The coastland times., 1951-12-28
lYOUNG OLD-TIMER
Il RETIRING FROM
COAST GUARDS
George Harrison Meekins has
Had Diversified Career
q with the Eife7SaVers

Y colorful career of the "last of the
great surfmen" in the tradition OF
a the u. S. Coast Guards Lifesaving
q Service when Lieutenant Comman-
$der George Harrison Meekins,
4 commander of the Cape Hatteras
I 1foup, is retired from service.
1 Commander Meekins reached the
] statutory age of retirement on
\ Christmas day when he was e2
i years ole.
Il With the rank of Chief Warrant
n knficer, Commander Meekins was
q iEf command of the group, with
headquarters on Cape Hatteras
when war erupted off the Point
with the first onset of German
\ undersea raiders in January 1912,
and for six weeks, he, with crew
epof Is men, augmented by three
gshying boats from the Air Base at
q Elizabeth City, alone were able to
n Challenge the submarines and gath
err ND the dead that Uttered the
beaches.
Before spring, his command was
increased to about 800 men-and
H 6O-odd horses and several kennels
of K-9s-when national defense
'Esbegan to function, but before the
&fU-boats were checked total OF
4 1OS ships had been lost almost
within sight of the station here
and many scores of lives. The bat
tie ragged from Lookout Shoals to
Currituck but mostly it centered
off this Cape where raiders lay in
wait for the conveys zig-zagging
close to shore.
But though he saw war at its
bloodiest under the caves of his
station, Commander Meekins, when
a reminiscent mood if upon him
would bark back more frequently
60 the rescue of the crew of the
"Kohler", last of the 4-masters tc
be off the coast of North Caro-
lima. Mr.. Meekins led the crew OF
Little Kinnakeet station to the
fcundered ship when the great
storm of August, 1888, was at its
aheight.
Eight men, one woman and one
cocker spaniel were brought safely
off in the breeches buoy and, al.
though the beach was awash fron'
Oregon Inlet to, Cape Hatteras
with. water averaging waist deep
the crew were taken to place Of
safety. Mr.. Meekins was captivat.
ed with the dog and soon thereaft.
er as he could manage, got himself
cocker spaniel. His present
cocker goes into retirement with
him. The foundered Kohler, q
wooden schooner, was burned fol
her metal in 1941.
Born in Kinnakeet in 1889, Mr.
Meekins was fishing in PamlicC
Sound before he can remember anC
Just before his 10th birthday Suf
fered shipwreck between Wade
Point and Caroon's Point wher
the oysterman on which he hac
sailed to Elizabeth City capsizei
in a blizzard on the return trip
The youth clung to the bottom ot
the capsized bugeye for six hours
when he was rescued, virtually
frozen, by a buy boat enroute from
Maryland to Swan Quarter.
After another season or two oi
oystering and fishing he joined
the lighthouse service for two
years and then, when he was MOI
advancing at the rate he wanted
he moved to the U. S. Engineers
He was 30 years old before hi:
father, the late Isaac T. MeelSins
completed his own 80 years in the
AsLife Saving Service and retired
sthat the younger man yielded tt
the inevitable. He Joined and WAS
sent to a station in Florida. Il
took him five years to work his
way back to his native coastlapC
and the rating of Chief Bos'r
Mate. He served in many of the
&tations from Cape Fear to Wast
Woods, with commands at Big
Kinnakeet and Little Kinnakeet
He was at the latter station wher
the Kohler was lost
That storm of August, 1923
spelled the doom of not only the
Kohler, but of Cape HatteraS
Lighthouse and Cape Hatteras Life
Boat Station as well. Both were
abandoned because of beach eros
ion. A new lighthouse and a new
lifcboat station were built and Mr.
Meekins activated both, as com
mander, on March 1, 1889. He con.
tinued in command until 1914 when
i he was assigned to District Head
quarters in Norfolk where he help
ed to set up the newly organized
Air-Sea Search and Rescue opera
tion. Later he was to command
Fort Macon group and three years
ago returned to his home district
to resume command.
Although he relinquishes COM
GAand of the, group at midnight
y Monday, Mr.. Meekins will not be