In
THERE WAS FLOODING IN WEST VIRGINIA.
That’s what I remember about June 23,
2016. From my home in Columbus, Ohio,
I kept an eye on the rising water and the
forecast for more rain because being a
transplant who left her heart behind in
the Mountain State, my eye is always on
my Mountain Mama.
On Friday morning, I woke up to the
news of devastation. I spent the morning
scouring Facebook for articles, updates,
photos and videos. As I made plans to travel
to West Virginia to help, I knew my anxiety
wouldn’t fade until I could get home and see
for myself that my Mountain Mama was still
there under the layers of mud and debris.
I grew up on the Elk River on Blue
Creek Road and graduated from Herbert
Hoover High School. Sunday trips to my
grandparents’ house in Roane County
were often punctuated with a stop at the
Clendenin Dairy Queen. Knowing that the
places of my youth had been devastated
by muddy water spilling out of the unas-
suming Elk broke something inside me.
On my first day home to help, when I
saw a Red Cross unit off the Clendenin
exit, my gut told me to pull over even
though it wasn’t part of my plan. There
was a long line of cars waiting for assis-
tance, and the volunteers welcomed me,
appreciative of the extra hands.
I spent the evening loading flats of water
into cars, filling buckets with cleaning
supplies and offering hot meals. The flood
victims were tired and muddy, and their
sagging shoulders showed the extent of
their personal devastation. Most of them
took only what they thought they would
immediately need, explaining that someone
else might need those things more. Even
in a moment of complete loss, West Vir-
ginians were looking out for each other.
10
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE
Letter from the Publishers
The hashtag #NeighborsHelpingNeigh-
bors caught like wildfire in the soggy com-
munities of West Virginia. Even those who
were directly impacted by the flood were
offering assistance to others. Individu-
als, schools, organizations and businesses
across the state set about to make things
whole again. And then, the nation stepped
in. People from all over sent supplies and
able-bodied volunteers, providing West Vir-
ginia’s weary with a shoulder to lean on.
The 2016 flood devastated people,
families, businesses and communities. It
also inspired generosity and goodwill both
within and outside the state. In memory
of this catastrophic event, we have put
together a special department in this issue
called WV Strong. In this section, we take
a look at some of the organizations that
offered assistance in the aftermath. We’ve
also gathered photos from our readers
depicting both the devastation and the
volunteer efforts that helped put West
Virginia back together.
It’s no secret that West Virginia gets beat
up on a regular basis by national media,
outsiders and even its own. As we reflect
on the 2016 flood and look toward the
continued recovery of the affected com-
munities, let us remember what the muddy
water proved: that together, as West Vir-
ginians, we are capable of anything.
Jennifer and her sister, Cheryl, delivered
a carload of donations to Clay County.