Island History: A spotlight on stories from the Outer Banks’ Life-Saving Service
The Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station (CLSS) is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, as one of the seven original Life-Saving Stations to be built in North Carolina in 1874.
As such, the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station and Historic Site in Rodanthe will be sharing stories about the seven 1874 Outer Banks stations in the weeks ahead, leading up to the official October celebration of the United States Life-Saving Stations’ 150th anniversary in the state.
The following is the next of these Life-Saving Station feature articles to honor the #LegacyofLifeSaving, written by Jen Carlson for CLSS.
Never Give Up – A historic rescue by the Oregon Inlet Life-Saving Station
On February 25, 1900, a small schooner was caught in a heavy gale and stranded about two miles north of the Oregon Inlet Life-Saving Station as they were trying to find harbor in the inlet from the storm.
The surfmen launched the surfboat but could not pull to the side of the schooner due to the force of the winds and pull of the riptide. They returned to shore, and as quickly as weather would permit, they set up the beach apparatus and fired the first line of communication.
The shot was a success, but the three-man crew of the Jane C. Harris didn’t have enough strength to haul off the whip line against the strong current.
As a last resort, the surfmen from both Oregon Inlet and the Pea Island crew who had also arrived on scene “borrowed” a large sailboat which lay just in the inlet and taking a drouge from the surfboat started towards the wreck.
They anchored the sailboat about 100 yards to the windward side and dropped the drouge line until a heaving stick could be thrown aboard the schooner. Using the line from the heaving stick, the sailboat was hauled in close enough for the imperiled crew to jump aboard. The sailboat was now in a dangerous position, so instead of taking the time to raise the anchor, they cut the anchor line and returned to shore.
The sailors were taken to the station where they remained for three days. After their departure, the crew of the Jane C. Harris send a thank you letter to the General Superintendent’s office complimenting Keeper M. W. Etheridge and both crews for their quick thinking. They also thanked them for their untiring efforts as they worked in the most trying conditions to save the sailors from an untimely death in the freezing temperatures.
All in a Day’s Work at the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station
Sometimes it’s all about retrieval: On December 15, 1896, Keeper L. B. Midgett, Sr. from the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station spotted two men wading to shore from an overturned shad boat. Taking four surfmen with him, they were able to right the boat and then use the station team of horses to pull the shad boat to shore. It turned out to be a mailboat, the Anna Laura, that had capsized, so they also worked to retrieve as much of the mail as possible. The two men were provided dry clothing to change into while they waited for their personal effects and the mail to dry. The men remained at the station for two days before continuing on to their homes.
For more stories like these, visit the Chicamacomico LifeSaving Station where history is alive.
