Gibson, Georgia

GIBSON, Georgia – With a population of just under 3,000, Glasscock County is the fourth least populous county in the state of Georgia. After the remnants of Hurricane Helene came through on Friday, September 27, the entire county was without power.

Just off the square in the county seat of Gibson sits Hometown Market, opened eight years ago by Rachel and Fred DeLoach. In the quiet of Saturday morning, broken only by distant chainsaws and occasional diesel lineman trucks, a small hum came from the natural gas generator the DeLoachs installed two years ago, a decision fed by power losses after earlier storms.

A steady stream of regular customers came through, some picking up snacks and sodas, some picking up meats from the butcher counter at the back of the store. Many inquired about ice, which they had run out of hours earlier.

All of them paid in cash or by check, no phone or internet service left them unable to take credit or debit cards, something Rachel DeLoach said they only started to do so they could take EBT payments.

Shortly after 10:30 a.m., the lights flickered off – after running continuously for two days, the generator overheated and shut down. Fred DeLoach and store manager Shane Conklin headed out back to investigate, steam and smoke wafting out from the metal enclosure. With no obvious issue, DeLoach told Conklin to call JT and see how soon he could get out to work on it.

Conklin reminded his boss they had no working phone line and the nearest cell signal was 22 miles away in Thomson.

Inside, Rachel DeLoach and the staff closed up and locked the door, with no power they couldn’t sell anything. She’d been told it could be two to three weeks before power was restored in the county.

“We helped a lot of people before this happened,” she said.

Gibson, Georgia

Gibson, Georgia

Gibson, Georgia

Gibson, Georgia

Gibson, Georgia

Gibson, Georgia

Gibson, Georgia

Gibson, Georgia

Gibson, Georgia

Gibson, Georgia

Glasscock County, Georgia