‘Grace and grit’: Hurricane Helene latest challenge to his western N.C. town

CANTON, N.C — For the small town of Canton, N.C., Hurricane Helene is just the latest storm in recent years to beset the community. The town of about 4,400 people had just recovered from Tropical Storm Fred in 2021, which triggered destructive flooding along the Pigeon River.

“We lost six people, we lost our police department, our fire department, river district,” said Mayor Zeb Smathers. “It was horrible.”

But the town rebounded – only for its biggest employer to shut down. The Pactiv Evergreen paper mill closed in 2023, laying off about 1,100 people. The sprawling mill had provided jobs in this town for more than a century.

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Then came Helene. While most of downtown is largely unscathed, several businesses and homes along the Pigeon River were heavily damaged or wiped out in the floodwater. Rod Hartle, a retiree who grew up in nearby Candler, is now volunteering to help Canton heal high water. He spent Friday on a Kubota tractor, clearing out the mess inside a medical building that had eight feet of water surge inside.

“Because there’s really only three things you can do in life,” he said. “You can love, support, and encourage. Everything else is details in how to make that happen.”

Several neighboring businesses were also flooded out, but they vow to build back.

“My job is just to go in there and lend a hand,” Hartle said. “I don’t have to save the world, I just have to be in this community helping as opportunities open up.”

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Mayor Smathers said what these mountains need now are for the world to rediscover them.

“Businesses are open,” he said. “Western North Carolina – it’s very important for people to know, especially in Atlanta, such a great city – western North Carolina, in most places, they’re open for business.”

The mayor said through “grace and grit,” Canton will weather this storm and emerge stronger.

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