Kay Wade
Stumped
Six decades have passed since Duke Power announced plans to build nuclear and hydroelectric facilities to generate electricity for Oconee and Pickens Counties. Two lakes were to be created by containing Keowee River behind dams. Surveyors traversed Jocassee Gorges, marking a clean line through the hills. Timber companies followed, and bulldozers. Soon enough a belt of cleared land 100’ wide outlined the perimeter of a future Lake Jocassee. Six decades later, tree stumps remain around the lake’s edge, hidden just below the full pool surface. When state-wide drought forces water levels to drop, these stumps emerge like old friends, a silent reminder of what this place once was. ~K