photo by Fred McCormick
The site, which now hosts a supply distribution center, children’s play area and picnic tables with board games, has served anywhere between 800 to 1,200 meals per day since the storm, according to Chris.
“It felt desperate in the first few days,” he said. “We were cooking food brought in through donations, with everything from pork loin, brisket, vegetables to venison chili. For us, we had just become this central meeting place in town for people who had lost everything, so we wanted to make sure we were able to serve them meals.”
They received additional support from World Central Kitchen, which partnered with the business to establish it as an official Community Relief Hub. The not-for-profit organization, founded in 2010, provided Blunt Pretzels with a supply of potable water.
Local nonprofit organizations, including Bounty & Soul, supply fresh produce.
“We’re cooking with a lot of donated ingredients, and we have surpluses of certain things so we’re able to donate to people in need,” Chris said. “It’s like Iron Chef everyday, we figure out what he have to work with, and that’s what we’re making.”
Swannanoa has been a key area of focus in the wake of the disaster for Bounty & Soul, according to Director of Operations Curt Rademacher.
A play area for children is one of several outreach initiatives offered through Blunt Pretzels in Swannanoa in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene. Photo by Fred McCormick
“We started getting meals out to Black Mountain Presbyterian Church immediately, then once they got their operation going, we really started working on getting our warehouse ready to start receiving produce,” he said. “We knew we needed to become more of a distribution center for everything people might possibly need.”
While the organization typically gives out free healthy food at its bi-weekly markets, the operation has pivoted to directly reach multiple communities.
“We’re bringing hot meals out to communities, daily, through World Central Kitchen,” Rademacher said. “We’re loading those trucks with supplies, whether it’s produce, toilet paper, canned goods, whatever those communities identify as a need that day.”
Of the 19 communities being served by Bounty & Soul, 95% of them are in Swannanoa, he added. The needs are vast.
“It runs the gamut, from clothing, food, paper, sanitary and cleaning supplies,” Rademacher said. “We’re trying to hit the biggest needs, and those change daily and weekly.”
Assisting those impacted by the disaster is the primary focus of the relief operation based out of the Swannanoa Library at Grovemont Square, blocks away from a washed away segment of U.S. 70, where flooding destroyed businesses and homes. Here, a collective of neighbors and community organizations working together has been offering counselor-led groups for children and a non-potable water station to allow residents to maintain sanitation.
A non-potable water station at Grovemont Square is one of several services offered through a collaborative effort of neighbors in the small Swannanoa community. Photo by Fred McCormick
“We also have a supply depot where people can come by and find things they may need. We are depleting that, but it is still open to the public,” said Allen Dye, local resident and president of the nonprofit Swannanoa Community Council that owns and manages the property. “This is all done through a grassroots effort, which began with a gathering of neighbors. We have nonprofits who work together in Swannanoa, but none of them are taking the lead on this. Decisions are all being made collectively.”
Online, the Swannanoa Grassroots Alliance, a collaborative effort between Swannanoa neighbors, businesses, nonprofits and churches, has established an expansive list of available resources in the community. The website, swannanoagrassrootsalliance.org, includes information about nearby medical treatment options, food and water distribution sites and pet care.
Along Warren Wilson Road, Hearts with Hands, a Swannanoa-based nondenominational Christian humanitarian organization that sends aid to areas impacted by natural disasters, has served as a donation drop-off and supply on the west side of the community. Across town, on the I-40 exit, at Harley-Davidson of Asheville, helicopters descend upon on operation overseen by Savage Freedoms Relief Organization.
Founded by former Green Beret and Black Mountain resident Adam Smith, the operation involves hundreds of volunteers who receive and transport supplies to remote corners of the region.
Bee Tree Christian Church, nestled in a rural Swannanoa community, is one of many structures damaged by flooding from Tropical Storm Helene. Photo by Fred McCormick
The faint sound of whirring chopper blades are an ever-present reminder of the life-altering tragedy in the quiet Bee Tree community, where raging floodwaters left a path of destruction. Cars swept away by the water rest on tree trunks and crumpled buildings dot the landscape along the main road through one of the county’s oldest settlements.
Many residents in the area rely on the well-supplied distribution center that has been operating at God’s Way Baptist Church in the weeks since the storm. The nearly 14-acre property, next to what remains of Charles D. Owen Park, hosts J&C No Limits food truck, which owners Julie and Charlie Rehart hauled down from Corning, Ohio, in the weeks after Helene.
“We just felt the need to help,” said Charlie. “We’ve been here for five days, and plan to keep serving people through the rest of this week.”
While the Reharts prepare free pancakes, a busy supply operation fills orders for diapers, canned foods, charcoal, cleaning supplies and nearly any other household item imaginable. The relief operation began to take shape following a chance encounter, but Salisbury native Travis Ketchie, who oversees logistics, offered his own explanation.
“God,” said Ketchie, who left his home searching for places to help. “That’s the only way I can explain it, because I got here and haven’t left since.”
The volunteer firefighter worked multiple search and rescue missions in the aftermath of the crisis.
“One of the last days of doing that, I was at that stop sign right there and I saw four people standing out here in the church driveway, and there were hardly any cars in the parking lot,” Ketchie said. “I went inside the church, met one of the deacons, a woman was in the church, which was full of donations, and she was overwhelmed, almost to tears.”
Ketchie was struck by the selflessness of those involved in the burgeoning operation.
“I later found out that the woman, Sherry, had lost her home in the flood, but she never mentioned that one time,” he said. “She could only think about helping everyone else in her community.”
Ketchie acquired metal shipping containers to house the ever-growing inventory of supplies, while church volunteers began organizing a distribution system. The normally quiet stretch of Warren Wilson Road became a frequent stop for volunteers offering assistance.
Travis Ketchie, a volunteer from Salisbury, loads water for residents of the Bee Tree area in the parking lot of God’s Way Baptist Church. Photo by Fred McCormick
“You’re really looking at a miracle,” Ketchie said of the operation, which includes potable and non-potable water, multiple carefully arranged storage units and a sanctuary filled with supplies. “We’ve had people come in from everywhere, and the outpouring of support has been amazing. Anything we’ve needed has somehow shown up.”
The small church has hosted volunteers from N.Y., Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Maryland, Louisiana and all across N.C.
“It’s amazing what they have done here,” a volunteer said. “People have really been here for this community, and seeing it is a blessing.”
While God’s Way intends to maintain its supply hub for “as long as its needed,” the church is actively looking for volunteers and monetary donations to sustain the operation. Donations can be made, by check, to God’s Way Baptist Church, 943 Warren Wilson Road, Swannanoa 28778.
With hot meals and household goods available throughout Swannanoa, medical care has come in the form of a collaborative effort between medical professionals from MAHEC, Pardee and Mission Hospitals and AdventHealth. The service, available 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, in the parking lot of First Baptist Church Swannanoa,
Wendy McNulty-Clements, a register nurse who works at Mission Hospital, has been working at the clinic since the first day of the disaster.
“There was an immediate call put out for any credentialed medical professionals to meet in Black Mountain” she said. “We had a large number of people who came out, so they told us they needed a team in Swannanoa. I had three neonatal intensive care nurses and two athletic trainers with me, so we all came here.”
In the hours after the storm, the team was supplied only with what they had in their cabinets, according to McNulty-Clements.
“It was a true collective effort, and that day was especially challenging, due to yellow jackets,” she said. “We didn’t have Benadryl, had to source epi-pens, and things began to evolve from there.”
The mobile clinic, which was supplied a Quest Diagnostics bus through a donation from the Swannanoa-based Beacon Foundation, is seeing an average of 40-50 patients per day, according to MAHEC Registered Nurse and Swannanoa resident Katie Neligan.
“We’ve all known there was a need for more access to quality healthcare in Swannanoa,” she said. “So, this is a long-term thing, and not something that will go away in a few weeks or months.”
The medical clinic will operate as long as the service is needed, according to Neligan.
“If there is still a need past the next two weeks, we plan to find a way be here, in some form,” she said.
Down the street from the church, foot traffic in front of Blunt Pretzels increases throughout the morning, as Swannanoa adapts to a new way of life. Residents are forced to rely on one another for daily needs, while volunteers work diligently to provide food, clothes and supplies.
“This has really forced all of us to come together in ways that we weren’t before,” said Emily, as she supports the efforts of the volunteers in the center of town. “We were living in black and white, and now we’re living in color. We’re not going back, so going forward it’s on us to live with love for our neighbors and community.”