Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

It may seem a bit corny or even too old fashioned to ask for this. Ironically though, it’s the only method guaranteed to work right now back home, thanks to Hurricane Helene. This is a conversation about letters and why I’m asking you to pick up a pen or pencil and write one this week. 

First, some background about what I’m talking about. I’m from western North Carolina, with family spread out from Wilkesboro to Bakersville, with Spruce Pine and Weaverville thrown into the mix. I’ve spent more time in Boone and Asheville over the years than most current residents and as a collective, my family rarely misses Christmas in July, over in West Jefferson. Now since Hurricane Helene tore through, I’ve been making supply runs into these areas on the weekends, as the majority of my kinfolk have made it clear they will not relocate. Have you ever tried convincing some elderly mountain folk to move up temporarily to Virginia? For the younger ones, it’s an easy sell. ‘Hey, we have power, cell service for your phones, running water for showers and you all can fight over the tv when I’m not there’. For the older generation, it’s a hard nope. This is their home and they’ll visit me when things are better, but for now, staying home is a matter of principle. 

The post Hurricane Helene situation

I can respect that and so, the supply runs continue. But in our conversations, what they hate is not being able to talk with people. It looked like it physically pained my cousin to admit there were positives to things like cell phones when they work. Don’t let him fool you. He will text up a storm when family members reach out. He’s trying to use emojis too, but the less said about that, the better. Unfortunately, the power is still out in some places, the cell towers are down and even those insanely rare areas, like said cousin’s home, where there is a house phone, it’s not going to work right now.

For people in most of these communities, that’s fixed by hiking down to Main Street, stopping by the middle school or high school, whichever one is functional, and sharing a meal with neighbors. There are, however, quite a few folks who can’t make that trip. Another driving factor as to why some of my family declined to leave was the fact they would have to be carried out, due to the fact what’s left of the road doesn’t look like it could handle a car. It’s also just not feasible for them to walk it. The same goes for friends and family members of friends, spread throughout the hills. These folks are stuck for a while without much of a way to communicate, at least until the power and internet comes back. 

So how do you fix that? The Farm Bureau came up with an idea, to start a massive letter writing campaign. This goes for schools, for individual students, for adults, anyone who basically wants to pick up pen or pencil and share a letter with someone out in Western North Carolina. The Farm Bureau is also doing this for the rescue workers too. First responders out there, emergency personnel, those on recovery missions and folks figuring out ways to rebuild roads and reconnect communities that have been isolated due to the storm. 

How does this work? 

So how can you get involved? It’s as simple as putting pen to paper and just having a conversation with someone in another state. Now there is no deadline. Basically, as the Farm Bureau gets these in, they’ll start sharing them in communities across the region. And since the mail in all of these areas has stopped running, the letters will be hand delivered by Farm Bureau officials. As some Farm Bureau officials have had questions from people, asking why they can’t just email these residents, it’s worth mentioning again that the power is out in a lot of these areas.

Friends of mine near Boone and Blowing Rock just had their lights come back on Sunday night. Smaller communities like Marshall, Poplar, Red Hill and Weaverville have been told it may take a bit longer before that happens. So these letters are about the only guaranteed way people can get communication, aside from face to face. 

So how can you send them? Just write up the letter, enclose it in an envelope and mail it to:

NCFB attn: Letter Drive for WNC

PO BOX 27766 Raleigh NC 27611

It may seem like a little thing, but I can promise you that receiving this will make someone’s day a bit brighter. And right now, those folks can use all the brightness you can spare.