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The NEW BERN
j PUBLISHED WEIKLY
THI HEART OR
NORTH
I
VOLUME 16
NEW BERN, N. C. 28560, FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 1973
NUMBER 4
Many New Bernians are
convinced that hurricanes come
oftener nowadays than they
used to in the long ago. There is
little basis for suon a bdief,
although modern com
munications, expert tracking,
and widespread 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 arrived, and it seenu
reasonable to assume that the
American Indian had abeady
endured countless years of
periodic high winds.
New Bern, founded in 1710,
dith’thave to wait very long for
its first taste of hurricane
weather. A severe tropical
disturbance came roaring out of
the Caribbean the foUowing
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 afwemenUoned
hurricances came in Sep
tember like Hurricane Esther,
the latest of the lot. As a matter
of fact, records show that tte
first such wind to rake Atlanttc
shores and find its way into the
annals of history was also in
September. The year, we are
told, was 1575.
There have been hundreds of
September hurricanes since
then, and at least me of them
each year since 1806. Some of
than, fortunately, vented their
violence in the open sea, but
enough of them reached 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
dollars for Hurricane lone. It
far exceeded the two and a half
million dollars damage that
resulted from the disastrous
fire on December 1,1M2, when
40 residential blocks were
reduced to ashes and 2,000
persons were left homeless.
Adhnittedly, the loss would have
been greater bad not a majority
of the homes been shanties. And
of course all property—not just
shtmtifr-carried a much lower
valuation then than it does
today.
All hurricanes foster tragedy,
and we’ve encountered count
less 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 Press
International and for various
State papers and for radio.
There was the time when an
elderly man rushed out of his
home, when he heard fire trucks
a^ving to fight a blase in the
nei^borhood. He came in
contact with a live wire that had
fallen in the street. His wife ran
to his side in a futile effort to
lesuce him. Both were dec-
trocuted.
Needless to say, we’ll never
forget wading in waist deep
water on lower New street, with
other searchers, trying to locate
the body of a cmld who had
(Continued on page 8)
ONCE UPON A TIME—Our thanks to Pete McSorley,
at New Bern’s main Post Office, who came across
this ancient photo while rummaging through keep
sakes. It started out as a postcard, printed in 1906,
but Pete took It to Florence Hanff at Wootten-Moulton
Studio, and she made an excellent enlargement for
him. You’re looking north, from the end of Middle
Street, and if your eyes are good you’ll see the spire
of Christ Episcopal Church. That fish cart, and the
barrel nearby would be museum pieces today. It must
have been pretty close to high noon, judging by the
shadows. Incidentally, if youTe a senior citizen you
know for sure that those two boys seen strolling were
wearing black cotton stockings.