For the first time in three years, the Village of Flat Rock held its traditional Ice Cream Social just a few yards away from the great expanse of flat rock that gave the Village its name in the early 1800s.

Speculation holds that the "great flat rock" was both a navigational landmark and a meeting place for early Native Americans, and later for the European settlers, that found their way to the mountains of western North Carolina.

“The flat rock was on one of the Cherokee trading paths,” said Freeman Owl of Cherokee during an interview in the mid-1990s. “It was used as a meeting place, where different tribes would come together to settle disputes and trade.”

  Owl said the Cherokee in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee would trade with the Cherokee in the lowlands of South Carolina and Georgia and also with the Catawba Indians at the flat rock. “The trading would take several days, so entire families would come,” he said.

Henderson Heritage.com  
Flat Rock  by Jennie Giles

Centuries later, the current-day residents of the village gathered again to celebrate their community, their history, and their good fortune to live in such a beautiful place with the revival of the Village Ice Cream Social.

Area residents enjoyed live music by The Apple Country String Band, hot dogs, popcorn, lemonade, and the aforementioned ice cream and just generally reveled in the opportunity to be together again after a long and challenging pandemic.

Village Council Member, Matt Toner, served as emcee for the day’s festivities and was particularly happy to see smiling faces after two years of wearing masks at public events. He also loved the chance for residents to gather to celebrate the place they live. “How many towns in America can get together like this?” he asked. "It’s great spending time with your friends and neighbors, listening to good music, visiting with baby goats, and learning more about some of the organizations that help make the place you live so wonderful.”

Flat Rock firefighter Haley Hrabar (in sunglasses) and her extended family enjoy the food and festivities.

Haley Hrabar, a firefighter who works at the recently upgraded Village fire station, was in attendance with her extended family and enjoying an event that had something for all ages. “I love this,” she smiled. “It’s a blessing to have the new fire station and an event like this right next door.”

Sandburg Park Superintendent, Polly Angelakis, joined two of her Park Rangers and several volunteers from Friends of Carl Sandburg in introducing two of her park’s newest residents - baby goats Nix and Newsie. To say the baby goats were a hit would be a considerable understatement and the rangers and volunteers clearly played a distant second fiddle to the real furry stars of the day. “There’s an old quote,” Polly said with a smile. “‘Never go on stage with a goat or a kid’. And I like to add, especially when they are the same thing!”

The Ice Cream Social was actually Nix’s last day with that particular name. The Friends of Carl Sandburg held a “Name the Goat” raffle to raise funds for their programs, with the winner getting to rename the young buck. The baby goat formerly known as Nix will henceforth be called "Nolan" - the name proposed by raffle winner James Irvin of Toccoa, Ga.

Several other local organizations were represented during the event, including The Flat Rock Merchants Association, Friends of The Park at Flat Rock, The Ladies Aid Society, and Master Gardeners with the NC Cooperative Extension.

Noah George was serving hot dogs on behalf of the Merchants Association and was thankful for the chance to be back at a community-wide event. “Community is critical for every type of business and being here today is a great way to support our community, see old friends, and just have a great day being together.” Looking around at the happy faces in the crowd, he added, “We get to celebrate the gorgeous place we live.”

Neighbors brought lawn chairs and found shady spots beneath the tall trees on the grounds of Village Hall. Friends, Gary, Susan, Gloria, and John, spent an enjoyable afternoon catching up, listening to The Apple Country String Band, and eating the free ice cream. “One of our neighbors is playing in the band,” pointed out Gloria. “I like the small-town feel of the event,” added John. “It’s a nice place to meet people and the food is great.”

As the celebration began to wind down and friends and neighbors started to drift away, it was evident that the day had been an unqualified success. After a three-year hiatus, the Village of Flat Rock once again enjoyed the opportunity to continue the centuries-old legacy of meetings held on “the great flat rock.”

In the end, it would be hard to argue with those that hold the belief that there is something magical about this place we call home.