Hurricanes

I was reared a few miles from the beach, yet our home was close enough to the beach that we could hear the rough seas pounding the shore during a northeaster or hurricane if the wind was blowing from the southeast. Many times my father, the late Luther S. Holden, stood in our front yard and listened to the roaring surf; then made this remark: "Those are big waves pounding the beach."

My interest in hurricanes accelerated during my teenage years when I visited Grandaddy Holden's beach fishery during September and October, the peak of the hurricane season. Several of those fishermen were seagoing men and had worked on freight boats that transported freight to North Carolina coastal towns of Morehead City, Southport and Wilmington, the South Carolina towns of Georgetown and Charleston and Georgia's town of Savannah. Some of those boats were powered by steam and others depended upon sails.

Sometimes when the fishermen were not busy catching fish, they would sit and tell some of their experiences at sea. Those men did not have radios or any kind of communications like those that are available today. A compass was the only instrument they had and their survival depended upon their judgment and wisdom. The Farmer's Almanac was the only public weather forecaster at that time.

I will share with you what I saw and heard on one of my visits to the "Old Fishery." It was mid afternoon when I arrived, and I did not have to ask if they had caught any fish that day, because I could see both of the two big nets had not been wet and the seine boat was high up on the beach.

Most of the twenty-man crew of fishermen had pocketknives and they kept their knives sharp. In fact, it was not unusual to see a fisherman with a pocket knife sharp enough to shave the hairs off his arm or leg. They used their knives to whittle the time away when they were not busy fishing. Red cedar wood was the choice wood to whittle on and this could be found along the shoreline.

That day most of the fishermen had gathered down near the west end of the big fish shed and were standing in a small circle, looking down. My curiosity forced me to go see and hear why these men had gathered in a group, and were charmed by what one man was telling.

When I got into a location that I could see and hear, it appeared four or five of these men had been sitting in the sand or on blocks of wood whittling an hour or more. They were still whittling when I first arrived and there were lots of red cedar chips in the sand and on their blue denim overalls. The man who had attracted all of their attention was a big man, with a big snow-white beard (by this day’s standard he would be rated as an A.A.A. Santa Claus); he was sitting on a block of wood and leaning back against one of the big posts that supported the roof, and he was whittling also.

This man, during his early manhood, had worked on a big four-masted sailboat that transported freight to ports in the Carolinas and Georgia. He was describing in detail how large the ship was; I do not remember the length or width of the beam, but it was a big ship during that period of time. Neither do I remember how many tons of cargo it could carry, but I do remember he said the ship had four masts (in those days, the masts were made of wood).

He said he was on the ship in Savannah, Georgia, on one trip and the ship was loaded to the maximum tonnage allowed; the cargo was destined to the port of Wilmington, North Carolina.

The ship set sail from Savannah, Georgia, late one afternoon, and the next morning the ship was in the edge of a hurricane off the coast of South Carolina (one has to realize there were no weather forecasts those days). Before sundown the second day, the “big man’ said waves were breaking across the bow of the ship and the ship’s crew removed all the sails and secured all the hatches. During the night the waves grew larger and more frequent.

When daylight broke through the next morning the waves were still pounding the ship and all the rigging had been stripped from the four masts of the ship.

The fishermen were awed and listened for fifteen or twenty minutes as the “big man” told in detail of his horrifying night’s experience. He said the sailing ship’s crew were exhausted when daylight came and were ready to accept the worst; but one of the ship’s crew recommended cutting the masts off in an effort to help stabilize the ship; all the crew agreed.

He said four of the crew volunteered to cut the masts off if a harness could be improvised for the men to wear so a line could secure them to the deck and prevent them from being washed overboard. The big man continued to tell in detail how the masts were cut off with an ex; his voice was trembling and his whittling had almost ceased.

When he told of the last mast falling off the ship, one of the fishermen broke the silence and asked the big man if he was scared. The big man stopped whittling, looked up, and with big tears on his cheeks said, “Yes, I was scared; I prayed the loudest I have ever prayed, because I wanted my God to hear my prayer and rescue us from those big waves.”

I observed several of the fishermen with tears in their eyes as they walked away, and I left also.

During my visit on a later date the fishermen at the beach fishery talked about several hurricanes that hit the coast of Brunswick County in the 1890s. The hurricane that hit our coast on October 13, 1893,k recorded the highest surge of water known to that date, and the highest wind velocity in North Carolina was 92 miles per hour at Southport.

There was no residential development along the coastline of Brunswick County, and there was no weather bureau to warn residents of dangerous weather conditions.

All farm animals were allowed free range from the lands. Cows were attracted to the barrier islands an grazed on the young sea oats and other grasses there. Several of the fishermen witnessed the damage done by the hurricane of October 13, 1893. A small creek separated the island from the mainland and domestic animals could cross the creek and come over to the island known today as Holden Beach.

Those fishermen described walking the shoreline of the mainland and what they saw fro Cedar Landing (the present location of the high-rise bridge) to Brown’s Landing. They said when they arrived a the mouth of Joshua Branch (this branch is located about half-way between Ferry Road and Brown’s Landing), they climbed up on a big tree the hurricane had blown down and from there they counted thirteen cows and eight hogs. These animals were drowned during that hurricane.

No doubt many class-one hurricanes passed by the coast of Brunswick County and people identified them as northeasters. I can remember during the 1930s and 1940s several times the storm tides were unusually high and local residents said they were “northeasters.” Sometimes a week of two later, the newspaper would report a hurricane had hit Florida, Charleston, South Carolina, or Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

The Federal Government became more interested in hurricanes and started identifying them by names in 1952. “Able” was the only hurricane to affect North Carolina that year, and it caused no serious damage. Hurricane Barbara hit the Outer Banks of North Carolina in 1953 with gusts of wind ninety miles an hour an more than six inches of rain.

Hurricane Carol passed east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, August 30, 1954. Hurricane Edna passed east of Cape Hatteras, September 10, 1954. Neither of these hurricanes did serious damage in North Carolina.

Hurricane Hazel made landfall at Calabash, which is near the South Carolina line, and its full force hit the Brunswick County Beaches to the Cape Fear River.

Meteorological data on the Carolina coast during the passage of Hurricane Hazel, October 15, 1954, recorded the following information. The lowest barometric reading at Holden Beach Bridge was 27.90; the highest wind gust was 150 miles per hour, with sustained winds estimated at 127 miles per hour. The highest water surge of eighteen feet above mean tide was recorded there also.

The ocean front sand dunes on Holden Beach were destroyed. The only lot on the ocean side of Ocean Boulevard that Hurricane Hazel water did not cover was at144 Ocean Boulevard East; that lot was higher than it is today.

All of the pavement on Ocean Boulevard was destroyed except the pavement from Ferry Road east to Blockade Runner Street. Most of the power poles were broken off and gone. This hurricane cut an inlet where the Holden Beach Fishing Pier is today.

All of the pavement of Ocean Boulevard was destroyed except the pavement from Ferry Road east to Blockade Runner Street. Most of the power poles were broken off and gone. This hurricane cut an inlet where the Holden Beach Fishing Pier is today.

According to Brunswick Electric Membership Corporation records, there was a total of 300 electric meters on Holden Beach when the hurricane hit at 10:00 a.m. on October 15, 1954; this included businesses and cottages. All the businesses were destroyed and only twelve cottages were left on their foundations. There was no kind of flood insurance available those days and very few people collected any insurance.

The surge of water carried most of the debris and parts of cottages into the woods across the canal. Some of the owners could identify parts of their cottages and salvaged usable materials and appliances to rebuild back on the beach. However, in many cases, thieves removed the materials and appliances before the home owners could salvage their property.

The National Guard stopped non-homeowners at the bridge several days after the hurricane, but that did not stop thieves from crossing the canal in small boats and coming onto the island.

My home was on the ocean front when Hurricane Hazel hit, and it received severe damage; sides smashed, windows broken and doors smashed. I had to walk from the bridge to my home on Saturday after the hurricane hit on Friday. There were big piles of sand on Ocean Boulevard and fresh sand everywhere. There were some things in our bedroom that could be used. A gold watch my mother gave me after high school graduation in 1934 was in a dresser drawer. A thief stole it Saturday night before friends helped me remove some things on Sunday afternoon.