May - June 2014

Hoar Frost on Little Bearwallow Mountain in early March

(Courtesy: J. Kruse)

The Echo is published bi-monthly throughout the year by the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Community Club. You can access the online blog at www.gertonecho.blogspot.com or pick up a paper copy at the Gerton Post Office. News is always welcome; pictures, too. Please submit to Editor Margaret Whitt at mwhitt@du.edu or 625-0264. Photographers: Jean Bradley, Shirley Boone, Juanita Kruse

Officers for 2014: Margaret Whitt, President; Lynn Morehead, Vice President; Becca Hathaway, winter secretary; Lana Roberts, summer secretary; Sylvia Sane, treasurer. Board members include Jim Earnhardt, Claudia Freeman, Jean Bradley, and Jim Sane. Immediate past president, Mel Freeman.

Gerton Installs Little Free Library

 A brand new "little free library" has come to the Hickory Nut Gorge in Gerton. Dedicated on Tuesday, March 18, the little library opened for business that same night. It has its home outside the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Community Center in the azalea garden beside the clubhouse. Those traveling by are welcome to pull off the road, open the small door, and take a book. Borrowers may return it when finished to another free library or this one. Books for both adults and children will be available, and some DVDs for children will also be included.

Todd Bol, of Hudson, Wisconsin, built a model of an old school house to honor his mother and placed it in his front yard in 2009. Inspired by Andrew Carnegie who supported the growth of over 2,500 public libraries at the turn of the last century, the originators hoped to equal that number, and did so within the year. As of January 2014, it is estimated that 10,000-12,000 are now in existence.

Little Free Libraries became a formal independent organization in 2012. For further information about adding a "little library" to your neighborhood, check out their web site at www.littlefreelibrary.org

Dr. Jim Earnhardt built this first little library to be placed in the Hickory Nut Gorge. The whole of Gerton looks forward to sending books out into the larger community and doing their small part to promote literacy and a love of reading. 

Since our official opening, the library has seen a good many people stop to transact book business. Here is a note from one in our "Message Book": Rae Ann from Rudolph, Wisconsin, writes: "Thank you--I love it. Finished my book last night at Lake Lure Inn. Took Night Ride Home. Some day I hope to have a share library."

The Little Library was dedicated on March 18. From Left to right: Jim Earnhardt, who built and installed the library, Jean Bradley, Jim Sane, Sylvia Sane, John Solomon Hathaway, Lynn Morehead, Becca Hathaway, Margaret Whitt, and Barbara Earnhardt. (courtesy: S. Boone)

Calendar of Events

May 4, Sunday - Bearwallow Beast. Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy 5K Run up Bearwallow Mountain. 

May 11, Sunday - Mother's Day

May 20, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. Community Covered Dish Dinner. Program: TBA

June 15, Sunday - Father's Day

June 17, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. Community Covered Dish Dinner. Program: TBA

Annual Summer Play: Save the Date. Invite Friends. 

JULY 25, FRIDAY, and 26, SATURDAY - "Birdie's Cafe" 

Dogwoods! Finally! (courtesy: S. Boone)

President's Note

April was a busy month in the gorge as we all waited for spring to come. On the day before Easter, we participated in the third annual Sale on the Trail. Once again, those of us available to help out, showed up, stayed, and worked to prepare for the community sale. People came by and dropped off some valuable items to share with others. The day was rainy, but still they came. We exceeded our goal. Work is always so pleasant when there are more than several hands (and backs) participating. 

Sale on the Trail Fundraiser

A special thanks to the breakfast crew: Syble and Don Freeman, David Scoggins, Lynn Morehead, David Pope, Jacob Lyda, Joan Erskine, Cassidy Erskine.

And thanks to all those who provided home baked goods for the sale: Gloria Anders, Shirley Boone, Ruth Hudson, Helen Brown, Betty Cameron, Margaret Colwell, Pat Davis, Keith Earnhardt, Barbara Earnhardt, Sara Gayle, Joan Erskine, Syble Freeman, Claudia Freeman, Virginia McGuffey, Patty Tanner, Margaret Whitt, Bonnie Moore, Becca Hathaway, Merris Jenkins, Mary Kay McAdams, Roberta Pope, Meg Mumpower, Lynn Morehead, and to Jean Bradley, who made all the calls and arranged the details. Thanks to Patty Tanner, who handled the sales.

And thanks to those who received the items for the sale, set them up, priced and arranged them neatly:

Joan Erskine, Syble Freeman, Lynn Morehead, Claudia Freeman, Barbara Earnhardt, Cassidy Erskine; to Jim Sane, who repaired a broken table and brought cones from the fire department to cord off the area where our flower garden used to be. Thanks to Syble Freeman for bringing lunch to the workers on Thursday and Friday. And thanks to Virginia McGuffey, who staffed the sale box.

And thanks to Don Freeman, Jacob Lyda, Syble Freeman, Joan Erskine, David Scoggins, Jim Sane, and others who helped break down the remainders from the community sale to take to another community sale where the items will help support mission trips. The entire center was completely picked up within the hour! Many hands make light work.

And thanks to those of you who BOUGHT and SPENT some money. We made $1051 on the event. Now, we look forward to the summer play!

Easter Egg Hunt

Because of the rain, this year we had the Easter Egg Hunt indoors. We set up two hunts: one for those 5 and under--in the serving area; one for those 6 and older--in the dining area. We had 12 children participate this year. At the conclusion, Syble Freeman told the story of the Resurrection Egg and gave the children each an egg to take home to tell their parents the story. Prizes were given out and the children went home laden and happy. Thanks to Susan Murray and Ann Weiss for filling the eggs with candy--no small task, since we have over 300 eggs.

The Birth of Mother's Day

Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948) loved her mother dearly. It was Miss Jarvis who first suggested a national day to honor all mothers. At a memorial service for her mother on May 10, 1908, Anna gave a carnation, her mother's favorite flower, to each person in attendance. Within a few years, the idea to honor mothers gained popularity, and Mother's Day was soon observed annually in many large cities of the United States.

On May 9, 1914, by an act of Congress, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday of May as Mother's Day. He established the day as a time for "public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country." By then, it had become customary to wear white carnations in honor of departed mothers and red carnations to honor the living. The custom continues to this day.

submitted by Margaret Colwell

Ministry of Hope Luncheon at Lake Lure

Jean Bradley, Lynn Morehead, and Keith Earnhardt enjoy a light moment at the Ministry of Hope Luncheon at Lake Lure on April 10. UHNGCC hosted the first South of Asheville luncheon in support of the Ministry of Hope in April 2012, and Gerton residents continue to support the event, now held at the Lake Lure Inn.

Barbara Earnhardt and Shirley Boone once again prepared the geranium centerpieces for the fundraiser at Lake Lure (in support of the prison chaplaincy at Swannanoa).This year, BB Barns donated the geraniums. 

Facebook Has Come to UHNGCC

Thanks to Debbie Posturino we are active on Facebook and have our own Facebook Page: GERTON COMMUNITY CENTER.  If you are already on Facebook, you can FRIEND us. Upon confirmation you will be set up to see all the Community Center activities as well as other happenings in our community.  If you are not on Facebook, you might consider joining.  We are so excited to see the many links that have already been established throughout our community through FACEBOOK.

Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy (CMLC) Update

CMLC protects 128 acres at Wildcat Rock, Little Bearwallow Mountain in Upper Hickory Nut Gorge

To construct New Trail Segment

Generous landowners and funders made it possible for CMLC to acquire 128 acres on the north slope of Bearwallow Mountain in the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge. The tracts, among CMLC's highest conservation priorities in the region, will enable a critical public trail linkage for the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Trail Loop. The newly conserved tracts also host dramatic cliffs, scenic rock outcroppings, including Wildcat Rock, and many rare species. (Reprinted from the CMLC's newsletter "The Holler"; read the complete article on their web site: www.carolinamountain.org)

New Sign at Florence Preserve

   The spanking new signs you can see at the entrance to the Florence Preserve being maintained by the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy was constructed by a peppy crew of young men from the Bridge Program, a division of the N.C. Division of Prisons and Forestry.  This group builds new structures, and also rehabilitates old ones under the supervision of their experienced leader.  The team is driven in a van from Morganton where the woodshop and their minimum security living quarters are located. 

          One of the signs, with three panels for a trail map, will soon mention the history of the Florence Preserve, its 600 acres protected from development and gifted to the people of North Carolina as a gift from Dr. Tom and Mrs. Glenna Florence whom many of you will remember when they lived here.  Dr. Florence died three years ago—Mrs. Florence is in a care facility near her daughter in Charlotte.

              Curious about what these new signs would say, and who was building them, I stopped and talked with their foreman and with some of the builders.  “They’re so happy to be getting outside,” he said, "and they’re having tons of fun.  They’re right proud of their work. ” The signs are sturdily made—weighing over l700 pounds in materials designed and transported from Morganton.

               A few days later, a car with Indiana license plates was parked at the stairway to the trail, a couple obviously enjoying on the stone stairs a rest from their climb.  Another hiker I’d talked with, when I asked him how the trail was, replied, “It’s a marvelous trail—so well kept.  One of the best I’ve ever hiked.”
  

Get Help Removing Your Weeds!!

by Debbie Shetterly

As many of you may have heard, the Weed Action Coalition of HNG (WACHNG) is a non-profit coalition of gorge landowners, conservation groups, and state, federal and local governmental organizations tasked with getting rid of the pesky invasive plant species that have come to inhabit the gorge in huge numbers.  The coalition is funded through a combination of federal and state grants, along with private landowner donation.  Of course, questions arise, such as why are invasives such a bad threat for the gorge, what can landowners do to help, and how can WACHNG help landowners?  We’ll answer those questions in this article.

We hear a lot that invasives are bad news, but what specifically is it about these plants that makes them a threat? It’s not one single factor, and that’s part of the problem.  First, invasives create higher fire dangers because they grow in thick masses, not only preventing the fighting of fires, but creating great fuel sources, which in turn, create hotter fires.  Hotter fires destroy large trees, as well as the native seed sources deep into the surface layers of soil.

Second, invasives create greater erosion and flood control issues due to blocked waterways, less diverse root systems to secure soil, and the destruction of intact forest.   Massive infestations of invasives also decrease property values and the scenic value of the gorge - scenic value which drives the gorge’s economic engine. 

Invasives further interfere with the entire ecosystem, decreasing native food and habitat, destroying biological diversity, and interfering with the natural pollination process.  In all, invasives are truly bad actors!!

To fight this invasion, WACHNG has several programs underway.  Goats are being utilized to fight the kudzu masses, volunteer workdays are being conducted on protected lands, and labor crews are being hired to work on some of the public lands.  Another piece of this puzzle, however, is the amount of infestation on private lands.  Invasive infestation occurs quickly, and even if invasive plants are removed from protected lands, these noxious weeds will return almost immediately if neighboring private lands continue to be infested.  WACHNG is offering aid for private landowners in three ways: 1) free inventory of any property, so that landowners know if they have an invasives problem; 2) the development of a private invasives site management plan, which, for a fee, will provide the landowner with directions, schedule and costs for treating the invasives.  It also provides resources for contracting for invasives removal, and information on habitat restoration, once the invasives are gone.

Third, WACHNG is initiating a cost-sharing program for private landowners.  Through grants and private donations, WACHNG is able to match 50/50 the cost of invasives removal, using a standardized removal schedule established by the state forest service.   In this program, the landowner first must have a site management plan, which provides assurance that a planned approach will be undertaken.  Then, the landowner may hire a licensed contractor of their choosing, complete the work per the management plan, and pay the contractor for the services.  WACHNG will then reimburse the landowner for 50% of the cost, up to the rate established by the forest service.

WACHNG is hoping that many landowners take advantage of this opportunity.  Only with citizen participation can we ensure that the gorge remains the ecological and scenic treasure that it’s known to be.  Please contact WACHNG at www.wachng.org for further information.

March Program

To match our St. Patrick's Day decorations, Jean Bradley made a delicious key lime cake, which quickly disappeared at our scrumptious March dinner. (courtesy: S. Boone)

The program for our March gathering was a DVD of Sylvia and Jim Sane's son Keith Schimmel and his wife Sandra selecting a home near San Sebastian, Spain. The show aired on television in January, a segment of House Hunters International on the HGTV (Home and Gardens TV channel ).  Keith and Sandra were shown three homes meeting their qualifications, and then they had to decide on one of them. They had already purchased their home, but for television purposes, they had to take out everything and then put it back in after the filming. It was a pleasure to see a part of the world most of us will never get to visit and to learn more about how these television programs work.

April Program

Brad Earnhardt, son of long-time Gertonites Jim and Keith Earnhardt, gave a short classical guitar recital on April 15 at our monthly meeting. Brad has been playing guitar since he was 8 years old. He teaches classical guitar lessons in Asheville and also plays regularly at the Biltmore House.

During question time, Brad was asked what happens when he breaks a nail--so important to the finger picking of the classical guitarist--his response was: "well, that never happens!" After all these years, Brad still practices at least four hours a day. His musical memory is extensive and his playing was just the thing to usher us into springtime. 

News from Gerton Volunteer Fire Department...

I want to thank everyone for the support over the last year. While it wasn’t a very busy year, we were fortunate enough to continue to grow. We have added a couple more firefighters to our department. We would like to welcome Barry McCraw and Robert White to the department. In 2013, we ran a total of 85 calls. We had 37 medical calls, 9 motor vehicle crashes, 4 structure fires, 1 mutual aid response to Fairview, 5 to Edneyville, and 3 to Bat Cave. We also had 13 public service calls and 13 weather-related calls. We would like to ask everyone to change their batteries in their smoke detectors soon. Normally, it is when you change your clock. But March or April is a great time as we transition to spring. If you need help with changing the batteries or need to have the detectors replaced, please contact the station at 625-2779. We will schedule a time and come help you with them.

There are several changes for our EMS response coming soon. We will be able to check blood sugars and administer aspirin when we respond to a chest pain. I know that many of you always have the question about whether you can go to Mission Hospital if you call 911. I can tell you that probably 90 percent of the time that is the case. There are some times when all of the EMS county trucks are tied up and that they can’t, but those times are not as often as they once were. EMS is now staffing 6 trucks.

Also as a reminder, most weekdays we have a firefighter at the station from 8-5. If the flag is up, stop by and visit. They love to have company and will be glad to give you a tour. As always, remember to call 911 if you have an emergency. Please don’t call the station and leave a message in the case of an emergency. We check the messages regularly, but do not want an emergency to wait. We have burning permits at the station. We also provide safety home checks if you would like to have one done. Just contact us at 625-2779 and we can schedule one for you.

Finally, I would like to remind everyone about our Knox Box program. You can purchase one and have it mounted on your house. That way there is a key that the department can gain access to in the case of an emergency. If you would like to see what they look like, drop by the community club and take a look at the one they have. We have a unique key that opens it and we can gain access to you in case of an emergency or if there was a situation where the fire department or EMS needed to get inside to help you. If you have questions, please call the station, and we will get you more information

As always, be safe and take care. We are here to serve you and while we love helping, we like it even better when everyone is safe, healthy and happy. Until next time, take care.

Chief Jay Alley

Neighborhood News

Former Pastor of Bearwallow Baptist Church Thom Sherwood and his wife Joan returned to Gerton the first week of April to visit family and friends. It just happened to be Thom's birthday (April 3rd) so he was surprised with a cake and a gathering of friends at the community club. Thom's cake was decorated to  look like a giant hamburger  - everyone knows Baptist ministers love a good meal!

KEN ABBOTT’S book of photographs of the Hickory Nut Gap Farm (where Annie and John Ager now live) is at the publishers.  Ken writes he’d hoped it would be published by now—but the process is slow.  Forty of his beautiful photographs—we got to see them at the Community Center last April, remember?—will be displayed in Chapel Hill at the Center for Southern Studies there in late May. The Agers will be present for the premier showing—though the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Community Center might be considered that!  Rob Neufeld, Asheville Citizen Times book critic, has written the introduction to the Abbott collection.  Should be a keeper for those of us who know and love that old farm!

HOMETOWN WOMAN DOING GOOD!

Or ‘well’, as the case might be: Gloria Black Anders, daughter of Lou, returned over a year ago to Gerton with her husband Russell to live near her dad. Since then, Gloria has been busy representing the work of a non-profit organization, the American Herbalists Guild.

    

The agency registers both national and international herbalists who meet strict qualifications including hours of study and clinical experience under a registered herbalist.  Gloria has recently completed 720 hours of advanced study at both the Appalachian School of Holistic Herbalism and the Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine. She has a website and a Facebook page.  www.harmlesshealer.com and on Facebook, Harmless Healer.

  

A cheerful, attractive and an enthusiastic believer in the results for those who use the natural ingredients found in alternative medicines, Gloria is a true believer in this kind of medical care. “It’s beyond the ‘granny culture’ we remember—those people who practiced using natural ingredients found in plants in the fields and woods for cures to common ailments.  But they were on to something important.”  The field of study that Gloria has completed is the scientific approach to the "Granny Medicine Makers."

To learn more about medicinal herbalism, you can e-mail her at mstruluckanders@gmail.com.  

     NEW FACES IN GERTON                            

Though this might not seem a typical ‘neighborhood news’ kind of item, let this roving reporter make an observation: in the past two days, I have met four new people—one in Fairview who has friends from England who bought a vacation house on McGuffey Ridge, and three from California who now own a vacation house on Bearwallow Road.  Another new full-time resident lives on Chestnut Hill—Tim Hunter, a nurse who bought Ruth McNair’s house—and who loves this area and its opportunities for hiking.  Another couple from Gastonia have bought and refurbished a Chestnut Hill cottage. What we may be seeing, then, down at our still shabby little post office, is a flush of unfamiliar faces new to our neighborhood.  We know very well how to welcome them.  Be sure to invite them to the Community Center’s third Tuesday covered dish suppers, or any of the events sponsored there.  I hope we won’t be shy about helping them find Gerton a friendly place to live.                                                          Barbara Earnhardt

                                                                                               

Gerton's Mary Ruth Robinson passed away Tuesday, April 29, 2014, at 5:35 p.m. Mary was a live wire, a rule breaker, a talented artist, and animal lover. A celebration of her life will take place, but details are unknown as we go to press with this issue of the ECHO. Check the online site for more information as it develops.

  WILLIAM HOBART BURCH, Jr., 90, Lake Lure, NC, died April 8, 2014 at his residence.  He worked as physician up until two days before his death, and is known by many in our community as their longtime regular family physician and friend.  Bobby Dees served as one of his pall bearers. "He was one-of-a-kind," said Bobby, a patient for many years. "After-office hours meant nothing to him--he'd see to anyone's need any time anyone would call." 

As a newcomer to the Gorge, Dr. Burch first lived at Chestnut Hills.  He was born to the late William and Agnes Burch, July 5, 1923, in Fowler, Kansas.  After graduating from Fowler High School in 1941, he attended Kansas State University, Kansas University and Ohio State University and received his Medical degree from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in 1950. He married Kathleen Imel in 1958 and lived in Bat Cave, NC until 1959 when they moved to Lake Lure.

William served in the US Army during World War II as a conscientious objector, from 1942 to 1946. William was a regimental surgeon with the 82nd Airborne Division and during the Korean War from 1951 to 1953.William started his medical service to the community in Hickory Nut Gorge in 1953 and moved to the current location in Lake Lure in 1987 where he continued to practice medicine until he retired in March 2014. 

     An active community member in the Lake Lure, Chimney Rock and Hickory Nut Gorge communities and was instrumental in forming the fire and rescue volunteer services that are in place today.  He is preceded in death by his first wife Elaine Hershey, daughter Patty Lee Hass and son William Scott Burch.Dr. Burch is survived by his wife, Kathleen; and two children Robin Elaine Parton of Rutherfordton, NC and Jo Marple of Weaverville, NC. He is also survived by four grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. 

      Services were held 11:00 AM, Friday, April 11, 2014 at the Church of the Transfiguration with Reverend Robert Mugan officiating. The family received friends after the committal service.  In lieu of flowers, the family requested memorials be made to the Church of the Transfiguration Building Fund P.O. Box 130 Bat Cave, NC 28710.An online register book is available for family and friends by visiting www.thosshepherd.com   

Melvin Leroy Freeman
(July 4, 1938 - March 20, 2014)

Melvin L. Freeman, 75, of Charleston, husband of Claudia Hill Freeman, passed away on Thursday, March 20, 2014 at Roper Hospital. Friends and family called at James A. Dyal Funeral Home, Summerville on Saturday, March 22, 2014 from 5  until 7  PM. Funeral Services were held on Sunday, March 23, 2014 at 3  PM at James A. Dyal Funeral Home. Burial followed at First Baptist Church of Ravenel Cemetery, 5987 Highway 165, Ravenel. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Bonnie Doone, c/o Charleston Baptist Association, P.O. Box 71486, North Charleston, SC 29415 or Citadel Square Baptist Church, “Sanctuary Restoration Fund," 328 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29401. Melvin was born on July 4, 1938 in North Charleston son of the late Melvin L. Freeman, Sr. and Jessie (Pledger) Freeman. He graduated from Southern Polytechnical Institute in Marietta, GA where he received his Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering. He served in Untied States Coast Guard and then went on to serve in the United States Coast Guard Reserve. Melvin served on the executive board for Bonnie Doone. He loved woodworking, cooking, collecting trains and going to his house in the mountains in Gerton, NC. He retired from Cummins Engine Company. Melvin was a member of Citadel Square Baptist Church. He was a beloved husband, father and “granddaddy.” Surviving in addition to his wife Claudia of 48 years are: three sons: Mel L. Freeman (Laura) of Huntersville, NC, Jason Eric Freeman (Mary) of Rock Hill, SC and S. Derek Freeman of Charleston; five grandsons: Wyatt, Bryson, Eric, Tyler and Porter Freeman; one sister: Mary Ann Britton (Wayne) of North Charleston; brother in law: Charles Kuehnle of Monroe, GA; numerous nieces and nephews. A memorial message may be written to the family by visiting our website at www.jamesadyal.com. 

On the occasion of his 70th 4th of July birthday, Mel celebrates with his family
at home in Gerton.