McDowell County, NC Strong

I am Jane Gouge, my husband is Doug, we have lived and raised our kids in McDowell County. (Also, I am using his website to let you know what I am doing.)

My heart lies where I was born and raised - McDowell County, specifically on Crooked Creek. I still live in Old Fort, only having left the county long enough to graduate from nursing school. I married and raised my two sons and daughter here in the county.

The stories that I am hearing - some uplifting and others heart-wrenching, need a permanent place in our hearts. Stories of survivors, heroes, missing loved ones, those last heard from – the despair that is ever-present in our lives. Catastrophic devastation does not begin to describe the destruction that will linger months, maybe even years as a reminder of those 24-36 hours in September 2024.

Stories of despair, stories that lift our spirits and photographs of the people who experienced the destruction of Hurricane Helene are overloading the media. These are real people -  moms, dads, children, siblings, aunts, uncles and friends.

Our families stories live in our hearts to remembered. My hope is this book will be a reminder for those who don’t know our Appalachian Mountain People, their strong-willed character, their ironclad bond for family, neighbor and community.

I would like to compile the stories of the Mountain Appalachian People from McDowell County with the goal of creating a book to publish and support the recovery efforts in the county.
If you would like to contribute a story to be considered for the book, use the form to the right to submit a story – No story is too small, nor too big – I want to tell your story, your dearest’s ones story - the McDowell Strong Appalachian people’s story.

Honored to serve you,
Jane