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Hickory Clocks History
"Ivan the Terrible"
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It's so easy to get complacent when you live in the mountains of North Carolina. After all, we enjoy a certain level of shelter just because of our location, and historically, most serious natural calamities tend to go around us or below us in Florida and South Carolina. We just are not used to having to deal with "weather" head on, no sir! |
Well, I guess over the last two weeks we have all experienced a "reality check." Even the weather authorities were not expecting the devastation that "Frances" brought to our area and then SLAM, BAM, ALAKAZAM, "Ivan the Terrible" right behind with even more wind and rain to deal with. |
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On Thursday afternoon we went to Asheville to catch the NC Mountain State Fair in case they were forced to pack up early. But our first stop was a drive through Biltmore Village to see the damage from "Frances". Most of the area had a maze of yellow police tape around each store and on up into the residential area. The water had receded, but the whole village was shutdown and covered with mud and debris. Not a pretty sight. From there we went on to the fair - in the rain - and had the place to ourselves along with a handful of other brave souls in rain gear. We got to see most of the exhibits because they were inside in tents. We tried to plan our dash between tents when the rain let up and managed to stay pretty dry that way. The officials that we spoke to were very adamant that the fair would stay open through the weekend, hurricane or not. Hopefully, with the sun shining Saturday and Sunday they will have a crowd to make it worth their staying over the rainy days. |
We had listened to the news and knew the storm was headed our way so on the way home to Lake Toxaway, we included a stop at the grocery store for last minute supplies. By the time we arrived home, the power was already out. We made a few phone calls to see how friends and family were and power was failing almost as we went down our phone list.
We made one last pass around our house and deck to be sure plants were nestled and garden chairs were folded and moved next to the house. We'd even had two threateningly dead trees cut down the day before. Inside the house, blinds were drawn in case of flying branches. Extra water was available, flashlights and candles. We were as prepared as we could be. It was raining hard and blustery when we went to bed, but tired from a busy day, we fell right to sleep. |
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I woke up early to the sound of the rain, but the noise of the wind had subsided. The phone rang and it was our neighbor letting us know that our neighborhood was already out with their chainsaws cutting up a huge cluster of trees that had fallen right onto Rocky Mountain Road. We could hear the saw motors going from our house, so we hurried to join them. When we got there, the enormity of the task was almost overwhelming. Everyone was busily sawing branches and tossing them off to the side of the road, but these trees where huge. The rain was pouring down and everyone out there was drenched, but the road had to be cleared and they kept cutting. |
As they were working, the stories of the night began to unravel. We learned that our mountain had had a tornado and left one home minus a section of roofing, another damaged when a large tree fell into the roof and a third that had a large tree fall over the deck and luckily, caught by the railing of the deck prevented damage to that roof. The swath of debris, twisted trees, clusters of leaves and branches and deep crevasses along the roads left no doubt in our minds that the night had dealt us a mighty blow as "Ivan" passed through and on its way to the north. |
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Rocky Mountain is just one small mountain community, but no doubt a microcosm of our whole area. Most of its residents were out there helping in some way, working together any way they could to help with clean up or shoring up or even moral support for the ones who had to face extensive repairs on their damaged homes. We were there. They asked me to take photos for when the insurance adjustor came. I could feel their pain as I walked from room to room. They had put down pails to catch the dripping rain that was seeping through their blistering ceiling. The floors were awash. Plastic was covering furniture and couches. Precious family pictures and curios were crammed into a dry corner. But who is to say how extensive the damage and loss of precious personal property and memories when all is done. |
Not a pretty picture, but there is sunshine after the storm. Today is Saturday and we may not see power yet until sometime next week. But our neighborhood continues to work together. The family whose home was so seriously damaged has taken up residence with the family next door, and since they don't have power either, everyone was invited down the road to the folks with a generator for hot showers. Is that neighborly, or what? We're all out on our decks grilling hamburgers and hot dogs, warming chicken soup on Sterno burners and joyful that our neighborhood survived the storm with no injuries or worse. And the often casual friendships that happen among neighbors just a little closer and warmer today because of what has been shared together. |
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How Hickory Clocks Formed?
Our Hickory Tree
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After the storm passed we realized that the rain had softened the ground around the tree and the tree was leaning dangerously towards our cottage. We called the tree cutters and set cables on the tree to keep it from falling on the house in the wind. |
Luckily we were able to have it safely cut down before it actually fell. It was a beautiful, statuesque tree, about a hundred years old according to the rings, and I hated to lose it. Then, as soon as I saw the core when it landed, I knew we had to think of something special to do with the wood. |
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It was just to special to cut up for firewood. I asked a carpenter friend if he would be able to slice the logs and make clocks out of them... and he did. "We may be able to make tables out of them, also", he told me; "the base of the tree is large and well shaped." |
The wood of this extraordinary tree is currently aging and drying nicely and the clocks will be available in September 2006. |
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