Community briefs

Local shop lifts up customers and creators

For Haley Gaylord and Chelsea Ramsey, opening their own small business was not an early career choice. But opening the successful, eclectic and unique Soul Sisters Depot just felt right. Surrounded by family members running their own businesses, the pair started selling their items while holding full-time jobs and raising children. Going to craft shows, local markets, and hosting trunk shows kept snowballing until it only made sense to consider a brick-and-mortar storefront.

Ramsey said they realized opening their own business would allow them to make more money and make them happier. The pair already had proven their resilience.

“We took a leap of faith,” said Gaylord. “Our roots are here. We want to raise our kids here, so we are invested and dedicated to this community.”

Originally opening Soul Sisters Depot in Clyde in September 2020, that leap of faith was a big test of whether their venture could succeed. It was the most challenging time, even for wellestablished businesses. But the new business owners Soul Sisters Depot owners Haley Gaylord, left, and embraced it, bringing their Chelsea Ramsey have five children with their found success with their laptops for remote learn- eclectic shop. Michelle Harris photo ing to work every day during the height of the pandemic.

For almost two years, Soul Sisters Depot had a following at their Clyde location but realized early this year the business had to move. In April, the pair had a chance to use all their scavenged, found objects, such as old doors and car parts, in cool vintage displays to create their Soul Sisters Depot vibe at their new Frog Level location.

At the new location, foot traffic picked up. Gaylord and Ramsey often notice multigenerational shoppers, seeing grandmas, moms and daughters come together to shop. Popular items at the shop include funny, funky graphic tees, bell bottoms and lots of items made by local artisans, such as candles, jewelry, and pocketbooks.

While Gaylord and Ramsey knew it was the right time to start their own business and had all the items they wanted to sell lined up, they didn’t really know all the ins and outs of how to run a business. Hearing about Haywood Community College’s Small Business Center (SBC) in the community, they knew they could find help and resources to answer all their questions. Through the Small Business Center, Gaylord and Ramsey learned about receiving funding for small businesses due to the pandemic and benefited from these funds.

As small business owners, another daunting task is where to begin to build a website. HCC SBC Director Ashley Swanger connected Gaylord and Ramsey to a project working with Western Carolina University students to design a website for the business. Creating a website will add a whole new dimension to Soul Sisters Depot.

“It is obvious that the shop is a part of both Haley and Chelsea,” Swanger said. “They create a space that is part retail, part therapy. They lift people up and hold space for those who come in, whatever their needs may be on that day. Their space renews the soul from sharing celebrations to listening to challenges to helping you find that outfit that makes you shine.”

See what Soul Sisters Depot is all about by visiting their 240 Depot Street location.

Jackson Public Library hosts PTSD seminar

The Jackson County Public Library is hosting a free mental health seminar facilitated by VAYA Health at 1 p.m. on July 14. This program is in the Community Room and is free of charge, but registration is required.

This seminar explores information related to traumatic events and experiences. Through classroom conversation and exercises, participants learn ways to support individuals who may have experienced a traumatic event, which may lead to posttraumatic stress disorder. Resiliency methods will be employed as methods to treat and heal the invisible scars. Please call the library at 828.586.2016 to register. If you’re not able to attend this event, or you’d like to see what else they have to offer, feel free to visit vayahealth.com/calendar/ to sign up for free webinars offered by Vaya Health.

For more information, please call the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva at 828.586.2016. This event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library.

REACH to host volunteer training

REACH of Haywood County (domestic violence/sexual assault/elder abuse prevention and intervention non-profit) is holding a Volunteer Training Day Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., on July 23 at the REACH office, 627 N. Main St., Waynesville.

Lunch and snacks will be provided for all participants. Volunteers can offer help in several areas. They can answer general information and crisis calls from the community (with staff backup) on the Helpline after hours and weekends (one or more shifts per month). Able-bodied volunteers can provide assistance at the Within Reach Resale Store in Hazelwood. Others can assist as a Friend of REACH on fund raising, special events and client assistance committees.

The morning training will be general information about REACH, domestic violence and sexual assault, with DVDs and interactive scenarios. After lunch, training will be about resources. From 2:30 p.m. onward, training will be specifically for Helpline volunteers. Participants may be excused from the later afternoon session if not training for the Helpline. For further information and to register, contact Buffy Queen, REACH Community Educator, 828.456.7898, or BQreach@aol.com by July 20, as notebooks and certificates will be prepared for all participants. For more information or to donate to REACH, their website is reachofhaywood.org, or look for them on Facebook.

Virgil Lusk and WNC’s Reconstruction

The Western North Carolina Civil War Roundtable will continue its 2022 series of programs on Monday, July 11, at 7 p.m. with Dr. Steven Nash speaking about Reconstruction in the mountains after the Civil War. The program will take place at the Haywood County Library in Waynesville at 678 S. Haywood St. It is free and open to the public.

Dr. Nash will highlight Virgil Lusk, a Buncombe County native who first served as a Confederate cavalry officer and later as a Republican state and federal prosecutor. Notably, Lusk prosecuted suspected Ku Klux Klan members. His transition from Confederate soldier to Republican leader highlights many of the things that made western North Carolina’s postwar reconstruction both unique and emblematic of this critical period in our history.

Steven E. Nash is Professor of History at East Tennessee State University. He earned his master’s degree in history from Western Carolina University in 2001 and his PhD from the University of Georgia in 2009. He is the author of “Reconstruction’s Ragged Edge: The Politics of Postwar Life in the Mountain South” (UNC Press, 2016), which received the Weatherford Award for Nonfiction from Berea College and the Appalachian Studies Association, and the co-editor of “Southern Communities: Identity, Conflict, and Memory in the American South” (UGA Press, 2019). He also serves as president of the Mountain History and Culture Group, the non-profit support group for the Zebulon B. Vance Birthplace State Historic Site in Weaverville.

The WNC Civil War Roundtable meetings will continue at 7 p.m. on Aug. 8 on Zoom with Dr. Chris Graham of the American Civil War Center talking about the North Carolina Jacket and the Confederate supply system. Live programs will resume on September 12 with Michael K. Shaffer speaking about the battles of New Hope and Picketts Mill, Georgia.

More information on these programs can be found at wnccwrt.com