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20 years later: MUSC remembers Hugo
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The
Waring Historical Library and MUSC University Archives announce the
opening of a new online exhibit: 20 Years Later: MUSC Remembers Hugo (http://waring.library.musc.edu/exhibits/hurricanehugo/).
The exhibit opens Sept. 21 and tells the story of this period through
archival records, photographic images, and oral history interviews. To
commemorate this anniversary, MUSC University Archives staff, a subunit
of the Waring Historical Library, created an exhibit which documents
the bravery of hospital, faculty, and maintenance staff as they
protected people and facilities before, during, and after the storm.
 An oak tree blocks Ashley Avenue and the entrance to MUSC via the Horseshoe.
Drawing heavily from these collected interviews, as well as the records
of the MUSC University Archives and photographs contributed by MUSC
staff, this exhibit documents MUSC’s collective response to the storm.
The exhibit details the difficulties facing staff throughout the storm
and chronicles their commitment to their patients, students, families
and colleagues on that infamous night.
Epitome of ‘a dark and stormy night’
On Sept. 21, 1989, Hurricane Hugo, a Category IV storm, battered the
Charleston area with hours of heavy rains and 140 mile-per-hour winds.
Hundreds of boats were swept onto land, roofs blew off buildings, and
acres of trees lay pulverized. On the islands north of the city and in
the village of McClellanville, houses disappeared, broken into pieces
and tossed like discarded toys.
The storm tested MUSC staffs’ resilience as they monitored patients,
even as winds howled outside the windows and electricity faltered.
Faculty assisted students and families, whose homes were threatened by
rising tides and winds. Maintenance staff ensured building safety.
These actions during this critical time saved many lives, even as the
storm devastated the campus, city and state.
“We hope that online visitors will come away with an appreciation of
the difficulties that faced staff and their commitment to their
patients, students, families, and colleagues,” said Brooke Fox,
university archivist.
For more information about the web exhibit, contact Fox at
foxeb@musc.edu. To view other web exhibits presented by the Waring
Historical Library, visit http://waring.library.musc.edu/page.php?id=992.
Friday, Sept. 18, 2009
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