By Catherine Komp, Engagement Director
Each day since Tropical Storm Helene, Michelle Fisher has gotten up at dawn and worked past dark to take care of the community at Camelot Senior Mobile Home Park in South Asheville. The residents here, mostly in their 70s, 80s and 90s, have been without water and power for nearly a week.
“We are a 55 unit senior mobile home park and some have spouses, some are by themselves. But it’s a lot of people and they really need our help,” said Fisher, the park’s live-in manager. “We have several with medical issues. We have one that’s housebound so we’re making sure she’s taken care of.”
Camelot is located up a hill and tucked behind a storage facility, barely visible from the main thoroughfare of Brevard Road. It’s also adjacent to my own neighborhood, so when I met one of the residents a few days after the storm, I got his number so I could check in, help coordinate supplies and share the story of how everyone here is coming together to help each other survive.
The property is full of oak trees and soaring white pines, the ones that often are the first to go down when storms bring high winds. Thankfully, no one was injured here, but it was a long and scary night as these decades-old trees and their heavy branches crashed down.
“I had a limb come through my living room ceiling. We got that out,” said Fisher. “I still got a hole in my roof, but it’s tarped and all of that can wait because it’s just a hole in the roof. It doesn’t matter… I just know how blessed I am.”
Fisher’s best friend and roommate Arnold has been working non-stop as well, clearing debris, tarping up leaky roofs, delivering potable water and using the one grill and whatever donated food is available to give residents a warm meal and a gathering spot.
“It’s just a little, tiny community. A lot of people don’t even know they’re up here. But we know and we love them,” said Fisher. “I’ve been here four years and a lot of them are my whole family now and they are helping each other out as well. And I’m really proud. I mean, I can’t say it enough. I’m really proud of everybody here.”
All around the mobile home park, residents are figuring out ways to help each other. Outside the storage shed office, the only building that still has power, is 79-year-old Barbara Biesterfeld, known as the “mom” of Camelot. Sitting in the passenger seat of a minivan, Biesterfeld said she’s been able to use the electricity here to plug in her nebulizer.
“I’m supposed to use two liters of oxygen at night. But like I said, it ran out. My generator won’t work because there’s no power. And I didn’t die from not using it, so I’m not worried about it. I really am not,” said Biesterfeld cheerfully. “I have those spray boost cans and I’m doing fine. I have two little tanks of oxygen. But I have to save them for emergencies if I ever have to walk someplace, like to my backyard, for instance. But I’m doing good.”
Biesterfeld’s son came up to help clear debris and encouraged her to come back with him to Georgia. But she said she wanted to stay at Camelot because she has responsibilities here, like looking out for her neighbor Charlie and brewing up his morning coffee on a propane burner.
“There’s no way [I’m leaving]. I’ve got Charlie. I’ve got three cats. I’ve got neighbors who might need things that I have,” said Biesterfeld.
Resident Bob Laidlaw says despite being without power and water, they are keeping hopes up.
“We’re trying to stay positive, that’s all you can do really and try to help when you can,” said Laidlaw.
He’s been taking neighbors on grocery trips and to the dump. Laidlaw is also a caregiver for his sister, who has a fractured vertebrae and mostly stays in bed. He’s doing what he can to keep her comfortable, while himself recuperating from a heart attack he had back in June.
“She can get up and go to the bathroom, but it’s a struggle. So I’ve been having to help her but with my heart condition, it’s been a lot of work. Getting water to flush the toilet, I’m having to fill these [big jugs] up,” said Laidlaw.
Laidlaw is my connection to the community here, and he points me in the direction of other people I should chat with. One of them is Meiling Dai, who’s lived in Camelot for 22 years.
“We all kind of know each other here and so it’s a unique situation where you may be alone, you live alone, but you’re not really alone. And this is probably the best situation for a senior person,” said Dai.
Next to her 1971 mobile home are the remains of an uprooted bush and the branches of a tree that smashed into her roof. Dai said she was so relieved she had a metal roof put on her home, which may have saved it from collapsing.
“I had minor, minor damage compared to other people who had their roofs impacted, and so I’m really calm about it. I mean, I’m alive. I’m OK in my house. I’m just grateful,” said Dai. “I think there is a God in heaven because nobody of the 51 or so units in here, nobody got injured physically and nobody died. So that’s a miracle.”
Michelle Fisher and another property manager Keri Scott have made sure to keep the office open all day long, so residents can plug in their phones or get a few minutes in the AC. While I’m in there, a woman peeks her head in the door and hands Fisher a cold bottle of Pepsi as a symbol of appreciation. With many out of cash and card machines not working, she traded someone a hotdog to get it. Scott says another woman came by with donated items and said she just needed a hug.
“When they come down that hill or they pull in, I want them to see the doors open, to invite them to come in, take a breather, to plug in their phone, charge it, sit down, have a cry if they need to, have a laugh if they need to, or just talk,” said Scott.
However small, keeping this little office open is helping re-establish routines for the residents here. Fisher says she’s reminding all of them of the roles they’re playing in holding Camelot together.
“As a nation, we need to make sure that the elderly still know that they’re needed, they’re appreciated, they have stuff to offer,” said Fisher. “We need to make sure that we give them as many chances as we can to let them be a part of what we’re doing because they are a part of it, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be able to be helpful. That’s what builds who we are inside going ‘Hey, look what I did’ and they go home and they put that little smile on their face and think ‘It might be little, but darn it, I did something. And I’m proud of myself.’”
A few church groups and the nonprofit BeLoved Asheville had visited Camelot as of Wednesday and were helping bring in supplies. Power also came back on Friday October 4, but water is still an issue and Biesterfeld still hasn’t gotten her oxygen tank filled. Fisher said continuing help is appreciated including MREs and other food donations, ice, water, flashlights & batteries, adult diapers, denture cream, dry shampoo, deodorant, cleansing wipes, sanitizer, disinfectants and paper towels. Local residents and organizations who can help support Camelot should visit the office, located at 1402 Brevard Road.
Catherine Komp is engagement director with the NC Local News Workshop and editor of NC Local, the Workshop’s weekly newsletter connecting and celebrating people who are engaging their communities and working to inform North Carolinians on local, state and regional news.
