Pat Wheeler - BRAHM Listening Day Sept 20, 2025
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This story was submitted on December 4, 2025 by Admin
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- Pat Wheeler - BRAHM Listening Day Sept 20, 2025
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This oral history interview features Pat Wheeler, recorded on September 20, 2025, at the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum. Wheeler, a High Point native who has owned a home in Blowing Rock's Misty Mountain community for 26 years, provides a powerful account centered on the rescue of a vulnerable community member during Hurricane Helene.
Wheeler describes being in Asheville the day before the storm, noticing the rising river along Highway 105 on her drive back, and heeding her family's pleas to return to High Point. Before leaving, she convinced two elderly friends in Banner Elk (ages 91 and 87) to evacuate with her to High Point, where they sheltered for several days. She returned to Blowing Rock just days after the storm, noting the community was fortunate to experience less severe damage than surrounding areas, losing only power and water for about two weeks.
The heart of the interview focuses on Zinklair, a woman from Swaziland whom Wheeler met three years earlier while volunteering as a food delivery driver for the Hunger and Health Coalition. Zinklair, who had been homeless for two years before securing a tiny one-room apartment in Boone, lived with rheumatoid arthritis, COPD, and other health issues that made mobility nearly impossible. When floodwaters from a nearby creek rapidly filled her apartment to the ceiling, a 911 responder rescued her just in time, swimming her to safety. Wheeler visited Zinklair at the Convocation Center at Appalachian State and later at a warehouse facility in Lenoir, eventually salvaging her Bible and important papers from the destroyed apartment. Zinklair was ultimately relocated to Wilkesboro, where she expressed profound gratitude for having separate rooms and basic amenities. Wheeler emphasizes Zinklair's remarkable faith, positive attitude, and spiritual strength throughout the ordeal, and her own gratitude for the first responder who saved her friend's life. The interview also touches on Wheeler's volunteer work with Samaritan's Purse and the inspiring resilience of Western North Carolina residents. - Spatial Coverage
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