Dennis W. Haire

A couple of In Memory notes: 

Mike Poole - Sorry to hear of Mike's passing.  I looked back at a couple of old Northside picture books (the type where you exchanged pictures with friends and pasted them into your book) and in the two I had from 5th grade and 6th grade, there was Mike's pictures.  If I am correct, I believe his family lived down the street from Northside Baptist Church.  He was nice guy and we shared many classes at Northside.  I had not seen him since high school but had heard from someone that he had lost his eyesight.  Sounds like he did not let that hold him back.  The obituary I saw said he had earned a PhD.

Tom Weaver - Sorry to hear that Tom is no longer with us.  Tom was a year ahead of us but I remember having to face him on the Little League baseball field,  He played for Kawanis and I played for Industrial.  Tom was a great pitcher and almost no one got a hit off of him.  He struck me out but a did foul off one or two.  I was pleased with that effort.  He was also a really good football player and spent many years in coaching.

Kay Manning (Elrod)

Aretha: Years ago we went to see Aretha at the Belk Center with some friends.  She was the kind of performer who came to entertain an audience without all the glitz and glamour of acrobats, bungee jumpers, or fireworks.  She just stood in one spot at belted out the music. She didn't even need a microphone.  Pure talent!  There is no one performing today with the voice, range or power that Aretha had.  Oddly, one of our friends fell asleep during the concert and no one knew how he could sleep through a song of hers. (He was old!)

My dad loved music and he had quite a collection of CDs. I remember one day shortly before he died he said, "Boy, that Aretha Franklin sure could sing!". I told him I knew that all those years ago when he was yelling at me to "TURN IT DOWN!" (I think I have told that story before.)

Imagine her singing with the Heavenly choir! 

Bob Finley

My brother attended the funeral of Tom Weaver. Although it was a long time ago, I remember Tom having a natural ability to play baseball. He was a good fisherman and an excellent coach. He will certainly was a first class individual. Rock Hill has turned out some great athletes and coaches. Tom Weaver and Jimmy [ Moose } Wallace as coaches. Such players Mason Rudolph and Jadaveon Clowney and the list goes on. I live in Gaffney but still to be a Bearcat! 

Bob Finley

Please forgive my errors in grammar. Did not proof read before I posted. I will try to do better!

Kay Manning (Elrod)

Thanks to all of you who sent prayers and support for my son in law on Facebook.  I am not on Facebook, but Becky shared your comments with me.  I can't thank you enough. 

Richard Heckle

Kay, I read about his situation but did not want to post on Facebook. My prayers for him and the entire family go out. I hope his recovery is full and fast. God Bless!

Kay Manning (Elrod)

Richard: Your concern and well wishes lift me up.  We have good days and bad. Yesterday was a good day. He received a package from Amazon that had everything one needs to get well - cookies, snacks, cards, a game book, bandaids, tissues, antibacterial soap and lots of other goodies. It was the best thing ever and really lifted his spirits.  The bad news is that there was no card enclosed.  The fact that he is pretty mobile is reassuring, but doesn't have company because he is contagious.  My daughter has been up to see him everyday but says she can't touch him and with the face mask on her glasses fog up and she can't see him, so it is discouraging for her to visit.  The "we" part of this is that those of us sitting on the sidelines don't have much information and we assume the worst.

Thanks, Richard, for your comforting thoughts and to ALL of you who have sent prayers and comments on Facebook. I can't tell you how much that means!

Bob Finley

Sorry to hear about your son- in- law but rest assured our prayers are with him and the family. Since God raised his Son Jesus Christ from the dead, He can likewise raise your son- in- law back to health. We just buried my precious mother yesterday at the age of 96. A long life but it still hurts. Thinking about your family and remember that GOD'S grace is always sufficient!

Kay Manning (Elrod)

For all you who have beach property from South Carolina to North Carolina, I wish you the best of luck. So many of you live at the beach now and probably have had to evacuate - Beckie, Donnie, Foster, Barbara, Richie, Rufus, and so many others.  As long as you are safe, that's all that matters. Houses and stuff can be replaced, but you are irreplaceable!  John Hunter, Ruth McAteer Lockridge, Patsy Rector, Jim Viola - wishing you luck.  Who else lives at the coast?

Ruth McAteer (Lockridge)

Thanks Kay.

Becky Armstrong (Helms)

Flo is on the go out of the Carolinas. Please let us know how you fared through this hurricane and later tropical storm.

My husband and I and our two cats live in SouthPark, Charlotte and only experienced steady rains and wind gusts. There are trees down in nearby areas that occurred yesterday. We feel fortunate that the sun is out today and we are okay. My brother (Class of '64) lives in the Columbia area and had a similar expereince there.

Becky

Kay Manning (Elrod)

Our backyard is in a flood plane. Sunday, the neighbors came out to inspect the potential catastrophe. By nightfall the water was up to our decks and was very deep with a rushing current. Luckily, by this morning it had all receded.  I told my husband there was nothing like a good hurricane to bring the neighbors out. We had a  steady stream of them down the driveway to look at the tsunami and we ventured out to check their damage. One of the neighbor's swingset was about to be pulled downstream until another neighbor came by in his kayak and asked if he could help.  He's just that kind of neighbor, always ready to help everyone. The swingset was saved and he paddled on his merry way.  We all survived!  Then, there was Oak Island. I can't get much information about the island, but I have heard several times that the island did very well with not much wind damage; however, yesterday there was severe flooding and I have not heard anything else.  I guess we will have to be patient a little longer. I did hear they never lost power, water, sewer or cable. .A friend who lives in Southport said oddly enough he had not heard of one broken window. We were all spared the wrath that fell on Wilmington. Pray for those people who will be underwater for days or weeks.  The city is cut off by two highways that were severely damaged and the Cape Fear will be cresting which will be further heartbreak for them all.

Jimmy Vick

All is well the the Brushy Mnts of NC. Less wind than I expected so no loss of trees. Rained for almost 2 days but never saw water, living up the side of a small mountain has advantages.......I guess

Becky Armstrong (Helms)

Good to hear from you Kay and Jimmy. We were spared compared to others on the Coast.  I hear Richmond, VA has had tornado warnings. Be well. Becky

Wayne Haselden

We are also safe. We had 6.87" of rain. There was some strong winds Sat. night. We had two large oak trees to blow over. We live in the woods so there are a lot of large trees in the front of our house. Fortunately, the trees that fell were of to the side of the house and about 150' away from the house. Other than that we had no damage. No water in the house, garage, or shop. Not even any water in the basement. We were very fortunate and blessed.

Becky Armstrong (Helms)

That was a lot of rain, Wayne. Glad all turned out well. Now for all the cleanup!

Kay Manning (Elrod)

Only damage at Oak Island is a small leak in roof over bedroom and all screens on porch blown out. The governor said not to return home to Brunswick, New Hanover, or Pender County due to roads closed. Any roads that are open are being used for emergency access.  Lots of flooding around the area. Southport still has no water.  Rivers are cresting and there will be more flooding. I told my husband this is God's way of humbling us and he agreed that it was very effective! So glad all of you have had minimal or no damage and that you are safe!

PS to Becky: On the Weather channel they showed the tornado near Richmond rip a roof off a bulding. Later said one was killed in that incident.

Becky Armstrong (Helms)

Thanks, Kay, for the update. I was wondering about your place. Guess we are lucky not to have tornadoes as in Richmond.

Kay Manning (Elrod)

The Charlotte Observer today did not paint a very pretty picture today of Longs where Ruth McAteer Lockridge lives.  Has anyone heard from her?  or Donnie Mussman in Georgetown? 

Ruth McAteer (Lockridge)

Good morning Kay.  I just saw your message this morning.  We are fine.  Our area was one of the worst for flooding after the hurricane.  No damage from hurricane but the flooding was devastating for many in our area.  We were blessed to not have any water damage at our house although we were evacuated (voluntarily) when flooding started in Longs, SC.  The National Guard came through our neighborhood, as well as other neighborhoods, and told us about the voluntary evacuation and that if we chose to stay, they would not be able to help us.  So we evacuated to our friend's condo during the nights but were able to come check on house during the day.  It got a little scary when the water got within about 14 feet of our house on Saturday.  Our streets were flooded in areas, one area was right in front of our house.  There had been conflicting reports about when the Waccamaw River would crest.  Some said over the weekend and some said the following Tuesday.  We knew if it didn't crest until Tuesday, we were doomed but luckily it started receding by inches on Saturday afternoon and we breathed a sigh of relief.  Some of the neighborhoods up and down Highway 9 were not so fortunate.  Houses were flooded up to windows and some higher.  Highway 9 is still closed because of a washout.  We aren't sure how long it will take to get it opened.  There was also a washout on highway 22 but it has been repaired and is now open.  At one point the only way in and out of the Grand Strand from North Myrtle Beach to Garden City was 2 lanes on Highway 501 (or go through Charleston to get to 95 but even 95 was closed at one point) because 17 (in NC), 22, 9, and even back roads that we have taken before were closed and some still are.  One of our neighbors who was visiting her daughter in Maryland came back during the evacuation and had to go to Charleston and was able to get in just before they closed 17 in Georgetown.

Thank you for checking on us.  We are fine.  God is good.

Ruth

Kay Manning (Elrod)

So glad to hear you are ok.  On the news at one point, they said there were residents in your area who were absolutely trapped with no way out until the waters receded.  I think they called this a 500-year flood event - and we have had two in two years.  Even though you were eventually able to go home, could you get to the grocery store to buy food - was there any available?  Or gas?  All those things were at the mercy of whether or not trucks could get in and out.  We had a near flooding at our house in Charlotte, McAlpine Creek runs way behind our house. The water came up to about 6 ft from our deck. I told my husband it was God's way of humbling us. He said "it's working!"  Those of my friends at the beach say the ocean is a horrible reddish-brown and filthy! I'm sure many have seen the satellite photos of the  sediment coming from the rivers. There is a photo on line of the ocean at Wrightsville Beach divided by a jetty - the right side is black and the left side is normal ocean - very impressive!  God bless you and hope all weill be back to normal soon!

Ruth McAteer (Lockridge)

Yes. Grocery stores were open and gas was available most places.  With people evacuating out, not many were left to shop.  The area near the ocean (especially Ocean Blvd.) was in very good shape.  No flooding and we were on the "good" side of the hurricane so no surge.  It was the hurricane residuals that were most damaging.  The hurricane sat on the coast of NC and flooded all the rivers in Southeastern NC and the water had no where to go but down stream causing flooding all the way to Georgetown although I don't think it was as bad as they had predicted for Georgetown by the time it got there.  Highway 9 is now open with 2 lanes (for couple of miles) instead of 4 but at least its open now.  On the side not opened it has a great big washout that is going to have to be repaired.  The water is still quite high in the Waccamaw River and the Aberdeen Golf Course is still under water and there are people without homes but I haven't heard of any deaths or casualties in our area from all this devastation which is a blessing. Thanks for your concern.

Ruth

Barbara Bolden (Black)

Ed was in Grand Strand Hospital for over 4 weeks when the hurricane came.  The 318 patients were evacuated.  This was not the greatest of situations.  He was put on a medical bus and headed north.  I had to come home and close up the house and throw things in the car and head north myself.  Later in the evening they called and told me he was dropped off in Easley.  Rooms are hard to find with so many people evacuating. He did receive excellent care in Easley but the trip up wasn't good for him. My room rate was doubled over the weekend due to a ballgame in the area. We were there for 10 days and then an ambulance back to Grand Strand. Due to flooding roads I was told by the supervisor I could follow the ambulance but they left me so made the trip in myself.  Ed seemed to be improving some after a few days but slowly it turned for the worse.  He passed away Monday, October 1st.  I appreciate all that reached out and all the prayers.  The 7 weeks were some of the hardest I have had to endure.  My home had no major damage and feel that we were very lucky.  Savor each day you have and count your blessings.  Deanna Ratteree Nobles - thank you for reaching out.

Kay Manning (Elrod)

Oh Barbara, I'm so sorry to hear of your loss and all you had to endure.  You are in my prayers!

George Crow

So heartbreaking, Barbara.  I cannot imagine what the last weeks have been like.  May God give you special strength, peace and wisdom as you try to put a broken heart and damaged home back together.