RODERFIELD, W.Va. (WOAY) – A West Virginia hardware store owner is being honored by FEMA, not for what they sell, but for the space and support they gave after devastating floods hit McDowell County.
Jimmy Hampton, the 93-year-old owner of Jimmy’s Hardware in Roderfield, welcomed FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation team into his store. The booth, set up inside the hardware shop, became a trusted space for residents seeking information on how to protect their homes from future disasters.
“Well, it started out, they asked for a place to, meet people and interview them and, we told them okay,” Hampton said. “We gave them a space and from there they just came in every day, and talked to the people, or people talked to them really.”
FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer Mark O’Hanlon said that trust made all the difference.
“Well, Jimmy’s Hardware is a trusted location here in the county,” O’Hanlon said. “Just by Jimmy trusting us to occupy a piece of his store. We automatically gained some of that trust from the community, too, so people were more willing to speak with us.”
Jimmy’s Hardware became one of FEMA’s busiest outreach locations in the region.
“So we had eight disaster recovery centers total during this disaster,” O’Hanlon said. “And based on the volume of people that came to speak with us about mitigation, we had the third most traffic in this location than in our DRC.”
O’Hanlon says the familiar faces of the store made it possible for FEMA to speak with many whom they may not have in another location.
“People were comfortable coming here. They knew Jimmy, they knew Lin, they knew the people here, and we were here with them. So they talked to us and we got the chance to talk to a lot of people.”
Beyond his hardware store, Hampton also found other ways to help his neighbors.
“The people affected by the flood, I can’t help them all individually, but if I could help them in some way, I would,” he said. “We own a motel, we gave free rooms to people who needed them.”
And after a lifetime in McDowell County, Hampton says this flood was one of the worst he’s ever seen.
“Yeah. I’ve seen a lot of floods in my lifetime. And I think this was the worst one,” he said. “There’s so much, so much debris and rock and stuff in the river, and this damaged it, really bad. I lived through the 87, 2001, and 2002 floods, but in my opinion, this is the worst one.”
Still, he says having FEMA on site made a difference.
“Well, I was happy there was somebody, we had somebody to lean on. And, maybe do some good,” Hampton said.
FEMA has approved over $28 million in assistance and visited more than 13,000 homes across the region, but challenges still remain.
“The one area that I think that we still need to focus on is that there just aren’t as many contractors operating,” O’Hanlon said. “So for people with damage to their homes, damage to their bridges, there aren’t enough contractors out there to do all that rebuilding. So we know that’s going to take some time.”
For Hampton, the recognition was never the goal, it was always about the people around him.
“They’re just like my kin, you know, they’re family,” he said. “They’d help me, these people here would help me any way they could. And I wouldn’t hesitate to call them, and I’d come as fast.”
And even at 93 years old, he’s not ready to slow down.
“It’s been a happy choice for me, been in it all my life, I enjoy it,” Hampton said. “You know, I’m 93, but I still want to come to work every day, and I’m in good health, so it’s just a joy.”
