Out of a storm comes a rainbow. A North Carolina man is turning the devastation of Hurricane Helene into something positive for his daughters.
Speaking with People, Butler Taylor, a native of Arden, explained how he repurposed an oak tree for his children. Hurricane Helene knocked over the tree during the storm. Instead of having it hauled off, Taylor decided to turn it into an interactive structure for them. The tree is around 100 years old and had been watched over by his own grandfather.
"Even though bad things happen, you can't just stop," Taylor told the outlet. You got to put your head down and keep going."
The area was affected by Hurricane Helene last September when the storm caused record-breaking floods. At least 71 people died indirectly and 176 directly across multiple states from the deadly storm. In total, at least 250 people died.
Hurricane Helene Healing
Fortunately, the family avoided most of the damage. Their house was still standing, and they didn't lose any loved ones. However, they did have the giant oak tree fall in the yard. After Hurricane Helene, the family dealt with no power or food for weeks on end. The area was difficult to navigate, but the various community members came together to support each other.
"If you needed a chainsaw, you used your neighbor's chainsaw," he remembers. "If you needed food, your neighbor would share their food."
"I'm no carpenter, but I wanted to have a platform where the branches still came up through," Taylor said. He spent months going back and forth to the hardware store getting supplies. He built a multi-tier structure for his daughters out of the tree.
"They'll have that memory," says Taylor. "They'll still be able to play on the tree that my grandfather knew."
