A hot meal handed off on the shoulder of a broken road can change the shape of a long day. We sit down with two neighbors from Batcave. Suzette Dupuis and Sherry Murphy turned Hurricane Helene’s devastation into a weekly lifeline, cooking and delivering trays of baked spaghetti, sandwiches, and soon chili to road crews, linemen, and families still digging out. Their story carries the weight of seven generations in the Middle Fork community, memories of the century-old flood, and the raw night when water climbed over the bridge and power stayed out for a month as helicopters ferried supplies to stranded hollows.
We walk through the nuts and bolts of grassroots relief: how an old antique store became a hub stacked with canned goods, meat, and paper products; why snack packs matter when convenience stores are hours away; and what it takes to keep volunteers moving week after week. Along the way, you’ll hear about the quiet leadership of local firefighters, the humility of neighbors who do the work without the spotlight, and the humor and faith that keep spirits up. “God is remodeling,” one of our guests jokes, reminding us that we can’t control the storm, but we can choose how we show up for each other.
We also share a clear-eyed real estate snapshot: Henderson County single-family home sales up year over year despite a brief post-storm pause, average prices easing from their peak, and what a recent Fed rate cut might mean for buyers and sellers. Markets are numbers; home is human. That’s why we sponsor the Hometown Hero series—to put names, faces, and needs at the center. If you’re ready to help, visit BatcaveDisasterRelief.com to volunteer or donate and add “Door Dasher” in the memo to fund meals that go straight to the crews and neighbors who need them. Subscribe, share this story with a friend, and leave a review to help more people find these local heroes.