We didn’t think as much about the future then as much as we do now. The future was something that just came…We didn’t worry as so much about tomorrow because tomorrow always seemed to take care of itself.

God willing, and the creek don’t rise. Except, this time, it did.

The words above were spoken by Joe Easterly back in 1983 for a story that ran in The Greenville Sun. He was interviewed by editor-at-large Bob Hurley about the time in his youth he spent toting water across the Nolichucky River for the workers building a dam for the Tennessee Eastern Electric Company.

Easterly, born in 1904, was only eight years old when he started rowing across the river in a little blue canoe to fetch water from Jim Filler’s spring, which was, according to Easterly, the best water around. The dam, originally built to 35 feet, later extended to 70, was constructed from 1912-13. In 1942, the dam was purchased by East Tennessee Light & Power which then sold it to the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1945. The power plant was decommissioned in 1972.

Located in Greene County near Limestone due south of Greeneville, the dam was much in the news nearly two weeks ago when unprecedented flooding inundated most of northeast Tennessee. When TVA put out a condition red warning, that a dam breach could happen at any moment. For the record, you want to know well ahead of a breach actually happening and pray that it doesn’t. It didn’t. The 112-year-old dam held in the midst of epic flooding and devastation.

Th old powerhouse at Nolichucky Dam will be taken down due to extensive damage during the flood (Photo courtesy of TVA)

But TVA announced last week, amid ongoing inspections of the dam, that the old powerhouse would have to come down due to extensive damage obtained during the onslaught. There was an outcry on social media for the old station to be dismantled and preserved somehow elsewhere.

Adam May, senior media specialist for TVA, said that while crews have “taken great care to preserve the elements of the structure that can be preserved, but it is unlikely that it will be enough to reconstruct the building elsewhere because of the damage it has sustained.”

Meanwhile, TVA has installed a boom in Douglas Lake to contain the acres of debris that have flowed downstream with the floodwaters, and that it will not be removed any time in the near future. He said it is one of the largest boom deployments in TVA history and extends across the entire lake surface just above Dandridge at Mile 11 near Swanns Shoals.

“For the safety of everyone, we continue to advise the public to stay off the lake in this area until further notice. Boaters will not be able to pass through this location,” May wrote in an email response. “TVA Police, along with officers from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, will be on the water patrolling to help ensure safety, and signage is set up around the area of the boom.”

In the meantime, the entirety of the greater Knoxville metro area showed up and showed out in getting desperately needed supplies to our neighbors who have been so devasted. You may have noticed this week a bit of a pause in collections and deliveries, and there are several reasons for that. For one, the tremendous amount of donations received, now that things have somewhat settled down, need to be sorted and organized. Also, needs are changing, especially with colder weather moving in: winter coats, blankets, propane stoves/propane canisters, gloves, hand warmers, kerosene heaters and kerosene, flashlights, head lamps, batteries of all sizes but especially AA and D, solar lights.

Donation needs will be ongoing, for months. But they will need to be done in phases. Many of these counties are needing volunteers, and it’s best to sign up with an experienced agency already in place. Show up ready to do what is needed within your physical capabilities. And if that means sorting all the diapers by size or dividing up al the canned goods by type, do that.

If you are going to be doing any clean up involving floodwaters or debris/mud/dirt from the floodwaters, a nurse practitioner friend said it’s a good idea to get your shots, definitely a tetanus booster, and recommends hepatitis A and B vaccines as well as getting a flu shot.

A common suggestion is to make sure all donations going forward are boxed in something sturdy, for two reasons. Bags full of random things, especially things with pump sprays, tend to get broken and leak. It also makes for more trips to unload. Sturdy totes are preferred but a good carboard box will do.

The best resource to get lined up for service is with Volunteer Tennessee by going here. The link includes sign ups to volunteer as well as donation locations in each of the affected counties and other resources. There are 14 pages of opportunities to serve. So, let’s do this.

Lastly, here are some (certainly not all) of the places you can still donate in Knox County.

Premier Transportation has launched a Stuff the Busses campaign. The luxury motorcoach company Premier Transportation will provide day trips for donated goods and personnel from non-profit or other charitable relief organizations. Organizations provide the loading and unloading labot, Premier will provide the free transportation from Knoxville and surrounding areas to locations in Tennessee and North Carolina, Monday through Thursday, for the foreseeable future. To use this service, email the operations center at customerservice@gopremiertn.com or by call 1-877-337-0279.

The Presbytery of East Tennessee is still taking donations and also putting together 5-gallon bucket cleaning kits. Food items requested are:

  • Protein bars
  • Breakfast bars
  • Peanut butter
  • Dried fruit in bags/easy open containers
  • Canned meats (chicken, ham) with pull tabs
  • Tuna in pouches or cans with the pull tabs (small enough servings of meat/tuna that no refrigeration is needed after opening. CANS WITH PULL TABS ONLY)

In Knox County, there are two churches taking collections for this effort, Farragut Presbyterian at 209 Jamestown Blvd., 37934 and Fountain City Presbyterian at 500 Hotel Avenue, 37918.

Please email me with your group’s efforts and I will add them to the list!

Beth Kinnane writes a history feature for KnoxTNToday.com. It’s published each Tuesday and is one of our best-read features.