WEST ASHEVILLE, N.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) – Nearly two months after Helene flooded Western North Carolina, precious relics of the past are still being found in the debris.
The historic storm violently dismantled Carrier Park in West Asheville, but the community’s will to pick up the pieces is still strong.
“The destruction down there was terrible,” said Denise Bitz.
In October, she volunteered for a cleanup effort organized by local nonprofit MountainTrue when she salvaged something.
“There’s a lot of people’s personal belongings strewn about,” Bitz told Queen City News. “But when I saw the little horsehead poking out, I was like, ‘There’s something special about that.’”
It was a wooden walking stick. It’s a little hard to read, but “Larry Gunter” and “Mills River, NC” are etched into it.
Bitz posted photos in a Facebook group called “ I found your stuff – WNC. ”
“I know this is a longshot,” she wrote . “But I found what seems to be someone’s handmade cane.”
