Gerry Lynam at Hickory Nut Gorge Recovery Plan community meeting
Dublin Core
Title
Gerry Lynam at Hickory Nut Gorge Recovery Plan community meeting
Description
On Tuesday, August 19, 2025, Henderson County staff and environmental planning and design firm Equinox hosted a community meeting for the public to participate in the planning process for developing the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge (Gerton, Bat Cave, Edneyville) Recovery Plan for Henderson County. The community meeting for this long-term planning process included opportunities for storytelling and listening.
This audio recording of Helene survivor Gerry Lynam was recorded during the community meeting by Friends of Buncombe County Special Collections volunteer Lindsey Grossman. Lynam shares a brief description of how he, his wife, and their dogs were rescued by helicopter from their property, which had been cut off due to a bridge washout.
This audio recording of Helene survivor Gerry Lynam was recorded during the community meeting by Friends of Buncombe County Special Collections volunteer Lindsey Grossman. Lynam shares a brief description of how he, his wife, and their dogs were rescued by helicopter from their property, which had been cut off due to a bridge washout.
Creator
Date
Rights
Copyright transferred to Buncombe County Special Collections.
Format
Language
English
Extent
1 digital audio recording (00:04:35)
Sound Item Type Metadata
Duration
00:04:35
Transcription
Hello, this is Gerry Lynam. I live in Bat Cave, North Carolina. I'm one of the survivors of Hurricane Helene. Luckily we weren't as damaged as other people, but still it was no fun. I remember in the middle of the night waking up and looking out back window and seeing the trees bending pretty far, but I didn't think much about it and went back to bed. Didn't know what was happening in front of our house in the stream that was there. The next morning when I took the dogs out, they ran out like they usually do and they stop dead in their tracks and start looking around, like, where are we, on Mars or something?
So that was really kind of tough. We have a generator. It was supposed to be filled. It was very empty. It was supposed to be filled up three days after, so we didn't have any energy for a while and that was kind of concerning. My wife has health challenges, so it was very worrisome. The bridge to our property was washed out. That's kind of key in all that. So we couldn't get out. Trees were down everywhere and couldn't move until those had been cut anyway. We heard from some of our neighbors that the National Guard, North Carolina National Guard, were going to come and take us out by helio. And that was really great, but it wasn't going to be for three days. So we went back and Anne starting packing to be taken out of there and she has like five or six big suitcases with her shoes. And I said, I don't think we can use that one. [Laughs.]
So about an hour after we were told it was going to be three days, the Hendersonville Rescue squad came up. They're volunteers, sharp people, knocked on the door. They gave us 20 minutes to get ready and we could only take a bag as big as what you can put under an airplane seat. So between all our meds and dog food and a bunch of different things, we had to go with that. I realized—I didn't realize it at the time, but I realized later on how upset I was. We had to hike two miles to be able to meet the helicopter because it needed solid ground and everything on our property and all was drenched.
So those people, the National Guard were really wonderful. I was asking, I used to work with military legislation and policy, and I wanted to know who this, what unit this was, and I asked this, I think it was a woman due to stature because she had the helmet on and what have you. I asked her who she was and she just pointed to her ear and said she can't hear or something. Okay, that's cool. Well, a few minutes later, she was about to close the door. She ripped off her insignia off of her shoulder and handed it to me. And, you know, such a simple thing. And it just meant so much at that time.
Well, before that happened though, as we were walking to the helicopter, it was rotating and noisy and what have you, and we had our two dogs with us. Kip, our yellow lab about 30 feet away from the helicopter, makes a run for the helicopter, jumps up and he picked his own seat. [Laughs.] He was ready. Molly unfortunately was freaking, but it was good. It was good. When wheels up, it was such a big relief. Thank God for keeping an eye on us and keeping less us safe. It wasn't as much damage, but I lost about four acres of trees that fell down and it was amazing. I was able to measure there was at least six feet of mud where there hadn't been. And it was nuts.
But thank you for this opportunity. Thank God for all the volunteers and the county officials who have strived to help us in this tough time, and I can't extend my gratitude enough. Thank you.
So that was really kind of tough. We have a generator. It was supposed to be filled. It was very empty. It was supposed to be filled up three days after, so we didn't have any energy for a while and that was kind of concerning. My wife has health challenges, so it was very worrisome. The bridge to our property was washed out. That's kind of key in all that. So we couldn't get out. Trees were down everywhere and couldn't move until those had been cut anyway. We heard from some of our neighbors that the National Guard, North Carolina National Guard, were going to come and take us out by helio. And that was really great, but it wasn't going to be for three days. So we went back and Anne starting packing to be taken out of there and she has like five or six big suitcases with her shoes. And I said, I don't think we can use that one. [Laughs.]
So about an hour after we were told it was going to be three days, the Hendersonville Rescue squad came up. They're volunteers, sharp people, knocked on the door. They gave us 20 minutes to get ready and we could only take a bag as big as what you can put under an airplane seat. So between all our meds and dog food and a bunch of different things, we had to go with that. I realized—I didn't realize it at the time, but I realized later on how upset I was. We had to hike two miles to be able to meet the helicopter because it needed solid ground and everything on our property and all was drenched.
So those people, the National Guard were really wonderful. I was asking, I used to work with military legislation and policy, and I wanted to know who this, what unit this was, and I asked this, I think it was a woman due to stature because she had the helmet on and what have you. I asked her who she was and she just pointed to her ear and said she can't hear or something. Okay, that's cool. Well, a few minutes later, she was about to close the door. She ripped off her insignia off of her shoulder and handed it to me. And, you know, such a simple thing. And it just meant so much at that time.
Well, before that happened though, as we were walking to the helicopter, it was rotating and noisy and what have you, and we had our two dogs with us. Kip, our yellow lab about 30 feet away from the helicopter, makes a run for the helicopter, jumps up and he picked his own seat. [Laughs.] He was ready. Molly unfortunately was freaking, but it was good. It was good. When wheels up, it was such a big relief. Thank God for keeping an eye on us and keeping less us safe. It wasn't as much damage, but I lost about four acres of trees that fell down and it was amazing. I was able to measure there was at least six feet of mud where there hadn't been. And it was nuts.
But thank you for this opportunity. Thank God for all the volunteers and the county officials who have strived to help us in this tough time, and I can't extend my gratitude enough. Thank you.
Collection
Tags
Citation
Gerry Lynam, “Gerry Lynam at Hickory Nut Gorge Recovery Plan community meeting,” Come Hell or High Water Community Memory Project, accessed January 13, 2026, https://helenehistory.omeka.net/items/show/1188.