Montreat Minute – December 20, 2024

Merry Christmas from the Town Council and Staff!

Holiday Hours and Sanitation Pickup

The Montreat Town offices will be closed for the Christmas Holiday Wednesday through Friday, December 25^th – 27^th. Normal hours will resume on Monday, December 30^th. Of course, police services will be available as usual.

Sanitation pick up will occur as usual and the Convenience Center will be open 7:00am to 7:00pm daily for Montreat residents.

Storm Updates

Activity in Montreat regarding Hurricane Helene continues. Here is a quick update on various activities:

• The mountain of storm debris on Welch Field will be removed soon. The debris is from town property and rights-of-way only, yet has created a pile nearly 30’ high (to reference the height, note the top of the backstop on the right in the photo above). FEMA is hiring a contractor to remove the debris to another site to be chipped. The original plan was to do the chipping on site. But the pile became much larger than expected and would create a public hazard if done on Welch Field. The Town is extremely grateful to MRA for allowing the use of the field.
• Adjacent to Welch Field the Texas Road pedestrian bridge once stood. It endured significant damage during the flooding and was too dangerous for use. Earlier this week, the bridge was demolished and the banks on each side of the creek were stabilized. We are hoping the bridge will be replaced at some point in the future. The $250,000 budgeted this year for bridge replacement was redirected to Hurricane Helene expenses.
• Greybeard Road was recently closed for a few days for water line replacement after the hurricane. That work is now complete. It is not just a repair, but a permanent installation.
• In terms of financial cost, since the hurricane the Town has spent $545,667 to date on hurricane related expenses (and it increases daily). Most of the funds have been spent on repairs. Permanent “fixes” are beginning to occur.
• Town Manager, Savannah Parrish, submitted a grant request to the Community Foundation of WNC recently for disaster recovery expenses. Word was received yesterday that Montreat received $50,000, the highest amount granted by the Foundation. It will certainly help in covering the growing cost of this recovery effort.
• Donations toward storm relief now exceed $200,000, for which we are extremely grateful. The balance is being paid from the Texas Road Bridge redirected budget and the General Fund. We expect to be reimbursed from FEMA for up to 90% of our expenses. We will keep you updated.

Hurricane Relief Donations- Make a Gift in Someone’s Honor

Looking for a unique gift for someone? Make a donation to the Town of Montreat Hurricane Relief Fund in their honor and send them a card announcing your gift. The cards are preprinted with room for a note or your signature at the bottom. Cards are available by request from Angie Murphy ([email protected]) or by stopping by the Public Works building temporary administrative office.

Donations are helping us stay strong financially. CLICK HERE for instructions regarding how to make online donations and gifts by check. Pass the link on to friends who love Montreat and want to see it rebuilt. And don’t forget to get your cards.

Did You Know?

Only a handful of people lived in Montreat in December of 1898. One of these early residents was Philadelphian Mary Martin, who had fallen in love with the valley when she had visited earlier in the year for health reasons. She found everyone that she met “delightful,” proclaimed that the scenery rivaled Switzerland’s, and by November had moved into her small Montreat home, Chinquapin Lodge, which she had commissioned and still stands on Collegiate Circle.

With Christmas approaching, Mary began to adjust to mountain life. Though she bemoaned that she had no place to shop for gifts, she decorated with “masses of holly, laurel, and hemlock,” and festooned her tree with cookies and picture cards. She invited her new friends over for a holiday tea – as many people as she had cups and saucers.

The community also gathered for a “social” at Montreat’s lone and hastily assembled hotel. “It is the most marvelous structure,” she quipped. “It looks more like a row of bath houses than anything else.” Mary referred to it as “Big Piney Out,” since the promised Big Piney Inn was yet to materialize. (Hotel Montreat opened in 1900).

At the Martin house, Christmas dinner was a young chicken, picked and cleaned, for which Mary had paid twenty cents. One friend gave her a mousetrap as a gift. It was all wonderful – she was happy and healthy. “It is remarkable how safe one feels in this wilderness,” she wrote. “A walk in the woods is like a journey into fairyland.”

Mary spent many subsequent Christmases in Montreat. In 1902, she married James Miller, a retired civil engineer, and they raised three children in Chinquapin.

The information in this article was adapted from: “Mother Pioneered at Montreat: Her Letters 1898-1899.”  Drop by the PHC to pick up a free copy.

Thanks to the Presbyterian Heritage Center, especially Nancy Midgette, for this glimpse from the past. Stop by the PHC for additional Montreat history and so much more. Have an idea for a future “Did You Know?”? Let Nancy know at [email protected].

Reminders

• Town administrative offices are temporarily located in the Public Works building while hurricane related renovations are being done at the Town Hall. Hours remain the same, 8:00am to 5:00pm, Monday through Friday.
• Interested in serving on a board, commission or committee of the Town? Complete an application to let us know of your interest. Online applications are LOCATED HERE. A complete listing and description of boards, commissions, and committees can be found by CLICKING HERE.
• Do you receive your own copy of the Montreat Minute or know someone who doesn’t? Sign up for the Sunshine List to receive the Montreat Minute and stay “in the know” about the Town’s happenings. CLICK HERE to sign up for the list!
• Do you receive Montreat Code Red alerts, an emergency communications system used a number of times during the hurricane? If not and you would like to be added to the list, email [email protected] and provide your name and phone number to be called in the event of an emergency.

Questions or Comments?

Do you have Town-related questions or comments to offer? If so, please send them to Angela Murphy at [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Have a very Merry Christmas!