Community Meeting at the UHNGCC Site
Tuesday, October 21, 6 p.m.
The community club will meet again on October 21 at the club site at 6
p.m. The club will provide fried chicken and we are asking the community
to bring picnic sides. Keep in mind there is no water or electricity. We
will set up some tables and chairs outside. Rain date will be Thursday,
October 23.
The program for the evening will be to share our plans for moving forward, to answer questions, and, of course, to be together in fellowship!
One Year Since
Hurricane Helene
News from Chimney Rock State Park
It’s hard to believe that Saturday, September 27, marked one year since Hurricane Helene made landfall — the most devastating natural disaster in North Carolina’s history.
Our Hickory Nut Gorge community, still on the road to recovery, has shown extraordinary hope, patience, and resilience. Over the past year, we’ve witnessed the incredible strength of unity — from guests and staff to partners and neighbors — who have stood by during this unprecedented time.
In commemoration, Chimney Rock State Park held a Celebration of Resilience on Saturday, September 27, and Sunday, September 28. A park naturalist shared stories of the Park’s history and recovery while offering a bird’s-eye view of Hickory Nut Gorge. At 2 PM both days, a ranger outside Cliff Dwellers Gift Shop led a guided hike up the Outcroppings Trail.
As we reflect on the past year, we are reminded that resilience is not just about rebuilding—it’s about moving forward together, stronger than before. This weekend is not only a time to remember what was lost, but to celebrate all that has been restored and the spirit that carried us through.
See the website at www.chimneyrockvillagenc.gov for information about Chimney Rock progress since Helene.
Anita Jean Owenby - 1956-2025: A Remembrance
by Barbara Earnhardt
Nita
We
here in and outside Gerton were hit hard when we learned Nita, a
mainstay in our community here until recently, had died. Our world
without Nita in it didn't seem possible. "She was my buddy!" one friend
wailed on learning Nita had left us. And thinking back over the many
years Nita had lived in Gerton, some of us realized that Nita had been
"buddy" to probably hundreds, maybe even thousands of people who had
come to know and depend on her knowledge and friendship, people we never
met who stopped by Nita's store for coffee or a can of soup, or a cold
drink. She and her mother Margie were in effect "news central" for
Gerton. Summer people brought their children to the store for any
number of wonderful things, the store's aisles virtual treasure caves of
candy or balloons ready to blow up, or trinket toys or head scarves or
post cards or pickled somethings.... Some of us still use key chains we
bought at Nita's.
She was born in 1956 and raised in Gerton.
Her mother Margie and father Roy settled in Gerton from Middle Fork,
just down the road. They all knew us pretty much by our first names, and Margie kept a basket filled with our backup house keys. Or for some of us, anyhow.
Nita is survived by her Brother Roy (Butch) and his wife who now live in
Hendersonville, her niece, Tegan Goins of Georgia, her nephew, Alex Owenby of Tennessee, and her beloved partner Sharon Oxindine.
Nita could be gruff, but mostly, she was
patient with the dunderheads among us. She was a founding member of
Gerton's Volunteer Fire Department, and loved loved loved driving those
fire trucks. When she bought her own truck to develop a lawn mowing
service, how many times did we see her at work at Chestnut Hills grassy
meadow, and how many times did her rig have to be pulled out of the
too-wet marshy places. Anybody else, probably, would have given up and
quit.
Another business she developed was New Moon Market Place in Fairview where locals took good used items to be resold.
Nita found another neighborhood to cherish--she helped establish
Medicine Wheel Way, and helped restore it after Hurricane Helene.
And restored the faith of the Medicine Wheel Way members with her energy
and pluck in that restoration.
Farewell, old buddy
Nita. We miss you might
(Nita's memorial ceremony will be held October
12, 2025, at 2 pm at Unity of the Blue Ridge, 2041 Old Fanning Bridge Road, Mills River, NC 28759. Donations in her memory can be welcomed at Medicine Wheel Way, 583 Morgan Hill Road, Fairview, NC 28730.)
Soup for Hickory Nut Outreach
We delivered 195 pounds of soup to the Outreach in October. Please remember to leave only requested items at the Gerton Post Office. The food pantry does not accept dated items. Thank you for using the bins provided at the post office for your contributions.
Saving
Dogs
by Sarah Gayle
Sasha was just adopted, making her the 30th
dog I’ve fostered since 2018. I started fostering rescues after my Catahoula Leopard
dog, Sam, died at the age of 15. He’d been in my life since he was five-weeks-old,
and I was heartbroken. He wasn’t exactly a “rescue,” but I saved him from a
much harder life as a working dog with my brother. After Sam’s death, I couldn’t
bring myself to adopt right away, so I volunteered to foster from Blackjack, a
Catahoula rescue. Blackjack is a small, regional non-profit agency that helps
find homes for dogs from kill shelters in the South and Southeast. The rescue
also saves other breeds if they’re in danger.
Before I became a dog foster, I did not know
the extent of the problem of unwanted pets, nor of the causes and possible
solutions. I knew dogs ended up at shelters and were sometimes euthanized, but had
no idea of the numbers.
After a bit of research, I learned that 2,877,000
dogs in the U.S. entered shelters and rescues in 2024. Of the dogs taken to
shelters, 60 percent were adopted, 16 percent returned to owners, 15 percent
transferred, nine percent euthanized at the shelter, and one percent lost or
died after intake.
By mid-2025, data shows intake levels keeping
rescue organizations at capacity, according to a national database:
“…the
data tells a story…Intake is slightly down, adoptions remain strong, but
stagnant, shelters and rescues continue to face mounting pressure to move
animals through the system as resources are stretched thin. Even as progress is
made in some areas, many of the issues…crowded facilities, limited
resources…remain unresolved.” ---Stephanie Filer, Executive Director, Shelter
Animals Count
The Pandemic shutdown increased the
problem of unwanted dogs. Most experts agree that affordable services for
sterilization are key to controlling the dog population. In Asheville, the
ASPCA Spay Neuter Alliance performs many of the surgeries for local county
shelters. Prior to the Pandemic, low-cost procedures at this facility were also
readily available to the public. This center shut down during the Pandemic, as
did other such facilities in the U.S. Once they re-opened, there was a backlog.
The result was many unwanted litters of puppies. Shelters were filled to
capacity, while folks who lost their jobs found it more difficult to feed their
pets. So more animals were surrendered or dumped.
The problem of unwanted pets is also related
to socioeconomic and political factors which impact mostly states in the South
and West where poverty is more common. Owners may struggle to find affordable vet
care for their pets. Less municipal money is available for animal control and
care, with needs overwhelming resources. Where laws regulating sterilization
and enforcement of leash laws are lax, pet populations are high as are intakes
of strays.
The issue of unwanted pets seems to me to
be a supply distribution problem. California
and states on the East Coast have tougher animal control laws, so they don’t
have as many unwanted animals and demand for adoptable dogs is high. It seems
sad to me that a healthy dog euthanized in one geographic area might be
treasured and loved in another. But there is hope.
In my role as a foster volunteer, I
sometimes work with local shelters. I’ve noticed a change in recent years with
more shelters having a volunteer or staff person who reaches out on social
media to rescues and adopters. Or they have established relationships with
rescues in states with fewer adoptable dogs.
Shelters and rescues are working with dog
transport services or volunteer groups to move animals out to the areas of the
country where they’re wanted. The logistics of taking an animal out of a
kill-shelter and getting vaccinations and permits to move it across state lines
is a process requiring local help.
Texas ranks highest in the number of
exported dogs at 635 per year. North Carolina is third with 158 transported
dogs. However, North Carolina also ranks second in shelter euthanization rates
at 14.3% behind Mississippi (18.3%).
In
2019, I felt ready to adopt again. Because I had grown up in Texas where dogs
were not always treated kindly, I wanted to look there. That winter while I was
visiting, I searched local shelters and social media sites. One day I saw a
photo of a beautiful Catahoula female in East Texas who looked half starved. In
communicating with the local volunteer, I learned the dog had been dumped along
a county road with her puppy. The county was rural with no animal shelter, so
volunteers had started a grassroots effort to save their abandoned dogs.
I scheduled an appointment with the
volunteer and drove to the Houston area to meet the dog. I fell in love and
took Lilly home that day. She continues to be a loving presence in my world.
She has been a calming influence on our fosters, acting as a surrogate mom to
younger dogs. I find fostering an abandoned pet and seeing it adopted into a
loving home to be amazingly rewarding. In some cases, agreeing to foster means
that a rescue can literally save a dog in a kill shelter from death. Moving
that dog also opens a slot in the shelter for another lost or abandoned pet. If
you have room in your home and heart, you may want to investigate fostering
with a local rescue.
If you know someone who is having
difficulty supporting the needs of a beloved pet, resources may be available to
help in your community. Check with local shelters or humane societies. Some
food banks and shelters offer pet food giveaways.
· In
Henderson County, Blue Ridge Humane Society has links to low-cost spay/neuter, pet
food giveaways, vaccine, and basic vet care programs. Contact them at:
828-692-2639 or https://www.blueridgehumane.org/
· In
Buncombe County, contact Asheville Humane Society or Brother Wolf.
· The
ASPCA Spay Neuter Alliance in Asheville runs a lottery system where you can
call for a slot in their low-cost program. Contact them at: 855-434-9285
https://www.aspca.org/aspca-spay-neuter-alliance
How
you can help:
· Spay or
neuter your pets;
· volunteer
to help a shelter or rescue, by providing care, transporting or fostering;
· donate
funds.
July 4 All-Gerton Celebration
Without our community center to shelter the many that once celebrated our country's birthday together, we all were invited to the home of Teresa and Tommy Garrick, on Friday, July 4. Several dozen of us ate burgers, hot dogs with chili, and veggie burgers, of course, and sides offered by those who came. After games in the yard, we visited with one another and then played our traditional games of Bingo. Prizes this year were gift cards from Food Lion, Hilltop Ice Cream, Local Joint, Angelo's, and Ingles, which Teresa was able to gather for Bingo winners of Gerton.
Neighbors gather for good traditional July 4 food.
After dinner, we visit and catch up on our summer activities.
Plenty of room at the table for more people to join!
Below, host Teresa Garrick displays an American flag cake, complete with blueberries, strawberries, and bananas!
Bingo Winners Tommy, Lauree, Brenda, Katie, and Lee display their prize gift cards, while caller Margaret Whitt holds up a ping pong ball with a winning number -- probably B4!
Though our group was smaller this year, and hopefully as we work toward our upcoming phases of re-building, we will continue to gather more of us together. The December holiday party will be another chance to come together. Stay tuned for date and information about this event at Laughing Waters.
The Echo of the Gorge is the newsletter of the UHNGCClub. Until our club returns to monthly meetings, THE ECHO will be published quarterly. Photos above were provided by Chuck Mallory, Sarah Gayle, Margaret Whitt. News and photos for the ECHO may be sent to Margaret at margaret.whitt@du.edu for publication in our March 2026 issue.
Board members for 2025: Chuck Mallory, President; Ellen Boyle, Vice President; Karen Owensby, Secretary; Teresa Garrick, Treasurer; Board Members: Stan Mobley, Mike Hamlin, Marcia Ghidina, Margaret Whitt.
