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Here's a Christian Science Monitor article on this index.

Princeville, NC and the May 1958 Floods

Princeville, North Carolina, the oldest African-American incorporated town in the United States, made national headlines in 1999 when Hurricane Floyd completely inundated the town. Over 20 feet of water from the overflowing Tar River covered the town for 10 days that September twelve years ago. Located on a flood plain, this was not the town's first experience with flooding.

In May 1958, the waters of the Tar River inundated the town, although not the degree of Floyd. The reports below detail this event and the state's action to safeguard the people and property of Princeville. Of note in the letter by Harry E. Brown, head of the State Hurricane Rehabilitation Program, he writes "Nineteen floods of record have damaged this area since 1919. In addition to the present one, each of those occurring in 1919, 1924 and 1940 caused considerable damage. It appears that flood frequencies justify another study by the Corps of Engineers to determine what action can be taken to lessen this danger."

In 1965 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed an earthen dike to ward off floods...until Hurricane Floyd roared into town.

Before There Was NC-12, There Was a Vision - 1956

There was a vision of a coastal highway allowing the tourist industry to flourish before NC-12 was finished with the construction of the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge over Oregon Inlet. This image was attached to a letter sent out by the Morehead City Chamber of Commerce in July 1956. With the future and love-hate relationship of NC-12 in the news recently thanks to Hurricane Irene's fury, a little bit of historical perspective is always useful.

Cath Glow Light Corporation Shelter Sign Blueprint - 1942

First off, would anyone like to build me one of these for my sign collection?

I found this while going through boxes of advertising paraphernalia sent to the NCCD during World War II. What stood out obviously with this letter was the inclusion of a blueprint for how these signs are designed. Not every day you find a blueprint. Heaven knows if any of these Cath Glow Light Corporation signs are even in existence, but if anyone would like to try making one, hopefully this information will help!

Researching and Weather Phenomena

I find it amusing that while researching this summer, I have:

1. Been at an archive days before a hurricane (Irene) flooded the surrounding area, but thankfully the archive is okay.

2. While photographing documents in Raleigh an earthquake decided to shake things up, resulting in the evacuation of the archive and standing outside for over half and hour going "that was something."

3. Twice in one day being evacuated to the basement of yet a third archive due to tornado sightings, spawned from thunderstorms as remnants of Tropical Storm Lee.

Hopefully wildfires, plague, nuclear attack or meltdown, and catastrophic flooding will not impede any other research for the remainder of my summer!