July - August 2024

 SEE YOU ON JULY 4TH AT 6:30

AT THE COMMUNITY CENTER FOR COOK-OUT

Flowers are the best colors of summer.

President's Note

One of my favorite family stories when I was a kid in small-town Missouri was that Jesse James once came through town and buried gold at the foot of a tree in town. I have since discovered that so many towns have this same legend that the U.S. would have more gold buried under trees than exists at Fort Knox. Even Jesse didn’t get around that much!

There is a gold legend in these parts, too. In the 1700s, the story goes, six Englishmen found lots of gold at Round Top Mountain (near Chimney Rock) and decided to sell their riches in Charlotte. When they saw Cherokees nearby, they hid the gold in a cave, building a rock wall to conceal it. A fight ensued with the Cherokees; five of the Englishmen were killed. The sixth escaped without the gold, planning to go back later and get it. But he lost his sight from his injuries and went back to England. His associates in N.C. were given extensive directions to the gold--but could not find it.

Word got around, and various parties searched for it, with no luck. Civil War General Leventhorpe and his men tried for two months to no avail. In 1938, a skilled treasure hunter with a detailed map was expected to find it. Nope.

Word of warning: don’t go looking where hundreds of fools have tread. But if that’s not enough to steer you away, consider these reasons for not going into a cave to find the gold:

1.      Bears! They don’t like surprises.

2.      Snakes! Didn’t you watch “Scooby Doo” and other scientifically-accurate cartoons during your childhood and see those huge cave snakes that had green glow-in-the-dark eyes?

3.      Bats! They prefer a diet of mosquitoes, but what if one bit you? How would you know if it’s a regular bat--or Dracula!?

Besides, here’s the real deal: you’ve already found gold. If you live in Gerton, you have what’s golden—beautiful surroundings, protected nature, quiet, and wonderful neighbors.

Chuck Mallory, President, UHNGCC

Calendar of Events

Thursday, July 4, 6:30 p.m. - Community Cook-Out. Burgers, dogs, and veggie burgers provided. Bring sides and desserts. Bingo to follow dinner. Free and winners take home prizes! come and join the fun.

Sunday, July 14, 3 p.m. - First meeting of Short Story Book Club. (see below)

Tuesday, July 16, 6:30 p.m. - Covered Dish Dinner. Program: Margaret Whitt will give an overview of her recent Civil Rights tour to Birmingham, Selma, and Montgomery, Alabama. 2024 College Scholarship winners will talk about their plans for the future.

Tuesday, August 20, 6:30 p.m. - Covered Dish Dinner. Program TBA

Saturday, August 31, GertonFest XIII.  Hold the date!

Gerton Spring Fair

Gerton held its Spring Fair on Saturday, May 11, on a beautiful clear and cool day with a breakfast for the community. A plant sale was held on the back patio, while a four-table flea market was on display inside, along with home-baked goods for sale by Gerton's finest bakers. Also Mike Hamlin was present with two tables of his award-winning pottery. The event was the first fundraiser of the new year, earning a total of $924 for the club. 

The serving room awaits the neighbors who will come to eat the morning meal together. Cooks in the kitchen included Steve Jones, Chuck Mallory, Jim Earnhardt, Dan Lancy. We served about 30 people and the breakfast earned $255.

Ellen Boyle presided over the indigenous plants that were on sale on the back patio. We are using the plants to fund the professional bocce court that has been started on the area near the pavilion. We earned $120 on the plant sale.

Mike Hamlin was the only person who accepted the offer to craftspeople to show their wares. His display was busy all morning, as people stopped to browse and buy from Mike. We hope the craft part of our event will grow in numbers.

Over at the home-baked goods sale, 18 folks brought in cakes or quiches or various breads or cookies or brownies or candy or tarts. Thanks to these people for providing the delicacies that went out the door with happy customers: Roberta Pope, Joan Erskine, Syble Freeman, Margaret Whitt, Betty Cameron, Kim Jones, Sarah Gayle, Karen Owensby, Mary Kay McAdams, Lee Strickland, Jim Pienne, Anastasia Walsh, Maria Belluccio, Teresa Garrick, Clayton Donaldson, Susan Cave, Tom Buffkin, and Jim Earnhardt. The bake sale brought in $328. We couldn't do this without the wonderful contributions of our neighbors.

Finally, the flea market, a new idea this year, comprised four tables. People were invited to bring small items to the center for sale. They were asked to bring them the day before or on the day of the sale. Lee Strickland headed up this part of our fair. We offered excellent bargains and we netted $221. The remaindered items were cleared away and delivered to Goodwill by Lee Strickland and Dan Clancy. Above, Lee, Sylvia, and Maria take a look at what is available. 

Artificial Intelligence Creates Gerton Poem

By Chat GBT

Jim Earnhardt (son of Jim Earnhardt) just downloaded the ChatGPT (Version 3.5) app onto his phone.  The first question he asked was, "Write a short poem about Gerton, NC."  Nothing else.  It instantly spit out this poem:

In Gerton's hills, where whispers dwell,

Nature's symphony casts its spell.

Mountain air, crisp and clear, Murmurs

secrets for the ear.

Trails wind through the silent trees,

Where time moves slow, at ease. In

Gerton's embrace, find peace

profound, A haven where tranquility's

found.

Each sunset paints the sky with grace,

In Gerton's beauty, find your place. So

let your spirit roam and soar, in Gerton

forevermore.

New Short Story Book Club Launches

All are invited to join our new community center Short Story Book Club. The first meeting will be held on Sunday, July 14, at 3 p.m. in the Earnhardt Room at the UHNGCC. Reading for the meeting will be Nobel Prize winner Alice Munro's first three stories of her final book Dear Life. 

What to expect:

• friendly and open discussions
• a chance to explore new authors
• refreshments and good company

For further information contact Ellen Boyle at purplepearluma@gmail.com

USA Flags Once Again Line the Gerton Highway

Thanks again this year to Stan Mobley and Mike Hamlin for hanging the American flags for Memorial Day. Because of generous donations from neighbors for the purchase of new flags, our display of over a dozen flags welcome us home again and the many passersby who drive through Gerton each day. We will do our best to keep new flags flying during these summer months. The flags will be taken down after Labor Day. 

May Dinner and Program

Warm, sunny weather and a fascinating speaker brought out a crowd for the May Potluck dinner at the Community Center on Tuesday, May 21. Over 35 neighbors gathered for delicious food and high spirited conversation. Thanks to Susan Bost, Aimlee Braddy for hosting the event. Teresa Garrick won the 50/50 raffle. The club and Teresa each took home $45. 

Baking items was the request from Outreach. Neighbors made a generous offering that were delivered the following week.

Neighbors visit while eating the generous food offerings. Always a good feeling of joy in being together. 

Dr. Mattie Decker, who lives in Bat Cave on conservation property established by the Sisters of the Transfiguration, spoke about her own long history as a teacher, Zen practitioner, and certified Nature and Forest Therapy guide. Dr. Decker is well-versed in the history of the Gorge. A wonderful storyteller, she recounted how the Sisters arrived in Asheville from Cincinnati at the turn of the 20th century and traveled by horse and buggy out to Bat Cave to establish what would become their fifth “ministry.” Today, due to their efforts, the land includes a Conservation Easement, preserving forever its pristine mountain and river landscape and allowing a space for humans to explore spiritual and creative practices. Forest Bathing, shinrin-yoku, is an important one of these practices, developed in the 1980s when the Japanese sought to improve physical health in a society that had become industrialized, overworked, and sedentary. Spending time in forest areas was found to improve physical and spiritual health. Dr. Decker, always curious and eager to learn, studied and became certified as a Forest Therapy guide and expert in Forest Bathing. She described some of the benefits of Forest Bathing, particularly the transformational experience of being one with Nature and recognizing connections among all things. She agreed to lead a class in mindfulness at the Community Center in the near future. People are already signed up, and more details will be announced soon. 

Switchbacks Paving Project

We all have been waiting sometime for the switchbacks to be paved. So we have this update:

Representative Ager's office has been informed that the project will begin this summer. The contract was awarded to a private company, and there is no firm start date at this time.

The paving will include 74A at least from Sherrill's Inn up to the county line, where Henderson County takes over the maintenance of the road. 

June Dinner and Program 

Before dinner, neighbors visit and we listen to announcements of upcoming activities. 

Mac and Mary Kay McAdams, Helen Brown, and Ruth Hudson join others for a night out!

We had our best turnout in many a month -- 42 people -- on June 18 at the clubhouse on a pleasant summer evening. Thanks to our hosts: Ellen Boyle, Karen Owensby, Tom Buffkin, Sarah Gayle, Stan Mobley, and Chuck Mallory. After the usual good choices by those who brought a dish to share, we watched Clayton, the youngest person in the building, win the 50/50 Raffle and take home $68. The club gained another $68 for our coffers.

Clayton is the youngest neighbor to win the raffle!

Mac McAdams gave an entertaining program on Gerton weather. He has been 18 years in the weather station business. (His site can be found by googling Gerton, NC, weather, underground) Mac spoke of how things have changed. His stations are often the source of information for the larger television stations in Asheville. Mac also contributes his information each day to Boulder, Colorado, with thousands of other small town stations across the country.

He gave us three dates to hold in mind:

March 12-15, 1993 - the storm of the century. A blizzard that saw 48 inches of snow on Little Pisgah.

December 25, 2010 - after a few weeks of relatively warm weather, it snowed 16 inches of snow on Christmas day. 

December 30, 2017- January 8, 2018 - eight days of below frigid temperature. The average temperature was 16.8 degrees. 

For specific information about our weather, give Mac a call and he will find the answer!

Mac McAdams talks local weather.

UHNGCC Continues to Help Outreach

By Lee Strickland

The Gerton community continues to serve the Hickory Nut Gorge Outreach, affectionately known as “the food pantry,” as it has for years. The Outreach extends into four counties with a mission to help eliminate hunger and provide emergency services with love and compassion to those in need living in our community. It operates solely on donations without government funds, and for years the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Community Center has generously supported them. We continue to do so and are among their largest donors. To date in 2024, the Community Center has donated over 600 pounds of food, household and personal care items to the food pantry.

Lee Strickland makes delivery to volunteer at the Outreach. 

Annually, Gerton has helped with back to school supplies, which can be stressful and expensive for many families. Through July 28, donations may be brought to the monthly dinner on July 16 or dropped off at the post office.

Time for School Supplies to Assist Outreach

Each year Outreach provides clients' children with a backpack filled with needed school supplies. Distribution for the 2024-2025 school year will begin on June 29. Please bring the following supplies to the clubhouse on July 4 or to our dinner on July 16 or to the Post Office in Gerton:

• backpacks
• clorox wipes
• composition books - college and wide ruled
• black expo/dry erase fine tip
• colored markers and highlighters
• glue sticks
• erasers - block type
• hand held pencil sharpeners with top
• crayons - 24 pack
• pencil boxes or pouches
• scissors (safety and non-safety)
• ear buds or headphones

ECHO of the Gorge is published bi-monthly by the UHNGCC. News and photos may be sent to Margaret Whitt at margaret.whitt@du.edu. Photos for this issue provided by Margaret Whitt, Chuck Mallory, Lee Strickland.

Officers of UHNGCC for 2024: President - Chuck Mallory; Vice-President - Ellen Boyle; Secretary - Karen Owensby; Treasurer - Sylvia Sane; Board Members - Sarah Gayle; Stan Mobley, Lee Strickland, Tom Buffkin. Immediate past president - Margaret Whitt.