Fave Five from 2023
/Each year, as the last post of the year, I undertake the impossible task of selecting my five favorite Flat Rock Together stories from the preceding 12 months. It is, of course, a task that is both arbitrary and unfair. Every story is valuable and should be celebrated in its own right. Stories are how we mark time, celebrate relationships, bestow accolades on the protagonists, and give meaning to our existence.
In short, stories are the building blocks of our life’s narrative. They are all foundational. They are all important.
And with that disclaimer, we present our five favorite stories of 2023.
Building a Rainbow
Little Rainbow Row is now such a common phrase in the local lexicon, it is easy to assume that the colorful moniker applied to the village business district has always been a part of the historic tapestry of Flat Rock. In reality, however, the brightly painted buildings that define Little Rainbow Row are a relatively new addition to the Village’s already colorful 216-year history.
Historic Tuxedo
Just down the road from Flat Rock is Tuxedo, North Carolina, the heart of the Green River Township. Once a vibrant mill village, Tuxedo was founded in 1907 by Joseph Oscar Bell, Sr. The pioneering businessman orchestrated the building of the mill village and the making of a dam above Green River Falls to power his textile mill, Green River Manufacturing Company.
This is the story of the historic town that grew up around his mill.
The Society of Necessity
The advanced guard of a winter storm loomed on the horizon as I struggled to upright his fallen tombstone. The rose-colored granite resisted my first attempts to lift it back into place. Determined to see his name, I gave the ponderous stone one last heave and it slowly returned to its base – crooked and off-center, but upright, nonetheless. There, slightly discolored from resting the red North Carolina clay, I could now read his name.
“Hello, Henry,” I whispered into the wind. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Shadow of a Wheel
Paul Bonesteel, age 57, still rides his bike on the backroads and trails of western North Carolina. On sunny days, when he looks down at the pavement below his bike, he sees the shadow of his wheel spinning towards the crest of the next hill or the next bend in the road. And each time he sees that shadow, Paul is invariably taken back to the summer of 1982 when he was a teenager making an epic journey that would be one of the defining moments of his life.
It was an experience so transformative that 40 years later Paul Bonesteel still points to that summer as one of the most consequential of his life.
Photographing the Soul
After 20 years in Miami, photographer Jaime Seymour-Newton resolved it was time to marry together her passions for photography, animals, and the mountains of North Carolina. She discussed the idea with her husband Rupert and made her case for the move to a new home. “I said to my husband, ‘Let’s have an adventure.’” He agreed and together they embarked on an adventure that eventually brought Jaime Seymour-Newton Photography to Flat Rock.
OK. So picking five favorites is impossible … and a disservice to all the other great stories of 2023.
Others too good not to mention:
The Legend of Abraham Kuykendall
Old Friends on a New Adventure
Thank you for another amazing year in Flat Rock. Your stories make a wonderful place to live all the more inviting. Wishing you a Happy New Year in 2024 - a year filled with more great stories about the people, places, and events in Flat Rock.
-BH
