My Father was born and raised in the mountains of western North Carolina. Our family has lived in those mountains since the beginning of the eighteenth century when they started farming a piece of land along Broad River beneath Chimney Rock. Over seven generations we spread out through the Blue Ridge Mountains and by 1928 the original family homestead was covered by the waters of Lake Lure created by a new dam. Most residents of the area identified as Scotts-Irish with some English and more than a few Cherokee Indians. I know that Scotts-Irish seems a contradiction and while many Scotts kept their traditions and tartans they all thought of ourselves as a community..
As a kid I spent a lot of summers there and one of my favorite places was the tiny town of Chimney Rock We hiked the trails around the rock, visited rainbow falls, fished the lake and square danced in the main street of the town on Saturday evenings.
The town of Chimney Rock and more than a few others are all gone from the flooding from Helene. The remains of Chimney Rock can be seen in Lake Lure. The dead number in the hundreds and while you can pray for the it’s the survivers that desperately need your help…
The Cajan Navy
The Intentional Travelers 