Resiliency and compassion filled the town of Marshall as locals welcomed back visitors seven months after Hurricane Helene ravaged the “Magic Town.”
Helene left the town of less than 1,000 residents with destroyed businesses and homes along Main Street in the downtown area. The adjacent French Broad River crested at over 20 feet.
Residents and volunteers immediately took action by helping clean mud and debris that littered the area.
Despite the lingering signs of Helene’s wrath, the town hosted Marshall Magic Days. A celebration of the town’s reopening took place May 1 to 4.
Josh Copus, owner of Old Marshall Jail and Zadie's Market, said Helene left his businesses covered in 11.5 feet of water. Copus was able to renovate both of his places in seven months.
He told BPR it’s time for people to come back while acknowledging the recovery efforts are ongoing.
“ We are reopening as best we can,” Copus said. “I like to highlight the successes and the progress that we've made while just being very clear and real with the entire world that we are not okay still.”
Visitors and residents were able to enjoy Zadie’s Market and other businesses like Zuma Coffee, Mad Co. Brew House, and Main Street Comics and Games.
One of those residents was Sarah Jones Decker, a local artist who has lived in Marshall on and off since 2003.
“ If you didn't know, it looks like nothing has happened,” Decker said. “We've all worked so hard to get here. We know how different it is and what it took to get there, but it's really emotional to be down here and see how far we've come.”
Decker owned a second-floor art studio on Blannahassett Island, a 10-acre island in the French Broad River, which was severely impacted by Helene.
She told BPR that she wasn’t affected directly, but the businesses that stocked her work were washed away.
“As a working artist that's lived here for almost 20 years, I lost all of my commercial accounts,” Decker explained. “All the businesses that I had stocked with my books and artwork, all washed away.”
As lives, homes, and businesses in Marshall continue through the long recovery process, Copus wants people to know their story is one of resilience and compassion.
“From the minute the storm happened, I think we all went through this realization that the stuff is not what matters,” Copus said. The people make the place, and we've got the best people. We are not destroyed. We made a commitment to staying here. This is our home.”
