December 20, 2024 • 35 mins
Explore the strength and unity of Bryson City, North Carolina, as Erin Smith, owner of Humanité Boutique, shares her journey as a small business owner during challenging times. Learn how the community came together after Hurricane Helene, the lessons that shaped their recovery, and the impact of supporting one another. Erin’s story reveals the importance of connection, resilience, and creating a meaningful legacy, all set against the backdrop of Bryson City’s natural beauty and holiday charm.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Everyone has a story to tell.
We connect and relate to oneanother when we share our
stories.
My name is Amelia Old and I amyour host of Voices of
Inspiration.
Join me as I share stories offriends, family and strangers
from my everyday life andtravels.
We will laugh, possibly cry orwalk away, feeling connected
more than ever to those aroundyou and ready to be the change
(00:24):
our world needs.
Everyone has a story to tell.
What's yours?
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Thank you so much for taking time to be with me today
.
I know that it's a weekend andyou're getting ready to go out
of town.
A lot of things going on so Iappreciate you taking time to
share a little bit of your storywith me.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Yeah, I'm more than happy to.
Thank you so much for having me, so let's just jump right into
it.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Can you just start off by telling us a little bit
about yourself and your businessin Bryson City, North Carolina?
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah, so I am a wife and a mom, I have 10-year-old
twins and I own HumanityBoutique.
It's in Bryson City.
I had started it 14 years ago.
We're going into our 15th year,which is wild to think about,
and as anyone that has been insmall business or been an
(01:32):
entrepreneur, you know that 14years is a lifetime in that
world and you know it's a rollercoaster.
Every year is different.
I am originally from BrysonCity.
I was gone for about 10 years.
We lived in other cities and Ihad different jobs and we moved
back here purposely to raise ourkids here.
(01:54):
And, yeah, that's when Istarted humanity.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
So can you talk about how your experience with
humanitarian work has influencedyour perspective on life in
this business that you havecreated?
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Yeah, I think that, like I said, being a small
business owner is one of themost difficult careers I think
that anyone could pick.
I mean, it's not easy, but it'svery fulfilling.
A constant thought as anentrepreneur is how can I serve
the community that I'm incurrently?
Because they, you know, thoseare my friends, those are my
(02:35):
neighbors, that's my family,those are people I've known for
all of my life.
So, having a real local, umsense of community as well as
what is happening in the worldat large, so I wanted to provide
a way, um where, that provide abusiness.
(02:58):
That was that was at front ofmind about you know what, what
do we need locally and and what,what?
Where can we give back?
Where can we help?
And 14 years ago, there weren'tany clothing boutiques and
there probably weren't anyclothing boutiques all the way
through until, you know, 45minutes from here, and I came
(03:19):
from a place that that's justwhere we shopped.
So I saw this opening and Ithought this is this would be
great here and I can alsocombine a need for our community
, but I can also use it as a wayto give back through different
experiences that I've had in mylife and then also to my local
(03:42):
community.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
I love that.
I love that.
I think that is really specialthat you kept your community in
mind.
I'm really big on giving backto the communities that we visit
, and so I really appreciatethat and I think that that is a
really great thing that you aredoing.
What's one way that Bryson Cityhas changed or grown since
(04:07):
you've started your boutique?
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Oh yeah, such a great question.
It has changed and grown leapsand bounds for the better.
One great thing about BrysonCity is we will never be a large
, sprawling metropolis.
80% of our county is park, soit's federal land, so it will
(04:34):
never be a, you know, aGatlinburg or a Pigeon Forge,
and we love that.
We are a small town, we have thesmall hometown feel.
We are a small town.
We have the small hometown feel.
We have a great downtown andwhat has changed about it is the
quality of things.
(04:55):
You know, I am from here, I wasraised here, and you know the
80s and the 90s looked a lotdifferent than it does now,
because now we have qualitythings.
We have great shops.
It's amazing what we can findin the local stores.
Here I mean stuff that youwould buy online that you
(05:15):
normally wouldn't find in asmall town.
We have such great amenities inthat sense.
We have great restaurants.
People that are coming inreally care about the area.
You know you usually don't moveto a small town, especially
beside a national park, unlessyou really want to be there and
(05:37):
you really want to embrace.
You know a little bit of aslower lifestyle and you want to
embrace the outdoors.
So it's really cool to see howmuch it has changed since
growing up here, and it's greatto see people that really care
about the area and want tocontinue that just quality of
(06:01):
things coming in here and reallycurating what we have to offer.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
So back in September, your community and surrounding
communities in Western NorthCarolina got hit by Hurricane
Helene and caused a lot ofdevastation, a lot of challenges
.
And caused a lot of devastation, a lot of challenges, and a lot
of people in surroundingcommunities to Bryson City are
(06:31):
still in the midst of picking uptheir life.
Essentially, Can you talk alittle bit about your experience
in those first couple of days,as you know, just as a resident
of Bryson City, but as abusiness owner as well, yeah,
(06:52):
those first couple of days werejust a lot, when the we knew a
storm was coming in and we justdidn't know to what degree and
when.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
When the storm hit and everything happened so
quickly that first day it we noone in Western North Carolina
thought the waters were going torise that high.
I certainly didn't think it was.
I was watching Noah, um, thathas the the river uh
measurements.
(07:30):
I was watching that hourly.
Um, the day before, I mean daysbefore, and the morning of and
um, it just happened so quicklythat, um, so quickly that, um,
(07:52):
seeing being down at the storeand seeing the waters rise, as
we were, you know, putting up uhsandbags and and doing all that
was, was terrible.
The great thing is Bryson citywas spared a lot of what
happened east of us, in theother parts of Western North
Carolina.
I mean, we were able to open up, you know, just a few days
(08:13):
after it happened, the stores Iopened up eight days later after
cleanup, um, it, with thecommunications that were down
for those just few days, it wastrying to figure out you know
what is what was happeningelsewhere.
Um, Western North Carolina isit's made up of a lot of
(08:37):
different counties there's.
There's actually eightdifferent.
There's eight counties West ofAsheville and and we're part of
that, um, and so each county hadvarying degrees of of flooding,
some, some none, some, um, thatwere spared, most like us, like
(08:58):
Swain County, um, but thenthere was Asheville and Boone
and, um, those larger counties,um, and the thing about Western
North Carolina is, um, we,everyone that lived here in that
during that time, you know, ifyou're from Western North
Carolina, no one was, um, no onewas untouched by that.
(09:24):
Because we're being fromWestern North Carolina,
asheville is kind of like ourtown square.
You know, when we have to go toTarget, we go to Asheville when
we have, you know, doctorsthere and I have different
stores that I shop at.
So that's our town square in asense.
That's our town square in asense.
(09:57):
And seeing something like thathappen, you know, further east
of us, especially in Waynesvilleand Canton, everyone in western
North Carolina was just thrownthrough a loop.
I mean it was really hard towatch, especially when, like I
said, bryson City was spared somuch damage and it really only
hit our downtown and you knowother parts that were on the
river.
But, like I said, we were ableto clean up very quickly and
seeing, you know, the townsfurther east of us seeing that
(10:20):
happen, it was almost like forpeople in Bryson city and other
parts of Western North Carolina,it was almost like survivor's
guilt.
You know, we wanted to, we justcouldn't believe this was
happening and we wanted to help.
And you know there are businessowners that, um, we all reached
out to in that area and youknow what can we do?
How can we help?
(10:41):
Um, it was just that part wasreally difficult to watch and
it's still difficult for formost people.
Um, the really great thing isthat I saw come out of it as
such a horrible situation isthat sense of community.
My store is located on Everettstreet and that's where a
(11:02):
majority of it happened.
The, the business owners, allof us that were in that row of
where we had water come in.
We just banded together andabsolutely what it was whatever
anyone needed, somebody got.
We had people show up that justtook my trash away, took away
(11:29):
all the stuff that I had to takeout and that I needed to take
to the dumpster.
One day I showed up and itwasn't there.
And same for my neighbors.
One day I showed up and itwasn't there.
And same for my neighbors theyhad when they took out their
floors it was someone showed upand said I'll take it to the
dump for you.
It was amazing to see.
It was one of those momentswhere you know you collectively
(11:56):
have to take a minute to to getyour bearings and figure out
what's happening from a businessstandpoint.
And our community, our businesscommunity and our and our local
community really just wasimpressive and kind and um
(12:17):
really just made me really proudto be from here.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
You know I've heard a lot of different stories from
people over the last few weeksthat really stand out to them,
specific moments of workingtogether and people coming
together or people from otherstates coming in.
And I mentioned in anotherepisode that I was working on
(12:46):
donations for the Banner Elkarea and I had people donate
things from as far away asEngland and I just thought that
that was absolutely incredibleto watch people from literally
all over the world.
And I know that there are manymoments for you, but is there
(13:08):
one particular moment that youcan share during all of this
that just kind of did stop youin your tracks?
That just kind of did stop youin your tracks, like you
mentioned about your um, youknow, the other businesses in
town coming together.
Is there another moment whetherit was someone coming from out
(13:28):
of town to to help out orsomething you saw in one of the
neighboring communities thatjust really just gave you hope?
Speaker 3 (13:38):
Yeah, um, two instances stand out and um, I'm
going to try not to cry causeit's just, you know, one of
those things, but um, the, the.
So it happened on Friday and on, uh, we were able to go back
into the store and kind ofassess and figure out and, um,
(14:02):
what was happening?
And you know, my husband and Iwent in there and we looked at
everything and we both said wecan do this, we, we've got this.
Um, and then that night all ofus that could be there, that
could be on Everett Street, allthe business owners, after we
(14:23):
went into each of our stores toassess what was happening,
everybody walked out and we wentto each store and just started
getting water out.
And just started getting waterout, I had my 10-year-old kids
were with me and my husband andwe and my parents have stores on
(14:44):
the same street and we hadneighbors that showed up from
stores on other streets and allof us just went from store to
store with brooms and squeegeesand we're getting all of the
water out.
And my neighbors to the rightof me it's the honey bear and
the chocolate shop they couldn'tget there because they were in
(15:07):
Waynesville, which is furthereast, so their father was there
and we just went in there andjust started working.
And we just went in there andjust started working and it was.
It was just so beautiful to seeum, you know, we're there at 11
(15:33):
o'clock at night and um, mykids get to see what it is to be
part of a beautiful communityand just go from store to store
and and help you know alleverybody that was going through
stuff, um getting the water outand helping them clean up.
And then that next day, um, whenwe were trying to figure out
what you know what our nextsteps you know it's my first
(15:54):
flood I didn't know what youknow, what do I do with this?
And I had a person that I usefor carpet cleaning and for
commercial cleaning.
My door was locked and I lookedup and he was knocking and he
(16:15):
said I know you couldn't reachme because cell service is down.
I wanted to come here and askyou what you needed and I just
was holy cow, I just could notbelieve that.
He drove from almost an houraway and said what do you need?
And he was the one that had allthe commercial clean out items.
(16:40):
I mean, he's the one that hadthe fans and the, and I and I
wasn't even, you know, I hadeveryone else had worse damage
than I did, and so it was backto that whole survivor's guilt
thing.
You know, gosh, other peoplehave it so much worse, but I've
also got to do this.
And he showed up for us and Iwas able to get that equipment
(17:04):
in in that day and I justthought this, this is community
and this is the people that makethe world go round.
This is the people that makethe world go round.
There's so much good out thereI mean there, there really is.
And I had a, a friend that wastexting me the the day of
(17:28):
everything and she couldn't getahold of me because she was
asking about the store, and shecouldn't get ahold of me because
the cell service was down.
So she just came down toEverett Street to see what, to
see what if something hadhappened, if I need anything.
I just thought what.
That is amazing.
(17:48):
People are so good and there'snothing like this community.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Mm.
Hmm, it's definitely a littlebit of shining light and a very
dark moment in in your communityand a lot of communities, and I
think one thing that you'vementioned a couple times is like
you've even got me emotionaltoo.
I think one thing that you havepeople's focuses change.
(18:50):
Life happens.
It's not on the news as much.
It's not on the news as much,and there are some places that
are still very much trying topick it all back.
I continue to use this phrase,picking up the pieces, but it's
true.
And so I'm glad that, even inthe midst of the unknown and the
(19:18):
challenge and the fear that I'msure that you were going
through, that there was a littlebit of that light there and a
reminder of you probably felt.
I'm really glad that I movedback to Bryson City to be among
this community.
Yeah, to.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
Bryson City to be among this community.
Yeah, I mean, I genuinely don'tknow where else this would
happen and I don't know whereelse a community like Bryson
City can come together, but thenalso a community like Western
(19:58):
North Carolina community likeWestern North Carolina, where we
can all the counties and thecities that weren't hurt as bad
as the ones east of us and thatare, you know, are back up and
running, we can take all of ourresources and send it east, and
I don't I just I don't know anyother community that's like that
(20:20):
.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
I agree.
Were there any surprisinglessons or insights that you
gained from this experience?
I know that the biggest onewould be how do we go?
How would we go through oureveryday lives without being
able to communicate in the waythat we're used to?
(20:44):
I think that that is a commonone that I've heard been told.
Read Aside from that, are thereany other lessons or insights
that you have from thisexperience?
What are there any?
Speaker 3 (20:59):
other lessons or insights that you have from this
experience?
I think we're still.
I think we're still assessingand we're still going through
things and trying to figure outwhat, what could we have done
better, what do we need to learnfrom this?
You know, not only as abusiness owner, but as a member
(21:22):
of our business community and asa parent, and you know just,
we're all still thinking aboutwhat could have gone better,
what changes need to be made.
There were people realizing us,realizing that and where we're
(21:48):
located, where Bryson City islocated is, you know, western
North Carolina doesn't stop atAsheville and so realizing, oh,
people think that you knowBryson City is Asheville or
Bryson City is in that area.
And realizing, oh, they don'trealize, you know there's other,
(22:08):
like I said, there's eightother counties west of Asheville
, that's, you know, a big chunkof Western North Carolina.
So realizing that as a businessand also as a tourism community
, that, oh, okay, we need tocommunicate that better Because
God forbid anything else everhappened we can help people
(22:32):
navigate that.
And you know where the locationis.
I, you know, surprising I,there's always really good and
really bad.
That happens out of any type ofsituation and really teaching
(22:55):
myself and telling myself overand over again and other people
that were in that you know wereinvolved in the flooding to look
at the good, because you knowpeople are people that aren't,
you know getting there rollingtheir sleeves up and getting
dirty and doing the work.
They're not the ones that are,you know being saying mean
(23:19):
things or being, you know beinga keyboard warrior.
They're the people that aredoing the work and the ones that
are doing that are helpingtheir neighbor and the ones that
are actually seeing what theycan do.
They aren't.
They're the ones doing the good.
They're the ones they're notthe ones that are criticizing or
(23:40):
comparing or, you know, givingopinion that doesn't need to be,
doesn't need to be given.
So reminding myself to focus onthe good because there's way
more good and then helping andand bring that attention to
everybody else who's goingthrough the same thing.
Look at the good.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
It's so much better, it's and there's so much more of
it Absolutely One thing thatyou mentioned earlier about you
know you guys are still kind ofabout.
You know you guys are still kindof reassessing what happened
and the response and what to do,you know if there was a next
(24:22):
time with this.
And I think one thing isimportant for those watching or
listening who might not be asfamiliar with the area nothing
like this had ever one this farinland in the carolinas had seen
anything like like that um.
(25:00):
You know especially themountain areas and so naturally
there wouldn't have been thesekind of um, there wouldn't have
been a handbook in place, therewouldn't have been.
This is what we do if thishappens, because no one ever
thought something like thatwould happen.
And I think that that'simportant to mention because
(25:22):
there's no way that you guyscould have said, okay, well, if
this is coming, well, we know weneed to have this in place
Whereas you know on the coast,they kind of know in the days to
come not that it makes it anybetter of any damage that they
(25:43):
go through, but having thesandbags and things like that
and kind of knowing what to doto prepare it's difficult to
prepare for something thatyou've never in your lifetime
experienced in your community.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
We never thought that the waters were going to rise
that high.
We never thought cell servicewould be down for a couple of
days.
We never thought that you knowparts of Asheville, where some
of our supplies came from, youknow, would be destroyed.
I mean, that was, you know,when we were getting our
(26:24):
bearings, we were looking leftand right to see, okay, what's
next, what do we do next?
And it was just, you know, onething after the other and things
that we would never imagine,and it's, um, you know, when
you're going through that andyou have to compartmentalize.
(26:46):
Okay, how do I focus on thisobjective for staying in this
lane of you know my business.
How do I focus on staying in mylane?
What do I need to do for thetourism community?
What do I need to do forvisitors that are in our area
(27:15):
and don't have a clue how to getback home?
You know all the roads thatthey were going to.
You know they were eitherclosed or something was
prohibited from them from goingthrough the way they got home or
to wherever they needed to go.
So how do we, as a community,make sure that we know how to
(27:42):
help people in need in all thoselanes?
and stay objective to that.
Absolutely, like I said, we'reassessing and trying to figure
out.
It's absolutely.
You know, like I said, we'rewe're assessing and trying to
figure out what's next.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
So what are some of your favorite things to do in
Bryson city?
Speaker 3 (28:03):
Yeah, um, I, I love Christmas.
Here we are.
Bryson city is a hallmark,picturesque Christmas.
Here we are, bryson City is ahallmark, picturesque Christmas
town.
We have Polar Express and thatstarts usually the first to
second week in November and itruns all the way through, I
(28:25):
believe, the first week inJanuary and we go all out for
Christmas.
So we, our town is, has so manylights, we're all decorated um,
all of all of downtown and itjust when you walk through it
just feels like you're in amovie set and there is this
(28:57):
feeling in the air of justlevity and coziness and just the
kind of Christmas magic.
I love our town during Christmas.
I'm so proud of our town duringChristmas and what we do during
that.
I love the outdoors, what wehave to offer for outdoors.
We hike and we will never getthrough all of the trails and
all the options that we have inour area because it's just so
(29:19):
plentiful and the season'schanging.
It's just like no other and,being in the Great Smoky
Mountains as a town, we'resurrounded by the mountains and
the park.
It's just a unique setting thatyou're fully immersed in the
(29:42):
park and that's a different kindof experience, with all the
seasons and everything that ithas to offer.
I love that.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
I personally am ready for the holiday season and
decorations.
I've already told my husband hehas to pull everything out of
the attic this weekend, eventhis early.
I usually don't decorate thisearly, but I'm just, you know,
after the last couple of monthsI'm just, I'm just ready for to
just put it all up and just haveit for longer this year.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
Yes, you are not the only one.
We put our tree up two weeksago.
We haven't decorated it, but weput it up and I know probably
80% of my friends and people inthe area say the same thing.
We're choosing Christmas.
We're getting the Holly Jollyfeeling.
We're just going to make itlast a little bit yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
You know it's ready for my.
It's meant candles.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
It's the small things in life and we just, it's time
to take advantage of it.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
Absolutely so.
If our viewers or listenerswould like to find your boutique
, how could they find you online?
Yeah, so.
Speaker 3 (31:01):
I am on, uh, all social media, so we're on
Facebook, Instagram and Tik TOK,Um.
You'll see all of our littlefunny videos on there.
Our website is also online.
It is shophumanitycom, and ifyou see the way that we spell,
or that I spell, humanity, it'sa little different.
(31:22):
It's actually the Frenchtranslation of humanity, so it
is.
It's H U M A N I T-N-I-T-E, andthe reason I chose that is
because I wanted it to be when.
I wanted to catch people'sattention and say why that's
different.
I want to know more about that,but then also to bring a
(31:47):
thought that leads to morequestions of why are you?
You know what's this?
It seems like a global store.
You have a lot of differentthings.
What does this mean?
And that would be somethingthat I could talk about for
giving locally and globally.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
I absolutely love that and I'll make sure to link
to your website and social mediaand the notes of this episode.
So I have one more question foryou, and do you have a favorite
quote or any words of wisdom orany advice that you would like
to leave behind?
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Yes, I do have a favorite quote and I saw this
years ago.
My kids were one, maybe two,and I was getting out of that
first initial mom fog and wastrying to figure out, okay,
what's next in life and business.
And everything's changed, howdo we navigate this?
And I saw a sign in a store andI bought it and then I I it's
in my office and it says shedesigned a life she loved.
And I one day, probably acouple of months ago, my husband
(33:09):
said, saw the sign and said,wow, you really have done that.
And I thought that's the bestcompliment that I've ever
received because it's somethingwhere it fits in all facets of
life yes, design the beauty ofhome, design and clothing and
(33:31):
gifts, but also, moreimportantly, it's the.
What kind of life do I want tolead?
What kind of impact do I wantto leave for my kids and for my
community?
Something that I designed, thatwas designed by who I am.
What is true to me in the senseof you know the business that I
(33:59):
want to create and leave?
What type of legacy do I wantto leave?
Leave for my friends and family?
And it's something that I wantto uniquely be from me.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
That's amazing.
I love that you are such abright light and I'm so glad
that you took time to be with me.
Also, we just have to give umspecial kudos to your husband
for recognizing and appreciatingyou and noticing the sign.
I think that's really good.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
He's really good at that.
He notices the little things.
It was really pretty amazing.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
That's awesome.
Thank you so much for chattingwith me today and sharing a
little bit about your experienceover the last couple of months
and also talking about yourcommunity, and I am excited to
come and visit soon and spendsome time with you all, and
maybe I need to do it during theChristmas season.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
Yes, you will get that warm, holly, jolly feeling.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, I really appreciateit.
Thank you so much for having me.
Everyone has a story to tell.
We connect and relate to oneanother when we share our
stories.
My name is Amelia Old and I amyour host of Voices of
Inspiration.
Join me as I share stories offriends, family and strangers
from my everyday life andtravels.
We will laugh, possibly cry orwalk away, feeling connected
more than ever to those aroundyou and ready to be the change
(00:24):
our world needs.
Everyone has a story to tell.
What's yours?
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Thank you so much for taking time to be with me today
.
I know that it's a weekend andyou're getting ready to go out
of town.
A lot of things going on so Iappreciate you taking time to
share a little bit of your storywith me.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Yeah, I'm more than happy to.
Thank you so much for having me, so let's just jump right into
it.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Can you just start off by telling us a little bit
about yourself and your businessin Bryson City, North Carolina?
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah, so I am a wife and a mom, I have 10-year-old
twins and I own HumanityBoutique.
It's in Bryson City.
I had started it 14 years ago.
We're going into our 15th year,which is wild to think about,
and as anyone that has been insmall business or been an
(01:32):
entrepreneur, you know that 14years is a lifetime in that
world and you know it's a rollercoaster.
Every year is different.
I am originally from BrysonCity.
I was gone for about 10 years.
We lived in other cities and Ihad different jobs and we moved
back here purposely to raise ourkids here.
(01:54):
And, yeah, that's when Istarted humanity.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
So can you talk about how your experience with
humanitarian work has influencedyour perspective on life in
this business that you havecreated?
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Yeah, I think that, like I said, being a small
business owner is one of themost difficult careers I think
that anyone could pick.
I mean, it's not easy, but it'svery fulfilling.
A constant thought as anentrepreneur is how can I serve
the community that I'm incurrently?
Because they, you know, thoseare my friends, those are my
(02:35):
neighbors, that's my family,those are people I've known for
all of my life.
So, having a real local, umsense of community as well as
what is happening in the worldat large, so I wanted to provide
a way, um where, that provide abusiness.
(02:58):
That was that was at front ofmind about you know what, what
do we need locally and and what,what?
Where can we give back?
Where can we help?
And 14 years ago, there weren'tany clothing boutiques and
there probably weren't anyclothing boutiques all the way
through until, you know, 45minutes from here, and I came
(03:19):
from a place that that's justwhere we shopped.
So I saw this opening and Ithought this is this would be
great here and I can alsocombine a need for our community
, but I can also use it as a wayto give back through different
experiences that I've had in mylife and then also to my local
(03:42):
community.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
I love that.
I love that.
I think that is really specialthat you kept your community in
mind.
I'm really big on giving backto the communities that we visit
, and so I really appreciatethat and I think that that is a
really great thing that you aredoing.
What's one way that Bryson Cityhas changed or grown since
(04:07):
you've started your boutique?
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Oh yeah, such a great question.
It has changed and grown leapsand bounds for the better.
One great thing about BrysonCity is we will never be a large
, sprawling metropolis.
80% of our county is park, soit's federal land, so it will
(04:34):
never be a, you know, aGatlinburg or a Pigeon Forge,
and we love that.
We are a small town, we have thesmall hometown feel.
We are a small town.
We have the small hometown feel.
We have a great downtown andwhat has changed about it is the
quality of things.
(04:55):
You know, I am from here, I wasraised here, and you know the
80s and the 90s looked a lotdifferent than it does now,
because now we have qualitythings.
We have great shops.
It's amazing what we can findin the local stores.
Here I mean stuff that youwould buy online that you
(05:15):
normally wouldn't find in asmall town.
We have such great amenities inthat sense.
We have great restaurants.
People that are coming inreally care about the area.
You know you usually don't moveto a small town, especially
beside a national park, unlessyou really want to be there and
(05:37):
you really want to embrace.
You know a little bit of aslower lifestyle and you want to
embrace the outdoors.
So it's really cool to see howmuch it has changed since
growing up here, and it's greatto see people that really care
about the area and want tocontinue that just quality of
(06:01):
things coming in here and reallycurating what we have to offer.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
So back in September, your community and surrounding
communities in Western NorthCarolina got hit by Hurricane
Helene and caused a lot ofdevastation, a lot of challenges
.
And caused a lot of devastation, a lot of challenges, and a lot
of people in surroundingcommunities to Bryson City are
(06:31):
still in the midst of picking uptheir life.
Essentially, Can you talk alittle bit about your experience
in those first couple of days,as you know, just as a resident
of Bryson City, but as abusiness owner as well, yeah,
(06:52):
those first couple of days werejust a lot, when the we knew a
storm was coming in and we justdidn't know to what degree and
when.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
When the storm hit and everything happened so
quickly that first day it we noone in Western North Carolina
thought the waters were going torise that high.
I certainly didn't think it was.
I was watching Noah, um, thathas the the river uh
measurements.
(07:30):
I was watching that hourly.
Um, the day before, I mean daysbefore, and the morning of and
um, it just happened so quicklythat, um, so quickly that, um,
(07:52):
seeing being down at the storeand seeing the waters rise, as
we were, you know, putting up uhsandbags and and doing all that
was, was terrible.
The great thing is Bryson citywas spared a lot of what
happened east of us, in theother parts of Western North
Carolina.
I mean, we were able to open up, you know, just a few days
(08:13):
after it happened, the stores Iopened up eight days later after
cleanup, um, it, with thecommunications that were down
for those just few days, it wastrying to figure out you know
what is what was happeningelsewhere.
Um, Western North Carolina isit's made up of a lot of
(08:37):
different counties there's.
There's actually eightdifferent.
There's eight counties West ofAsheville and and we're part of
that, um, and so each county hadvarying degrees of of flooding,
some, some none, some, um, thatwere spared, most like us, like
(08:58):
Swain County, um, but thenthere was Asheville and Boone
and, um, those larger counties,um, and the thing about Western
North Carolina is, um, we,everyone that lived here in that
during that time, you know, ifyou're from Western North
Carolina, no one was, um, no onewas untouched by that.
(09:24):
Because we're being fromWestern North Carolina,
asheville is kind of like ourtown square.
You know, when we have to go toTarget, we go to Asheville when
we have, you know, doctorsthere and I have different
stores that I shop at.
So that's our town square in asense.
That's our town square in asense.
(09:57):
And seeing something like thathappen, you know, further east
of us, especially in Waynesvilleand Canton, everyone in western
North Carolina was just thrownthrough a loop.
I mean it was really hard towatch, especially when, like I
said, bryson City was spared somuch damage and it really only
hit our downtown and you knowother parts that were on the
river.
But, like I said, we were ableto clean up very quickly and
seeing, you know, the townsfurther east of us seeing that
(10:20):
happen, it was almost like forpeople in Bryson city and other
parts of Western North Carolina,it was almost like survivor's
guilt.
You know, we wanted to, we justcouldn't believe this was
happening and we wanted to help.
And you know there are businessowners that, um, we all reached
out to in that area and youknow what can we do?
How can we help?
(10:41):
Um, it was just that part wasreally difficult to watch and
it's still difficult for formost people.
Um, the really great thing isthat I saw come out of it as
such a horrible situation isthat sense of community.
My store is located on Everettstreet and that's where a
(11:02):
majority of it happened.
The, the business owners, allof us that were in that row of
where we had water come in.
We just banded together andabsolutely what it was whatever
anyone needed, somebody got.
We had people show up that justtook my trash away, took away
(11:29):
all the stuff that I had to takeout and that I needed to take
to the dumpster.
One day I showed up and itwasn't there.
And same for my neighbors.
One day I showed up and itwasn't there.
And same for my neighbors theyhad when they took out their
floors it was someone showed upand said I'll take it to the
dump for you.
It was amazing to see.
It was one of those momentswhere you know you collectively
(11:56):
have to take a minute to to getyour bearings and figure out
what's happening from a businessstandpoint.
And our community, our businesscommunity and our and our local
community really just wasimpressive and kind and um
(12:17):
really just made me really proudto be from here.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
You know I've heard a lot of different stories from
people over the last few weeksthat really stand out to them,
specific moments of workingtogether and people coming
together or people from otherstates coming in.
And I mentioned in anotherepisode that I was working on
(12:46):
donations for the Banner Elkarea and I had people donate
things from as far away asEngland and I just thought that
that was absolutely incredibleto watch people from literally
all over the world.
And I know that there are manymoments for you, but is there
(13:08):
one particular moment that youcan share during all of this
that just kind of did stop youin your tracks?
That just kind of did stop youin your tracks, like you
mentioned about your um, youknow, the other businesses in
town coming together.
Is there another moment whetherit was someone coming from out
(13:28):
of town to to help out orsomething you saw in one of the
neighboring communities thatjust really just gave you hope?
Speaker 3 (13:38):
Yeah, um, two instances stand out and um, I'm
going to try not to cry causeit's just, you know, one of
those things, but um, the, the.
So it happened on Friday and on, uh, we were able to go back
into the store and kind ofassess and figure out and, um,
(14:02):
what was happening?
And you know, my husband and Iwent in there and we looked at
everything and we both said wecan do this, we, we've got this.
Um, and then that night all ofus that could be there, that
could be on Everett Street, allthe business owners, after we
(14:23):
went into each of our stores toassess what was happening,
everybody walked out and we wentto each store and just started
getting water out.
And just started getting waterout, I had my 10-year-old kids
were with me and my husband andwe and my parents have stores on
(14:44):
the same street and we hadneighbors that showed up from
stores on other streets and allof us just went from store to
store with brooms and squeegeesand we're getting all of the
water out.
And my neighbors to the rightof me it's the honey bear and
the chocolate shop they couldn'tget there because they were in
(15:07):
Waynesville, which is furthereast, so their father was there
and we just went in there andjust started working.
And we just went in there andjust started working and it was.
It was just so beautiful to seeum, you know, we're there at 11
(15:33):
o'clock at night and um, mykids get to see what it is to be
part of a beautiful communityand just go from store to store
and and help you know alleverybody that was going through
stuff, um getting the water outand helping them clean up.
And then that next day, um, whenwe were trying to figure out
what you know what our nextsteps you know it's my first
(15:54):
flood I didn't know what youknow, what do I do with this?
And I had a person that I usefor carpet cleaning and for
commercial cleaning.
My door was locked and I lookedup and he was knocking and he
(16:15):
said I know you couldn't reachme because cell service is down.
I wanted to come here and askyou what you needed and I just
was holy cow, I just could notbelieve that.
He drove from almost an houraway and said what do you need?
And he was the one that had allthe commercial clean out items.
(16:40):
I mean, he's the one that hadthe fans and the, and I and I
wasn't even, you know, I hadeveryone else had worse damage
than I did, and so it was backto that whole survivor's guilt
thing.
You know, gosh, other peoplehave it so much worse, but I've
also got to do this.
And he showed up for us and Iwas able to get that equipment
(17:04):
in in that day and I justthought this, this is community
and this is the people that makethe world go round.
This is the people that makethe world go round.
There's so much good out thereI mean there, there really is.
And I had a, a friend that wastexting me the the day of
(17:28):
everything and she couldn't getahold of me because she was
asking about the store, and shecouldn't get ahold of me because
the cell service was down.
So she just came down toEverett Street to see what, to
see what if something hadhappened, if I need anything.
I just thought what.
That is amazing.
(17:48):
People are so good and there'snothing like this community.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Mm.
Hmm, it's definitely a littlebit of shining light and a very
dark moment in in your communityand a lot of communities, and I
think one thing that you'vementioned a couple times is like
you've even got me emotionaltoo.
I think one thing that you havepeople's focuses change.
(18:50):
Life happens.
It's not on the news as much.
It's not on the news as much,and there are some places that
are still very much trying topick it all back.
I continue to use this phrase,picking up the pieces, but it's
true.
And so I'm glad that, even inthe midst of the unknown and the
(19:18):
challenge and the fear that I'msure that you were going
through, that there was a littlebit of that light there and a
reminder of you probably felt.
I'm really glad that I movedback to Bryson City to be among
this community.
Yeah, to.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
Bryson City to be among this community.
Yeah, I mean, I genuinely don'tknow where else this would
happen and I don't know whereelse a community like Bryson
City can come together, but thenalso a community like Western
(19:58):
North Carolina community likeWestern North Carolina, where we
can all the counties and thecities that weren't hurt as bad
as the ones east of us and thatare, you know, are back up and
running, we can take all of ourresources and send it east, and
I don't I just I don't know anyother community that's like that
(20:20):
.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
I agree.
Were there any surprisinglessons or insights that you
gained from this experience?
I know that the biggest onewould be how do we go?
How would we go through oureveryday lives without being
able to communicate in the waythat we're used to?
(20:44):
I think that that is a commonone that I've heard been told.
Read Aside from that, are thereany other lessons or insights
that you have from thisexperience?
What are there any?
Speaker 3 (20:59):
other lessons or insights that you have from this
experience?
I think we're still.
I think we're still assessingand we're still going through
things and trying to figure outwhat, what could we have done
better, what do we need to learnfrom this?
You know, not only as abusiness owner, but as a member
(21:22):
of our business community and asa parent, and you know just,
we're all still thinking aboutwhat could have gone better,
what changes need to be made.
There were people realizing us,realizing that and where we're
(21:48):
located, where Bryson City islocated is, you know, western
North Carolina doesn't stop atAsheville and so realizing, oh,
people think that you knowBryson City is Asheville or
Bryson City is in that area.
And realizing, oh, they don'trealize, you know there's other,
(22:08):
like I said, there's eightother counties west of Asheville
, that's, you know, a big chunkof Western North Carolina.
So realizing that as a businessand also as a tourism community
, that, oh, okay, we need tocommunicate that better Because
God forbid anything else everhappened we can help people
(22:32):
navigate that.
And you know where the locationis.
I, you know, surprising I,there's always really good and
really bad.
That happens out of any type ofsituation and really teaching
(22:55):
myself and telling myself overand over again and other people
that were in that you know wereinvolved in the flooding to look
at the good, because you knowpeople are people that aren't,
you know getting there rollingtheir sleeves up and getting
dirty and doing the work.
They're not the ones that are,you know being saying mean
(23:19):
things or being, you know beinga keyboard warrior.
They're the people that aredoing the work and the ones that
are doing that are helpingtheir neighbor and the ones that
are actually seeing what theycan do.
They aren't.
They're the ones doing the good.
They're the ones they're notthe ones that are criticizing or
(23:40):
comparing or, you know, givingopinion that doesn't need to be,
doesn't need to be given.
So reminding myself to focus onthe good because there's way
more good and then helping andand bring that attention to
everybody else who's goingthrough the same thing.
Look at the good.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
It's so much better, it's and there's so much more of
it Absolutely One thing thatyou mentioned earlier about you
know you guys are still kind ofabout.
You know you guys are still kindof reassessing what happened
and the response and what to do,you know if there was a next
(24:22):
time with this.
And I think one thing isimportant for those watching or
listening who might not be asfamiliar with the area nothing
like this had ever one this farinland in the carolinas had seen
anything like like that um.
(25:00):
You know especially themountain areas and so naturally
there wouldn't have been thesekind of um, there wouldn't have
been a handbook in place, therewouldn't have been.
This is what we do if thishappens, because no one ever
thought something like thatwould happen.
And I think that that'simportant to mention because
(25:22):
there's no way that you guyscould have said, okay, well, if
this is coming, well, we know weneed to have this in place
Whereas you know on the coast,they kind of know in the days to
come not that it makes it anybetter of any damage that they
(25:43):
go through, but having thesandbags and things like that
and kind of knowing what to doto prepare it's difficult to
prepare for something thatyou've never in your lifetime
experienced in your community.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
We never thought that the waters were going to rise
that high.
We never thought cell servicewould be down for a couple of
days.
We never thought that you knowparts of Asheville, where some
of our supplies came from, youknow, would be destroyed.
I mean, that was, you know,when we were getting our
(26:24):
bearings, we were looking leftand right to see, okay, what's
next, what do we do next?
And it was just, you know, onething after the other and things
that we would never imagine,and it's, um, you know, when
you're going through that andyou have to compartmentalize.
(26:46):
Okay, how do I focus on thisobjective for staying in this
lane of you know my business.
How do I focus on staying in mylane?
What do I need to do for thetourism community?
What do I need to do forvisitors that are in our area
(27:15):
and don't have a clue how to getback home?
You know all the roads thatthey were going to.
You know they were eitherclosed or something was
prohibited from them from goingthrough the way they got home or
to wherever they needed to go.
So how do we, as a community,make sure that we know how to
(27:42):
help people in need in all thoselanes?
and stay objective to that.
Absolutely, like I said, we'reassessing and trying to figure
out.
It's absolutely.
You know, like I said, we'rewe're assessing and trying to
figure out what's next.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
So what are some of your favorite things to do in
Bryson city?
Speaker 3 (28:03):
Yeah, um, I, I love Christmas.
Here we are.
Bryson city is a hallmark,picturesque Christmas.
Here we are, bryson City is ahallmark, picturesque Christmas
town.
We have Polar Express and thatstarts usually the first to
second week in November and itruns all the way through, I
(28:25):
believe, the first week inJanuary and we go all out for
Christmas.
So we, our town is, has so manylights, we're all decorated um,
all of all of downtown and itjust when you walk through it
just feels like you're in amovie set and there is this
(28:57):
feeling in the air of justlevity and coziness and just the
kind of Christmas magic.
I love our town during Christmas.
I'm so proud of our town duringChristmas and what we do during
that.
I love the outdoors, what wehave to offer for outdoors.
We hike and we will never getthrough all of the trails and
all the options that we have inour area because it's just so
(29:19):
plentiful and the season'schanging.
It's just like no other and,being in the Great Smoky
Mountains as a town, we'resurrounded by the mountains and
the park.
It's just a unique setting thatyou're fully immersed in the
(29:42):
park and that's a different kindof experience, with all the
seasons and everything that ithas to offer.
I love that.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
I personally am ready for the holiday season and
decorations.
I've already told my husband hehas to pull everything out of
the attic this weekend, eventhis early.
I usually don't decorate thisearly, but I'm just, you know,
after the last couple of monthsI'm just, I'm just ready for to
just put it all up and just haveit for longer this year.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
Yes, you are not the only one.
We put our tree up two weeksago.
We haven't decorated it, but weput it up and I know probably
80% of my friends and people inthe area say the same thing.
We're choosing Christmas.
We're getting the Holly Jollyfeeling.
We're just going to make itlast a little bit yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
You know it's ready for my.
It's meant candles.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
It's the small things in life and we just, it's time
to take advantage of it.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
Absolutely so.
If our viewers or listenerswould like to find your boutique
, how could they find you online?
Yeah, so.
Speaker 3 (31:01):
I am on, uh, all social media, so we're on
Facebook, Instagram and Tik TOK,Um.
You'll see all of our littlefunny videos on there.
Our website is also online.
It is shophumanitycom, and ifyou see the way that we spell,
or that I spell, humanity, it'sa little different.
(31:22):
It's actually the Frenchtranslation of humanity, so it
is.
It's H U M A N I T-N-I-T-E, andthe reason I chose that is
because I wanted it to be when.
I wanted to catch people'sattention and say why that's
different.
I want to know more about that,but then also to bring a
(31:47):
thought that leads to morequestions of why are you?
You know what's this?
It seems like a global store.
You have a lot of differentthings.
What does this mean?
And that would be somethingthat I could talk about for
giving locally and globally.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
I absolutely love that and I'll make sure to link
to your website and social mediaand the notes of this episode.
So I have one more question foryou, and do you have a favorite
quote or any words of wisdom orany advice that you would like
to leave behind?
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Yes, I do have a favorite quote and I saw this
years ago.
My kids were one, maybe two,and I was getting out of that
first initial mom fog and wastrying to figure out, okay,
what's next in life and business.
And everything's changed, howdo we navigate this?
And I saw a sign in a store andI bought it and then I I it's
in my office and it says shedesigned a life she loved.
And I one day, probably acouple of months ago, my husband
(33:09):
said, saw the sign and said,wow, you really have done that.
And I thought that's the bestcompliment that I've ever
received because it's somethingwhere it fits in all facets of
life yes, design the beauty ofhome, design and clothing and
(33:31):
gifts, but also, moreimportantly, it's the.
What kind of life do I want tolead?
What kind of impact do I wantto leave for my kids and for my
community?
Something that I designed, thatwas designed by who I am.
What is true to me in the senseof you know the business that I
(33:59):
want to create and leave?
What type of legacy do I wantto leave?
Leave for my friends and family?
And it's something that I wantto uniquely be from me.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
That's amazing.
I love that you are such abright light and I'm so glad
that you took time to be with me.
Also, we just have to give umspecial kudos to your husband
for recognizing and appreciatingyou and noticing the sign.
I think that's really good.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
He's really good at that.
He notices the little things.
It was really pretty amazing.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
That's awesome.
Thank you so much for chattingwith me today and sharing a
little bit about your experienceover the last couple of months
and also talking about yourcommunity, and I am excited to
come and visit soon and spendsome time with you all, and
maybe I need to do it during theChristmas season.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
Yes, you will get that warm, holly, jolly feeling.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, I really appreciateit.
Thank you so much for having me.
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