RAINELLE, W.Va. — Driving down the main drag in the Greenbrier County town of Rainelle, you’ll notice some empty store fronts. The town has suffered the same struggles most small towns in Appalachia have endured as their biggest industry pulled up stakes and left the town with no new source of income. But there is still spirit in Rainelle and when you consider what the town endured five years ago, it’s hard to imagine how anything is still open or anyone is still living there at all.
“It was not just any one street, it was every street that was flooded. Every highway,” said former Mayor Andy Pendleton.
The fire brand with a passion for her town and a bigger passion for loving and helping her neighbors still struggled to convey the scope of the 2016 flood and the damage it left.
“Every inch, ever stick, every home down to the creek and over to the other side. It’s really amazing to see the people who’ve come back and feel like they’re back home again,” Pendleton said as she drove through the streets of her hometown.
Throughout the residential parts of town, some homes are clearly different. They sit on high columns of cinder block and the first floor is now 10 to 12 feet off the ground. The specifications came from FEMA and in anticipation of the possibility it would happen again. Living in one of those homes just a few feet away from the Meadow River is Nona Shatley.
“I got more out of it than I lost, and I’m not talking about the house. I’m talking about the people. I had a stranger come down here and said he was looking for somebody to help and he gave me $100. It was a terrible time–especially with the loss of life, but honestly I gained more than I lost,” she explained in a conversation with MetroNews.
Nona lived with friends in a nearby community for a few weeks until a camper was loaned to her by the Southern Baptist Disaster Services organization. The camper became her home for nine months. She watched Mennonite volunteers tear down her old home and build her new one.
“They were amazing. Those boys didn’t even talk to each other, they just knew what to do. I sat here and watched my house be built,” she explained.
Pendleton said the outpouring of help from those across the world was amazing.
“Bill Crouch with ASP (Appalachian Service Project) came here and said, ‘Andy, I’m going to build you 50 house.” she said.
Down on Main Street, volunteers from all over poured in to help Brian Bell at Rainelle Appliance. He was stranded on the roof of his business when the fast rising water came through the door five years ago this week. A day later, all of his inventory was destroyed, but he still had propane for sale and was open and doing as much business as he could.
“I walked in the door and I looked at a mess. I knew we had a daunting task ahead of us. But at the end of the day, the sun was shining and we made the best out of a bad situation,” he said.
Bell said he never once considered not reopening. Up the street optometrist Dr. Gary Veronneau stood in his refurbished office and admitted the thought had crossed his mind.
“Believe me that crossed my mind many times, but we have a commitment to the people of the town and the area. We wanted to see if we could continue to do it and it’s worked out for us,” he explained.
Listen to “Chris Lawrence — Rainelle Recovery” on Spreaker.
Despite the rebound Pendleton admitted the town still has challenges. Some of those were there before the flood. Today, she is no longer the Mayor, but still stays in touch. The town’s residents are people she dearly loves and refuses to accept any of the credit for leading the town out of a nearly hopeless situation five years ago.
“God led me. I didn’t know what to do, He led me though. You have to just work hard, help people. love people, and care about people. Bring them back to their homes where Rainelle was. That was my dream to get my people back home,” she said.