mm
Many New Bemians are convinced
that hurricanes come oftener nowa
days than they used to in the long
ago. There is little basis for such a
belief, although modern communica
tions, expert tracking, and wide
spread news coverage tend to make
it appear that way.
History dating back hundreds of
years reveals that the big blows were
playing havoc along our Atlantic
coast when the first white man ar
rived, and it seems reasonable to as
sume that the American Indian had
already endured countless years of
periodic high winds.
New Bern, founded in 1710, didn’t
have to wait very long for its first
taste of hurricane weather. A sev'hre
tropical disturbance came roaring
out of the Caribbean the following
year, and another followed in 1713.
We can’t be sure what section of the
coast got the brunt of the storms,
but for all we know this budding
town might have been right in the
center of it.
Both of the aforementioned hur
ricanes came in September like Hur
ricane Esther, the latest of the lot.
As a matter of fact, records show
that the first such wind to rake At
lantic shores and find its way into
the annals of history was also in
September. The year, we are told,
was 1575.
’There have bem hundreds of Sep
tember hurricanes since then, and at
least one of theijS'each year since
1806. Some of tiiiSrh, fortunately,
. vented their vltden^'
''sea, ,.but enOui^
land to kill thousands of people.
Property damage has amounted to
hundreds of millions of dollars. The
toll in money, here in New Bern,
was approximately 15 million dol
lars for Hurricane lone. It far ex
ceeded the two and a half million
dollars damage that resulted from
the disastrous fire on .December I,
1922, when 40 residential blocks
were reduced to ashes and 2,000
persons were left homeless. Admit
tedly, the loss would have been
greater had not a majority of the
homes been shanties. And of coimse
all property — not just shanties —
carried a much lower valuation then
than it does today.
All hurricanes foster tragedy, and
we’ve encountered countless things
of a pathetic nature during the 30
years we’ve been covering them for
United Press and International News
Service (now combined as United
ITess International) and for various
State papers and for radio.
There was the time when an elder
ly man rushed out of his home, when
he heard fire trucks arriving to fight
a blaze in the neighborhood, iie
came in contact with a live wire that
had fallen in the street. His wife
ran to his side in a futile effort to
rescue him. Both were electrocuted.
Needless to say, we’ll never forget
wading in waist deep water on lower
New street, with other searchers, try
ing to locate the body of a child who
had drowned when he ventured from
his porch.
It seemed unbelievable that his
little form could vanish on a, city
street, and remain lost in the surg
ing waters. When the rampaging
Neuse returned to its rightful place,
as the winds subsided, the grim se
cret came to light. He was found
under the front steps of his own
home.
There have been humorous situa
tions too, like the time we were
evacuating a little old lady whose
name we won’t mention. Although
the storm was already raging, she
wouldn’t come out of her house until
she was primly dressed. We were
wading in chest-deep water, and anx
ious to get her away from there.
Just as we managed to put her in
the skiff, her hat flew off. She was
quite upset about losing that bonnet,
and fretted over its departure on the
wings of the wind while we pulled
(Conttnu«d on Pago 5)
The NEW BERN
I niiBi !««•»•■» **"BKLY
Mrs. H. £. Dillon r OP
Box 453 IXH
Moroboad HC
5^ Per Copy
VOLUME 4
NEW BERN, N. C„ FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1961
NUMBER 25
THEY STRUT FOR BEARS—Pictured here are the six New
Bern High school Majorettes who add color to football
games played here this season. Last Friday night they had
plenty to be gay about, as the Bruins romped to a 19-0
victory over Washington’s Pam-Pack. Left to right are Head
Majorette Donna Jo Bell, Nancy Masters, Laurel Cox,
Karen Higgins, Jessie Ruth Arthur, and Mary Beth Arm
strong'—Photo by John R. Baxter.
.’9
)
■ )
A HARD MAN TO STOP—Donald Davis, who scored two
touchdowns for the New Bern High school Bears last Fri
day night, didn’t give up easily vmen he carried the ball.
This excellent photo by Johnny Williams—^his first publish
ed one—proves Donald’s durability, as three members of
the Washington Pam-Pack fight desperately to put the
brakes on him. Another Bruin stalwart Ronald Wallace, aljj^j^l
scored a touch down, and performed well.