NEWS

The front lawn of the Davidson College president’s house the morning that Hurricane Hugo hit in 1989. (Jane Campbell photo)

Queen City News recently aired a special weather program dedicated to Hurricane Hugo, and an entire segment of the program is dedicated to Davidson College.

If you missed it, consider watching the Davidson segment on the station’s YouTube channel.

The station’s “storyteller” John Le said that he “stumbled upon an article about Davidson tree damage and student response and thought it would be a good story.” We think it’s great that his job title is storyteller. 

Le reached out to interview Davidson College President emeritus Dr. John W. Kuykendall and current President Dr. Doug Hicks.  Hicks ’90 was a senior the year Hugo hit and recalls how students responded.

Kuykendall talked about the damage to the trees on campus, but quickly pivoted to talking about how the students stepped up to be part of the community’s recovery. 

Le also reached out to Davidson alumna and NoD photographer Jane Campbell after hearing that she might have photos from Hugo. Not only did she have pictures, but she also had video – dubbed from old VHS tape. Several photos and a few video clips made it into the final program. You can view more photos here, and video clips here.