December, 2024
by Gib Barrus

The morning of Friday, September 27 was my turn to milk our cow, Blossom. Our grandson Georgie had spent the night with us, so Annie and I had made a plan for all three of us to go together to the red barn for milking. It had been raining steadily for three days. We could hear the river roaring from our house as we put on our foul weather gear and made our way down the hill to Camp.

As is often the case during rainy weather, there was water on the floor of the barn when we got there. We went about the chore of getting Blossom in, feeding her and starting to milk. When the milk bucket was about half full, I noticed water starting to flood under the door of the barn towards us. This seemed unusual. Soon the milk bucket was floating. At that point I decided to cut the milking short and put Blossom out in the pasture. The feed barrels in the barn were starting to float away. By the time I had secured the feed, and headed to the house, the water in the barn was over the top of my boots.

Over the next hour, we walked around camp to witness what was clearly a historic flood. The biggest previous flood anyone can remember was in 1977. That came up into the floor of the craft house. We were watching the water rise several feet deep in the wash house, located higher than the craft house. Both the red barn and the shop were flooded. Tent platforms were starting to float away. We stood at the top of the trail to Fairyland, and looked out across a wide torrent of water covering the area where a dense forest once grew. We watched tall trees snap off under the pressure of the flood.

Later that day, the rain stopped, and we walked around to investigate the results. Hannah Branch Road was completely blocked with several feet of silt in places and many trees down. The bridge across the South Toe River was impassable. Large sections of earth had washed out on both ends of the bridge. There was no electricity, phone service, or internet anywhere, so we could only communicate by word-of-mouth.

That afternoon, our community held a meeting on the porch of the Celo Friends Meeting house. We shared information, and made sure everyone was accounted for. We assigned people to check on elderly folks who might have medical needs or need other attention. Those with access to spring water and photovoltaic electricity made those available. A solar powered internet spot was established so we could begin to communicate with the outside world. This meeting was the first of many that were held over the next two weeks. These meetings were a critical part of the community building which took place during flood recovery.

By the end of the second day, a ladder was extended across the washed out bridge at the beginning of Hannah Branch Road so we could walk across and get news of our friends and family on the other side of the river. Georgie was reunited with his mother.

The following weeks were a constant series of work projects to begin recovery from the flood. We cleared roadways, and mucked out the houses that had been flooded. Drew and Carly opened up Camp Celo as a hub for community support. They provided drinking water and hot showers. They distributed fuel and other supplies that had been donated by friends. One of our neighbors volunteered to milk Blossom every morning, and distribute the milk to friends without refrigeration.

A great deal of progress has been made. The bridge is repaired, and Hannah Branch Road has been re-graveled. But for many people, there have been much greater losses. Many houses have been completely washed away, or damaged beyond repair. For those folks, recovery is only just beginning.

At Camp Celo, the flooding caused significant damage, and there is much to be done to get ready for campers to arrive this summer. Thanks to generous support from so many people like you, Camp Celo will be able to rebuild, re-open, and provide a nurturing community experience for campers and staff for another memorable summer in 2025.

Registration for Camp opens in January, and with that comes the opportunity to ensure that all children—regardless of financial circumstances—can experience the joy and magic of Camp Celo.

So many of you have contributed to relief and rebuilding efforts, and made contributions to Friends of Camp Celo earlier this year. We are so grateful for your support. We invite those who are able to consider supporting Friends of Camp Celo’s Campership fund during this holiday season, to help make Camp affordable for every child who wants to attend this summer and in the years to come.

Thank you,
-Gib Barrus

You can donate online, or mail a contribution to:

Friends of Camp Celo
P.O. Box 2392
Asheville, NC, 28802