Western North Carolina’s Quest to Recover Lost Treasures from Hurricane Helene
Amidst the debris strewn along the North Toe River, Emily Gillikin and her team from MountainTrue are uncovering remnants of lives disrupted by Hurricane Helene. Over 20 months after the storm’s devastation in Western North Carolina, these individuals continue retrieving tons of debris daily, uncovering both garbage and personal treasures.
Primarily, the remnants consist of discarded items such as old tires and plastic containers. However, occasionally, more personal objects surface: a child’s toy, a coffee mug, or a sign with a family name. On one such outing, Gillikin discovered a handmade wooden sign marked “The Hedricks” with an engraved sleeping cat.
“That is something I found in the knotweed over there,” Gillikin commented, referring to the site where she uncovered the sign. The sign was destined for MountainTrue’s debris headquarters, known as the “mothership,” located in Weaverville.
At the mothership, the Hedricks family sign found its way to Mandy Wallace, a former raft guide turned artifact recovery technician after the storm disrupted the rafting industry. Wallace is now dedicated to reuniting lost personal items with their rightful owners.
“I totally feel like Nancy Drew,” Wallace expressed while navigating her trove of recovered items. Her efforts have reunited over 100 items, including the famous Reba McEntire coffee mug, with their owners.
“I try to approach it from ‘What would I have hoped, you know, if my home had been washed down a river and I’d lost everything?’” Wallace said. “And this is what I hope someone would do.”
Wallace’s mission to reconnect people with their belongings emerged from her own experiences as a rafting guide. Initially, she would bring these items home, photograph them, and seek their owners.
Her first success came when a baby photo album was claimed within hours on a Facebook group, inspiring her to expand her efforts. With a background in archaeology, Wallace leverages her skills to meticulously catalog each item, including its origin coordinates.
Thanks to a $10 million grant from the NC Department of Environmental Quality, Wallace’s work has become a full-fledged endeavor. She aims to create an interactive map displaying recovered items by location.
While many items find their owners quickly, others require extensive detective work. Wallace remains undeterred, even considering door-to-door visits to reunite the Hedricks family sign.
“We tell ourselves that it’s just stuff,” Wallace said. “And I think we’re kind of good with that until somebody actually places some of your stuff back in your hands and then that’s when it gets real again.”
Reuniting owners with their belongings can be intensely emotional, as these items often carry significant sentimental value. Wallace’s dedication was evident in her reunion with JoLeigh Bowden, the owner of a vinyl record produced by Moon Caravan Records, lost to the flood.
In Marshall, near the former Moon Caravan Records site, Wallace handed Bowden the treasured album, sparking a reunion filled with emotion. Bowden expressed her joy and reflected on the deeper meanings behind the recovery of the album.
“I’m so thrilled to get it,” Bowden said. “There’s layers of meaning behind this and I’m going to figure it out, you know, in time.”
Despite the loss brought by Helene, Bowden views the album’s return as a sign to continue her musical journey, acknowledging the unexpected connections and support that emerged after the storm.
“We’ve lost a lot. Emotionally, monetarily and all that – but we’ve also gained a lot,” Bowden said. “What we’ve gained from this whole experience is priceless. The value of the people we didn’t realize, who came out of the woodwork.”
