EDNEYVILLE—During a normal autumn, Henderson County’s pumpkin patches, apple orchards and produce stands would be buzzing with tourists traveling on U.S. 64, also known as Chimney Rock Road, the main route connecting Hendersonville to Lake Lure and Chimney Rock.
However, this November, more than a month after Tropical Storm Helene devastated Chimney Rock and Lake Lure Sept. 27, apples are piled up at the foot of trees, and pumpkins are rotting in fields, caked with mud.
Lisa Rhodes, a representative of family owned Coston Farm, on Chimney Rock Road in Hendersonville, told the Times-News Nov. 13 that the company had sold some of its early-season product to Gerber before the storm, but about 60% of the fruit grown on its 100 acres was lost, and fall sales at its retail shop are down about 70%.
“See, when [Gov. Roy Cooper] said to people not to come up here, it really took all our business to a stop,” Rhodes said, referring to a statement Cooper made Oct. 3 so that tourists would not interfere with the storm rescue and recovery efforts.