Elarly in the morning on July 28, Bennett and Colette Quillen stepped on their porch with a mining light to watch the rain pour and the creek rise.
Their home and farm are in Letcher County, Kentucky, part of the region that was hit by a 1,000-year flood in late July 2022.
Colette noticed that water was getting into their basement— and that's when Bennett panicked. He used a tractor to build a levee to stop the water; while getting an irrigation pump, he cut his hand.
By the time the flooding stopped, the Quillens had lost equipment, plants already in the ground, heirloom seeds, and more.
that's anywhere close to comparable to what happened in July 2022. Bennett said he always heard people talking about the flood of '57. He said July 28, 2022, was the second worst night of his life; the first was decades ago, when his brother died.
“The floods were— in a way, they’re even hard for me to comprehend how big they were,” said Valerie Ison Horn, who works in Whitesburg to grow a stronger and healthier community as the director of Cowan Community Center and as a board member for the Whitesburg Farmers Market and CANE Kitchen.
The floodwaters washed out his bridge, which had been there since 1985. This trapped the Quillens on their side of the creek; when Bennett's cut continued to swell, he had to find a way across to get to the ER for a tetanus shot.
CANE, or Community Agriculture Nutritional Enterprises, Kitchen was founded to “expand the agriculture footprint and give additional opportunities” to farmers in the area, Horn said. CANE Kitchen is located in a 2,000-square-foot space owned by Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation and leased to CANE Kitchen for $1 a year for 20 years. The organization helps farmers increase their profits but has also served meals to those who need them, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ve had a rough time, but not near as bad as other people,” Bennett said. “Plenty of friends and neighbors have it much worse than we have.”
Horn said she believes CANE Kitchen was the first place to serve a meal to the community after the flooding on July 28. A doctor brought over patients who had been evacuated from the hospital, and people who had fled their homes came in for a safe place to be. One of the first people through the door was a former cafeteria worker. She started cooking.
Bennett was two years old when the region flooded in 1957— the only flood that’s anywhere close to comparable to what happened in July 2022. Bennett said he always heard people talking about the flood of ‘57. He said July 28, 2022, was the second worst night of his life; the first was decades ago, when his brother died.
“I think the first meal was ready before the water crested,” Horn said.
“Good farmland is covered with mud and creekbed gravel and erosion,” he said. “It set it back a lot.”
A doctor brought over patients who had been evacuated from the hospital, and people who had fled their homes came in for a safe place to be. One of the first people through the door was a former cafeteria worker. She started cooking.
“That woman worked for eight hours that day preparing food for others while the water continued to rise around her home. And after the first meal was served, she took off her apron and said, 'I'm going to go see if I have a home now,'” Horn remembered. “Those are the things that we're really, really proud of, and exemplified the best of our community.”
flooding, Kentucky State University accepted donations at its August Third Thursday Thing workshop, which focused on environmental impacts on farmers. Donations, including hotel cooking pans, bottled water and cleaning supplies, were given to CANE Kitchen.
In the months after the flood, CANE Kitchen served three meals a day to anyone who walked through the door—an estimated 100,000 meals. As flood recovery continues, Horn has been part of meetings specifically for farmers who are reeling from what they lost and planning for the future.
Months later, Kentucky State personnel Tara Maynard and Cynthia Rice organized a donation drive at Kentucky State’s GIS Day. Maynard, who used to work in the Wolfe County School District, also organized a Christmas coat drive to meet immediate needs for clothing.
As the needs of the community have shifted, CANE Kitchen has stopped serving meals each day, but Horn said she thinks CANE Kitchen will meet that need again one day. Just after the
“Our farmers have lost equipment, they’ve lost tools, some have literally lost their land,” Horn said. And, of course, farmers have lost revenue from the plants that were washed away. Horn said the community has received “a wonderful response” from farmers across the state, who have sent produce or supplies to farmers and CANE Kitchen.
Horn said the community has received “a wonderful response” from farmers across the state, who have sent produce or supplies to farmers and CANE Kitchen.
“That definitely has been a big strength for us, to see the power and the connection with farmers across the commonwealth,” Horn said.
Even before the flooding, farmers in Whitesburg had been forging connections with organizations offering partnerships and resources, such as Kentucky State University’s Small-Scale Farm Grant Program.
“It’s sort of like they were stored away, and we’re not starting completely at zero— although many on their farms are starting way below zero,” Horn said. At meetings with farmers, Horn has been encouraged by their will to continue farming— which seems to be in their DNA.
continue farming— which seems to be in their DNA.
“We are resilient people,” Horn said. “We love the time to come and for our children to not have to be. We’d like to have some babies that don’t have to worry about all these things... It’s nice to be strong, but sure wish we didn’t have to be so strong sometimes.”
TOP: Bennett Quillen, left, removes trees from a drainage off Watts Fork Road in Garner, Kentucky, on Aug. 29, 2022. INSET: Franklin Adams, 85, poses in front of his bridge, which was damaged by the July 2022 flooding, over Troublesome Creek in Garner, Kentucky, on Aug. 29, 2022. “This is the wildest thing I’ve ever seen,” Adams said of the flooding. “It was mean.” | Photos by Jonathan Palmer