YANCEY COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY HOMETOWN) — It can take decades, sometimes centuries, for a river to change its course. For those living along the Toe River in Yancey County, North Carolina, the change was not subtle but sudden and swift.
“I lost everything,” said Michael Cooper.
Michael’s mailbox is perched on the edge of a steep drop-off that’s filled with debris left behind from Hurricane Helene. There wasn’t anywhere else to put it.
“There was so much going through my mind, it was so much panic, it was roaring- the roar of the water,” remembered Michael.
He was there, in his home of 34 years, as the river came up to his porch and then to his floor.
“I could feel the floor moving. I had floating floor in the house,” said Michael.
He said he barely got a window open to escape, after unsuccessfully trying to save two things he cared about most- a guitar and a mandolin.
“They mean a lot to me,” said Michael.
Just up the river, Molly Pore said her concrete foundation kept her house in place while it filled with water. There’s still debris piled on the outside, and black mold is growing throughout.
“It’s ready to fall,” said Molly. “I don’t come down here as much anymore because when you walk through, you walk through the house you can’t take but so much, it gets very depressing.”
She wasn’t home when Helene hit, but her daughter was and had to swim to safety.
“It was almost two days before we heard from her,” remembered Molly.
Seeing where the river is now, six months later, is confusing. It looks peaceful, slow and steady, but so much is missing.
“I have to kindly think, well there was a house right there, now it’s gone. There was a trailer right here and it’s gone,” said Michael.
Two houses down from Michael is a chimney. That’s where his neighbor, Lenny, lived. Michael said he looked over and saw Lenny scooping out water from his house. The next time he looked, Lenny’s house was gone. Lenny has still not been found.
“I realized his house wasn’t even there,” said Michael, sadly.
They can’t ignore what’s changed here- it’s everywhere they look.
“I haven’t had that moment- where I really broke down yet. I think I’m still in survival mode- because we’re still so unsure of what everything is going to be,” said Molly.
When the water came down, Michael was sure he had lost everything until he peeked through his bedroom door.
“There sat my mandolin and my guitar side by side,” said Michael. “It gets my attention because they’re so perfect.”
The only thing certain about change is that it will happen. Their hope here is that time will step in to soften the hurt.
“I hope I’m right, but maybe it’s going to take time, but the river is going to be beautiful,” said Michael.
There’s no erasing the pain that happened along these banks. This change is permanent. But the human spirit is strong because even during life-altering changes, we can’t help but seek out hope.
To help Michael, support his GoFundMe.
