In October 1954, Hurricane Hazel struck near Calabash, North Carolina, and lashed its way up the coast, creating 100 mph wind gusts and a storm surge that destroyed thousands of homes and other beach structures. The damage was so significant that the area around the Cape Fear coast was given the nickname “Hurricane Alley.” To this day, Hazel remains the strongest hurricane in North Carolina history and is the only Category 4 hurricane to have made landfall in the state. 

Though hurricane season runs from June through November, it peaks late August into September, so it's no surprise that September has historically been the busiest hurricane month for coastal North Carolinians. While recent storms like Florence in 2018 are still in recent memory, the pain of September hurricanes goes back decades. 

Let’s travel back in time via the WWAY Television News Archive to look at some you may have forgotten (or weren’t alive for yet!)...

HURRICANE FRAN - 1996 

Not yet fully recovered from Hurricane Bertha in July, the Cape Fear coast took another hit on September 5, 1996, when Hurricane Fran landed as a Category 3. At the time, Fran was the costliest hurricane for North Carolina since Hurricane Hazel in 1954, due largely to a 10+ foot storm surge that destroyed homes and businesses from Kure Beach to Emerald Isle. Famously, Fran swept away the temporary North Topsail Beach police station. 

This clip shows trees being replaced in Downtown Wilmington three months after the storm destroyed many:

Source: "Wilmington Downtown Tree Planting to Repair Damage after Hurricane Fran," WWAY Television News Archive, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History

HURRICANE HUGO – 1989

On September 22, 1989, Hurricane Hugo—a Category 4 with winds as high as 140 mph—made landfall just north of Charleston, South Carolina, before moving up through North Carolina. The storm's intensity produced hurricane-force gusts that reached as far as western North Carolina and a historic storm tide nearing 20 feet. At the time, it was one of the strongest and costliest hurricanes to hit the East Coast. 

This clip shows the storm’s damage to Yaupon Beach in Oak Island just three days after: 

Source: "Yaupon Beach Damage from Hurricane Hugo," WWAY Television News Archive, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History

HURRICANE DIANA - 1984 

Hurricane Diana was the first hurricane to strike Southeast North Carolina since Hurricane Donna in 1960 and the first major hurricane since Hurricane Hazel in 1954. As the strongest hurricane of the 1984 season, Diana hit along the coast on September 13 as a Category 2, making landfall at Bald Head Island. Both New Hanover County and Brunswick County were met with flooding and overflowing lakes, the result of over a foot of rainfall. 

This clip shows residents of Bald Head Island who took shelter in the Old Baldy Lighthouse rather than evacuate the island: 

Source: "Bald Head Island Residents Evacuate during Hurricane Diana while Some Take Shelter in Lighthouse," WWAY Television News Archive, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History

As a final fun fact, all three hurricanes were severe enough that their names were retired from the official hurricane name list, which is maintained by the Hurricane Committee of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). 

You can search the WWAY Television News Archive digital collection for more hurricane-related videos, or check out the Calhoun Collection of Hurricane Preparedness Research and the North Carolina Coastal Federation Papers for guides and research on hurricane mitigation, evacuation plans, and recovery steps. 

In mid-century America, beauty pageants were a hit. The golden age of pageants began in the 1950s, when the Miss America competition in Atlantic City, New Jersey was first broadcast live on television to millions of excited viewers. State and local pageants, though smaller in scale, also experienced a streak of popularity. In North Carolina, a Wilmington resident named Hannah Block played a critical role in the pageant world. Block judged and directed numerous pageants across North Carolina and routinely coached and chaperoned pageant contestants to better their chances of success. Block even had a hand in securing the first and only Miss America win for a North Carolina contestant. 

During the 1950s, Hannah Block coached and chaperoned several Miss North Carolina winners, including Faye Arnold of Raleigh and Joan Melton of Albemarle, to compete in the Miss America competition. Although both Arnold and Melton were state winners, neither could snag the Miss America title. Nothing stopped Hannah Block’s enthusiasm, however. Quoted in a 1958 newspaper interview after losing that year’s Miss America, Block said of the pageant: “It is one of the most thrilling things I know of.”

It wasn't until the 1960s that a North Carolina contestant found success on the national level. After Maria Beale Fletcher of Asheville won the Miss North Carolina pageant in 1961, Hannah Block coached Fletcher for the upcoming competition in Atlantic City. Fletcher ultimately won the title of Miss America 1962. As winner, Fletcher received all the benefits of Miss America: an academic scholarship, a full schedule of social appearances, and hearty congratulations from family, friends, and fans. Block’s contributions were also well-applauded. When Special Collections staff organized Hannah Block’s Miss America records, dozens of congratulatory telegrams, cards, and letters were found and preserved. They serve as warm reminders of Block’s efforts, even 65 years later.

Hannah Block was an active figure in the Miss North Carolina and Miss America pageants, but she was also a coach, chaperone, judge, producer, and director at numerous regional and local pageants. The Hannah Solomon Block Collection features materials that show the depth of her involvement, and includes items like correspondence, pageant program books, nametags, newspapers, and photographs. Also present in the collection is evidence of Block's support of the Wilmington community; for example, the Hannah Block Historic USO at 120 South Second Street bears her name to commemorate Block's work coordinating performances for troops during World War II. To view these materials and other items related to Block's life, visit our Reading Room or contact us. 

Sources

• Newspapers, 1952-1967, Folder: 47, Box: 2. Hannah Solomon Block Collection, SC-MS-181, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History.
• Correspondence, 1960-1961, undated, Folder: 5, Box: 3. Hannah Solomon Block Collection, SC-MS-181, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History.