Lake Jocassee
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Debbie Fletcher
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Dot Jackson (author of Refuge and co-author of Keowee) is very near and dear to my heart. She is on the Board of Directors of the Birchwood Center for Arts and Folklife, whose mission is to preserve and promote the arts, folklife, history and conservation of the Blue Ridge region by providing classes, workshops and retreats. Birchwood instructs in matters of practical and artistic value, so that others may become proficient in these areas and perpetuate them for future generations.
You know me: I'm all about preserving the past of South Carolina's Blue Ridge mountains for future generations!!
Birchwood owns the early 19th century Sutherland-Masters house on the old stage coach road in the shadow of Table Rock, BUT IT NEEDS MAJOR RENOVATION!!! The South Carolina Arts Commission will help them stabilize the old place with a rare "bricks and mortar" grant. To benefit most they must match the dollar award 2:1 before the end of May. They've raised about a third of the money, but time is running out. IF YOU CAN DONATE DURING THESE DIFFICULT DAYS, PLEASE KNOW ANY AMOUNT WILL MULTIPLY THEIR FUNDS AND YOUR GIFT DOLLARS WHILE SUPPORTING BIRCHWOOD'S MISSION.
Birchwood is a 501 c(3) non-profit organization. Your gift will be acknowledged.
From my heart, I ask you to send your contribution, no matter how small, to:
Birchwood Center
187 Birchwood Road
Pickens, SC 29671
864-898-1418
www.birchwoodcenter.org
On behalf of all of you who love the Jocassee area, I thank you!!!
Debbie
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After the video aired on CNN, I began to receive e-mails and phone calls from people all over the country. You have no idea what this outpouring of support meant to me. If you sent me an e-mail to tell me how much you liked the story of finding Attakulla Lodge, please accept my sincere thanks . . . it really made my - well, certainly more than my day!!
IF YOU HAVE JUST PURCHASED A BOOK FROM ME: They are on order, and I will ship it to you as soon as the shipment comes in.
Thanks again for being such wonderful, caring people.
Debbie
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As I watched the Jocassee story this weekend on “News To Me,” many emotions surfaced once again. Some were happy memories of a carefree childhood; others were sad, realizing again that the valley is lost forever under what I used to refer to as a death shroud. It’s natural to want your family and friends around you to share your memories. That’s part of life: laughing and crying, living and dying. During the show, my husband Dave got up out of his chair and knelt down beside me as we watched together. He held my hand as I cried (and just between you and me, he was crying a little, too). My husband is a great source of strength for me, but he knows that as much as I love him, I have three other wonderful men in my life. I lovingly refer to these unassuming men as “my heroes.” They are the divers who brought Jocassee back to me: Bill Routh, Charles Johnson, and Jackie Smith.
Bill Routh is the one with the vision – the one who contacted me about beginning our search for Attakulla Lodge which I thought was gone forever. If not for Bill, this new chapter in my story would never have taken place. Bill is also my dive instructor who had the patience of a saint during my dive lessons. Diving, shall we say, did not come naturally or easily for me.
 Diver Charles Johnson Another is Charles Johnson. I met Charles on August 4, 2004, a beautiful Saturday morning at Jocassee. He and his dive partner Jackie would be the first two divers to brave the deep, dark, cold waters of Lake Jocassee in hopes of locating my family homestead. Charles and I just “clicked” the first minute we met. He had a keen sense of the importance of this to me, and he was grateful to be a part. Charles is the diver who, when bottom time was running out, was intently searching for some token of the Lodge to bring me. On his way back to the line to begin his ascent, he saw a long, architectural item sticking out of an upstairs window. He pulled it out and managed to loop it on his arm and began his 1.5-hour trip back to the surface. What Charles had found was the sidelight that was part of the Lodge’s front door. It is now proudly displayed in my house and is my Jocassee treasure.
The third “other” man in my life is Jackie Smith. Jackie was known around the world for being a “gorilla diver” – the term given to divers who routinely do hard-core diving, well beyond the recreational and even technical limits of diving.
 Diver Jackie Smith Jackie had previously dived to a depth of approximately 450 feet. To say that Jackie was quiet and unassuming is an understatement. He was not a man to draw attention to himself but was more comfortable in letting others have the limelight. It was a sad day in early 2006 that I received a phone call from Charles saying that Jackie was dead. Team Attakulla had lost one of its finest men. He was so proud to have been a part of finding the Lodge, and he looked forward to many years of exploration – years that he would not have. I invite you to visit the memorial to Jackie that is on my website at JocasseeRemembered.com. Just click on the red and white dive flag on the home page. I believe you will then understand what a treasured friend he was to many.
Each time they dive on the Lodge, Jocassee emotions flood my mind, stirred as easily as the silt on the bottom of the lake. A mere flick, and poof! they swirl around like a powdery cloud, taking its time to settle once again. I thought that locating Attakulla Lodge and placing my book on the front porch would signify the end of this chapter in my life. I’m just now beginning to see that it will never end, and I don’t want it to. There is so much more to explore – so many questions yet to be answered. Attakulla Lodge is inviting us in . . . this adventure is really just beginning.
Debbie Fletcher
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There is a beautiful, pristine peninsula on Lake Jocassee, the fate of which has been of great concern to me and others over recent years. It was in grave jeopardy of being swallowed up by Anthony's developers, due to its proximity to the other Cliffs communities scattered throughout Eastoee . . . but not any more! Yesterday, the State of SC announced that it has purchased this 63-acre beauty as an addition to the protected Jocassee Gorges!!! The unspoiled view to the left as you look off Jumping Off Rock is preserved forever. I'll admit - I was certain that it would end up in the hands of the developers - rumored to be sold at $1,000,000 an acre. For once, Duke Power (and their subsidiary Crescent Resources) has done the right thing. Their promise to NEVER DEVELOP LAKE JOCASSEE has been upheld (at least on this part of the lake). Development of that magnitude (potentially 60 homesites) would have devastated the water quality and solitude of that stunning lake. I'm grateful that justice has prevailed, and this land will be preserved for my grandchildren - and yours!!!
Thank you, Duke Power and the State of SC, for finally making us proud.
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| I am very sad to report that Joel Tubbs, 41, died Sunday, June 8th, while diving in Blue Springs, Florida. Joel was a very close friend of Jackie Smith, who also died while diving a couple of years ago. Joel was a very experienced, careful diver. A heart attack is suspected. My heart goes out to his wife, Christy, and to all his friends he left behind. The diving community has suffered a great loss.
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I'd love to meet some of you at the Authors Day at Table Rock State Park on Sunday, August 12th. Lots of local authors will be around and will be happy to sign books! Here is the link. Hope to see you there! http://www.birchwoodcenter.org/bookfair7-16.html
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I have just finished watching the movie "Miss Potter." I didn't know what to expect, for I am sorry to say I have had very little exposure to her books, a matter which I intend shortly to rectify. As an author, I very much related to her excitement over her first publication. I was quite amused at her initial insistance that her first book be published in black and white because "printing in color will cause the book to cost 4 times as much!" (Well, some things haven't changed!) However, I was more struck by her love of the land - and the fact that she used her resources to preserve the land against "the developers" - quite the villains at the end of the story. Anyone who knows me knows that I vehemently oppose the creeping development on Lake Jocassee. Such unspoiled beauty should remain - well, unspoiled.
Watch the movie. It's sweet and inspiring.
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Below is a link to read about the end to this tragic search.
Bill, I told you once you are my hero . . . looks like I was right. You still are. Deb
http://www.whns.com/Global/story.asp?S=6699749 (here is full story in case link expires);
Jocassee Tragedy Comes To A Close
June 22, 2007 11:46 PM EDT
Divers spent two weeks searching this Lake for Joshua Dorchak...each day that went by hope for finding him diminished. But Friday morning during a memorial service there was a breakthrough.
Emergency Services Director Rodney Burdette says Bill Routh located the boat and notified Natural Resources divers that were here on the scene.
Burdette also says the moment they called for radio silence during the memorial service is the exact moment the bowie popped up from the water signaling the boat and baby Dorchak had been found.
"I just broke down it was very emotional. It's been a lot of hard work by a lot of people," says Bill Routh, Off The Wall Charters.
A lot of hard work that consisted of 40 different dive organizations from as far away as Texas. Each person spending hours a day searching this Lake Jocassee.
"They have put in 10, 12, 14 hour days on the water and lost that much sleep trying to figure out what they can try different," says Routh.
-- Finally a breakthrough that can bring closure to the family after such a tradgic loss.
"They were releived and sad. There's been a lot of mixed emotions. It's been two weeks," says Routh.
The boat was found half a mile from where it went under in 120 feet of water.
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I have had 2 instances in the last couple of days where either a photo or video clip from my website has been used on other websites. Please resist the temptation to use any portion. If you want to use something, please contact me, and we'll discuss what you would like to use and for what purpose. These images are one-of-a-kind and have all been published in my book. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation!
Debbie
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My prayers and sympathies go out to the Dorchak family whose 3-year-old boy is missing in Lake Jocassee. I cannot imagine the grief they are experiencing. Many of my diver friends send their sympathies, as well. It is such a tragedy, and we send our love to them.
Sudden storms are not uncommon at Jocassee. I have heard that it's a combination of storms moving in over the mountains, along with the wind whipping up over the dam.
Such a beautiful lake . . . such a tragic event. We should all take a moment and count our blessings.
Debbie
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