Smashed by flood, church, Fender’s Farm ponder future

LAMAR, Tenn. (WJHL) — To say Enon Baptist Church and Fender's Farm were hard hit by Friday's Nolichucky River flood would be the grossest type of understatement.

"We've got total devastation is the only way that I know that we can explain it," Fender's Farm founder and co-owner Carroll Fender told News Channel 11 Monday as he maneuvered a tractor through thick mud, past the remnants of attractions he'd spent two decades improving.

"I wouldn't want to even guess how much money it would take to replace the things that we had."

Several miles down Tennessee Highway 107, Keith Malone had a similar assessment of the church. A line on the outside of the pretty brick structure showed water had crested about 10 feet up from the foundation.

"I'm waiting on people from disaster relief and I'm waiting on some structural engineers," Malone said. "It's pretty bad."

Malone arrived at the church from the north side of the river around 11 a.m. Friday.

"To sit and watch to watch the water come up literally one to two inches about every three to minutes — it was just unbelievable," he said standing at the bottom of the church steps. Floodwaters hadn't reached the top of them in a huge 1977 flood. Friday was different.

"This time we watched it to where it was over halfway up the doors, and at that point, we figured we better go ahead and leave and get back across the river."

In another sign of the flood's destructive power, Malone crossed two large, impressive bridges that day. Both — Taylor Bridge in Washington County and Kinser Bridge in Greene County — were gone by nightfall.

So was most of the attraction Fender had spent about 24 years building up.

"We've had as few as 18, as many as 30,000 people come, and we'd like to we like to feel like that we put smiles on most," Fender said.

The farm typically opens in mid-September and has a six-week run through Halloween. There were rides, a corn maze, a haunted barn and much more. A large crowd enjoyed them on Sept. 21, a smaller one on a hot Sept. 22.

The farm won't reopen this year, other than for you-pick pumpkin picking this weekend at a field close to the highway that was spared. Fender is hoping for a good crowd.

Fender isn't sure whether it will open again at all. He said a visit with his insurance company Monday ended in news he expected.

"We have zero coverage on everything, so pretty much said you're on your own," he said. "We're hoping for some grant somewhere. Can we rebuild without some sort of a grant? No, absolutely not."

Fender was accompanied on a run through the devastated farm with his daughter, Annette Buchanan, and her daughter Sadie, a high school senior.

"There's two more generations of us and we're going to have to sit down and see what direction that they want to go."

A former teacher, Fender said he started the farm attraction as a way to keep reaching kids.

Down the road, Malone said he and his congregation plan to keep reaching the community. But like Fender's Farm, the church doesn't have flood insurance.

"We have to we have to realize that God gives and God takes away," he said. "It's just been a thank you a moment for us to reflect how short life really is on this side of heaven. I rejoice that all my church members are safe and alive."

Five families in the congregation were left without homes. A local church has offered up its space for Wednesday night services, and Sundays will likely transfer to the local Ruritan soon. Malone said a rebuild isn't a question of if, but when.

"We're prepared. We're going to do whatever God tells us to do. We've got a long road ahead of us, but I do believe we are more than able."

Fender expressed a similar outlook.

"Emotionally we're great," Fender said. "We're people of faith. We'll go up here and stand about halfway down in our farm and we'll turn and look toward the river and see the devastation that we have. And we'll turn and look toward the mountains and we'll thank God for what we have left."

The front section of the farm was a hum of activity Monday. The Fenders decided to allow it to be used as a distribution center.

"That's what we're concentrating on right now," Fender said. "When the people in our area, is all taken care of, we will turn our thoughts toward clean up and restoration."

Malone said amid the mud six inches deep on the floor and pushed around pews, a Bible at Enon lay undisturbed when they opened the doors.

"So, yeah, there's been devastation, death and heartache. But God is still God, and he will restore his land."