We’re open, but be understanding
This is not the end of our story in Western North Carolina. Far from it. It’s an opportunity for a new beginning, a reshaping of this place that has always been so good for the soul. As I stand on my front porch steps and pause to look at and smell the trees, see leaves slowly spiraling earthward, feel the crisp bite of autumn in the morning air, take a deep breath and know that all will be healed in time.
The tragedy and travails we are all going through after Hurricane Helene pummeled Western North Carolina won’t ease soon, but there are messages starting to percolate up and out as we move from shell-shocked to the recovery phase: one of those is that the best way to help the mountains recover is to come up and visit, or if you live here spend money at those businesses who depend on the hordes of fall tourists who simply aren’t going to be here in the same numbers.
This not meant to be insensitive to those communities and individuals who have lost so much.
Last week I received an email from a downtown Waynesville merchant who was upset that the Church Street Arts & Crafts Festival scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 12, has been canceled even though downtown Waynesville is mostly undamaged. It doesn’t do any good to debate the merits of that decision to cancel; this is an unprecedented time, so things are going to happen that are unprecedented.
Many businesses are wiped out and may never re-open, and many towns are so devastated they can’t accommodate visitors or even imagine holding festivals. Others, however, are open, and the tourists that make October the busiest month for many mom-and-pop galleries, mercantiles, restaurants and other service businesses aren’t coming. These business owners need our dollars to stay open, to make payroll so our neighbors still have jobs, to pay for goods already purchased and in stock.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is closed. Parts of the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests are closed as damage assessments are being made, but there’s progress every day in getting roads cleared and trails open. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is only partially open, as is U.S. 441 through the park (though not for commercial vehicles). As mentioned earlier, some towns and sections of others are obliterated, we in this region are doing everything we can to help those residents and business owners.
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But here’s what we need people to know, and this is from a letter by Nick Breedlove, the director of the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority: “By visiting us with an open heart and mind, and a spirit of understanding, you will both enjoy our area’s unique charm and play a critical role in helping our small businesses recover. Your support means everything to us right now.” I especially appreciate Nick’s use of the phrase “a spirit of understanding.”
A thoughtful friend told me the other day that we are discovering that there are different meanings to the word “help.” Yes, we need people to help by handing out food and supplies, by using chainsaws and trucks to clear roads, to grab shovels and gloves and muck out stores and houses that can be rebuilt.
But “help” also means coming to the mountains and helping our economy recover. If hourly workers at the shops, galleries, breweries and restaurants are laid off, then our problems are multiplied. If local governments suffer huge drops in sales tax revenues, then money for our schools, health and human services and other vital services will have to be reduced. If our economy constricts too much, then our recovery will take that much longer.
This storm is bringing us together like nothing before it. We are all being intentional in how we help the recovery, how we spend our dollars. Make supporting the small businesses who are open part of that effort. We all want these entrepreneurs that are the heart of these wonderful mountains to survive the aftermath of this terrible storm.
(Scott McLeod can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..)
Want to help?
If you can’t make it to the mountains, support our small business by making purchases from the comfort of your home. Get business information through our local chambers of commerce.
• mountainlovers.com (Jackson County)
• greatsmokies.com (Bryson City)
