FANS E-Newsletter
 October - November 2021
This every-other-month newsletter is a free publication of Friends and Neighbors of Swannanoa (FANS). Help us spread the word about the great things happening in our community by forwarding this to a friend. If you have a story idea, please click here to send us an email. We'd love to hear from you! 

In between newsletters, you can stay connected with your community by visiting the Friends and Neighbors of Swannanoa Facebook page. And while you're there, don't forget to Like us!  
In This Issue

Swannanoa Nonprofits Receive Grants
for Park Improvements

Valley Residents Will Soon Have More Affordable Housing Options

Hammer & Heart Offers Free Home Repairs

County Seeks Input on
Library Consolidation Proposal

More New Businesses Coming to Swannanoa

Swannanoa Scenes - Fox Creek Park,
Movie Night

Free "To Go" Meals Every Saturday

It's Harvest Time at Tailgate Markets

Get in the Halloween Spirit With A
Haunted History Tour - Oct 22 & 23

Free YMCA Mobile Markets
Are Expanding to Swannanoa

Take a Walk Through History at the Piney Grove and Patton Cemeteries - Nov. 17

Save the Date For Swannanoa Winterfest
December 11

Swannanoa Book Group
October 21

The Swannanoa Community Garden
Needs Your Leaves
Quick Link
About FANS
 
Friends and Neighbors of Swannanoa (FANS) is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working for a strong and vibrant Swannanoa by encouraging active involvement, fostering community spirit, and honoring our unique history and natural heritage. For more info and to find out how you can get involved, visit www.SwannanoaFANS.org.
 
FANS' Board of Directors:
 
Matt Barker - Treasurer
Andrew Belz
James Brown
Casey Conner
Kara Dillow - Chair  
Maureen Dillow
Sandy Drake 
Samantha Gallman - Secretary
Carol Groben 
Doug Lebbon
Tommy Tepper
Josh Wells - Vice Chair
Evan Yanik
 
We welcome and appreciate your input and ideas! You can write to us at [email protected].
Free "To Go" Meals
Every Saturday 
Food Connection, a local nonprofit, is continuing to offer free "to go" meals on Saturdays in Swannanoa. The meals are lovingly prepared by Asheville's Southside Kitchen. Thanks to current funding partner, Pisgah Health Foundation, the meal giveaways are set to continue through November 13.

Meals can be picked up at 105 Whitson Ave. (in the parking lot shared by Beacon Animal Hospital and Educational Partners International) every Saturday between 11 a.m. and 12 noon. A volunteer will bring the food to your car in "to go" containers. Just heat and eat!

All are welcome!
It's Harvest Time
at Tailgate Markets
It's harvest season, and fortunately, Swannanoa Valley residents don't have to go far to find delicious farm-fresh fruits and vegetables.

Every Saturday morning through November, the Black Mountain Tailgate Market will continue to serve up an enticing array of organic and sustainably grown produce, plants, cut flowers, herbs, locally-raised meats, seafood, breads, pastries, cheeses, eggs and local handcrafted and seasonal items. This family-friendly community event takes place from 9 a.m. - noon at 130 Montreat Road, behind the Black Mountain First Baptist Church. There will be limited entry, with masks and social distancing required.
Get in the Halloween Spirit With A Haunted History Tour
Join the Swannanoa Valley Museum for an evening of haunted history! Your ghostly guide will lead you on an outdoor walking tour through Black Mountain’s downtown historic district, where you'll learn about the humorous, haunting and harrowing history of the Swannanoa Valley, while being visited by some of its most famous spirits.

The two-hour tours will take place the evenings of Friday, October 22, and Saturday, October 23, and will cover less than one mile on sidewalks. Tours depart every half hour from 5 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Tour stops will include the Inn Around the Corner, an early 20th-century home that used to serve as a boarding house and is now reported to have a resident ghost; Sassafras-on-Sutton, a former livery stable and site of a significant downtown fire in 1912; and the McKoy Building, which served as an emergency hospital for victims of the Spanish Flu in 1920. 

Check-in is at the Swannanoa Valley Museum, 223 West State Street. Parking is available on the street or in the public lot behind the Black Mountain United Methodist Church at 101 Church Street.

Cost is $25 for museum members; $30 for non-members, with all proceeds benefitting the Swannanoa Valley Museum. There will be a limit of 20 attendees per tour. Masks are encouraged.

For more information and to register, visit history.swannanoavalleymuseum.org.
YMCA Mobile Markets Are Expanding to Swannanoa
Since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, YMCA Mobile Markets have shared 400,147 pounds of healthy foods with 78,182 neighbors in Western North Carolina. And starting in October, a Mobile Market is coming to Swannanoa! The market will be set up in Grovemont Square, adjacent to the Swannanoa Library, 101 West Charleston Avenue. The first Mobile Market will take place on Thursday, October 21, from 1 - 3 p.m., and will continue on the third Thursday of each month thereafter.
 
YMCA Mobile Markets are open access food distributions, sharing fresh produce with neighbors across WNC. The YMCA partners with local gleaning organizations, MANNA Foodbank and local groceries to save and sort generous amounts of donated food. This practice reduces food waste and helps improve access to fresh fruits and vegetables to communities at no cost.

The market is open to anyone, and is a great way to try new produce and get recipes for interesting ways to prepare the items you select. Bring your own bags, and walk down the row of tables to pick what you'd like. You can expect to find a variety of fresh produce, and sometimes meat and eggs as well.
Take A Walk Through History at the Piney Grove and Patton Cemeteries
This guided tour, sponsored by the Swannanoa Valley Museum, will lead you through two cemeteries associated with what is believed to be the earliest Protestant church west of the Continental Divide. The history of the Patton and Piney Grove cemeteries dates all the way back to the end of the Revolutionary War.

In the early 1780s, the Davidson and Alexander families moved from Old Fort and settled near Bee Tree Creek in the Swannanoa Valley, on land the colonial government had recently seized from the Cherokee. These families formally organized a church in 1794, called the Robert Patton Meeting House, with the Patton cemetery founded nearby. Today, this cemetery contains the graves of many of the earliest white settlers in the Swannanoa Valley.

In 1831, the church was relocated and named Piney Grove, with a new cemetery expanding on the property over time. Today there are about 1,800 gravesites in the Piney Grove cemetery, with the oldest headstone believed to date back to the 1820s. Tour guide and local historian Bill Alexander will detail the lives of many of the people buried in both cemeteries, painting a picture of hundreds of years of Swannanoa Valley history.

The tour takes place on Wednesday, November 17, from 10:30 a.m. - 12 noon. Cost is $20 for museum members; $25 for nonmembers. All registered attendees will receive an email ahead of the event detailing the place to meet. Register at history.swannanoavalleymuseum.org/event/pineygrove/. For info, call 828-669-9566
Save the Date for Swannanoa Winterfest 2021
The Swannanoa Winterfest — a European-style outdoor market complete with holiday-themed crafts and gifts, food and hot drinks, caroling, festive holiday lights, a fire pit for roasting marshmallows, and more — made its debut in Swannanoa in 2019. The crowds absolutely loved it, and although the pandemic shut the event down in 2020, it will be back this year!

Mark your calendar for Saturday, December 11, from 3 - 8 p.m., and plan to head on out to Grovemont Square (adjacent to the Swannanoa Library, 101 West Charleston Avenue) to join the fun and catch some holiday spirit. This free, family-friendly event will include activities (and a few surprises!) for the kids, too.

The Swannanoa Winterfest is brought to you by Friends and Neighbors of Swannanoa (FANS) and the Swannanoa Community Council (SCC). Stay tuned to the FANS Facebook page for more details as the date draws closer.
Calling All Book Lovers! 
The Swannanoa Library book group will gather via Zoom on Thursday, October 21, at 4 p.m., to discuss Becoming Wild by Carl Safina. To sign up to receive the Zoom link and join the discussion, click here.

Newcomers are always welcome, so don't be shy! For more info, call the library at 828-250-6486.
Got Leaves?
Bring Them to the Swannanoa Community Garden
The leaves are starting to fall, and while they may not be welcome in your yard, they have a multitude of uses in the Swannanoa Community Garden — providing insulating ground cover during the colder months, and delivering valuable nutrients to the soil as they decompose.

You can help guarantee a bountiful harvest next growing season by bringing leaves to the garden this fall. The Swannanoa Community Garden is located at 43 Clover Lane, off Lake Eden Road (take a left just before the entrance to Owen High; the garden will be on your right). Place your leaves on the designated piles. If bagged, please dump the leaves and take the bags with you (hopefully to be reused!).
Swannanoa Nonprofits
Receive Grants for
Park Improvements 

Significant improvements are coming to Swannanoa's Grovemont Park, thanks to more than $30,000 in grant money that has recently been awarded to the Swannanoa Community Council (SCC) and Friends and Neighbors of Swannanoa (FANS).

The SCC owns Grovemont Park and playground (located adjacent to the Swannanoa Library), and has been working for some time on a plan to renovate the walking paths that encircle the park. For years, the paths have been plagued by drainage issues, resulting in erosion and washouts of the gravel screenings during heavy rains.

After considering several options, the SCC decided to pursue a rubberized pathway made of recycled material that affords natural aesthetics and a cushioned "feel" for walkers. Importantly, this material is also very durable, and nearly maintenance-free. But with an estimated price tag of $30,000, the SCC was in major need of funding.

Enter Buncombe County Recreation Services, which stepped up with an initial $6,000 grant to the SCC that allowed the first phase of the project to be completed this past summer. Recently, The Cannon Foundation — an NC-based charitable organization — awarded the project an additional $20,000, leaving a funding gap of only $4,000. The SCC is seeking community donations to help close this gap. If you can help, please send your check to the Swannanoa Community Council, PO Box 1008, Swannanoa, NC 28778, with "Rubber Path Project" in the memo line. Thank you!

Additional improvements to the park are coming in the form of a new projection and sound system, that will be funded through a generous grant to Friends and Neighbors of Swannanoa (FANS) from Buncombe County Recreation Services. The new electronic system will be used to support a variety of community events in Grovemont Square, including the Groovin' on Grovemont summer concert series, and outdoor movie nights.
Valley Residents Will Soon Have More Affordable Housing Options
The tight market for apartments will soon get a little less tight in Swannanoa, with the construction of two new affordable apartment complexes.

The Jasper Apartments at the corner of US 70 and Warren Wilson Road is the most visible new development, with construction well under way. The current timeline calls for the project to be completed in the spring or early summer of 2022. The property management company expects to start pre-leasing and accepting applications a couple of months prior to the project's completion date.

The development will feature three apartment buildings containing a total of 18 one-bedroom units (789 sf), 48 two-bedroom units (1044 sf), and 18 three-bedroom units (1213 sf). Amenities include a community building, fitness center, computer room, playground and tot lot. There will be a four-tiered rent structure, for applicants earning 30%, 50%, 60%, and 80% of the median income in Buncombe County. Ten percent of the apartments will be set aside for residents with disabilities.

The Jasper Apartments are a project of Workforce Homestead, and will be managed by Excel Property Management. Anyone interested in applying for an apartment can contact Lindsay at 919-878-0522, ext. 265; [email protected], to be added to a list for notification when an official pre-leasing date is announced.

Ground was recently broken for the second affordable apartment complex, The Villas at Swannanoa, located on U.S. 70, just west of the Swannanoa Ingles and the Samson Corporation. According to developer Steve Drake, this 60-unit, 55+ community will take about 13 months to complete, with a target date for occupancy in the fall of 2022.

Excel Property Management will also be managing The Villas. Further details about the apartments, and the application process, will be made available as construction progresses.
Artists rendering of The Villas at Swannanoa, a 55+ affordable apartment complex coming in 2022.
Hammer and Heart
Offers Free Home Repairs to Swannanoa Valley Residents In Need
A new local nonprofit, Hammer & Heart, aims to lend a helping hand to low-income, disabled, and elderly Swannanoa Valley residents who find themselves unable to afford repairs to their homes. The idea for Hammer & Heart took root in 2018, when Mark Mullert started his business, Black Mountain Handyman, and became aware of an unmet need in the Swannanoa Valley — many residents were living in homes that were unsafe, but they lacked the resources to pay for repairs.

Black Mountain Handyman made as many repairs free of charge as they could, but Mullert soon realized that something more organized was needed. That realization eventually led to meetings with interested businesses and contractors, formation of a board of directors, and the birth of Hammer & Heart.

Hammer & Heart is still in the early stages of development, but the organization plans to work closely with churches, social services, law enforcement, contractors and other nonprofits to identify and address community needs. Volunteers will perform the home repairs, which will focus on critical problems, such as water damage, unsafe electrical systems, non-functional or leaky plumbing, nonfunctional or compromised heating systems, leaking roofs, insulation, and accessibility issues.

Like all nonprofits, Hammer & Heart will rely on donations and volunteers to get the work done. To donate or find out how you can get involved, or to request assistance with a home repair, visit www.hammerandheartwnc.org.

Photo above courtesy of Black Mountain Handyman.
County Seeks Input
on Library Consolidation Proposal
swannanoa library
One of the proposals included in the new library master plan under consideration by the County calls for closing the Swannanoa and Black Mountain libraries and building a new, much larger regional library between the two communities. This is an issue that directly affects all of us in the Swannanoa Valley. Your input on this plan is important! Do you prefer our smaller, neighborhood-based libraries, or would you like to see a larger facility with expanded services?

The County had been gathering feedback on the library proposal through a series of in-person listening sessions, but the schedule was interrupted due to COVID concerns before the October 7 Swannanoa session could be held. It's hoped that an opportunity for in-person feedback can be provided in the not-too-distant future, but in the meantime, residents are encouraged to submit their thoughts via email to [email protected], with a copy to the Buncombe County Commissioners by clicking on the "Email Us" link at www.buncombecounty.org/governing/commissioners.
More New Businesses Coming to Swannanoa
It seems like ground is being cleared nearly everywhere you look in Swannanoa these days, and folks are naturally curious about what's going on. In addition to the two new affordable apartment complexes (see separate article in this newsletter), several other projects are in various stages of development.

A particularly noticeable construction start can be seen on Patton Cove Rd., between the CVS Pharmacy and Harley Davidson of Asheville. Land owner/developer Brad Freeman has confirmed that the site will be a new Popeye’s Chicken franchise. Construction is scheduled for completion by the end of 2021, with the restaurant opening early in 2022.

A project at Rowland Rd and U.S. 70, just west of ArtSpace Charter School, being developed by The Broadway Group of Jacksonville, Florida, is rumored to be a future Dollar General store. Permits filed with Buncombe County do indicate a retail facility consistent with that type of business, but attempts to confirm the plan or its timetable for completion went unanswered by the developer before press time. We'll provide an update as soon as we have more details.

Frank Polk, the developer of the commercial buildings at 1670 Tunnel Road (next to Gentle Family Dentistry), reports that both of the front buildings on the property have been rented to a reputable local auto repair business that's expanding its operations. The rear building will house his son's grading business. The buildings should be complete within the next month or two.
Swannanoa Scenes 
Another group of enthusiastic volunteers turned out on Sunday, October 3, to help clear and mulch paths at Fox Creek Park, Swannanoa's newest public space. Fox Creek Park is located in Grovemont, at 111 Ivanhoe Drive, on property recently donated to the Swannanoa Community Council. Interested in finding out how you can help? Visit FoxCreekPark.org for more info and to sign up for park updates, including dates of future community workdays.
Cinema on the Square returned to Grovemont Park for the first time since before the pandemic, and Mother Nature cooperated by providing perfect weather for watching an outdoor movie under the stars! Cinema on the Square will be back in the spring, with more free, outdoor entertainment for the whole family. The outdoor movies are sponsored by Friends and Neighbors of Swannanoa (FANS), the Swannanoa Community Council, and the Friends of the Swannanoa Library.
A Special Thank You to Our Newsletter Sponsors!
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Be a FANS 
Newsletter Sponsor 
 
The FANS E-Newsletter currently reaches more than 1,800 subscribers (and many more via social media). Additionally, approximately 500 print copies are distributed through the library and local businesses. Sponsorships are available for as little as $30. It's a great way to promote your business and show your support for our community. To learn more about newsletter sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.SwannanoaFANS.org and click on the "Our Projects" tab, or write to us at [email protected]. 
Please consider making a donation to help support FANS' work in the community. Checks can be mailed to: FANS, PO Box 697, Swannanoa, NC 28778. Friends and Neighbors of Swannanoa is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization -- donations are tax deductible. Every little bit helps. Thank you!  

For more info, call 828-581-9848, send us an email at [email protected] or visit www.SwannanoaFANS.org. 
Friends and Neighbors of Swannanoa (FANS)
PO Box 697, Swannanoa, NC 28778