He Bloomed Where He Was Planted

David Dethero

by Missy Schenck

David Lawrence Dethero came to Flat Rock in 1971 by way of a family friend, I’on Lowndes. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Tennessee, where I’on also resided and worked with the US Forest Service. The two were members of St. Luke Episcopal Church and began chatting one day about places to live and opportunities to buy land in the mountains. I’on’s family had a long history with Flat Rock, NC, and he recommended David give Flat Rock a try – so he did. Upon his arrival, David stayed with I’on’s relative, Alice Lowndes Andrew, and her husband, Wick, in their little guest cottage. He hadn’t planned on staying long, but he fell in love with the area and ended up renting the Andrew’s guest house for three years and going to work for the NC Forest Service at Holmes State Forest. Alice and Wick were the perfect family to foster David’s introduction to Flat Rock. As one of the few year round residents of the village, they knew everything to know about Flat Rock, its history and people.

Born to Harry Lawrence “Ike” Dethero and Ruth Rymer Dethero, David stems from the Rymer family of Dixie Foundry and Magic Chef fame. After graduating from McCallie School and The Citadel, David went to work for the family business under his Uncle Skeet Rymer. One day, unbeknownst to his uncle, David’s grandmother Rymer told him he was not to work for the family company. Naturally, this was a setback, but David knew he was a hard worker and there were other avenues on the horizon for him. He quit his job with Magic Chef and joined the Army serving three years in Asmara, Eritrea as a crypto office and commander of a mobile communications team. His time in the service was followed by graduate school at Vanderbilt University where he earned a Master’s degree in English Literature and went on to work in the Trust Department of C & S National Bank in Atlanta.

After three years in her guest house, Alice Andrews told David, “David, it’s time for you to buy some land and have a house of your own.” David was not quite sure where to begin, but he knew Alex and Laurie Schenck owned a good bit of land in the Green River Valley. He decided to approach them about the possible purchase of some of their property. The Schencks were known for holding on to their land, but showed David two possible sites. One parcel, located on the North and South Carolina state line, was 135 acres and had a water source. Once David set foot on it, he knew this was it. Alex Schenck immediately said no, but David persisted by responding, “If you sell me this land, I will love it and take care of it. You will never find a better steward for it.” With that, Laurie Schenck said, “Yes – we will sell you the land and Alex said, we will?” “Without Laurie, I wouldn’t have gotten it,” remarked David.

Hurricane Gap

Penny Peterson and David

For the first year of ownership, David walked the land, put in roads, and installed electric lines. By 1976 his mountain top cabin was complete and he moved to the Green River Valley. “I was there three years and my parents fell in love with the land and the spectacular views. You could see forever. My mother said she had to have a house up there, so my parents built their own cabin and put in a tennis court. They wanted a place for grandchildren to gather during the summer and sharing this land with them was joyous,” said David.

David’s new property in the Green River Valley was in an area known as Hurricane Gap because of the wind direction during storms. It is from this name that David created Hurricane Gap Nursery on his land and developed it into a successful business. Although his background was not in the nursery business, his introduction to native plants and propagation at Holmes State Forest and countless hours in his grandmother’s garden as a child provided him with a foundation. Bobby McDowell, manager of tree propagation at Holmes, and others were excellent mentors in David’s journey to becoming a plantsman.

The hallmark of David’s nursery was native azaleas. He shared with me that there are sixteen varieties of native azaleas and all but one, a western one, can grow here in Western North Carolina. For many years David and a group of azalea enthusiasts would travel down to Alabama and make the trek back up to North Carolina in search of native azalea seeds to propagate. His own backyard, private and public lands of Western North Carolina were ripe for seed gathering and David hiked thousands of miles collecting them. As the nursery continued to progress, David found he needed some help. He hired Gerry Hunt to work for him and thirty-five years later, Gerry and David are still working together.

Mickey Lively, a fellow gardener and nursery owner in the Flat Rock area, and David have traveled a lot of terrain together in search of native plants and seeds. Together they share a common interest and both find great joy in the many gardens that they have planted. “I first met David around 1990. I was working with Kenmure’s Beautification Committee and landscaping the grounds. David offered the residents some of his native azaleas. I went up to his place on Hurricane Gap and dug up native azaleas that are now planted all over Kenmure. It was the beginning of our friendship and a working relationship that continues today. At some point, David gave me a key to his gate on Hurricane Gap, so I could get plants for various jobs. The gate had a combination lock and a lock with a key. I thanked David for the key, but asked him how I was supposed to get in without the combination. He told me the combination was easy – it had to be something he could remember – 2,4,6,8. When David sold his land, he let me dig up plants for my nursery. I still have many of David’s native plants and azaleas.”

Historic Flat Rock

Shortly after his arrival in Flat Rock, David was recruited by Alex Schenck as a volunteer for Historic Flat Rock, a newly formed organization to preserve and protect Flat Rock. David recollects the following: “The first day, Alex had me drive around Flat Rock with him raising money door to door for Historic Flat Rock. It was baptism by fire. One of the first projects for Historic Flat Rock was to inventory the historic homes, buildings and landmarks for the purpose of nominating Flat Rock to The National Register of Historic Districts. Alex appointed Johnny Jones, John Wright and me to do the title searches for the twenty-eight homes. This was one of my roles with C & S National Bank, so I knew the steps for searching a title. We were at the office of deeds for about an hour and John Wright announced he quit – it was too much work!” In Alex’s personal diary entry of July 23, 1972, he states,” David Dethero has completed much of the work and research required for nominating Flat Rock structures and homes for the National Register of Historic Districts.” In 1973, Flat Rock was named a National Historic District by the Department of Interior. It is the largest historic area in North Carolina to earn this designation.

Searching titles was just the beginning for David and Historic Flat Rock. Over the last fifty years, he has given countless hours to the organization as a board member, officer and tireless volunteer. As a resident of Flat Rock for five decades, David is fully invested in protecting its historic uniqueness. His years of experience and knowledge of a historic village make him a valuable resource of Flat Rock history. Longtime friend, Miss Em Whaley Whipple said this about David: “I have so much admiration for David and what he has given to the Flat Rock community and its historic significance. From the moment he arrived in Flat Rock, he got it.”

St. John in the Wilderness

In the early 2000’s, David and Laurie Schenck initiated a master plan to restore St. John’s historic churchyard. Drayton Hastie of Magnolia Gardens in Charleston gifted $25,000 towards refurbishing the church grounds and graveyards and the congregation matched Mr. Hastie’s gift for a total of $50,000 for the project. This was just the beginning of an on- going effort to maintain the historic churchyard and its terraced grounds. “During the project, the churchyard committee felt left out, so they put the two of us on the committee. I’m still on it. They told me I have to stay until I die because I know where all the bodies are!” remarked David.

On the wooded, northeast sloop of the church grounds are graves of servants who journeyed with the summer residents to the mountains and worshipped at St. John in the Wilderness. About 100 graves are estimated to be in this burial ground wherein slaves and freedmen were interred from 1836 to 1881. A sizable number of their children are buried in this area, too, which is encircled by a low, stacked stoned wall created by Gerry Hunt. David, Laurie, and Gerry transformed this area into a significant part of the churchyard. In 2004, David was presented The Minnette C. Duffy Landscape Preservation Award by the Historic Preservation Foundation of North Carolina for his work in the churchyard.

Edney House

The garden at Edney House

In 1995, David bought the historic Edney House, c1924, in Flat Rock and completely restored it. A one-story Craftsman bungalow, it was built by J. Fonsie Edney. According to the National Register of Historic Places, “The house features an exterior brick chimney on the façade, side gable bays, and an engaged full-width porch, which is supported by square wood posts and has a simple wood balustrade. The property is extensively landscaped with boxwoods lining the circular driveway on the east side and an alley of hydrangeas along the driveway on the north side of the house. A small formal garden is located on the west side of the house.” The majority of the five acre parcel to the rear of the cottage remains in its natural state and is enhanced by two small creeks and many of David’s beloved native azaleas. The property has a Preservation Agreement on it with Historic Flat Rock, Inc.

When David bought Edney House, it was Martha and Wick Andrews who helped him renovate and decorate it. “One of my vivid memories of the process involved the interior paint color, said Martha. David loved the color yellow. I chose a yellow-gold color for the main rooms and when it was put on the walls it was too bright and everyone was taken back by it. At the time there was no furniture in the room to soften the paint, so I told David we could not change the paint more than two degrees. Once the furniture was brought in and paintings were hung on the walls, it was perfect.”

Family and Friends

Penny Peterson, David and Betty Lee

To this day David credits his grandmother and I’on Lowndes for leading him to Flat Rock. It was his grandmother who prompted him to leave the family business and I’on recommended the place.

From the beginning, the Lowndes family played an integral part in David’s Flat Rock life. Wick and Alice Lowndes Andrews and their children, Betty and Wick, Jr. became extended family for David. “David is my best friend, said Martha Andrews, wife of Wick, Jr. I talk to him about everything. Wick had a great sense of humor and coveted a beautiful hand carved wooden bowl David had from the High Museum in Atlanta. He often told David to leave the bowl to him in his will. For Wick’s 75th birthday party, David arrived with a huge present wrapped in a black garbage bag. It was the bowl. Wick was so touched and overwhelmed with David’s generosity. Two years after Wick died, I gave the bowl back to David for his birthday. We all treasured it, but it was nice to see it go back home.”

When David was growing up, his father initiated a family tradition of attending the Master’s Golf Tournament. “It was an annual event and such a part of our family.” said David. Martha, Wick, and David would often create their own Masters weekend in Flat Rock. Now, on Master’s weekend David and Martha still watch it on TV - it is sacred time not to be disturbed!

Betty Lee, David, Martha Andrews

Betty Andrews Lee, Penny Peterson, and Laurie Schenck, a threesome of best friends and fellow gardeners, immediately adopted David. They often collected seeds and plants together, worked endless hours on community fundraisers, played tennis and gathered together socially. He became an integral part of their circle of friends and they loved him dearly. David adds, “Laurie was so inclusive of everyone, especially for parties, holidays, and gatherings of all sorts. Some of my fondest Flat Rock memories are at their family home, Rutledge Cottage.”

Before long, many Flat Rock families embraced David and they all agreed he is one of the kindest, most sincere human beings they have ever known. The Whaleys, one such family, shares decades of Flat Rock memories with David. David is an excellent tennis player.” recalls Miss Em Whaley Whipple. “In 1982, I was in a bad place in my life and came to spend the summer in Flat Rock at my grandmother’s house. I loved playing tennis more than any other sport. A friend of mine invited me to play tennis at David’s Green River Property. His family tennis court was outstanding and the net was on the state line; letting us play in either North or South Carolina depending on the side of the court we were on! David invited a friend of his as his partner and this began a series of tennis games throughout that summer and years to come.”

A humble and wise quintessential gentleman, David Dethereo is full of devotion for a community he has come to know as home. He arrived in Flat Rock fifty years ago and took root and he has definitely bloomed where he was planted. This week David will celebrate his 80th birthday and has the energy of someone much younger than his years. In this fourth quarter of life, David’s impact continues to be significant and he never tires of sharing his many talents with others. Flat Rock is indeed a fortunate community to have David Dethero as a friend and leader. Happy Birthday, David!

—-

Missy Izard Schenck was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina. She resides in Flat Rock, North Carolina, with her husband, Sandy Schenck, where their family runs Green River Preserve summer camp.