Spring 2026

 

Throughout the months of April and May, cars heading from Gerton toward Asheville (or coming home from Asheville) were stopped at the Henderson/Buncombe County line for work along the roadsides. First, it was culvert repairs and then the placement of new seed (above) and riprap (below) to prevent further erosion.

Note from the President, UHNGCClub

Dear Neighbors,

What a strange spring! Very dry, at first unseasonably cool, then hot. At least rain is coming. But we still have our beautiful greenery and flowers showing up.

We’ve had two gatherings at the site this spring: a wonderful time for neighbors to catch up and have some good food. At the May meeting, I announced that we had no program, we’d just eat and visit. The group burst into applause! We’ve had some great speakers in the past, but we’ll have some “let’s just visit” gatherings again in the future.

At our April meeting, during the Q&A after our update on the construction plans, a person asked about having a building instead of a pavilion. The board has been working since the Hurricane Helene aftermath. We've considered what seems like a hundred possibilities. You’ve read the story in the Echo of the past few months of the hard decision to remove the old building and the many steps forward. Bottom line is, we can’t build a new building on our land, a flood plain. A new building has to be on different land. We want to keep—as surely you all do—our gathering place in its historical site.

That’s not to say this is it. We still have the land that held the walking trail. Some have asked for a playground, flower gardens and trees there. And other ideas have been presented. Dream big! That’s what we say. But first steps first: we need our pavilion/park. And I think we’ll be seeing it being built soon.

We won’t have a community dinner in June or July, as the reconstruction of the Kelly Hill Rd. bridge is scheduled to start very soon and they will be working in that area. Our construction starts right after. But next year, we’ll  have our July Fourth celebration in our new space! And, I hope, someday in the near future, we have "fireworks." We can't legally have traditional fireworks, but by then, maybe a fireworks-type drone show? Dream big!

Chuck Mallory

UHNGCC

Spring Begins with a Community Dinner Outside

On the clear but cool evening of April 21, about 30 neighbors gathered for our second meal together on site since our historic building, which did not survive Tropical Storm Helene, was dismantled and removed. We have been eating together on this location now for over 66 years--third Tuesday of every month. We do so now in these interim days with volunteer help. For our April gathering, Teresa Garrick served as host, making sure we had water, tea, napkins, plates, plasticware. Ellen Boyle provided the sign-in sheets for attendance and volunteer opportunities. And Mike Hamlin and Stan Mobley brought the tables and chairs down from our storage in a neighbor's garage, set them up, and afterwards returned them to their storage facility. Teresa Garrick also made sure our new highway sign notified those going by that we would meet on the 21st. Also, news of the event was in the latest ECHO of the Gorge and an email was sent to all residents who are on our list to get news from UHNGCC. 

Barbara Earnhardt drove over from Highland Farms for the occasion.

Maureen Sturgis takes her time selecting from among the many tempting food options.

Good to see Ethan back among the gathering.

This profile of Steve Jones is highlighted by neighbors and the greening of the gorge.

Stan Mobley, Mike Hamlin, and Charles Gamble enjoy time to catch up on neighborhood news.

Karen Owensby provides an update on our progress towards the new face of UHNGCC. 

Some further details of the plans appeared in the Hendersonville paper, the Times-News, and can be read below in the reprinted article. Our next gathering will be Tuesday, May 19, at 6:30. Make a plan to join with your neighbors in this gorge we all call home. 

New structure to replace Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Community Center

George Fabe Russell, Hendersonville Times-News

Wed, April 15, 2026 at 5:07 AM EDT - BlueRidgeNow

Plans are in motion to build a new gathering place on the site of the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Community Center, “the cornerstone of Gerton” according to its president, Chuck Mallory, which was demolished in spring 2025 after it was damaged by flooding in Tropical Storm Helene.

The Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Community Club submitted preliminary plans for a pavilion to Henderson County April 7. Plans for the covered space, including a meeting area with tables and warming kitchen, Karen Owensby, chair of the committee tasked with rebuilding the center, told the Times-News on April 10. “Everybody’s really excited,” she said.

The old building couldn’t be rebuilt without raising the building several feet because it sits in the floodplain of the Hickory Creek, but an open pavilion is allowed, Mallory told the Times-News April 14. The Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Community Center in Gerton was seriously damaged in Tropical Storm Helene flooding. Around a year after its spring 2025 demolition, a new structure is planned to take its place.

The community center held monthly dinners and gatherings like book clubs and educational events on bear safety and rare salamanders, open to the public. “We haven’t had that for 18 months,” Owensby said. “Now, you just go over to your friend’s house, but when that building is built, we can gather with large groups.”

Around 50 or 60 people usually attended regular dinners and meetings before the storm, with around 100 coming to special events like the Fourth of July celebration, Mallory said. “We have no businesses (open to the public), we have no meeting spots, so that’s really the only place that the community can gather” in Gerton, he said.

Insurance money, private donations and grants, including from the Community Foundation of Henderson County are set to cover the cost of the project, estimated at around $300,000, Owensby said.

Joshua White, a custom homebuilder whose shop used to be just a few doors down from the community center, said he was upset to see it demolished.  “It had a unique experience to it. But at the same time … the building was old and needed a lot more work than the community, at the time, could afford,” he said.

The building was at least 60 years old and some parts were around 100 years old, Mallory said.

One holdup in the construction timeline is a North Carolina Department of Transportation project to rebuild a small bridge adjacent to the community center, which is planned to spill over onto an easement on the lot, he said.

Once that’s done, construction on the pavilion can start, perhaps as soon as this summer, to be completed sometime between late fall 2026 and spring 2027, Mallory and Owensby said. Parking will be on a separate piece of land owned by the Community Club, but many people live walking distance, Mallory said.

“I just think maybe making an open building would limit the days they’d have possibilities for (using) that, so I don’t know if that’s the best idea. But, you know, any place that really would take the place of what we lost is not a loss,” John Kent, a general contractor in Gerton, told the Times-News April 14.

Owensby said that the pavilion plan has its own perks. “This will be an open building that people can access all the time … to just gather down there on a weekend night, down by the fire pit,” she said.

Neighbor Helping Neighbor: Free Laundry Service and Firewood

By Karen Owensby

The Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration in Bat Cave has a Laundry Center for anyone who needs it. There is no cost to use.  Detergent and other free laundry products are available at no cost.  The Laundry Center is open 7 days a week/24 hours a day.  Free toiletries and books for adults and children are available.  There is a beautiful garden to visit while you wait.  The Laundry is located in the Saylor House.

 Also available to the citizens of Hickory Nut Gorge is firewood.  If you are in need of firewood, contact Hickory Nut Gorge Outreach.  The Church works with the Outreach for the firewood ministry. 

Weather and Volunteers Make a Second Gathering Possible

Chuck Mallory opens our May 19 open air dinner on the slab. The weather was perfect and 25 neighbors gathered to eat and talk with one another. The "program" was an open time to talk with people we might not have seen for awhile. In order to meet this way, we need volunteers willing to pitch in and provide the setting up. Stan Mobley and Mike Hamlin drove to a neighbor's house to get tables and chairs and dinnerware supplies--plasticware, plates, napkins, cups. It takes them 15 minutes to load the truck! Upon arriving at the site, evening hosts Charles and Karen Gamble and Julia and Scott Pierce helped unload the truck. With six people helping, set up took under five minutes! Thanks to Charles, Karen, Julia, Scott, Mike, and Stan without whom our evening would not have been possible. The hosts also provided tea and chicken; ice and soft drinks. The food had people going back for seconds!

At the conclusion of the gathering, the tables must be cleaned, all trash bagged and taken away by the evening's hosts, and the chairs and tables broken down, returned to the truck and then returned to our storage in a neighbor's garage. Thanks, too, to Teresa Garrick for updating the sign to let passersby know of the event. 

Neighbors enjoy the opening minutes greeting one another. Pictures that show the food and visiting are not available as the photographer was too busy eating and talking. 

As the ECHO goes to press (so to speak), we are expecting the beginning of the building of the bridge by the Department of Transportation. We cannot begin our re-build until the bridge is completed. With timing that cannot be predicted presently, we do not have a next gathering on the calendar. 

UHNGCC Offers Two College Scholarships 

This year, UHNGCClub is proud to announce the winner of a $500 college scholarship to Eva Infanzon, who has grown up in Gerton. She has played violin at our community dinners, the summer plays, and holiday events. She has also volunteered at Lord's Acre, now Root Cause, in Fairview, and has distributed food, water, and other resources to storm survivors.

Eva plans to attend UNC-Charlotte to major in biology and then upon graduation, attend dental school. We will follow her progress with interest and pride. Congratulations, Eva!

Our second college scholarship for $500 this year goes to Diego Infanzon, who has grown up in Gerton. Diego is entering his third year at North Carolina School of the Arts where he is a violin performance major. He has performed the Star Spangled Banner on his trumpet at our July 4 event and also has played at our community dinners, summer plays, and other events.

This July he will return for the second time to the International Chamber Music Academy in Ochsenhausen Germany for a 3-week masterclass. He hopes to graduate from UNCSA in 2028 and then go on to graduate school for violin in Europe, perhaps in Spain or Germany. Along with his schooling, he also plays as a substitute for the Winston-Salem Symphony.

We will follow Diego's professional journey with interest and pride. Congratulations, Diego!

THE ECHO OF THE GORGE, a publication of the UHNGCClub will come out on a schedule that will be as needed, but at least once a quarter, until we have a physical space from which to report. Please send Margaret Whitt any news items you would like to place in the ECHO (margaret.whitt@du.edu)

Photo credits: Margaret Whitt, Chuck Mallory, Anastasia Walsh.  

Officers for the new year, 2026: President Chuck Mallory; Vice President Ellen Boyle; Secretary Karen Owensby; Treasurer Teresa Garrick. Board Members: Stan Mobley, Mike Hamlin, Margaret Whitt, Jim Earnhardt.