103 year-old reflects on Hurricane Floyd
Thomas Stewart and Sudie Bell Gooding talk about life in Lincoln City before Hurricane Floyd on Thursday at Gooding's home on Daniels Street. Photo by Janet Sutton / Neuse News
Sudie Bell Gooding stands near a pile of her belongings after Hurricane Floyd flooded her house in 1999.
Contributed Photos by Thomas Stewart
By Janet Sutton
Kinston has had a lot of big names to come through the city but there's one name thats left a lasting impression for decades; Hurricane Floyd.
In 1999 rainfall from Hurricane Floyd sent the already swollen Neuse River water levels to an all time high. The infliction from the category 2 hurricane would slowly dissolve childhood homes, family businesses and an entire city within the city.
During the storm, about 14,000 Lenoir County residents lost power, more than a dozen people were extracted from flooded vehicles and hundreds were rescued from flash floods. Lives were lost, residents were evacuated and the increasing amount of damage mounted by the day. NC Gov. Jim Hunt declared the disaster the worst he'd ever seen.
The county was divided by water, the Neuse River crested at almost 28ft. Some people lost everything in what was called the 500-year flood. It's still cemented in the minds of some of the citiy’s residents today.
"It's hard to believe it was 20 years ago [Hurricane Floyd], sometimes it feels like yesterday," Thomas Stewart said.
Stewart watched the Neuse River slowly invade his street and eventually his home where he had lived for 48 years; he was rescued by boat and had to live with people from his church after his house flooded. The now-retired school teacher grew up on Oak Street in Southeast Kinston where there was very little money but lots of pride. His family home was one of the last occupied houses in the Lincoln City community to be torn down after the flood buyout.
"The loss was greater than just property,” Stewart said. "It extended to businesses, entrepreneurs and a community of mentors for young people."
One of the adult figures Stewart looked up to as a child was Sudie Bell Gooding and her husband Millard. Gooding was known for doing deeds for others as she would often share food with neighbors and help children. The Gooding's were the first black couple to have a car in Lincoln City. Sudie was a cook and Millard worked at the stone yard. In 1934 they paid $1.50 deposit to rent their first home.
"I remember that house," Gooding said as she spoke with Stewart.
Back then, a person could buy a property for $300. After years of renting shotgun-style houses, she and Millard decided to build a brick house from the ground up in 1947. She was living in that house in the heart of Lincoln City when the flood came.
"I lost a lot of stuff during the flood," she said.
Like many others in the area, furniture, personal items and anything soaked with river water had to be piled up on the street. This time, she couldn’t move into another house into Lincoln City.
Thomas Stewart being evacuated from his Oak Street home in 1999. Contributed photo by Thomas Stewert.
Last week, Stewart met with 103-year-old Gooding and reflected on days gone past. They remembered the days when everybody went to church; children playing ball on the dirt streets and they smiled as they recalled businesses like Mr. Dan Davis store or Mary Lou Dunn's beauty parlor.
"I liked Lincoln City; I wish I was down there now," Gooding said.
The psychological effects of a natural disaster are different for each individual. That feeling of being misplaced has lasting effects. For some, it was a new start, while others were left clinging to the missing pieces of their lives that were lost in the floodwaters.
