Peoples of the Pee Dee

Remember this: Some are bound to the river as much as the river is bound to them.

By now, everyone is aware of the passing of Hurricane Matthew. Much like any tropical cyclone, the wake it leaves can be mild or devastating in varying degrees.

After the Hurricane, the local area had a curfew due to power outages and first responders possibly being unable to get to people in a timely manner.

Well-I am not sure it was the rain that was the problem but maybe the dams bursting-yet again.

Prior to these events, eight people came to my house to remove some trees that blocked the drive. A couple of days later, I went looking for one of them to pay. The Sheriff’s Department was down his lane telling people to evacuate because the dam had burst and the river was going to crest. The Sheriff’s deputy stopped to talk to me and he seemed a little stressed that people weren’t listening to him. I thought he should have taken a local person to be intermediary; stranger traveler in a strange land kinda thing.

This was the first whiff of what was to come. Next morning, anyone opening their door would probably find the river in the house creeping in their beds, or yelling Trick-O-Treat!

I stayed at my house because power lines were down everywhere. I knew the National Guard was out blocking water-covered roads and didn’t want to mess up my truck.

The last two days I have checked in on my extended family at their makeshift lodgings in front of Larrimore Deer Processing on Highway 378 West. My poor Aunt has broken her leg which makes this a more miserable time.

I trucked down the road and snapped a couple of pictures of my Uncle’s house and my Great Grandmother house; both were breached by the river water.

Once the people were told the dam had breached, they went to Piney Grove Church on 2690 Piney Grove Church Road, Gresham, South Carolina 29546-and promptly emptied out all the furniture they could to keep it from being lost. On this image, my uncle’s house is right behind the church. It used to be the Old Piney Grove Church-so that foundation is probably over 100 years old. I remember playing in this old church when it had lumber stacked up in it like a barn.

House in the background was the original church

These images have been presented in the State Newspaper and local news headlines. But, I am related to these people. No jokes.

From the Highway 378 West down Piney Grove Church Road back out to Highway 378 West and turning down the Bay Road off Highway 378 West to the end at Highway 908-these families were drastically affected in terms of loss of home, supplies, security, and a sense of space.

A person doing construction during the previous flooding said where he worked across the river, the home owners were not given any support for their home loss-and feared the same would be the case for these people up these two roads. Someone told me they were not allowed to carry insurance on their homes.

The FEMA representative strolled past.

My Uncle Darrell has been good about staying present at the mouth of the Bay Road at Larrimore Deer Processing to warn people, talk to Come-Look-See Tourists, greeting anyone else, and be a good sport in this trying time.

There was concern for lack of respect on the part of responder’s, or logging company’s concerned with their large equipment causing more of a wake, pushing water into people’s houses and for the people in the community’s space.

Not everyone is there for you as a hero and can be downright rude with the mentality you should be grateful they are there.

What you have here is a big extended family living by the river and they need help-in a big way.

I was talking to a nice couple where I worked at and told them of this place which they had seen. I thought I would tell you, dear reader about it.

This place, like so many, you have got to WANT to live here. Once you live here long enough, you can’t imagine living anywhere else-if it suits you. There is a certain amount of indigenous mentality going on here. The river comes, brings its lessons, then it moves away when the song is sung to those that should listen. It can sing its song far and wide for that water goes where it pleases in many forms. This doesn’t mean you have to be afraid of it-more respect what it can give you, or do to you.

Your mother eats the dirt and drinks the water-you become the dirt and the water. You are born of and from those things. You learn simplicity. You learn a healthy respect for what Mother Nature can do, especially when a human-made girdle breaks and she rages because her bindings are too tight.

You learn family should be there for each other-related or not. This means anyone in the community and outside of it.

One of the most important is not be too proud to ask for help, or point the need to do so out.

My worry is this place is remote and the people will be overlooked in their hour of need. This hour, which brings about thinking the outside world, is not so concerned with their well-being.

Our mindset in light of distance and local places being affected by weather patterns and their wakes should possibly be: We all live here in the world. Anyone, at any given time can be displaced, and should not be graded on the level of displacement as a mode of treatment for how best to approach people or situations. Being displaced totally sucks. You could be displaced for a long time. People love the security of home.

A physical home can be ripped away-but people and family that will support you will be there.

As my global family, I am asking you, whoever you may be to help me help these people. My goal for them is to have better engineered homes, or have the financial means to acquire better building supplies to work with. 

My other goal is to figure out who I have to talk to to get the State of South Carolina to take the occurrence of poorly services water dams from malfunctioning more seriously.

If you would be interested in helping the local people of Piney Grove Church Road and Bay Road off Highway 378 West-please contact Darrell Larrimore at (843) 907-2282 or send donations to:

Larrimore Deer Processing
C/O Darrell Larrimore

902 East Highway 378

Britton’s Neck, South Carolina 29546

(or)

Britton’s Neck-Gresham Fire Department

7692 SC-908

Gresham, South Carolina 29546

(843) 362-0102

Tell them I sent you. No one will see that one coming. 

Written by: Angelia Y Larrimore