Century-old treasures emerge amid post-Helene Lake Lure restoration efforts

LAKE LURE, N.C. — Lake Lure’s recovery efforts have put the area in some unfamiliar territory. The lake has dropped by nearly 30 feet due to ongoing cleanup and rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, ABC affiliate WLOS reported.

As the lake continues to rebuild toward its future, it is finding pieces from the past.

Over the weekend, several items were found that have not been seen in 100 years.

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Kenneth Tanner’s grandfather was one of the developers of Lake Lure.

“He had a home here where I spent all of my summers,” Tanner told News 13. “He was a part of the Lake Lure development company. I have a lot of fond memories of growing up on this lake.”

As a result, Tanner heard about the original plans for the lake’s early stages growing up.

“They were going to have a fleet of water taxis on Lake Lure. They would shuttle people around to the various hotels and amenities here. When the corporation went broke after the depression, my grandfather bought one of them,” he said.

The boat’s name was Poo Bear.

“He used that as his personal boat here on Lake Lure,” Tanner said. “It sank before I was born. After a storm, it broke loose from our dock and disappeared. My father always encouraged me to dive and look for it.”

The Tanners never found it.

Fast forward by nearly 100 years, and you’ll find Jacob Mohl working on the water.

“We’re building boat houses, boat docks, and trying to help people rebuild and recover,” Mohl said. “We were on a rebuild from a teardown and building a new dock. As the water went down, the lake gave up more secrets and decided to show us more and more things.”

Mohl owns Lake Lure Dock Company. While on a project over the weekend, he noticed something sticking out.

“We ran across what appeared to be a car, but now it looks like it’s a 1920s truck,” Mohl said. “You’re in awe. You’re seeing something that no one has seen in 100 years.”

Mohl put it on social media, which was met with thousands of engagements.

“The back and forth of people saying, ‘Where is this?’” Mohl described. “It’s so neat and cool.”

That wasn’t all they found. On another bank, not far from the truck, they found a large boat.

“My daughter spotted it when Jake posted it and asked if it could be the Poo Bear,” Tanner said with excitement. “[My daughters] have heard about this all of their lives, just like I’ve heard about it all of mine.”

“They reached out and said, ‘I’m pretty sure that’s my grandfather’s boat,’” Mohl said.

One feature confirmed that theory: Poo Bear name plates can still be found on the front of the old water taxi. Kenneth saw his grandfather’s beloved boat for the first time in his life on Tuesday.

“I feel really good about it,” Tanner said with a smile. “It makes me aware of the long history of the lake and my family’s connection to it.”

Tanner would like to keep a piece of that history his family has been searching for.

“I’d love to have a small piece of memorabilia for my family to keep,” Tanner said. “If the boat ends up staying right where it is, I’d be fine with that.”

Lake Lure Dock Company and lake officials are working together to figure out what to do with the truck and boat.

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