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1916 Flood

By Marie Craig

Here I am couped up in the house listening to the rain and receiving occasional warnings of flood conditions.  It’s a time of wanting to nap and ignore the rain and hope for the best for all of us. But there was a previous huge flood in North Carolina, especially in Asheville and the mountainous areas that did not allow for extra water to spread out but went up the mountainsides to sweep away homes, farms, railroad tracks, and valuable topsoil.  This flood was not to be ignored.  There were various complicated weather conditions that brought great flooding, damage, and sorrow to thousands in our state.  The date of this huge flood was July 14-16, 1916, one hundred and eight years ago.

In reading the old newspapers online through the History Room section of Davie County Public Library website, I found this article printed on July 19, 1916 in the “Davie Record.”

“The Yadkin at Hall’s Ferry.  [Hillsdale, now.]. The crest of the flood passed thru Forsyth county Sunday night [16th].  All the afternoon thousands of persons gathered at the various vantage points along the river to watch the flood waters.  At noon all traffic over the new Yadkin and Davie bridges, normally over thirty feet above the water line, was ordered suspended.  Just a few minutes after traffic was stopped over the Forsyth-Yadkin bridge, the one just completed a few weeks ago, one of the sections gave way.

“The greatest crowds gathered at the Forsyth-Davie bridge.  About 2 o’clock Sheriff Flynn roped off the Forsyth end and no more traffic was allowed across. At that time the waters were within a few feet of the floor of the bridge but still rising at an alarming rate. At four o’clock the water reached the steel girders and the rapidly moving driftwood quickly lodged beneath the piers. Finally, at 6 o’clock the water began to seep through the floor of the bridge and then to swirl across.  Everybody was ordered away from the bridge.

“At the Davie end of the bridge another crowd of thousands gathered to watch the flood. A house at the Davie end, normally well above the danger zone, was flooded to the eves.  Barns, houses, haystacks, logs, boards, barrels and boxes swept down the stream.

“Only by the most heroic work was the Southern Railway bridge saved. Loaded coal cars were placed on the bridge to weight it down.  The power house remains, though damaged.”

Winning at Life

By Julie Terry Cartner

Fourth quarter. 27 seconds on the clock. Losing 21 to 24. We had the ball, but forward progress was slow, and the clock was winding down. The huddle. The call. Everyone knew with a 4th down and 27 seconds, our only hope was a Hail Mary pass. As the defense spread out ready to cover all potential receivers, the offensive line moved into position. Noticing the lineup, the defense tried to re-position, but it was too late. The center hiked the ball to the quarterback, the offensive line took position, and the quarterback sprinted towards the end zone. It was the story of the week. It was the kind of story that football fanatics would tell and re-tell, sprawling on rocking chairs on wooden porches…”Do your remember the time”… and off they’d go interrupting each other to tell the story that both knew as well as their own names…how the quarterback had taken the defense by surprise and sprinted 20 yards before the first attempt to stop him. How he’d leapt over one defender and twisted away from another. How he’d crossed the goal line with yet another clinging to his leg. How he wouldn’t give up until he’d given his team the victory. 28 – 24, the final score. 

Throughout years of coaching and supporting high school athletics, I’ve concluded that often, the greatest difference between a winning and losing team can boil down to the effort of one player. Some were superstars, some were not, but the one thing that separated them from other athletes was this: they pushed harder. They ran faster, they jumped higher, they caught the uncatchable ball, they tackled the star running back, they refused to go down when they were tackled, they held on to the flyer or landed the back tuck. They went the extra mile.

And in doing so, they inspired their teammates to do the same. I could see the others look at this one athlete and say to themselves, if he can do it, I can too. And then they would also do the nearly impossible, stretching farther, running faster, pushing their limits. And suddenly, a losing game would become a winning game.

Imagine if we put that same urgency into our daily lives. Imagine if that drive to win – to pole vault an inch higher, to run just a bit faster, to stick the landing or balance on a four-inch wooden beam, to make the shot, to hurl the shot put or discus, to stroke and kick a bit faster – imagine if we put that kind of energy into being better at life.

The smallest of efforts can make a tremendous impact on someone else. Help an elderly woman load her groceries or offer to take her cart back to the rack. And while you’re at it, put the bigger carts on one side, and the smaller carts on the other. I promise you, that kid who has to retrieve the carts for the store will be grateful. Carry non-perishable snacks in your car and give them to the homeless person standing in the hot sun or rain on a busy highway. Look your servers in the eye and remember their names, then say it when you thank them. And leave a generous tip. Pick up that blouse that’s fallen off the store hanger and hang it back up. No, you didn’t drop it, but how hard is it to pick it up before someone steps on it. Pick up that branch on the sidewalk so somebody doesn’t trip on it. Compliment someone with a genuine statement. Hold the door for the person behind you. Push a chair back under a table even if it’s not your chair. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Imagine if everyone made the effort to do just a few simple things each day.

Imagine the world if we spent more time building others up, helping others, and sincerely being kind. Let’s follow the examples of athletes who make that extra effort to win a competition and apply it to everyday life. Let’s make the decision and commit to it. Let’s try harder to win – at life.

Home Again

By Gaye Hoots

I drove home yesterday after reporting to another nurse about the family member I had stayed with for several days. She is improving daily and chooses not to get in-home care from people she does not know. Her neighbor is a nurse who has volunteered to help and has been helping for years. Most family members are elderly and unable to do more than visits or transportation. The nurse keeps up with and transports her to medical appointments, providing food and other needed assistance. She will give me updates by phone.

Before I left, I went to Lorene Markland’s, and she provided a box of home-grown tomatoes to take home with me. While I was eating my Bojangles ham biscuit my grandson called and asked me to take him to get groceries as his car is being repaired. I took him to Food Lion and back home and went to Maddie Cakes to pick up cupcakes for Judy Howard.

I always visit Judy when I come to Advance.  She was in a group activity and I slipped into a chair beside her. When she saw me, she laughed and kissed me. Later I asked if she had seen her great-grandson because I had seen a picture of her holding him posted to Facebook, which I copied to my phone. I didn’t have to remind her, she smiled broadly and said he had visited a few days ago. She was in an upbeat mood and that made my day.

It seems every time I visit Advance someone new in my age range is experiencing a health challenge. On Monday I visited the Baptist NICU to see Tiffany and Mia. Now that Mia has a trach, we can see her face without the tubes and tape. There is no discussion of discharge yet. My favorite picture of her is one with her looking at Briggs, her brother.

I then drove to Hickory to visit a friend who is 92 years old and still living independently. He asked me to take him to see a female friend who had fallen and broken her pelvis in 3 places. She was home, and in pain, but managing well on her own. On the return drive, I stopped in Mocksville to visit a friend in a nursing home and was told he had fallen that day and had been transferred to another facility. I managed a visit there and got to see his sister, Travisene Carter Boger too. I also spent some time with Glenda Hendrix Beard and Judy Hendrix Osborne. Judy is doing well and has recovered from her broken ankle and Mike is being treated for skin cancer. Glenda enjoyed 5 weeks at the beach and recently returned home. Marie Craig helped me finish my book and I ordered 50 copies. She did an amazing amount of work on it for which I am very grateful. Larry Vogler celebrated a birthday and seems to be recovering.

The drive home was pleasant as I avoided Raliegh and drove 421 to 64. I beat the rain home and got settled in. Last night I slept from 11 pm to 9 am, catching up on my rest. I am set to weather the storm that is coming.

While catching up on the news I saw that the program I mentioned in another article that flies in 30,000 immigrants a month for free and provides housing, and legal visas to work has been suspended. The program required a sponsor but the sponsor info was not verified, some of the info has been checked, but the addresses, social security numbers, phone numbers, and other info are not valid, and the same info was used thousands of times.

Another program started during COVID-19 that provided undocumented immigrants free phone and video visits costing taxpayers 10 million a year has now been stopped. Our national debt is now above 30 trillion and climbing daily.

The good news is we and our families are lucky to live in America and to have our daily needs met. It is hard to know what our choices would be if this were not our fate. God blesses!