SWANNANOA – On Sept. 27, 2024, Tropical Stom Helene slammed a shipping container into the Whitson Avenue bridge in Swannanoa, rendering it unusable for months.
A year to the day later, some 250 people gathered on the same bridge for a blessing of the Swannanoa River the bridge crosses, connecting U.S. 70 to Old U.S. 70.
Before walking from the Swannanoa Fire Station to the bridge, volunteers and Buncombe County staff handed out flowers, community members gathered to check in with neighbors and reminisce about the horrific storm last year that flooded and destroyed much of the community, and took dozens of lives throughout the county.
“The sweetest thing that could have ever come out of this natural disaster is how everybody came together, Swannanoa resident Cindy Mast told the Black Mountain News, on the clear, sunny and warm Saturday morning.
Mast was talking with Jerry Nelms who said he came out to the river blessing ceremony to remember the lives and property that was lost, how lives were changed and to celebrate how the community “pulled together and helped each other out.”
Mast said one year after the storm, the impact of Helene can still be felt.
“The trauma of that day still exists today,” Mast said. “We all feel it deeply, especially the people here in Swannanoa that were hit so hard.”
For Nelms, the reminders are everywhere.
“We can’t leave our neighborhoods without being reminded. The scars are everywhere,” Nelms said.
When Helene swept through Swannanoa, Mast said everything from the environment to lives to emotions changed and the unincorporated community is still recovering from that.
‘People weren’t begging for food’
Still, when everything changed, the community came together. Nelms pointed to the food that continues to be distributed by organizations such as Blunt Kitchen and the Blessing Barn.
“People weren’t begging for food, they were giving it away,” Nelms said. “I remember that and I’m grateful for my community. I’m so happy to see so many people here.”
Barbara Cerridwen of Swannanoa described the unincorporated town as “beautiful.”
“This is a special place, the energy here,” Cerridwen said. “We’ve gone from despair to hope.”
Two former Swannanoa residents, Jade Comstock and Liam Torpey, joined in the memorial event Sept. 27. They said they were living in Swannanoa when Helene hit and they lost their home. After a brief move to Tennessee after the storm, they are back in Western North Carolina, now living in West Asheville.
“We do miss living here a lot,” Comstock said. “It’s different from any other area around here. The sense of community is just so nice over here. It’s beautiful. I love being in the valley of this mountain range. I hope it can get back to normal.”
Comstock said she wanted to come to the river blessing event as a way to “support the community, support being local” and to hold remembrance for everything that happened during Helene.
“Everyone was here lifting each other up,” Comstock said. “Everyone dropped everything that was going on in their lives to be able to build up and help the community, which was really, really nice to see. It’s still happening to this day. Everyone is there for each other.”
Torpey said he would like people from outside of Swannanoa to have more awareness of what happened during Helene.
Comstock said the town needs support from outside of the community as well.
“Asheville in general thrives on tourism, so we definitely need people to come here still and check out the local towns as well, not just downtown Asheville, but Swannanoa and Black Mountain,” Comstock said.
The river blessing ceremony was led by Rev. Andrew Gentry, a vicar of All Saints and Sorts, “an online ecumenical community.” He offered an opening reflection before Jamie Marie Spears gave a Cherokee blessing and prayer offering, Deana Lytle gave an African river blessing and Gentry delivered a Celtic sentiment and invocation.
To close the ceremony, Kellin Watson led the crowd in song with “Peace Like a River.”
As those gathered tossed their flowers into the Swannanoa, marking an offering to the river, conversations continued as people reflected on the past year.
Mendy Knott told Black Mountain News she was “lucky” during Helene.
“I felt like my job was to help my neighbors,” Knott said. “I think that was certainly the best part of what Helene did, was us joining together and helping each other.”
Knott said she feels Swannanoa “got ignored” when it comes to aid as she is still seeing debris not having been cleaned up and the residents had to turn to each other for the help they needed.
She said she wants those outside of Swannanoa to know the grief and loss is still very much present.
“Those losses haven’t quit just because the storm is over,” Knott said. “We are recovering and that has a lot to do with the love of neighbor and the love of friends and the people coming together despite any kind of differences we may have to help one another and help us though our grief. These things help a lot.”
Karrigan Monk is the Swannanoa Valley communities reporter for Black Mountain News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kmonk@blackmountainnews.com.
