Hurricane Hazel
An excerpt from the book, Holden Beach History, by John F. Holden.
Copyright © 1988 by John F. Holden.

Hurricanes, especially Hurricane Hazel, are not a pleasant subject for me to discuss. In fact, this is the last chapter of my experiences, not by accident but by choice.

As a little boy, I visited grandaddy's big fish shed during the months when hurricane were most liable to occur. I remember the older men, some of whom were experienced sea-going sailors, looking at the sky and observing the movements of both wind and clouds. The size of the waves and the water currents were considerations of their weather forecast.

The following safety precautions were observed to protect the boats, nets, and fishing equipment. If the forecasters predicted above-normal tides with winds identified as a "northeaster," the boats and equipment would be moved to a sand hill. Moreover, if there was any indication a hurricane might develop, all equipment was moved to the mainland.

These men told how distressed they were after one of those 1890 hurricanes while checking along the shore line of the mainland. At that time there was no residential development on the beaches. Since there was no stock law, animals (cows and hogs, etc.) enjoyed free range. Many of these animals swam the creeks and came to the island in search of food. One fisherman said a person could stand in one spot in the mouth of Joshua Branch, located between Old Ferry Road and Brown's Landing, after one hurricane and see twelve cows and eight hogs that had drowned during the hurricane.

There was no serious damage along the Brunswick County coast as a result of hurricanes for several years prior to Hurricane Hazel. No doubt some hurricanes might have passed near our coast line and the local forecasters identified them as "northeasters."

Flood insurance was not available at that time, but a limited number of home owners did have extended coverage insurance. Fire insurance was the greatest concern to home owners since there was no fire department in this area. Builders of new beach cottages on the Brunswick County coast experienced a construction boom and businesses enjoyed a good tourist season.

Wednesday, October 13, 1954 was a typical fall day. My wife and I with our two sons (Lyn, age ten; Alan, age 5) left Holden Beach that morning to go visit my wife's relatives in Asheville and Western North Carolina. At the time of our departure, there was no sign or forecast of a hurricane coming to the coast of North Carolina. Hurricane Hazel was in Haiti and there was no prediction that it might invade the coast of the Carolinas.

Prior to 1954, methods of predicting hurricanes were limited and less accurate than forecasts are today. The percentage of forecast accuracy has improved in recent years because of communications, high tech instruments, and computers.

Hurricane Hazel zigzagged around the Caribbean Sea several days, before crossing Haiti and appearing in the Atlantic Ocean about midnight, October 13, 1954.

By midday, October 14, Hurricane Hazel was organized with winds at 150 MPH. It was traveling at a forward speed of 20 MPH and appeared to be traveling on a northeast course which would take it near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Before midnight a reconnaissance plane reported that Hurricane Hazel had changed course and would make landfall between Wilmington, North Carolina and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Friday, October 15, 1954.

Most Brunswick County residents did not have any kind of telephone service and emergency communications were limited. There was no television station in Wilmington, and the majority of residents were asleep, unaware of the weather conditions.

The forward movement of Hurricane Hazel accelerated during the night. When the residents awoke that morning and realized what was happening, the hurricane force winds and torrential rain prevented the securing of their property. By 9:00 a.m., October 15, tides along the Brunswick County beaches were rising at an alarmingly fast rate and heavy rains were accompanied by hurricane winds.

All evidence indicates that the eye of Hurricane Hazel made landfall in the Hold Beach area at 10:30 a.m., October 15, 1954. The barometer fell to 27.90, which is extremely low; the wind speed was 150 MPH. These conditions produced a 17.6-foot tide above the mean low water mark (information from U.S. Weather Bureau in Miami). The hurricane made landfall when the tide was high and the moon was full; both of these factors contributed to the extra high tide. The full impact of the hurricane lasted about one hour and by 1:00 p.m. the winds began to subside.

According to Brunswick Electric Membership Corporation records, there were approximately 300 meters (cottages and businesses) on Holden Beach when Hurricane Hazel made landfall. The hurricane annihilated all the cottages, businesses and dunes on the beach front.

Twelve cottages were left on their foundation; two or three of theses required minor repair but the others required major repairs. Hugh Dutton's cottage at 260 Ocean Boulevard, West, was the most westerly cottage left on its foundation. All of the cottages and businesses west of this area were destroyed. Twenty-five of thirty cottages were left intact but scattered around on the sand dunes north of Ocean Boulevard.

Three men were unable to leave the island before the hurricane made landfall. Most people believe the rising water prevented Mr. David Glass and his friend from leaving his cottage, which was located over two miles west of the bridge. Mr. Glass's body was found the next day on the mainland in a pile of hurricane debris. His friend's body was found the following day, Sunday, October 17, on the mainland near Windy Point.

My father, the late Luther S. Holden, and his wife Edna were prepared to leave the beach early the morning of October 15, when some friends stopped by the house to see if they were ready to leave. As they were all ready to leave, Dad decided his 1953 model Chevrolet car would be safer in my garage because the elevation of my garage was several feet higher than his. He told his wife to go on with the friends and he would transfer his car to my garage and drive his jeep pickup off the beach.

By the time he got in his jeep to leave the rain was pouring down and the wind had increased far beyond hurricane force. When he was about half-way to the bridge the jeep drowned out. He got out and tried to walk diagonally across the sand dunes to the bridge. This proved to be impossible. Although he got within two hundred yards of the bridge, he was forced to get down on his hands and knees and crawl back to the nearest cottage. This cottage was one of the twelve that remained on its foundation. It is located at 127 Ocean Boulevard East.

He said the first strong winds came from the southeast; as the eye of the storm passed over, the wind speed was reduces for a few minutes. Winds came from the southwest when they resumed.

Dad stayed around the leeward side of the cottage where he did have some protection from the wind, rain and blowing sand. After the hurricane winds subsided, rescuers found Dad wet sandy, weak and exhausted. He had lost his glasses and the crystal on his wrist watch looked as thou it had been sand blasted with a machine. Of course, the wind and beach sand had done the damage.

Dad was the only survivor of the three men who could not evacuate the day Hurricane Hazel made landfall 10:30 a.m. October 15, 1954. It is a miracle that a man 70 years of age survived the ordeal and lived to be almost 74 years of age.

The local commercial shrimping fleet suffered because of the hurricane. Some of the owners of shrimp boats took their boat up Lockwood's Folly River the day before Hurricane Hazel made landfall. Those boats were not damaged. However, most of the boats were left tied to the fish house docks near the Old Ferry and weather conditions would not permit these boats to be taken up the river the morning of October 15. Those docks and fish houses were destroyed; the shrimp boats were left stranded in the woods along the mainland.

Julian (Junior) Fulford, captain of the shrimp boat Nina Fay elected to stay with his boat during the hurricane. This man was an experienced sea-going man. He started going to sea with his father and navigated the boat when he was so small he had to peep around the pilot wheel to see which direction the boat was traveling.

As the other boat captains and their crews were leaving the docks, Junior filled the fuel tanks on the Nina Fay and took his boat up the Intracoastal Waterway a few hundred feet east of Holden Beach Bridge. There he established his position and "rode out" Hurricane Hazel. I doubt Junior Fulford would recommend anyone's taking the risk he did.

A sea-going tugboat owned by the U.S. Corps of Engineers was traveling through the Intracoastal Waterway, en route from Charleston, South Carolina, to Wilmington, North Carolina, at the time the hurricane was making landfall. The tugboat was in the waterway between the Old Ferry and Lockwood's Folly Inlet a short time before the strong winds began to strike. However, at that time the strong currents and winds in the inlet prevented passage, and the tug was forced to weather the hurricane a short distance west of the inlet. The tugboat and its crew were not as lucky as Junior Fulford and the Nina Fay. The 150 MPH wind and strong currents pushed the sea-gong tug about 150 feet out in a field on the mainland and left it stranded.

My family and I spent Friday, October 15, 1954, high in the mountains in Western North Carolina visiting with my wife's relatives. We had not received any news of a hurricane coming to the coast of North Carolina, much less that our home and lifetime earnings were being destroyed. Communications were inadequate for emergencies. We had no television and there was no telephone in the southern part of Brunswick County.

We returned to Asheville that afternoon, arriving there about 6:00 p.m. New boys were at the first stop light, yelling, "Extra, extra, Hurricane Hazel hits Carolina Coast." I told my wife to buy a paper and we parked to read it. The paper mentioned Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach, Myrtle Beach, but did not indicate any damage to the Brunswick County beaches.

A policeman was standing nearby and I asked him if he knew how serious the damages were on the coast. He told me that he understood there was considerable damage; the telephone lines were all down in the Wilmington area and the power was off in southeastern North Carolina.

I told him my home and business were on Holden Beach, my father was there, and that I needed information. He directed me to the North Carolina Highway Patrol tower, which was located about five miles out of town, thinking they could contact my home area.

I was surprised when I arrived at the tower and found a friend of mine operating the radio. His father's family lived in Southport, but his patrol communication to the area was off.

My wife and I decided we should return to Holden Beach immediately. She called her sister from the radio tower and told her we would be leaving as soon as we could pack. The sister prepared quick sandwiches and we were on our way in less than forty-five minutes.

The highway from Asheville to Charlotte was narrow and winding. We kept our small sons awake until we were down from the high elevation for fear they would become sick lying down. Before we arrived in Charlotte they were stretched out side by side on the back seat asleep and did not awake until we arrived at Holden Beach Bridge.

We were aware most service stations closed at 12:00 midnight. Ample fuel was purchased in Charlotte to take us back to Holden beach. While we were stopped, I noticed the weather was changing and a cold front was moving in.

The full moon was high in the sky by the time we were a hundred miles east of Charlotte. We encountered very little traffic on Highway 74 to Whiteville. We did not see any traffic on Highway 130 between Whiteville and Shalotte.

About twenty-five miles from Shalotte our attention was attracted by the fact there was no electric light burning, and we did not see any more that night. Occasionally we would see fresh broken tree limbs lying on the road, also roof damage on buildings and homes near the road.

As we passed through Shallotte, we could see tremendous wind damage. En route to the beach we saw trees blown down in yards and across the road, but cleared enough for passage. Damage to roof tops had visibly increased with other destruction.

We arrived at Holden beach Bridge at 4:00 a.m., October 16. Since we had no idea of the destruction Hurricane Hazel had done the previous day (less than eighteen hours earlier), it was surprising and shocking to see two highway patrolmen and several National Guardsmen standing on the bridge. I parked the car and told my wife to stay in the car with our sleeping sons and I would go to see what had happened. While I was getting out of the car, one of the National Guardsmen called and said, "We are not letting anyone on the beach." As I approached the group of guardsmen, most of them apparently recognized me. I said, "I have to go on the beach." They opened rank without any response and stood speechless as I asked through on my way to the beach.

At the end of the bridge was evidence of the hurricane's strong wind; the traffic stop gate was torn down and lying beside the road. As I looked toward the intersection of Jordan Boulevard and Ocean Boulevard, the road was covered with sand and debris. Several cottages and parts of cottages were left in the area.

Walking around the debris and sand drifts that covered Ocean Boulevard was not easy as I continued my lonely walk toward Old Ferry Road. When I reached the area where my home, rental units and Surfside Pavilion stood eighteen hours earlier, I realized that the buildings were gone. It was difficult to recognize the place. What was left of my home was sitting on its end in the street.

On my way back to the bridge, I walked through the drifts of white beach sand to the area where my big pavilion once stood. Standing there and surveying the destruction, I found it hard to comprehend how so much damage could be inflicted in such a short time. No burning light or man-made sound could be seen or heard in any direction.

As I turned to take another look across the area where the pavilion was standing eighteen hours earlier, the full moon attracted my attentions, shining brightly in the southwestern sky. The visibility was unusually good, the skies blue, and each star appeared to give a glimmer of hope. The temperature was 45 degrees F. As a result of a slow peaceful wind blowing from the north, the ocean was as smooth as a small lake.

While standing there meditating, I deemed it to be a miracle that the weather could make such a change in an eighteen-hour period. Even though we have outstanding scientists and technical equipment, this scene appeared to me as evidence that our Heavenly Father is the only one who can calm the howling winds and still the stormy seas.

I returned to our car where my wife and sons were waiting. This short statement described the situation: "What we did have has been destroyed." Afterwards we drove quietly to my brother's home at Bolivia, which is about fifteen miles from the beach. It was 6:00 a.m. when we arrived there; he and his wife arose and built a fire in the fireplace. I went back to the beach after breakfast was served but left may family there.

One of my friends who lived on the mainland drove his farm tractor and trailer over on the beach (sand and debris on the road prevented use of cars and pickups). He helped pick up a few scattered items I could identify. His wife prepared sandwiches and sent them for our lunch.

Since I had no place for storage or living quarters for my family, I decided to leave things alone in what used to be my home.

A cousin came by the beach that afternoon and suggested that my family use his home place until a permanent arrangement could be made. That was welcome news. We were soon located on Old Ferry Road (on the mainland). This was convenient to the beach. By nightfall we had assembled enough necessities to spend the night.

My family was exhausted, particularly my wife and I. We had not had any rest since Thursday night. In addition to the shock of Hurricane Hazel, I had driven 440 miles during the preceding eighteen hours.

By midday Sunday the North Carolina Highway Department, using bulldozers and motor graders, had cleared enough sand and debris off the road right of way from the bridge down Ocean Boulevard East, past Old Ferry Road to permit some traffic.

Some friends came Sunday afternoon with my brother, Homer, and his pickup to remove the usable articles from our home damaged badly by the hurricane. Most of the windows were broken out, doors broken or torn off, etc.; so there was no way to secure articles left in the house. I was pleased Saturday morning when I went in my bedroom and found the white gold watch my mother had given me for high school graduation. I had kept it for over twenty years. I took it immediately and placed it where I thought it would be safe. However, I was saddened Sunday afternoon when I discovered a thief or thieves had been in and stolen my watch.

The National Guardsmen were still on duty Monday morning when I went back to the beach at 8:00 a.m. The guard duty at the bridge was discontinued Wednesday of that week.

I had been so involved with my losses and getting my family relocated I had not had an opportunity to evaluate the full impact of the damage to the island from the east end, westward to the area where Holden Beach Fishing Pier is located today. The hurricane had cut an inlet through the beach at the pier location; and there was a substantial amount of water passing in and out with each changing of the tide.

There was no structure left west of this new inlet. As I recall there was not even a light pole left standing. I remember going to the remaining foundation of the Sand Bar Cottage which had been built about to years before Hurricane Hazel. It was an unusually large cottage built and owned by a company that constructed bridges. They used a large amount of steel and concrete during construction. In their opinion it would be standing after everything else was destroyed. It might have been the last to be destroyed but part of the foundation was all that was left after the hurricane. The asphalt road had been washed out and the entire area covered with a blanket of beach sand. Such debris as a single piece of lumber, a lavatory, commode, hot water heater or a refrigerator lying I the marsh was evidence that houses had been in the area.

After returning to the bridge area about 10:00 a.m., I was told that North Carolina Highway Patrolman was looking for me. He located me in a short time and informed me that he had received a call from Wilmington instruction him to bring me to the Woodrow Wilson Hut on South Second Street in Wilmington before 11:00 a.m. At the time I left the beach, I had no idea what the meeting was about; neither did he. I do remember his driving so fast between the beach and Supply that I requested him to slow down.

I learned immediately when I arrive that the purpose of the meeting was to evaluate hurricane damage in the four-county area of Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover and Pender. A variety of Federal offices were represented: Small Business Administration, U.S. Corps of Engineers, Civil Defense, and the American Red Cross.

Since I was the only representative present from Holden Beach, they requested me to give a report of the damage. This is the report I gave:
1. Two fatalities. 2. Thee were approximately 300 cottages and business on the beach before the hurricane; 12 cottages were left on their foundation but damages; 25 or 30 cottages intact but left scattered on the sand dunes and the rest completely destroyed. 3. The ocean front real estate property lost a strip 60 or 75 feet average, the entire length of the island. (This property disappeared.) 4. A new inlet was opened up by the hurricane from the Intracoastal Waterway to the Atlantic Ocean; this divided the island, and the tide rose and fell through this inlet. 5. Fewer than 75 usable electric poles were left standing; the rest were gone, broken or damaged. 6. All of the six miles of paved road was broken or destroyed, except one quarter of a mile east of Old Ferry Road.

This kind of information was necessary to justify Federal money to rebuild the beaches. The Small Business Administration required the small businesses n the area to file a loss report with them in order for them to determine the feasibility of opening an office in the Wilmington area.

I filed the following loss report with the Small Business Administration:
1. Pavilion with several businesses, U.S. Post Office, and recreation room used for public worship services on Sunday. 2. Four rental units. 3. My home. 4. ¾ ton 4x4 vehicle.

Johnny Mercer at Wrightsville beach was the owner of a fishing pier, concession and pavilion. The hurricane destroyed his facilities also.

He and I suffered the greatest structural loss inflicted by Hurricane Hazel, of anyone in the Wilmington area, according to the Small Business Administration records. Both of us had fire insurance but no extended coverage. Flood insurance was not then available. Therefore, the results of these losses were a financial disaster for each of us.

My father's recovery and mental and physical experiences during Hurricane Hazel was prolonged by the circumstances that followed. The hurricane had left his home on a sand dune between what is now Shrimp Street and Old Ferry Road. The house was intact but had considerable damage. Some o the windows were broken out and the front door smashed in; this allowed wind and water to deposit two to six inches of sand on the floor.

On the Sunday following the hurricane on Friday, volunteers removed the sand from the floors of this home and nailed scraps of plywood over broker window. The front door was replaced and a lock provided. However, vandals and thieves had removed some items before his home was secured.

Several days passed before his home could be cleaned and dried out. He and his wife preferred to return to their home on the b each at the earliest date, even though it was sitting flat on the sand.

The first week following Hurricane Hazel was depressing for my father and me. Most of the mornings when we arrived on the beach there were very few signs or sounds of life. A lone sea gull would occasionally fly over. The grass and sea oats were all covered with fresh drifting sand. Not even a track of a rabbit, opossum, or house cat could be seen.

Before the hurricane Dad had an old pet "mamma cat;" she was a mongrel breed with many colors. That cat was intelligent and a smart hunter. She demonstrated her skills quite often during the winter months.

Many times when the cat went out and caught a rat, she would bring it back alive and lie in the yard demonstrating her skills. Dad enjoyed sitting in his rocking chair on the porch and watching the old cat. It appeared that each knew the other was watching. Dad mentioned the old cat on one occasion and guessed she was a victim of the hurricane. He seemed so grieved that I avoided the subject afterwards.

Wednesday or Thursday morning following the hurricane on Friday, Dad went to his home on the beach and saw a cat's track. Later that morning I saw him and observed he was excited; he said to me, "Do you think it's possible my old cat is alive and his found her way back to my house?" Dad left some food outside by the door that afternoon and when he returned the next morning the old cat was there to greet him. She stayed at her home and died about eighteen months before my father passed away in February 1958.

Ad had the gas company to install a gas tank and make temporary hook-ups to his home, even it was sitting on the sand dunes. They used go to head and cook oil lamps for light. They stayed in their home on that location until the last of December before their house could be moved to a permanent location.

Two weeks passed by before any electricity was available on the beach. All the lines on the mainland were restored before the slow process of rebuilding on the beach began.

The wheels of the Federal government turn slow, even in times of emergency. It was the first of January before the beach renourishment program could be started. The beach renourishment program was called the "sand dune project" and was used on all the southeastern North Carolina beaches after Hurricane Hazel. This project furnished some protection and encouraged restoration of the frontal dunes.

Much of the sand the beach lost during the hurricane was washed into the Atlantic Ocean by the strong currents. A few weeks after the hurricane, natural wave-wash started the process of forcing the loose sand back up on the beach. By the last of December there was a considerable amount of sand along the beach front, from the lower water mark to the area just above the high tide mark.

Enough funds were provided to push this loose sand from the low water mark to a point about 25 feet above the high water mark. At this point on the beach an elevation of 5 feet above the average high water was established. Then a sufficient amount of sand was pushed up, beginning at the low water mark, to make a slow rise in elevation beginning 50 feet seaward to the 5 feet above average high-water elevation established up on the beach. Beginning at Lockwood's Folly Inlet, 7 miles of this beach was pushed up. This pushed-up sand was steep on the back side (land side). A bush fence was erected on the back side. Wax myrtle bushes 4 ½ to 5 feet long were cut and placed on the land side. The butt ends were buried 2 feet in the sand, leaving 2 or 3 feet of the top above the sand and leaning toward the ocean. These bushes were placed in a row about 3 feet apart, thus forming a bush fence. This dune project was completed the last week in May, 1955.

Funds were appropriated to close the new inlet the hurricane had cut through the beach in the area where the Holden Beach Fishing Pier is today. The funds were limited; so was the sand on the beach front in that area. Efforts to close the inlet started in January, but it was not possible to completely close it until late summer, 1955.

Brunswick Electric Membership Corporation had rebuilt most of the main electric lines east of the new inlet by the end of December. The North Carolina Highway Department had completed rebuilding Ocean Boulevard east of the new inlet during the month of April 1955.

By mid-December 1954 the Small Business Administration had opened an office in Wilmington an started accepting applications for loans.

There was no collectable insurance on the big Surfside Pavilion devastated by Hurricane Hazel. Yet, I owed five more annual payments. This created a serious problem for me in securing a loan. The legal office processing my loan was in Southport. It was necessary for me to make many trips between the two offices before my loan was approved. This was inconvenient and proved to be a hardship.

A round trip by Southport to Wilmington and back to Old Ferry Road was 115 miles. It was cold and the skies were overcast that January morning that I went to Southport. I spent almost two hours in the lawyer's office waiting for him to finish some papers for me to take on to the Wilmington office. The temperature was cold when I left Southport, but the road was dry. However, about ten miles out of Southport a light shower of rain had fallen and this water had frozen on the road. I was not aware of the ice on the road until I needed to stop. As a result, I wrecked my car and lost two teeth. Two weeks was required to repair my car, which was my only conveyance.

The Small Business Administration did approve my loan and released some money the first week of February 1955. According to their records, this loan was among the largest of the loans processed in the Wilmington office.

I never did tell my father how much money I had borrowed, for fear he would worry. In fact, he would have discouraged me from borrowing that amount of money.

Necessary funds to repay this loan depended on revenues collected during the summer tourist season. Therefore, all the construction needed to be completed prior to the first of June.

Many of the building materials used on the beaches today were not available then. The window frames and screens used at that time were made on the job by the builder, or at a nearby cabinet shop.

My first priority was to build a shop for storage, and I purchased shop equipment to build the window frames, screens and outside door frames, etc. In order to expedite construction, I contracted carpenter labor to two different contractors. Contracts to do the plumbing and wiring were done by unit or by building. In addition to the contract labor, I employed four men to do carpenter work, and these men were paid by the hour. They started work the first week in February and worked continuously through June 15. Most of this period these men and worked nine hours each day and five and one-half days each week, if the weather permitted. Working on the job with these men and being responsible for keeping ample material on the job for all the various groups was not easy.

I worked in the shop most nights until ten o'clock and Saturday afternoon cutting material for window frames, screens, screen doors and outside door frames. The carpenters could assemble these units after I had cut them out. By June 1, ten rental units had been completed, and a three-bedroom apartment which would provide a home back on the beach for my family. The pavilion construction was completed the second week in June.

Almost nine months had passed before a new home could be built on the beach for my family. Our young sons were excited when we moved back on the beach the second week in June.

A house move from Rose Hill, North Carolina, by the name of Murray and his two sons moved most of the displaced twenty-five or thirty houses back to their permanent location.

A new cottage built on Brunswick Avenue the spring of 1954 was a victim of Hurricane Hazel. This was a four-bedroom cottage with flat roof and was located between Old Ferry Road and Jordan Boulevard. The hurricane did very little damage to it before leaving it sitting on the mainland side near the bank of the Intracoastal Waterway. This location was between Old Ferry Road and the bridge. The cottage would almost float on a normal high water. This condition prevented the house mover from using his standard procedure to move the house. There was another problem; it was loaded and sitting out on the highway, it could not pass through the old bridge.

The owner of the house and the house mover decided to cut the house in two and wait for a full moon tide. A cable was placed around one half of the house, and the other end of the cable was carried across the waterway to the beach side, where a bull dozer was waiting to pull the house across the waterway to the bank on the beach side. There it was loaded and carried back to the original location. The same procedure was used to move the second half back to its original location. The roof style was changed a few years ago and the exterior was remodeled. A person cannot now recognize the history of this cottage by its appearance.

The house movers started their operation in November and finished before April 1. By the end of the 1955 summer season, there were no more than 45 or 50 cottages on the beach. This would include new ones and all those that head been repaired. Most of these cottages were eat of Jordan Boulevard.

The weather was terrible the summer of 1955. The adverse weather started early in July with heavy rains. The area suffered from the effects of three hurricanes that year: Hurricane Connie, August 12; Hurricane Diane, August 17; and Hurricane Ione, September 19.

Area beaches were evacuated several times that year. On one occasion this beach was evacuated four days and three nights. Very few of the tourist families stayed a whole week because of the weather.

Most businesses in southeastern North Carolina suffered financial difficulties, especially those on the beach. Many w4eeks the gross intake at the pavilion would not pay the labor bill. At the end of the season when payments were due, the Small Business Administration was forced to change the pay schedule on the loans made in the Wilmington area. They agreed that if the borrower could make the interest payment that year, the payment plan would be postponed until next year.

Another problem existed that I could not correct; the Small Business Administration was constantly worrying me about insurance on the cottages and pavilion. There was not an insurance agency in Brunswick County at that time who would write a policy on beach property. People who lived in the Piedmont section of our state and had a home owner policy could count on the insurance agency there to cover their beach property. Since I did not own any property on the mainland, it was impossible for me to get any insurance in 1955. I told the Small Business Administration if they could find an agency who would write a policy, to send me the bill and I would pay for it. They failed also!

The North Carolina Highway Department rebuilt the remaining 1.5 miles of Ocean Boulevard, West, the spring of 1956. The sand dune project was built in this area in 1955. The new inlet could not be successfully closed until the late summer of 1955; this had caused the delay in rebuilding the road in that area.

A few cottages were built in 1956 west of the area where the new inlet had been. One man owned two lots in that area; a front lot and a back lot. He had a cottage built on the front lot during the month of June, just back of the sand dune project. Small poles, about six inches in diameter were used for the foundation; and they were dug down with shovels. The cottage was approximately five feet above ground level.

The southwest winds and some above-normal high tides during the summer destroyed the sand dune project in front of the newly-built cottage. Before the end of summer the normal high tides were under the cottage. Even though the full impact of Hurricane Flossy September 267, 1956, did not come directly into this area, there was enough wind to push the cottage off its foundation and leave it sitting in the water on a normal high tide.

When the owner arrived and saw the situation, he became so worried and frustrated he offered the cottage and lots for sale. Murray House Moving Company of Rose Hill was the only interested buyer. They paid the owner $600.00 for the cottage and two lots. The cottage was moved to the back of the lot near Ocean Boulevard, jacked up eight feet high, and supported by a substantial foundation placed under it.

Holden Beach did not have any kind of hurricane damage the season of 1957. This was the only year., between the 1954 hurricane season and October 19, 1962, that this beach did not receive any kind of damage directly or indirectly originated by a hurricane.

Excluding Hurricane Hazel, Hurricane Helene September 27, 1958, inflicted the most damage of any during this period. Even though this hurricane stayed at sea, peak wind gusts in Wilmington were clocked at 135 MPH.

Property owners were reluctant to build, and investors were cautious for several years following Hurricane Hazel. In fact, then years passed before the total number of cottages rebuilt after Hurricane Hazel was equal to the number that existed the morning of October 15, 1954. By the end of the 1960s the average person had forgotten about Hurricane Hazel. Investors and those desiring retirement homes were more eager to build in the early 1970s, and the beach continued to develop at a fast rate.

After many years of misfortune and sacrifices, my wife and I retired the Hurricane Hazel debts in 1975. Our experiences and sad memories do not fade away. It is my hope this chapter answers all necessary questions, and that it may be the appropriate conclusion of all my answers regarding Hurricane Hazel's arrival and our survival.