Minneapolis NC consists of a post office, two churches, and what looked like about 20 homes on the main drag through town. The main drag also runs along a large creek, which is why about 1/2 the homes are currently uninhabited. Several have been stripped out, and the debris piled by the side of the road. Until last Friday, there was only one route in and out of town. On Friday another road was opened. The nearest town is Newland which has one grocery store that was swamped. As of Friday it takes 45 minutes to get to the next nearest open grocery store instead of two hours it has taken since the first road was opened. A lot of stuff has been delivered to town to help out. But the food has either been canned or in a box for the last six weeks.
Through the generosity of several people, I was able to take our VERY full SUV up there and deliver eggs, butter, cheese, some milk, bread, baked goods and a few other things. Imagine not having those things to eat for six weeks!!
The ladies running the food hub looked very tired. One lady told me that they are still in a fog and some are having nightmares. A Mom in town was lost to a mudslide while her husband and children watched.
Even though I passed through areas that look like they haven’t been touched since the storm, I did see some signs of progress today:
- Lots and lots and lots of dump trucks hauling off debris
- A busy FEMA site one town over from Minneapolis
- Lots of road patches and rebuilt bridges all over the place. (Can we please have a hand for the NC DOT??) Some roads still have damage and gravel filled pot holes, but the roads I drove on today were clean.
- Linemen out working on the remaining wiring that needs to be repaired. (Another hand please!)
- Contractors repairing the Ingles grocery store near Minneapolis
- National Guard still having a strong presence around here. Got to talk to two of them this afternoon in Asheville
- And finally, trailer after trailer of Christmas trees headed out of the mountains to decorate folks’ homes!
Despite disaster and hardship, life is going on as well as it can up here!!!
🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 🎄🎄🎄
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