Morning airport history. From Western North Carolina, top left is a crash truck at Asheville-Henderson Army Airfield, a former airport that was located in Fletcher. Today, it’s the site of an industrial park. AHAA opened as a civilian airfield in 1938 and was operated by the Army from 1943 to 1947. By the late 1950s, …
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This is a blog version of a Facebook posting from May 24, 2025. Let’s go back to World War II and and the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company, which was located at the current site of the state port. It built 243 ships from 1943 to 1946. They had their own fire department and at least …
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Looking back at the “broken arrow” B-52 bomber crash near Goldsboro (NC) on January 24, 1961. With period photos and news clippings, plus a visit to the crash site today. At 12:15 a.m., a B-52G Stratofortress operated by the 424 1st Strategic Air Command Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and carrying two unarmed …
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Photo credits: US Army 596th Transportation Brigade, Davis Diesel, Ray Hunt Design, Munson Boats, US Army, Hose & Nozzle Magazine. Let’s look at the fire and rescue boats of Marine Ocean Terminal Sunny Point in Brunswick County. Three fireboats going back to the 1950s plus a small rescue boat in recent years. Were there others? …
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Presenting a timeline of rescue history in Goldsboro, surrounding communities, and Wayne County. Read detailed research notes (pdf) View newspaper clippings in Google Drive folder. Short Version 1950 to 1969 1952 – After two years of trying to sell the idea of a rescue squad to local civic clubs, fire chief found interest at local …
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Let’s look back at state hospital fire protection in our state and specifically Cherry Hospital outside Goldsboro. We’ve long documented the fire department and apparatus at Broughton Hospital in Morganton, but did you know that Cherry Hospital also had a fire department? First, some background. The facility first opened in 1880 and served black patients …
Research notes on the history of the Goldsboro Fire Department. Primary sources are cited newspaper articles. Before 1900 1869 – Notice in newspaper: “Citizens of Goldsboro! Do you want a reliable Fire Company to be composed of white men? If you do, then go, without fail, and attend the meeting at the Court House this …
Update – March 17, 2026 The renovations were completed in late October/early November 2025. Staff started moving back into their offices on Monday, November 17, 2025. In March 2025, renovations were started at the classroom building at the Keeter Training Center in downtown Raleigh. The project was approved by city council on October 1, 2024, …
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Research notes on medical helicopter crashes and accidents in North Carolina, both fatal and non-fatal. Pictured is the Life Force crash in Macon County in March 2023. The four crew members all survived with minor to moderate injuries. Photo credit TBD. 1980s Duke Life Flight, Duke University Hospital, Durham 7/21/1986 Crashed near NC 751 and …
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LODD rescue history. In 1976, two members of the Goldsboro Rescue Squad died on duty in two separate incidents. On March 28, 1976, James Hickman drowned during a water rescue/recovery. On November 7, 1976, Kenneth Davis died in a vehicle collision. Here are those stories. James Madison Hickman March 28, 1976 – On a Sunday …
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