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THE NEWS-TIMES
.1
NEWS-TIMES
49th YEAR, NO. 74.
SIX PAGES
MOREHEAD CITY AND BEAUFORT, NORTH CAROLINA
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1960
PUBLISHED TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS
Donna Devastates Carteret Coast
Storm Lands Sunday
Punch Sunday Night
Residents, still dated by devas
tating Donna, are today soberly
digging out from under the debris.
Although there were no deaths,
dar-age in this county alone runs
into the millions.
Hardly a building in the business
section of Atlantic Beach escaped.
Most are half or totally destroyed.
Every ocean fishing pier is par
tially down. Fort Macon highway
will be impassable until the dance
floor of the Dunes club is moved
off of it.
The Dunes club was slammed
against a high dune 500 feet from
where it formerly stood, the wreck
age, like a heap of jackstraws is
strewn against the bank marking
the cast boundary of Oceanana Re
sort.
Emerald Island homes suffered
severe to total damage. Salter
Path residents report minor dam
age.
Metal roofs, curled in balls, lay
on Arendell street, Morehcad City,
Monday morning. Heavy plate
glass windows were shattered.
Most businesses, if they opened at
all, didn’t open until the afternoon.
The sound of shattered glass be
ing swept up was heard every
where. A poet might have sym
bolized it as crystallized tears of
businessmen who face a task of
“coming back” such as they have
hot faced before.
Hazel, the terrible storm of Oct.
15, 1954, was a weak sister com
pared to Donna.
The Beaufort - Morchead City
causeway is a shambles. Only a
few cars on official business were
permitted the treacherous journey
across it Monday afternoon.
Houses, fishing camps are ripped
apart, the highway caved in, and
■ the beautiful new roadway of the
Beaufort and Morehead railroad
In Colorful Ceremony Sunday
Newport dedicated its new post-'
office in colorful ceremonies Sun
day afternoon. Gray skies of fore
boding Donna provided shelter
from the sun — and rain didn’t
fall until the formalities were over.
The program took place at the
rear of the postoffice. Speakers sat
on the spacious loading platform
which was flanked by tall baskets
oU white gladiolas and fern and
decorated in red, white and blue
bunting.
Dc'rryl Garner, master of cere
monies, was introduced by R. K.
Montague, postmaster, who ex
pressed his appreciation to the Ro
tary club, sponsor of the dedication
ceremony, and others who assisted
in its planning.
Mr. Garner commented on New
port's two postoffices, which pre
ceded the present one. He called
the new postoffice “another land
mark toward a mbre progressive
Newport.”
J. B. Whitford, native of New
Bern, and now organization man
agement officer, Atlanta, Ga., rep
resented the postoffice department.
He commented on the improved
mail service the government pro
vides, then presented to postmaster
Montague a new 50-star American
flag. He read a letter of congrat
ulations to Newport from Arthur
£. Summerfield, postmaster gen
eral of the United States.
Mr. Montague in turn presented
the flag to a United States Marine
Corps color guard which raised the
flag over the postoffice.
Mayor Leon Mann spoke briefly,
concluding with the statement that
the town would like to have a
building just like the new postof
fice, only with fire trucks in it.
Another highlight of the cere-,
mony was a brief talk by Walter
Mann, Newport’s oldest retired ru
ral mail carrier. Mr. Walter, as
he is called, mentioned that Cicero
Mann, who was appointed post
master at Newport in 1889, was bis
i uncle. Mr. Cicero framed off part
of his furniture store which served
as the postoffice.
Business grew until Ira Garner,
appointed postmaster in 1914, no
longer was paid on a percentage
of the business done, but got a
regular salary of $75 a month.
Mr. Walter recalled that when
he was carrying the rural route,
he was interested in doing it a
little better and was thinking about
using a car to deliver the mail.
4‘1 told them,” he said, “that I
couldn’t buy an automobile, but
I’d buy a Ford.” So he did.
He told about one of the rural
mail carriers out of New Bern,
who was affectionately known as
Uncle Dick. One of the ladies on
See P08T0FFICE, Page 4
heavily damaged. The force of
wind and water turned a diesel
engine over.
Tides, 5 to 7 feet above normal,
rushed across Front street, Beau
fort. Store windows are smashed,
signs ripped down, docks askew,
water damage inside buildings
heavy. Much roof damage isn't
visible to passers-by.
By 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon,
most boats along the waterfronts
had moved to protected harbors.
A few on the Beaufort waterfront
rode the storm out successfully.
Ott the Morehead City waterfront
a shrimper lay high on the shore
where the receding flood tides had
left it.
Farm buildings were damaged in
about the same proportion as other
buildings. By mid-week, county
agriculture officials hope to have
a rough estimate of crop damage.
Impassable roads and no tele
phones, made earlier check-ups im
possible.
Gusty winds and rain squalls
were omens of the storm Sunday
morning. Gray water wa§, churn
ing into foam and by 5 p.m. the
first heavy, side-wise rolling rain
typical of a hurricane gushed
through the Morehead City area.
It subsided only to be followed
shortly by another blowing rain
that fell almost continuously until
the worst of the stofm passed at
midnight. Jack Savage, director of
Civil Defense, Atlantic Beach, said
the barometer at the beach reach
ed its lowest point, 28.46 at five
minutes after Sunday midnight.
E. Stamey Davis, official weath
er observer in the county, said his
barometer in Morehead City regis
tered a low of 28.55 at half past
midnight but had risen by 1 a.m.
Monday to 29.55.
See DONNA, Page 3
■ X
I. B. Whitford, Atlanta, Ga., representing the postoffice department, addresses a crowd of 400
which gathered Sunday for dedication ceremonies.
4
A- Marine color guard from
Cherry Point raises a new 59-star
American flag over the postof
fice. The flag was presented to
the pestoffice with greetings
from the postmaster general,
Arthur Semmerfteld.
The Beachcomber motel, Atlantic Beach, has only the sky for a roof. The Beachcomber is located
about 1,500 feet from the oceanfront. Many waterfront cottages were saved by seawalls constructed
after Hazel, but sustained heivy roof damage and had much water on lower floors.
BhhmPIP^V'^4; ;
. .. W . ... , *
The roof of the two-story Hardware and Building Supply building lies on Arendell street. This is a
view looking south on 8th street, across Arendell. Town street crews in Beaufort and Morehead City
are busy cleaning the wreckage. Routine, such as garbage collection, may be upset until storm wreck
age is cleared. The towns ask residents to be patient.
Trailers all along Bogue Banks were turned over, some lsy with
wheels up in the air. Only a few escaped the damage caused by
lM-ntile-an-hour winds.
News-Times Ph )tos by McComb
The cupola of the Dunes club, well-known landmark along Rogue Banks, now etches the sky at a
new location. In the foreground is the material that once was a favorite social spot of many North Caro
linians.
Lack of Power Monday
Causes Printing Delay
The newspaper can't operate
without power any more than any
other type of plant. That’s why
your paper is late today.
To get the paper out as quickly
as possible, sports news and other
newsstories that might have been
included will not appear until Fri
day.
A roof from- part of the Coral Bay club lies at the west entrance
to the luxurious Bogue Banks recreation spot. Plate glass windows
on the oceanfront of the club were blown out. Damage to the club
alone will run into tens of thousands.
Gov. Luther Hodges, left, and Gen. Edward Griffin, state Civil
Defense director, paused on the bridge to Atlantic Beach Monday
morning on their survey of storm damages.
Power Partially Restored;
Utility Crews Hard at Work
George Stovall, manager of Car
olina Power and Light Co., hopes
that power will be restored
throughout the county by Wednes
day morning. The two places
*—--——
Tilnilill III HIM 11
Destruction on the Beaufort-Morehead City causeway alone will total more than a hundred thousand
dollars. This house and garage collapsed on top of a boat.
r' 1
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■
Most of the Morehead ocean pier Is gone. All of the ocean pier* loot
pictures will appear hi Friday’s News-Times).
decking and pilings. (More storm
where power probably won’t be
back on are the Beaufort-More
head causeway and Atlantic Beach.
This means that school will re
open and most businesses, except
those severely damaged by the
hurricane, will be back in opera
tion. The two holidays school chil
dren had Monday and Tuesday will
be made up during the year.
Some telephone lines were in use
by Tuesday morning, but service
won’t be back to normal for several
days. Insurance agents are facing
a deluge of claims. Adjusters were
already on the job Monday morn
ing.
Mr. Stovall reported the major
power trouble on the Catfish Lake
road, a swampy area, where four
large power line structures were
down. Because of the swamp, the
six line-crews on the job could not
use trucks.
With a tractor from a private
firm and tractors lent by the Ma
rine Corps at Cherry Point, one
tractor pulled another and the
structures were raised.
The trouble was spotted from
the air at 10 a.m. Monday. Mr.
Stovall said that Jacksonville,
Swansboro, this county, New Bern,
Chocowinity and Poilocksville were
harder hit than areas to the south.
Carolina Water Co. kept water
flowing by connecting at 8:30 Sun
day night their emergency gaso
Tide Table
Tides at the Beaufort Bar
HIGH LOW
Tuesday, Sept. 13
2:01 a.m. . 8 23 a.m.
2:27 p.m. 9:14 p«m.
Wednesday, Sept. 14
2:57 a.m. 9:26 a.
3:23 p.m. 10:08 p.
Thursday, Sept. 15
3:58 a.m. 10:21 a.
4:21 p.m. 10:57 p.
Friday, Sept. IS
4:56 a.m. 11:10 a.m.
4:14 pan. 11:43 pan.
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