HOT SPRINGS, N.C. — Karen Howard-Goss is a Canton gal through and through.
"I'm very, very proud and will tell anyone that I'm from Northeast Ohio," she says.
Karen and her husband Gary, himself a Streetsboro native, have lived down south for decades. But for the last six years, the tiny town of Hot Springs, North Carolina, has captured their hearts.
"Very, very small this town, and it's 100% tourism driven," she describes. "So we just work together as a team. There's zero competition here."
But there is plenty of love, which makes it especially heartbreaking to see the utter devastation to their beloved town by Hurricane Helene.
"Catastrophic. I mean, the town is decimated," Karen says.
The decimation includes dozens of businesses, such as Karen and Gary's Iron Horse Station, a landmark inn and tavern in the community.
"The foundation in the storefront that is connected, the floor is gone," Karen says. "You know, you go into eight foot and it's just a basement water."
The devastation extended to the couple's pizza store, Vinyl Pies, on their property called "Tranquility." Rentable covered wagons are also gone, along with a container full of memories like baby pictures and wedding albums.
Amid all these painful losses, the best of humanity is being put on display.
Karen thought that her posts on social media might receive 20 shares or so, but instead, people across the world wanted to help.
"It was shared almost 10,000 times, like nine. I don't even remember. I lost track. It was seen by 1,000,800 people," she tells us.
It will take months to clean up, rebuild, and relaunch. Many things are uncertain, except for the spirit of Hot Springs.
"What I love about this town -- and this area that is very, very deep in the Appalachian, and there's a stereotype -- this town does not care about your wallet size, your politics, your age, your sexual orientation, your anything," Karen says. "It's the epicenter of loving everyone regardless of your differences."
And why so many that have visited here have offered their hands and hearts.
"It's those people that came here that are really helping us rebuild the town," Karen adds. "It's our guests that are helping us. So that gets me very emotional because we took such good care of them and now they're taking care of us."
HOW YOU CAN HELP
- Click here to assist Karen, Gary, and the Iron Horse Station family
- Click here to help Hot Springs