North Carolina Now; North Carolina Now Episode from 04/28/1997

The It's Monday April 28. Tonight a special edition of North Carolina now on location in hickory nut gourd. Greetings from Chimney Rock Park armory to mature a welcome to this special edition of North Carolina now behind me you can see the spectacular Chimney Rock over to my left is Lake lore.

Our visit here to the hickory nut Gorge area is part of our continuing series taking you to all the wonderful communities that North Carolinians call home or in this case were so many North Carolinians spend their vacations like lore and Chimney Rock in Rutherford County are located about 40 minutes southeast of Asheville along Highway 74 and 64. Nestled in what many call the most beautiful natural canyon in the eastern United States. Hickory nut gorge the gorge also encompasses the towns of barricades and Girton which are located in Anderson County. The twenty seven miles of shoreline of Lake lore is the focal point of the area which is surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains because it lies in the heart of the thermal belt. The weather. There is usually a bit milder than much of the state making it ideal for outdoor activities. The breathtaking scenery here has been an inspiration to writers poets and filmmakers. Some of our nation's most famous writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald found inspiration in Lake lore sparkling

waters and gently rolling Blue Ridge Mountains. Hollywood is attracted to this natural beauty as well. The grounds of the lake Laurin with a backdrop for the popular 1980s film Dirty Dancing starring at your Swayze and Jennifer Grey and the 1000 acre Chimney Rock Park has been the location for films such as Last Of The Mohicans firestarter and Rita Barr. Recently though this natural beauty which inspires so many and attracts throngs of tourists has been threatened by serious flooding of the Rocky broad river which runs through hickory nut gorge and feeds into like lore. But despite going to reports the community is rebounding from the floods destruction and is working hard to get everything in order for the onset of the tourist season. Most days the rocky broad river tumbles cheerfully downhill through hickory nut gorge through back even Chimney Rock and flows into peaceful Lake Lure. But last September the river turned into a monster in a matter of moments while Hurricane

Fran was still forming in the Atlantic. Strong thunderstorms dumped 13 inches of rain into the gorge and the surrounding area and a little over three hours. Bridges were washed down vehicles were wrapped around trees and two of the four area campgrounds were washed away along with businesses and homes. We stood out on the deck of a parsonage and watched a house across the road from us down near the river. Actually we destroyed the water got under it and collapse the house. A man lost his home a few miles upstream. George and Jenny Duncan who run Jenny's family restaurant in Chimney Rock experienced the horror of losing their own home. While I was in the house getting our clothes and different things like that the mountain came down. The Walsh lady and right in front of me Jenny's family restaurant survived although the river washed away the backyard and damaged the supports for the deck next door Duncan's barbecue run by George's brother David and housed in a three story building was carried away completely by the floodwaters and the Chimney Rock grill was so badly damaged that it

had to be condemned. Besides debris the river carried so much silt into Lake Lure that the barge shoals and islands that form below the river mouth became an impediment to boating. The same area had been dredged just a few months earlier but it was all for nothing. And the lake had to be drained for another dredging operation this one massive. We had somewhere in a matter in that early estimates were somewhere between two and hundred two hundred fifty thousand cubic yards of silt piled up over a 30 acre area out here. Most of that came down as a result of that flash flood incident I just alluded to in September. And we went after it with the money and finished the project last week. Now however things are turning around as restoring and rebuilding are seen everywhere in the neighborhood. Workers at Lake Moore were recently taking advantage of a chance to smooth out the bottom of the swimming beach before the water returns to normal levels. At ease good things in Jimmy Rock whose owner recently relocated here from Houston

finishing touches are being put on a new gallery Jennie's family restaurant is getting a new retaining wall and some extra support. And David Duncan has re-opened his barbecue business with a tiny stand some outdoor picnic tables and a small storage building a new permanent sewer line is being installed to replace the temporary one that's been used for months homes along the rocky Broad have been largely restored. The trailers and campers are back alongside the river and people are again paying attention to life's indestructible pleasures. DAVID MACKAY Kern is the pastor of Batcave Baptist Church. We see the worst in people at times like that but in times like this you see the best in people is selfish. I mean people weren't selfish. Anything they could do to help people roaming up their homes. People were studying in the fire departments and it was just all really really good. Tom even in the tragedy we saw hope as if in answer to these docs anxious probing the waters of Lake Lure will shortly return to their pristine state

covering all 27 miles of the lake shoreline. And the view from the lake LORAN will improve dramatically. Jimmy rock Mayor Peter O'Leary who owns Bubba's general store named after his dog says the area is growing back stronger than before. There's been some terrible advance but at the same time they've brought out they've seen bring out the best in the people and the best in the community. You know a lot of ways and it's it's forced us to focus more on what's really important which is that that sense of community and it's made it much stronger. Like more Town officials say that depending on the rainfall the lake should be back to its normal level by the middle or the end of May. And just as many of the residents in the communities surrounding Lake Laura recovering from the flooding just in time for the tourist season. There is a new challenge facing the people living here. On April 8th a historic asthma railed in suffered a devastating fire which completely destroyed the 106 year old three story in estimated damage from that

fire stands at more than one million dollars more than the insurance will cover. Now the community is rallying around as morale the inn's owners to help them raise enough money to rebuild. This is that wonderful community which we knew with wonderful before the fire. They just rallied round it from the minute the fire started practice we were here to help but notionally handle things and now they're doing helping us with the financing trying to raise money to rebuild the store. But we just love everybody and just appreciate their concern for us and whether they're just calling or sending your card or having a tour or just thinking about us is just wonderful. It's coming from all over the state now out of the state. Really. But this community in particular. Actually this is the second fire to strike the as morale the in originally built in 1891 it was destroyed by fire and then rebuilt on the original

foundation in 1917. The inn was named for the book as Mirelle written by Frances Hodgson Burnett who wrote it while staying in the area. Movie stars such as Mary Pickford Gloria Swanson Douglas Fairbanks and Clark Gable all sought refuge in this quaint facility. And Lou Wallace finished the script for Ben-Hur in room number nine. The owners of the Esmeralda in hope to rebuild this storied hotel and restaurant and recapture that glory. If you would like to help in the rebuilding efforts you can send your donations to the asthma around inbox 57 Highway 74 a Chimney Rock 2 8 7 2 0. The others are also requesting that you send any pictures that you may have of the world and along with any stories or memories that you have of the place. All their memorabilia was burned in the fire. Well still to come on this special edition of North Carolina now we'll examine the area's biggest industry tourism. And we'll have a conversation with the mayor of Lake lore next Lainer.

Right now it's time to toss it back to our Research Triangle Park studios where Michel Louis is standing by with a summary of today's news from around the state. Good evening Mitch. Thanks Marina. Good evening everyone. Topping our news a legislative deadline is fast approaching in both houses of the General Assembly. The so-called crossover deadline is the cutoff date for the transfer of any piece of proposed legislation from one chamber to the other. All new measures must cross over by this Thursday. A number of environmental proposals have yet to make the crossover including Representative Richard Morgan's bill to regulate large swine farms. In the meantime a package of fishery reforms is not subject to the deadline since it contains a proposal for licensing fees. The House Judiciary and finance committees will soon consider the plan which contains some key differences from the package voted down by the General Assembly earlier this session. The proposals call for fisheries management plans based on more precise data than currently used to manage the salt water fish population. Under the new measures salt water anglers would no

longer be required to buy a license each year. The plan also opens waters to more commercial fisherman. A former consultant to the Department of Public Instruction says Native American grade schoolers make up greater than 50 percent of Roberson county's dropout total data shows of the four hundred twenty three students who dropped out in the county last school year. Fifty two percent were Native American. Olivia Oxendine says it's up to parents and teachers to reverse the trend. This year Robinson County received more than one million dollars in federal money for Native American education. That's the highest amount given to any school system in the country for Indian education. A public hearing will be held in Raleigh May 19th on a proposal by twenty two phone companies to add three new area codes in the state. The state utilities commission is organizing the hearing. Officials say the proposal won't increase phone rates but they warn that 10 digit dialing may be required in calling areas that cross area code boundaries written comments on the proposal should be submitted prior to the hearing.

Two Post Office Box 2 9 5 1 0 Raleigh North Carolina 2 7 6 2 5 dash 0 5 1 0 or by fax to 9 1 9 7 3 3 7 3 0 0. And let it coast conference officials gathered in Greensboro today to formally introduce the league's new commissioner. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's athletic director John Swofford is replacing Gene Corrigan as commissioner Swofford lead Chapel Hill's athletic program for 17 years. AC S. officials say swappers experience in running the conferences most successful athletic department attracted the search committee Swofford as the AC's fourth commissioner since the league was formed in 1954. Looking ahead to tomorrow's weather temperatures ranging in the 60s will spread across the entire state for Tuesday mostly cloudy conditions with rain a forecast statewide. In business news Rocky Mount based Hardee's fast food chain has a new owner tonight at a news conference today in Rocky Mount CKD announced it is

acquiring the struggling 30 100 outlet Hardee's restaurants. C.K. owns the Carl's Jr. hamburger chain. Parties will still operate under their own name but CKD will slowly add the Carl's Jr. name to outlets. The merger could result in some job losses but Hardy's officials hope to keep layoffs to a minimum and that the deal will be good for both companies. When you combine these two companies are there were 90 years of history with these two companies I think their philosophies are very similar. We were after giving great value great taste to the consumer. And so I see this tremendous opportunity. The three hundred twenty seven million dollar deal makes Carl's Jr. one of the largest hamburger chains in the country. Company officials say they'll keep parties breakfast menu and say the land Junior's big burger Moti oversees marketing assistance is being made available to small business owners and farmers. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and the southern United States trade association are sponsoring a matching

funds program to help one portion of the program provides Markwell provides marketing money to promote high value agriculture products sold under brand names applications must be submitted with a $250 fee by July 15th. For more information you can call the North Carolina Department of Agriculture at 9 1 9 7 3 3 7 9 1 2. And now for a look at what happened on Wall Street today. And joining me now is the mayor of Lake Laura Max. Thanks for taking the time to be

with us tonight. Tell me about the situation with the flooding and what the town has done to recover from that. Well the the principal problem for the flood was the lake we had in excess of two hundred fifty cubic yards of so broad river and you could just end of it was practically impossible to get by We even with a boat. So this was a major problem and we tackled that as soon as we could with it in conjunction with thema. Most of our damage was done to the town. We had water winds that were washed out. Sira winds or washed out roads are washed out. These things all in relation to them in this book government and we got on those right away and they were corrected within the 10 day period. The emotion of all this really interests me youve had the flood and then the fire at the as morality and what have all these crisis done to the spirit of the town. Oh without a doubt it poured the whole gorge together we like to feel that there are

two towns in the county here thats all one the whole Gorge which is consisting of Jimi rock village and the town of Lake or in the county. And we all pulled together we didn't really even bother with town bomber winds and went up the chimney rock village and their workmen came down here and we cooperated together to get the job done. We had fire departments from this hole over this in the state in here. We had Highway Patrol in from all over the state. Everybody just pulled together in a continued after we got to the rebuilding after the flood. This thing has continued right up to this day. Tourism is your biggest industry here but the flooding and the fire could be damaging to that. Have these incidents had an economic impact on your town. No not at all in fact it might have helped in this winter because there are so many people curious as to what did happen here. So it brought a lot of people in this last winter and the merchants all report a better year this year than they had

last year. Not true the ones that were damaged or washed away but those remaining ones they got are on their business or right away put them back in shape where they could do business. And we've had good weather this winter so consequently our business is up in the area. Mayor if there's somebody who hasn't had the opportunity to visit your town what would you tell them about Lake lore. The two main things that people always tell you say what do you like best now say the lake in the mountains. The combination of the two. Then you add to it the atmosphere here. The people they always say the people are their friend Oh yes. In fact our county is noted for small town friendly because they are the friendliest type of people we've ever seen. You kind of combine that with the beauty and the lack of crime and lack of traffic and the house screen it is so quiet here and most of our people that are retiring or are coming from the

large cities Charlotte Detroit Cleveland and it's completely opposite their environment. So therefore it makes a wonderful place to. We have practically no crime. Last year in 1996 we had a total of 12 robberies one a month and we have no violent crime. We have never had it since we back any violent crime in the area and it's a very peaceful place. We have come to find where I want to thank you so much for your time. We're glad to have you with us. I hope you come back soon. Understandably most of the visitors to the lake lower Chimney Rock area come for the natural beauty and

spectacular scenery. Reporter Maria Lundberg shows us the sights. Hickory nut gorge is one of North Carolina's little jewels and each year more than 200000 people come to visit. I think one reason they are drawn there is the beauty of the area the nature itself has helped us bring tourists and plus it's the friendly atmosphere of the people who run the businesses the lodging here I think definitely brings people here and makes them want to come back. One of the biggest draws is the 1000 acre Chimney Rock Park. It was purchased in 1902 by Dr. Lucius Morse who opened it to the public as a scenic attraction in 1916 through the years people have come from all over the world to take in the incredible beauty of the three mile approach to Chimney Rock is beautiful itself especially in spring time when Carolina rhododendron and dogwoods blanket the hillsides with white flowers. But that's just a small preview of what's to come.

After climbing by trail or taking the 26 storey elevator ride to the top of the chimney provides breathtaking views of like Lord hickory nut Gorge and the Carolina Piedmont. From a height of two thousand two hundred eighty feet the rock towers over a panorama of spectacular scenery. The park also features two and a half miles of nature trails. The forest stroll winds through a dense hardwood forest at the foot of the massive cliffs of Chimney Rock Mountain. Plant lovers this trail is a real botanical treasure with an incredible variety of rare and indigenous plants. The 30 minute hike is definitely worthwhile because when you get to the end of it this is the reward. This is four hundred and four. Take 3 0 water plunges from the cliffs at the top of hickory nut falls to a pool at the end of the trail from here at The Falls cascade another 900 feet before joining the rocky broad river.

Although there are many beautiful sights in Chimney Rock Park this is definitely one of the highlights. The park is still privately owned and operated by the Morse family which remains committed to preserving its natural beauty while sharing it with millions of visitors. We have a just a terrific piece of property it's a very special piece of property in a lot of ways. The scenic views that we've got at the interesting rock formations a 404 of a waterfall. Just to mention a few things but also we've got a lot of around endangered plant species that live along our trail system. There's just so much diversity and it's just so special so we've got to charge them they maintain that and protect that and that's at the core of our mission. But it's also part of our mission to be a business and to continue as a business to grow and try to provide a return on investment so we can continue to keep this place open to the public. Many visitors to the area come here specifically to see Chimney Rock Park but

others come here simply to enjoy the incredible scenic beauty of this region. One of the best ways to do that is to see the area by boat on board the pontoon boat of Lake Lure tours Captain Faye Bentley shares interesting facts and history about the region while taking in some great views. Rock on board lady looked or is everyone. National Geographic says that lake lore is one of the 10 most spectacular and manmade leads in the world. The lake is 27 miles of shoreline. It is fifteen hundred acres. The pristine beauty of the lake and its surroundings provide a wonderful relaxing way to appreciate this environment. As the boat cruises by picturesque inns and beautiful homes at one end of Lake Lord the community of Fairfield offers a country club setting with golf and tennis. But the biggest attraction here is the gorgeous scenery that nature provides in abundance. Now if all this peace and relaxation is getting a little too tranquil. The village of Chimney Rock offers

many interesting shops and restaurants. This area has prospered thanks to tourism and industry which is critical for local residents. My parents room and my wife is in the tourism business. I'm in it still rules. It's tourist so without the tourism base here it would just be a pretty little valley. And that be it. I mean there's a lot of there's a lot of people who work in this town the tourism down the street at his general store owner Peter O'Leary agrees that tourism is vital to the area he believes people enjoy coming here not only for its scenic beauty but also because it allows visitors to recapture a kind of lifestyle that's not often found today. This town hasn't changed in many many years and in fact I have a pitcher from the early 50s that shows the downtown and all the stores are the same. So people see that they come to see that and because everything else is is a mall or a strip shopping center now and you don't see the small little downtown

main streets. This is a great little mountain community that's got a lot going on as far as atmosphere and natural beauty. There aren't many places that you can come and walk down Main Street and have a mountain on either side in a river running past you through the center of town. This area is also a popular location for tubing and white water rafting during the summer months. If you are interested in visiting Chimney Rock Park the hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. Tickets cost nine fifty four adults and five dollars for children ages 6 to 15. Children under six are admitted free. If you would like more information you can call 1 800 2 7 7 9 6 1 1 and for information about this area in general you can contact the hickory nut gorge Chamber of Commerce at 7 0 4 0 6 2 5 2 7 2 5. In addition to tourism the local apple crop helps support the economy of this area

Anderson County which lies just east of like Lauren Chimney Rock is Apple country. Some one million apple trees grow here making the County the largest apple producer in the state and seventh in the nation and in the spring time the apple blossoms are a breathtaking sight. North Carolina's recent cold snap gave Apple Growers a scare. They say the frost has caused some problems but it's still too early to tell how it will affect the fall harvest. And if you travel through this area during the fall to take in the spectacular autumn color and you can stop off at one of the many Apple stands around Lake lore and Chimney Rock. That wraps up the special edition of North Carolina now on location in hickory nut gorge. Hopefully your plans for the summer will include a visit to Chimney Rock in like lore. Video tape just doesn't do this place justice. Our thanks to the hickory nut gorge chamber of commerce for the information they provided us and our special appreciation goes out to the people here at Chimney Rock Park for the use of their spectacular grounds.

Our stuff next month will be Concord home of the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Thanks for watching tonight. We'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight everyone.