At the end of a long day pulling storm debris from the Swannanoa River April 17, Mandy Wallace was looking at our river cleanup team’s haul for the day. Amidst the shingles, sheet metal and car parts were a few items more personal in nature.
A coffee mug adorned with a photo of a man standing with a woman who looked like country singer Reba McEntire. A couple youth sports trophies, one for a basketball player and another celebrating someone’s 1990 all star baseball season. A photo album completely encased in mud. It was the photo album, in particular, that Mandy, a mother of two, knew she had to return to its owner.
“Baby photos are precious. If this was mine, I know I’d do anything to get them back,” she reflected recently.
Incredibly, the photos, most of which were secured in plastic sleeves, were largely completely intact despite their river journey. Unfortunately, there were no names on the photos, so Mandy posted the album, mug and trophies on a Facebook page that was set up to connect residents with items that had been found after Hurricane Helene flooded the Asheville area in September 2024. Caitlin Wright saw the post and was able to reclaim her photo album, filled with precious memories of her children, now teenagers.
When looking at the other items that had been collected, Caitlin recognized the mug. It was her step-father who had his photo taken with Reba McEntire at a concert, which was later made into a mug. He was so proud of meeting the country legend that he drank coffee out of that mug every day for years, according to his son.
The items had been stored in a building off Swannanoa River Road, less than a mile from where the MountainTrue River debris removal team found them, near the confluence of Sweeten Creek and the Swannanoa River.
The success of this reunion inspired Mandy to keep going. More personal items were found, kept and cleaned, and Mandy began researching each item to find their owners. To date, nine items have been returned to their owners out of the more than 70 personal effects that the teams have collected. A new Facebook page has been launched — MountainTrue – Found after the Flood, where photos of items will be catalogued and shared.
As MountainTrue’s River debris removal program expands — it currently encompasses more than 60 employees spread across five teams throughout the region — MountainTrue’s Artifact Recovery Technician (MART) Mandy Wallace will continue to collect items at Mandy’s Mart, working to track down their owners. Every Friday, MountainTrue will share the heartwarming stories of the Found Items program on Instagram @MtnTrue and Facebook @MountainTrue.
About Mandy
Mandy’s skills fit perfectly into her new role. Her background in archeology, degrees in both anthropology and art, decades of experience as both a teacher and a raft guide and role as a mother have coalesced to make her the ideal candidate to lead MountainTrue’s Found Items Program.
After years as an archeological consultant and teacher, she returned to her first love guiding visitors on the Pigeon and French Broad rivers as a raft guide in 2020. After the storm, she was called to help clean up her local waterways, and joined MountainTrue’s debris cleanup crews in early 2025.
Now, she is combining her passion for the river with her background in archeology to lead MountainTrue’s effort to recover, conserve, document and return artifacts to their owners following Helene’s devastation. For Mandy, it’s a family affair. She is joined by her husband Jim and son Clancy on the river debris cleanup team. If you lost something in the flood during Helene, Mandy might have seen it. Email her at founditems@mountaintrue.org.
