Musings from the Mountains

Here at the end of September my mind wanders back to a year ago when we were facing the destruction left by Hurricane Helene.  On September 27th, 2024, we had huge amounts of rain and wind that left 5 dead in Haywood County, and many residents homeless.  The year since the hurricane has seen our residents come together in so many ways to help each other in time of need.

Haywood County was not hit as hard as Buncombe County and Asheville to our east.  But to the residents of Canton, and others along the Pigeon River upstream of Canton, it must have felt as if they were being picked on.  In August 2021 the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred dumped copious amounts of rain on the mountain slopes above the Pigeon River and its tributaries upstream of Canton.  Six residents lost their lives in the flash flood that tore through Cruso, Bethel and eventually downtown Canton.  Many residents lost their homes due to Fred in 2021, only to be hit again by Helene in 2024.  Many were still living in temporary housing, only to be flooded again.

I read one account on Facebook, after Helene had flooded that a resident walked into downtown Canton on Sunday, I believe, after the flood.  This resident saw only one man sitting in a lawn chair.  As he approached the man, he realized that he was crying.  The man in the lawn chair crying, was Zeb Smathers, the mayor of Canton.

As sad as these disasters have been, it is truly amazing to see how residents have come together to help one another.  We have even had emergency workers, and volunteers coming in from other states to help.  This has renewed my faith in mankind.  To those who helped, thank you one and all.

Everything is back open now and businesses need your patronage.  Please come visit and enjoy our beautiful mountains.  If you have any real estate questions, please let us know.  We’re here to help!