For Memorial Day weekend, Stan Mobley and Mike Hamlin decorated the welcome sign, mowed the area around the sign, planted the red geraniums that Lori Erskine provided, and added the flag for the holiday. Also, Stan and Mike found a dry Friday morning before the weekend began and put out nine American flags that will wave through our straightaway until Labor Day.
President's Note
I closed my comments in the last issue of the Echo by thanking
Margaret Whitt for her commitment to producing the Echo of the Gorge. I
want to say “Thank You!” again to her and also Karen Owensby, the Board
Secretary, for sending out regular updates to our membership e-mail list.
Keeping us informed on events, news and our support of the Hickory Nut
Gorge Outreach is crucial in a time when we cannot safely meet in
person.
While we have not been able to have our regular events
and activities, we have still stepped up as a community and in the first six months of 2020 we have collected over 2000 pounds of food and
supplies for the HNG Outreach center. This is a HUGE accomplishment and
we should all be proud – I hope we can continue this effort to support
those in need.
I do not have any update to provide on events or
meetings for the remainder of the year - for now we have suspended all
activities at the Center and will send out any update once we have more
details.
The Board of Directors will be supporting an
initiative to ensure that all of our community members have received
information on the 2020 Census and, where necessary, will be offering
support to those who need help filling out the Census form. Please look
for more information to be sent via our e-mail list and in future
issues of the Echo. If you have questions or would like to help support
this initiative, you can send an e-mail to groundedingerton@gmail.com.
I
hope everyone continues to have a safe and healthy summer, and I look
forward to seeing you all again as the Coronavirus Pandemic passes.
All the Best,
Stan Mobley
In these days, we have the opportunity to look around us and see what life in rural America offers us here in Gerton. Sarah Gayle reminds us of the mountains and the flowering dogwoods.
Calendar of Events (Non-Events!)
July 4 - America's Birthday - No sponsored events at the center.
July 21, Tuesday - July Community Dinner and Program - CANCELLED
August 18, Tuesday - August Community Dinner and Program - CANCELLED
September 5, Saturday - GERTONFEST XII - CANCELLED
September 7, Monday - Labor Day
Check the highway sign for updates to events. AND check your emails for community updates. AND if you have questions about UHNGCC in general, e-mail a note to groundedingerton@gmail.com
Someone on the board will respond to your questions.
Gerton Welcomes New Business in July
By Sheila Padgett
Opening day will be this Thursday
July 2. I am still working on pricing items that I am carrying now so I
think Friday will be the big day.
I
will be carrying whole bean coffee by the name of Gerton Grounds with a
variety of four different blends:
- Bearwallow Deep Roast (notes of Caramel and Chocolate with a bold finish),
- Hickory Nut Light and Dark Blend(Notes of Cocoa and Walnuts with a smooth finish),
- Sunrise Espresso (Full bodied, rich flavor and heavy)
- Falls Branch Decaf (Medium bodied & Smooth, naturally decaffeinated).
I will have cold drinks and snacks as well as a variety of other gift shop items.
The summer hours will be Thursday and Friday from 8:00 AM until 2:00 and Saturday from 10:00 until 5:00ish.
There will be carhop service available for folks in a hurry too.
I
would like to add that I will be adhering to the safety precautions in
place these days because of the Covid pandemic and will limit guests inside
the shop to 4 at one time.
May and June UHNGCC Board Meetings
The board met again on Tuesday, June 21. Once again, we discussed the possibilities of opening up, but realized that our state's recommendations are the safest way to move forward. We also had a discussion about a Memory Garden or Wall for those members of our community who have died. A further report will be forthcoming on this after the committee meets and decides on possibilities of where this will be located and what it might look like moving forward. Please send ideas you might have for this memorial to grondedingerton@gmail.com
The committee plans to meet on July 11.
Open Farewell Letter from Gerton's Post Office Russ:
Russ, from his Gerton PO office, on his last day. Fortunately, Russ lives in our community and we will continue to see him at our local events. We will miss him here.
I will be transferring to the post office in Dana, North Carolina, but still look forward to seeing all my neighbors at our community functions.
I wish all well in the future and may God bless each and every one of you. Thank you again for your support of our post office and me.
Russell "Russ" Anders
Open Introduction Letter from Gerton's New Post Office Ray:
I want to start off and say it is a pleaure to be able to serve you as the community post office clerk in Gerton. Without a doubt it has been a blessing to be able to see, talk, and interact with some of you already. My name is Morris Ray Blackwell II. I am a father of two beautiful daughters (Kylea Rae, 7 years old born on October 14 and Lorraine Virginia, 1 year old born on June 14). I am currently in the US Army Reserves and have been in the military for a little over 14 years with two tours overseas (served on active duty). I am soft spoken, outgoing, friendly, and a family-kind-of-guy. My family and I enjoy the outdoors from kayaking, walking, and adventure hikes. I have never met a stranger (people will say) and love interacting with new people. I will do what I can to assist and help anybody in need of help--don't be afraid to ask. I am excited to be a part of this community and this post office.
Ray Blackwell
First Litter Sweep of June
By Mike Hamlin
The
Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Community Center held its first quarterly
Highway Litter Pick up on June 5 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Phase 1
Guidelines set forth by the State of North Carolina because of Covid-19
prevented us conducting the Litter Sweep in April, which is our normal
time for the first quarter pick-up.
After a number of months of Physical Distancing, the residents of
Gerton were ready to get outside and help clean our town. Stan Mobley
placed the orange 'Highway Litter Sweep in Progress' Signs up at each
end of the Gerton Highway where each Gerton Welcome sign is located.
Mike Hamlin cleared out the planters and planted a geranium from Lori Erskine and
coleus plants. During the Litter Clean-Up, we followed the guidance for
Physical Distancing by staying six feet apart while picking up the
litter and recyclables.
Nine people volunteered their time and made the ‘Highway Litter Sweep’ a
great success-Chuck Mallory, Jack Bancer, Sarah Gayle, Stan Mobley,
Dave MacDonald, Karen and Charles Gamble, Jim Earnhardt, Mike Hamlin. We collected a
total of six FULL Bags of trash and five bags of recycling.
Despite
the late start for our quarterly Litter Pick-Up, we still plan to have
three more litter sweep dates. The second pick-up will be held in
August.
We announced the time and date for litter pick-up on our roadside sign. Always good as a means of communication for those driving by. Here, Dave MacDonald gives the words his own thumbs up!
Jim Earnhardt, Sarah Gayle, Stan Mobley, Dave MacDonald, Charles Gamble, Chuck Mallory, Karen Gamble, Jack Bancer,
Mike Hamlin (not pictured, taking the photo)
A very large swimming pool was quite the Gerton landmark between the 1940s until the 1980s. Here was a busy day in the pool and the pavilion, which still stands today. Reports from the past: The water was always very COLD....
Gerton: Then and Now
A very large swimming pool was quite the Gerton landmark between the 1940s until the 1980s. Here was a busy day in the pool and the pavilion, which still stands today. Reports from the past: The water was always very COLD....
In the late 1980s, Jim Earnhardt planted some chestnut trees where the pool used to be. Today, the pool is still here--just under the ground and no longer full of cold water!
Japanese iris (above) and trout lily (below) in the home of Jim Earnhardt
Some Colors of Summer
Neighborhood News
Jack Bancer pauses in the midst of his work on a new retaining wall and fencing is made up of 25 2" x 12", 12 feet long
boards, 15 posts 4" x 4", 12 feet high, and 25 fence boards, 6" by 12
feet. Each post is buried 3 feet in the ground and anchored with 50
pounds of concrete. Boards are screwed to post and trimmed to fit. 60
feet is complete, work continues weather permitting. All will be
stained, "Tavern Oak" upon completion. We will follow his progress in the next ECHO.
David Duncan Cameron passed away May 3, 2020, at the age of 76 after a lengthy illness. He was born on June 22, 1943, in Huntington, New York, son of the late Arch and Margaret (Tipton) Cameron; his family moved to Asheville when he was a child. He graduated from Lee Edwards High School and attended Nyack College in Nyack, New York.
David was a professional in the insurance industry. He owned an agency in Rock Hill, South Carolina and later in Asheville. He was a flying enthusiast and enjoyed flying both powered and sail planes. He was interested in computer technology, enjoyed traveling, and loved music. He had a beautiful baritone voice and sang frequently for special occasions and in the churches he attended over the years where he also led worship. He was a devout Christian and a leader in the church, serving in the local church as well as regionally in the Christian & Missionary Alliance and most recently as a deacon at Bearwallow Baptist Church in Gerton. He was a member of Gideons International and Toastmasters International for many years.
David is survived, much loved and deeply missed, by his devoted wife of 57 years, Elizabeth Carrier Cameron; his sister, Lorraine Cameron of Union City, California; his two daughters and their husbands, Kathy and Nathan Josephsen of Fairview, and Cindy and Gregg Matthews of Lexington, South Carolina; his 4 grandchildren, Karen Josephsen Brookshire and her husband Michael, Trent Josephsen, Cameron Matthews, and Lauren Matthews; and his great-granddaughter, Claire Brookshire.
Memorials may be made to Gideons International c/o Henderson County Camp PO Box 6284 Hendersonville, NC 28793.
Keith Lancaster Earnhardt, 79, died peacefully at the Flesher's Fairview Health Care Center on June 11, 2020.
She was born on December 22, 1940, in High Point, NC, to the late Susie Williams Lancaster and George Whitfield Lancaster. She was also preceded in death by her sister, Gayle McVean (deceased husband Dino McVean).
She was a graduate of Sumner High School in Greensboro, NC, and the Presbyterian School of Nursing in Charlotte, NC. She was an exceptional nurse at NC Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill and University Hospital in Cleveland, OH. After spending two years at Camp Zama, Japan, where her husband served as a pediatrician for military dependents, the family moved to Winston-Salem, NC, in 1969, where they lived until their retirement in 2006. The family then moved to Gerton, NC, a small community in the North Carolina mountains near Asheville.
She was a wonderful wife and mother of three sons, an avid gardener and birdwatcher, and worked as a part-time realtor and broker with Hubbard Realty of Winston-Salem. She was also an exceptionally knowledgeable and long-time collector of early Americana memorabilia.
She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Dr. James F. Earnhardt; three sons: James F. Earnhardt, Jr., of Gerton, Carlton Bradley Earnhardt, of Asheville, and Michael Keith Earnhardt (wife Angela Curry Earnhardt), of Glendale, CA; a brother, Dr. James Mansfield Lancaster (wife Camille Galarde Lancaster), of Greensboro; four loving grandchildren: Warwick Maximilian "Max" Earnhardt and Scarlett Street Earnhardt of Durham, NC, and Ada Ruth Earnhardt and Silas Curry Earnhardt of Glendale.
Keith was loved by family and friends and will be sorely missed. Burial will be a family graveside service at the Bearwallow Cemetery in Gerton. The Rev. Bobby Dees will officiate.
Memorial gifts in honor of Keith may be given to Memory Care of Asheville, 100 Far Horizons Lane, Asheville, NC 28803; phone (828) 771-2219, Flesher's Fairview Health Care Center, 3016 Cane Creek Rd., Fairview, NC 28730; phone (828) 628-2800, the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Community Center, P.O. 222, Gerton, NC 28735, or to an organization/charity of one's choosing.
Groce Funeral Home on Patton Ave. is assisting the family. The online register is available at www.grocefuneralhome.com.
ECHO OF THE GORGE is published six times a year (bi-monthly) by the UHNGCC. News notes
and photos may be sent to margaret.whitt@du.edu -- information is always welcome.
and photos may be sent to margaret.whitt@du.edu -- information is always welcome.
Photos this issue: Margaret Whitt, Jim Earnhardt, Sarah Gayle,
Mike Hamlin, Jami Linn
Mike Hamlin, Jami Linn
UHNGCC Officers and Board for 2020: Stan Mobley, President;
Jim Earnhardt, Vice President; Karen Owensby, Secretary;
Sylvia Sane, Treasurer; Board members - Jean Bradley, Chuck Mallory, Margaret Whitt
Jim Earnhardt, Vice President; Karen Owensby, Secretary;
Sylvia Sane, Treasurer; Board members - Jean Bradley, Chuck Mallory, Margaret Whitt
UHNGCC, PO Box 222, Gerton, NC 28735
