Honoring Drexel’s Past – Burke River Trail

Honoring Drexel’s Past and Inspiring Its Future: A Community of Hands
In Drexel, art, history, and community pride are coming together in a powerful new way—through a public art installation titled A Community of Hands, created by local artisan and retired school principal Dan Hoyle. The Burke River Trail Association (BRTA) is proud to support this meaningful effort by providing interpretive signage design and helping bring attention to the growing role of public art along our developing 40-mile trail.

Dan first began sharing his idea for A Community of Hands in January 2025. Since then, he has met with numerous stakeholders — sometimes multiple times — including the Drexel Mayor, Town Council and Manager, Grow With Drexel, Metawood, David Harmon Architecture, the Burke River Trail Association, Optimal Arboriculture, and many generous donors. Together, they are shaping this $40,000 project (none of these are town funds) into not only a source of community pride, but also a destination that will draw visitors to Drexel.

The gallery below shows just a glimpse of Dan’s collaboration with various partners. Thirty community donors have contributed showing a desire for this feature in Drexel. Already, the buzz around this project has generated meaningful publicity for the town. For BRTA, the hope is that A Community of Hands will be a catalyst for future art installations along the trail, each one adding to the visitor experience and strengthening our trail towns.

Timeline

By the October Drexel Council Meeting, Dan will have a full project presentation and ask the town for its final blessing on moving forward with construction and installation of the project. This includes landscaping to highlight the art. The project should be completed by January 31, 2026.

More about the signs

While BRTA already had a standard design process for trail markers, Dan’s art called for something more. BRTA invested $15,000 in custom interpretive signage design to highlight both the overall project and the seven individual panels. This design framework — funded by BRTA and constructed through Grow with Drexel donor contributions — will now serve as the model for signage across the entire Burke River Trail. A large panel will share the overall story, while smaller panels will explain each of the seven stained-glass tributes.

A cohesive look is essential for Drexel’s Downtown Park. Having both the Community of Hands interpretive signage and a BRTA kiosk with a downtown map in the same style will create consistency, strengthen the park’s identity, and give visitors a seamless experience.

And the vision doesn’t stop there. The same framework can be used for future educational, historical, or cultural signs as Drexel is ready — and eventually, for other trail towns as well.

Overview

A Community of Hands is more than an art piece; it’s a tribute to the working people who built Drexel and continue to shape it today. Through a series of stained glass panels embedded in towering live-edge hardwood slabs, the installation will honor seven archetypes—teachers, ministers, furniture workers, hosiery mill workers, community helpers, business owners, and craftsmen. Each tribute is carefully researched and designed by Dan, using photographs transformed into stained glass patterns, and fabricated with the help of local partners Metawood Design and Paradise Stained Glass.

What makes this project so special is how it’s rooted in local collaboration. With input from Drexel community members, support from Grow With Drexel, and guidance from Drexel Town Manager Bill Carroll, the installation will offer a “walk through history.” Visitors will stroll past each tribute, learning about the town’s legacy through thoughtful signage and striking craftsmanship.

That’s where the Burke River Trail Association comes in.

As we work to connect all nine towns in Burke County with a continuous hiking and biking trail, we’re also investing in the vibrancy of each downtown. In addition to offering Drexel a branded trail kiosk and a visitor-friendly map of local shops, restaurants, and cultural highlights, BRTA is designing interpretive signage to accompany A Community of Hands. These signs will reflect the same visual identity as our trail markers—creating a cohesive experience that blends outdoor recreation, public art, local history, and economic development.

Dan’s installation helps show that the Burke River Trail is more than a path for walking or biking—it’s a platform for storytelling, creativity, and community pride. We hope that Drexel’s example will inspire similar public art initiatives in the other trail towns, making each downtown not just a stop on the trail, but a destination in its own right.

We’re honored to be part of this shared vision for Drexel’s future—and we can’t wait for visitors and residents alike to experience the beauty, meaning, and craftsmanship of A Community of Hands.

Draft of the Explanation that will be provided with the art installation.

Since its beginning in 1913, Drexel has been a place for working people. Through the years, those who came here found opportunities and became productive community members. Some showed their skills at furniture and hosiery production. Others toiled to help and inspire their fellow human beings. Hundreds of strong hands labored every day to transform raw material into items of greatness, and the Drexel name soon came to stand for quality. Carpenters and mill workers, ministers and teachers, barbers and seamstresses – they all played special parts within these few square miles to create rewarding lives for themselves and others. From schools to churches, from concerts to fairs, the town has maintained a spirit of strength and kindness that its citizens have helped to nurture. At the end of each day, these workers could feel satisfaction in their accomplishments.

Fundraising – $7955 raised
$20K Goal to Match Private Donor

Many thanks to these donors:

In memory of Jethro and Maggie Hoyle and Ralph and Silver Abernethy by Joe and Sarah Hoyle
In memory of Reba Wray Berry by Teresa Rector Parker
In memory of Jonathan Secrest by Susan Goodman Secrest
In memory of my mother Carol Newton Powell and grandparents Calvin and Mary Newton by Betty Powell Pendergrass
In memory of Harry Hallyburton by Claude Sitton
Jerry and Mary Jane Townsend
Beth Heile
In honor of Mr. Will by Dianne Reichenbacher and Jim Popiano
In memory of Pastors Don and Ruth Smith by Joe Smith, Tom Smith, Donita Deal, Kris Icard
In memory of Joe Dean & Katherine Baird by Brian Baird
In memory of Vernon and Helen Clarke by Connie Cobb-Berry
In memory of Claude and Bernice Griffin by Janet C Kirby
In memory of Charles and Hilda McNeely by Malone and Shirley McNeely
In memory of Robert Poteat
In memory of Merlin (Coach) Shull by Gregory M Shull
In memory of Willie P. Woodie by Rachel Woodie
In honor Betty Cline and in memory of Glenn Cline by Drew Hoyle and Virginia Annable
In memory of Ann and J.B. Powell by Mahala P. Cannon
In honor of Dan Hoyle by Richard Neil Berry
Burke County Public Schools
In memory of Eileen Poteat, Thad Poteat and Debra Poteat by Cam and Lisa Poteat McNeely
Anonymous
In memory of Glenn Cline by Brian and Glenda Cline Rader
In memory of Jackie Powell by Carol Powell
Donald Biggerstaff
In memory of Marvin and Edith Garrison by Phyllis Garrison
Wendell and Carolyn Powell
In memory of Terry Williams (Lancelot), Merritt and Nana Williams, Pastor Larry and Maxine McCaw by Brian and Sheree Williams McCaw
In memory of Bill Robertson by Nancy R. Brittain
In honor of Gene & Evelyn Page by R Mark Buff
In memory of Joe & Gleta Byrd by Ann Byrd Martin
In memory of Adrian and Juanita Abernethy by Ann Abernethy Abee
In memory of James C. King, Faye Doss King, and Delia Berry by Susan King Fullerton and Jim King

Join us in honoring the hands that built Drexel…

Below, you’ll read a heartfelt letter from artist Dan Hoyle inviting you to support A Community of Hands — a series of stained glass tributes celebrating the workers, volunteers, and visionaries who shaped this special town. Learn more about the project and how your contribution can help bring this inspiring public art trail to life. Grow with Drexel is accepting the donations for the project.

Fundraiser Letter Download