Meteorologicaly, the perfect storm set up shop in the North Carolina mountains on Wednesday September 27, 2024. A stalled frontal boundary in east Tennessee and a low pressure cell on the front’s tail in Arkansas gave hours of moderate to heavy rainfall to the NC mountains. The copious rain saturated the soils and was causing waters to rise even if just a little. All that had nothing to do with Hurricane Helene. Helene’s remnants arrived along that frontal boundary by Thursday night and through Friday. The resulting carnage and devestation was one for the record books. “Apocalyptic” is warranted in several areas. This is but one small account in possibly one the hardest hit areas: Chimney Rock Village, just above Lake Lure. The Rocky Broad River became a liquid buzzsaw and literally wiped away roads, houses, bridges, and numerous businesses. Featherheads is constructed of thick-walled riverstone on the hill side of the lone road through the village and spared what those across the street on the river side had to watch wash away. The owner, Kim Sherrill, had lived above the store for many years, but one month prior to the floods had bought a house further down in the Foothills. Upon her initial guided return days later, she was given just one precious hour at Featherheads. Miraculously, she pulled out 19 flutes to take back to her house. This was a one-of- a-kind chance to see just how flood waters and mineral-rich muds affected these flutes. Kim and I have been good friends for close to 20 years. I arranged to pick up the flutes and take them to my shop to further clean and go over each flute, checking for any damage and what else I might find. I really didn’t know what to expect. Of the 19 flutes, two were by Danny Begay (Eastern Band Cherokee), six were by Jonah Thompson (Navajo Flutes), and the remaining eleven were my Ugly Boys. She may have found more by now, but this is the story of the 19. Before I get into the details, let me be clear that in honor and respect to the other flute makers, I made no adjustments to their tuning and voices. In a few cases, nests had to be flattened from warping, and most if not all of the blocks needed flattening due to the water’s effects, but that was the extent of any alterations. Many had nicks/scrapes/stains that I refer to as “Badges of Honor” and all were left as-is. More details on that as you read on. The first step was to continue the cleaning. Kim had washed most of the mud off of most of the flutes, but the barrels and SACs needed further cleaning via pressured water. I then used sandpaper on a stick to get out the more stubborn organic deposits. Some blocks were off the flutes and while there was a small pile of leather ties, only a few of those were usable. All three of us makers have a unique block style, so it was easy to put them with their respective flutes. Per Jonah’s flutes, I could only guess which got the eagle, the ram, the wolf, etc. They were all of identical proportions, including the nests. This one Shadow Hawk of mine, a B4, came bagged and provided a good idea of of its condition as found, after being knocked around in the flood. FYI, my Shadow Hawks have only oil coats and are made from Poplar and Spruce: This B4 Shadow Hawk came full of debris. I first removed what I could with various tools before using a bit of pressured water to clean out any other loose material. The barrels were simple to do, while the SACs (slow air chambers) were more problematic. Once cleaned and fully dried, I used sandpaper on a stick to further get out leftover soil adhered to the chambers. NOTE: all flutes show the light tan dust/stain inside the barrels and SAC, though I did run a pipe cleaner with butcher block type oil in every mouthpiece to seal any leftover dust for precautions sake. Below: this is how the flute turned out…and give a listen to just how beautiful the post-flood, untouched voice is: Further notes on what I found/discovered with the flutes: Finishes: My go-to finish for the majority of my flutes is Minwax Wipe-On Poly I get at Lowes. Most get 3-5 coats depending on the need. Those flutes cleaned up looking like they just left my shop, rather pristine excepting the prevalent light tan coating in the interior surfaces. That’s a heckuva endorsement on just how tought that finish is. Most impressive. For some flutes, I felt like they would do better and look/feel more organic with a couple of hand-rubbed oil coats. Those flutes took on some mineral staining, depending on how much mud and for how long the flute stayed in it. Perhaps the most amazing comparison between those two finishes was almost a fluke in that she had two Ugly Boys in the same unusual wood, each finished differently. One of the flutes was a C5 in Papua New Guinea Walnut, a light tan, open grained wood that is easily worked. It had a wipe-on poly finish. She also had an A4 in Papua New Guinea Walnut that I had decided to use the oil finish instead. The latter took on extensive staining (including the Walnut block), given it’s lengthy burial in the mineral-rich mud….providing a stark contrast between the two, insofar as appearances. Their untouched, post-flood voices are amazingly intact: Voices and Pitches: Wood soaked in water is going to swell some, and while the outside of flutes have some sort of finish or stain that helps lessen that effect, most flutes don’t have finish on their interior surfaces, except maybe an oil coat. The only flutes to exhibit a minor change on the exterior were the Navajo Flutes, which are all made of a Spruce/Pine family wood. The grain rose some, giving the flutes a textured feel, but a rather pleasant feel. The interior of his barrel shows a fair amount of swelling (that type of wood swells more than others in water), which does nothing more than alter the pitch. Speaking of pitch, as I tested each one just to have a key to put on the certificate I’ve made for each one, almost all of them are not exactly on pitch. For example, one flute was blowing at 30-40 cents sharp, while another one only 10-20 cents sharp. A few were pretty darn close to pitch but individual notes may have been off a tad with swelling from the wood surface inside the playing hole. One of my overall intentions was not to alter these flutes in any way to change pitches and tuning. Their provenance is as they are now and should be respected and honored in that way. In my humble opinion, anyway. :-) Nest and Block Conditions: Air leaking in the nest area, either from a non-flat nest or non-flat block bottom, affects the quality of the voice being produced. Several nests were warped but easily flattened, and almost all of the blocks needed flattening, as well. Easily accomplished, and for both nests and block bottoms I simply rubbed a little butcher block oil to the raw surfaces. For the Navajo flutes, given their wood type, they needed a rubbed in oil coat to counter the drying and swelling affect from being soaked in water for so long. I did the same for my oil finished Shadow Hawks and Ugly Boys. I don’t know how Danny finishes his flutes, but they didn’t look or feel ‘dry’. For each flute I created a certificate of sorts that details the story overall as well as details specific to that flute.Click on an image to enlarge (for that matter, click on any pic in here to enlarge!) I had already printed up these certificates before I realized I had put two special flood flutes in a diferent area of the shop, making for 19 recovered flutes, not 17. More on that below… And so last Saturday I made the trek to the TIEC listed below, off Exit 170 on Hgy 74 near Mill Sprin, North Carolina. It is a sprawling facility, originally designed for top flight horse shows, but has expanded its offerings in myriad other ways. The International Pavillion is where the Chimney Rock stores destroyed by the floods have set up their impromptu shops, thanks to the generosity of TIEC. I went and played flutes for about two hours, telling the story of the recovered flutes to anyone interested. At some point I asked Kim what other flutes she recovered, as I know I had some bass flutes there, as well. None. Not another one. These 19 are the sole survivors: Bob Child (Ugly Boy Flutes) Danny Begay (Eastern Band Cherokee) Johan Thompson (Navajo Flutes)

Meteorologicaly, the perfect storm set up shop in the North Carolina mountains on Wednesday September 27, 2024. A stalled frontal boundary in east Tennessee and a low pressure cell on the front’s tail in Arkansas gave hours of moderate to heavy rainfall to the NC mountains. The copious rain saturated the soils and was causing waters to rise even if just a little. All that had nothing to do with Hurricane Helene. Helene’s remnants arrived along that frontal boundary by Thursday night and through Friday. The resulting carnage and devestation was one for the record books. “Apocalyptic” is warranted in several areas. This is but one small account in possibly one the hardest hit areas: Chimney Rock Village, just above Lake Lure. The Rocky Broad River became a liquid buzzsaw and literally wiped away roads, houses, bridges, and numerous businesses. Featherheads is constructed of thick-walled riverstone on the hill side of the lone road through the village and spared what those across the street on the river side had to watch wash away. The owner, Kim Sherrill, had lived above the store for many years, but one month prior to the floods had bought a house further down in the Foothills. Upon her initial guided return days later, she was given just one precious hour at Featherheads. Miraculously, she pulled out 19 flutes to take back to her house. This was a one-of-a- kind chance to see just how flood waters and mineral-rich muds affected these flutes. Kim and I have been good friends for close to 20 years. I arranged to pick up the flutes and take them to my shop to further clean and go over each flute, checking for any damage and what else I might find. I really didn’t know what to expect. Of the 19 flutes, two were by Danny Begay (Eastern Band Cherokee), six were by Jonah Thompson (Navajo Flutes), and the remaining eleven were my Ugly Boys. She may have found more by now, but this is the story of the 19. Before I get into the details, let me be clear that in honor and respect to the other flute makers, I made no adjustments to their tuning and voices. In a few cases, nests had to be flattened from warping, and most if not all of the blocks needed flattening due to the water’s effects, but that was the extent of any alterations. Many had nicks/scrapes/stains that I refer to as “Badges of Honor” and all were left as-is. More details on that as you read on. The first step was to continue the cleaning. Kim had washed most of the mud off of most of the flutes, but the barrels and SACs needed further cleaning via pressured water. I then used sandpaper on a stick to get out the more stubborn organic deposits. Some blocks were off the flutes and while there was a small pile of leather ties, only a few of those were usable. All three of us makers have a unique block style, so it was easy to put them with their respective flutes. Per Jonah’s flutes, I could only guess which got the eagle, the ram, the wolf, etc. They were all of identical proportions, including the nests. This one Shadow Hawk of mine, a B4, came bagged and provided a good idea of of its condition as found, after being knocked around in the flood. FYI, my Shadow Hawks have only oil coats and are made from Poplar and Spruce: This B4 Shadow Hawk came full of debris. I first removed what I could with various tools before using a bit of pressured water to clean out any other loose material. The barrels were simple to do, while the SACs (slow air chambers) were more problematic. Once cleaned and fully dried, I used sandpaper on a stick to further get out leftover soil adhered to the chambers. NOTE: all flutes show the light tan dust/stain inside the barrels and SAC, though I did run a pipe cleaner with butcher block type oil in every mouthpiece to seal any leftover dust for precautions sake. Below: this is how the flute turned out…and give a listen to just how beautiful the post-flood, untouched voice is: Further notes on what I found/discovered with the flutes: Finishes: My go-to finish for the majority of my flutes is Minwax Wipe-On Poly I get at Lowes. Most get 3-5 coats depending on the need. Those flutes cleaned up looking like they just left my shop, rather pristine excepting the prevalent light tan coating in the interior surfaces. That’s a heckuva endorsement on just how tought that finish is. Most impressive. For some flutes, I felt like they would do better and look/feel more organic with a couple of hand-rubbed oil coats. Those flutes took on some mineral staining, depending on how much mud and for how long the flute stayed in it. Perhaps the most amazing comparison between those two finishes was almost a fluke in that she had two Ugly Boys in the same unusual wood, each finished differently. One of the flutes was a C5 in Papua New Guinea Walnut, a light tan, open grained wood that is easily worked. It had a wipe-on poly finish. She also had an A4 in Papua New Guinea Walnut that I had decided to use the oil finish instead. The latter took on extensive staining (including the Walnut block), given it’s lengthy burial in the mineral-rich mud….providing a stark contrast between the two, insofar as appearances. Their untouched, post-flood voices are amazingly intact: Voices and Pitches: Wood soaked in water is going to swell some, and while the outside of flutes have some sort of finish or stain that helps lessen that effect, most flutes don’t have finish on their interior surfaces, except maybe an oil coat. The only flutes to exhibit a minor change on the exterior were the Navajo Flutes, which are all made of a Spruce/Pine family wood. The grain rose some, giving the flutes a textured feel, but a rather pleasant feel. The interior of his barrel shows a fair amount of swelling (that type of wood swells more than others in water), which does nothing more than alter the pitch. Speaking of pitch, as I tested each one just to have a key to put on the certificate I’ve made for each one, almost all of them are not exactly on pitch. For example, one flute was blowing at 30-40 cents sharp, while another one only 10-20 cents sharp. A few were pretty darn close to pitch but individual notes may have been off a tad with swelling from the wood surface inside the playing hole. One of my overall intentions was not to alter these flutes in any way to change pitches and tuning. Their provenance is as they are now and should be respected and honored in that way. In my humble opinion, anyway. :-) Nest and Block Conditions: Air leaking in the nest area, either from a non-flat nest or non-flat block bottom, affects the quality of the voice being produced. Several nests were warped but easily flattened, and almost all of the blocks needed flattening, as well. Easily accomplished, and for both nests and block bottoms I simply rubbed a little butcher block oil to the raw surfaces. For the Navajo flutes, given their wood type, they needed a rubbed in oil coat to counter the drying and swelling affect from being soaked in water for so long. I did the same for my oil finished Shadow Hawks and Ugly Boys. I don’t know how Danny finishes his flutes, but they didn’t look or feel ‘dry’. For each flute I created a certificate of sorts that details the story overall as well as details specific to that flute.Click on an image to enlarge (for that matter, click on any pic in here to enlarge!) I had already printed up these certificates before I realized I had put two special flood flutes in a diferent area of the shop, making for 19 recovered flutes, not 17. More on that below… And so last Saturday I made the trek to the TIEC listed below, off Exit 170 on Hgy 74 near Mill Sprin, North Carolina. It is a sprawling facility, originally designed for top flight horse shows, but has expanded its offerings in myriad other ways. The International Pavillion is where the Chimney Rock stores destroyed by the floods have set up their impromptu shops, thanks to the generosity of TIEC. I went and played flutes for about two hours, telling the story of the recovered flutes to anyone interested. At some point I asked Kim what other flutes she recovered, as I know I had some bass flutes there, as well. None. Not another one. These 19 are the sole survivors: Bob Child (Ugly Boy Flutes) Danny Begay (Eastern Band Cherokee) Jonah Thompson (Navajo Flutes) 11/16/24 follow-up: TIEC is a sprawling complex now, developing into a truly resort-like experience built primarily around the top-tier equestrian events internationally. The pavillion where the Chimney Rock Village store owners were given storefronts is a wonderful open space perfect for the impromptu shops set up for the holiday shopping season. All are located on the 2nd floor, and at the entrance there is the Chimney Rock Village sign that is at the bottom of the picture on the left. The before and after picture of that area was widely posted on the internet….I put a red rectangle around the sign to give you an idea of just how cataclysmic the flooding was to this hamlet (click to enlarge). Other flood-ravaged areas will be joining in by the arrival of Winterfest, I’m told. Click HERE for more. I’ll be adding a few more pictures from my visit in a couple of days. As a side note, who remembers O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi”? That’s kinda sorta what happened, though there wasn’t the dramatic irony involved. I wanted to surprise Kim and took her two branch flutes for her to sell and keep the proceeds…and she had wanted to gift me the very one of the recovered flutes of mine that ran deep in my Soul, the stained A4 in Papua New Guinea Walnut. There is just something about that flute that is ‘other than’ to me. I’ll be going back to play at their store a few more times as my schedule permits…and that precious one will be a teacher to those that want to hear the story. The Clean-up: Words don’t do justice…. - 12/4/24 Follow up: This coming SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, WinterFest will be in full swing at TIEC. If you click on the link pictured, not only will you read about the “WNC MAIN STREET” set up for the Chimney Rock store owners at TIEC, but clicking on their links you can read about the host of holiday goings-on with the expanded WinterFest offerings that extend into the night time hours. From 10am to roughly 2pm or a tad later, I will be in the Featherheads store demonstrating and talking about the flutes and their journey akin to a Phoenix. Kim had mentioned that many lost so much and that $$$ aren’t as available per normal, and has had a request for more of my Shadow Hawks. This past weekend I made 6 of them, E4s and F4s, and will have them ready for her as well as some new half-pipes that I’ve made and other Ugly Boys posted on my website. If you happen to be there, please identify yourself and say howdy, as I do love meeting new people as well as old friends! And as a good ol’ FYI, my flute production will be slowing down as my shop time is basically weekends only. I recently took a job that will offer some stability, a job I’m loving, but it wears me out Monday through Friday. I’m a NC DMV License Examiner in the Clyde, NC office…and the biggest perk of all is when we happen to have computer issues that stall our work, and I take my trusty cane flute into the lobby and play for those waiting for things to get fixed, now adding the above story…