The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1954-07-16
COAST GUARD
CONTINUED from Page One)

lUA4. Inc record as pertains 10
his great grandfather's tooth has
been preserved by a small mir
acle and, together with collateral
items related to the official be-
ginnings of Cape Hatteras Life
Saving Station, has been tender
ed for preservation in the Mari
time Museum now in process of
being assembled by the National
Park Service for the Cape Hat
teras National Seashore.
What became of the pair Of
pinchers-they are now called
pliers and come in widely assert
ed forms and for about every
conceivable use expect tooth
pulling-is unfortunately obs
cure. The instrument was issued
to the Station on June 26, 1883,
more than a year before the Sta
ton itself became officially a
member of the newly constituted
family of life saving stations.
Every item that came down
for use at the new Station was
meticulously mentioned in the
Property Book. Accounted for
on the first page of the Book, in
addition to the pinchers, was
one lead pencil. Also 80 leaves
of paper" which was to last for
a year, an amount equal to about
one eighth of the total consump-
ton of good paper incident to
young Sic Lance Midgett's re-
cent dental emergency.
Transportation and communi-
cation being what they were in
that day it needed a little more
than a year to assemble the COM
plete equipment for life saving
and it was July Is, 1884, before
the Station was ready for its
seasonal activation. That was
about the time of the beginning
of the hurricane season and the
Station would continue on the
active list until after the vernal
gales about the fourth full moon
Of the following year.
Besides this implement handy
for tooth-pulling and other
things, the book mentioned the
issue of a log-book and Wreck
Report book and before the end
of the year Captain Daley had
set down, usuing 1874 words, his
account of the exploit of Eph-
rain Williams which won for
him and his crew, the Congress
sional Medal Of Honor for Life
saving. The boat crew that De-
cember day included also the re-
doubtable Capt. Patrick Ether
idge.
Captain Daley and Captain
Etheridge continued their ca
reers in the Station and the sta
ton continued in active service
for 81 years in the same building
and in the years a total of 16
Congressional M e d is were
awarded to its crews. more than
for any other station in the
world. Among them the late
Capt. Baxter Miller, the only
man in the records to be award
ed the medal twice.
For such as have fanciful
minds it might seem that the
ocean resented the Station with
mounting bitterness. The ocean
began steadily to eat away the
beach and, by the mid-1930s, il
became necessary to abandon
the station, When they moved
to the new station, complete
with steam heat, the crew left
behind the ancient records
which, as they accumulated
were stored in the attic, the
Property Book. the Log Book
the Wreck Report book-and the
Stations Bible. Fifty four years
were done.
And then, IN the course OF
time, something new came tt
pass and the u. S. Coast Guarc
was looking around for a site fol
a new Loran Station, a place
where the emanations from it:
tower would have water on al
least two sides. Meanwhile an.
other miracle had happened anc
the ocean was in retreat. The
beach was farther away than i
had been when the Station was
located in 1882, because of the
work of Wake County farmer
and 300 CCC boys.
But something had to be done
with the old building, now fallen
into disrepair. The new building
had to be of concrete and cop
per. The old building was sold
for SIG, with the stipulation that
it be removed so thoroughly that
no trace of it remain to clutter
the new premises. There per-
sisted a mounting heap of debris
especially from the attic-ano
what simpler way is there to dis
pose of trash than to make q
bonfire.