Blasts from the past: Some hurricanes we have known in SC Lowcountry

I had every intention of recounting some more of my “good old days” while growing up here, that is until I flipped on the idiot box and saw that a hurricane might be heading our way.

Since my deadline is Thursday to get my column in, by now we all should know whether the storm will hit us or skirt us offshore. My spider sense says it will stay offshore but it pays to be prepared nonetheless.

Just having a storm this early in the hurricane season is odd.

Usually September is the month when you need to pay attention on the tropics. I may be way off base saying this but something has changed over the past five or so years as I have watched the tracks hurricanes are taking.

With over 60 years under my belt living here, only three storms have either come close or hit us.

The first, Hurricane David one was a relatively weak category 1 storm that wobbled up the Savannah River on September 4, 1979. Somewhat amusing about this storm was it was the only time I evacuated Hilton Head Island since our family moved there in 1961.

Where did we evacuate to? You guessed it, Savannah! Crowded into two rooms on about the sixth floor was my entire family including wives, kids and all our pets. At the height of the storm, the large plate glass windows were actually bending in and out.

Then on September 22, 1989 the mother of all hurricanes came directly toward us. It was Hurricane Hugo.

Almost as wide as the state of South Carolina, it made one slight wobble to the north just before landfall hitting the Charleston area instead of here. Having gone to school in Charleston and with many friends there, I loaded up a large truck with ice, batteries, diapers and other necessities the day after the storm and when I reached Charleston I couldn’t believe the destruction.

It touched me the point that I devoted a year raising money, labor and supplies and was able to build four homes for people that had lost everything they owned. The first was a 76-year-old African American sweetgrass basket weaver Mary Jane Manigault.

Living in one of hardest hit areas just north of Charleston, I found her looking dazed with everything she was able to salvage in an orange crate. That started my mission when I blurted out, “I’ll build you a house if you weave me a basket.” She and I even appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show. That was by far the most gratifying year of my life.

Then came Hurricane Matthew on October 7, 2016. Remember me saying I never evacuated for hurricanes? Like a dummy, I stayed on Hilton Head in a friend’s large house feeling that it was safer than my small Bluffton house.

It wasn’t one of my better decisions as I was stuck there for a few days without electricity or, for that matter, anything. Water was up to the hood of my car and though no trees hit my ride, so many trees came down it looked like giant pick-up sticks had been dropped trapping me there. I finally got out when one single tractor came near and he moved enough trees for me to escape if in trade I made him some “cowboy coffee” on the grill.

Thankfully, geographically we are tucked in the lower part of South Carolina where most storms pass us offshore.

But as I said in the beginning, something has changed. Global warming maybe?

Being an avid outdoorsman and fisherman, I see changes happening year after year. The water gets hotter and hotter, never-before fish species that are usually found way south of us are becoming more commonplace, and maybe it’s my age but I swear summers are getting hotter.

Overall, I think we are doing a dismal job caring for the planet. Hopefully we all will become more engaged doing our best to turn things around before it’s too late.

As for hurricanes, if we stay on the west side of the storms we should do just fine. If it looks like we’ll be on the northeast side, head for hills. From now on that’s where I’ll be!