Wilson Times – Vines Reflects On His Granddaughter Mayo

Dead hogs and dead horses floated. Church pews bobbed along. As children’s toys drifted above the vast waters, caskets rose from two nearby graveyards and could be seen in the distance. And little Teshekia “Sheka” Vines, 5, was missing. (Paid Content)

Note: I remember this tragedy just like it was yesterday. This is the community that I lived in however my family and I stayed in the shelter the night Floyd hit. I videoed the grandparents and the mother’s funeral however I just could not attend the child’s funeral. This was so sad.

I go back and look at the video coverage often that I videoed as  people were being rescued the morning after Floyd hit and several days later whereby volunteers were still searching the area.

I remember seeing Mr. Vines and his son daily as I went back and forth. I also attended the event that they held in Wilson in honor of Teshekia “Sheka” Vines.

During the 10th Anniversary of Floyd I was a member of the Bynum Mill Road Community Club planning committee whereby we did a 10 year Commemoration. A Memorial Wall was placed at the entrance to where homes that the Mayos and many of my family members used to live but after the flood the area is now the home of the Edgecombe County Training Center. Curmilus Dancy II – DCN Publisher

See related:

Hurricane Floyd 10 – Year Commemoration Saturday October 24, 2009 Sponsored By The Bynum Mill Road Community Club Pinetops NC Photos/Video Curmilus Dancy II DCN Publisher

Hurricane Floyd

Hurricane Floyd 10 – Year Commemoration Saturday October 24, 2009 Sponsored By The Bynum Mill Road Community Club Pinetops NC Photos/Video Curmilus Dancy II DCN Publisher

The event was held at the Edgecombe County Sheriff Training Center Dodge City Pinetops, NC.

Special thanks from The DCN goes to Sheriff James Knight for his role in making the event such a huge success because he played a major role in securing the location, the food, the memorial and etc. This is just one of the many, many things that our Sheriff has done behind the scenes and he never seeks glory or the fame.

Click on Picture to view 179 Pictures

Click on Picture to view 179 Pictures

Click on Picture to View 179 Pictures

US Congressman G.K. Butterfield – Wilson NC (L) Wanda Mayo (R)

Wanda is the daughter of Ben and Vivian Mayo

See related:

Video - Flood of the Century (Pinetops, Tarboro, Princeville North Carolina) – September 1999 – Featuring Former Governor Jim Hunt

Video - Flood of the Century Fellowship Preaching and Gospel Singing at the Shelter at G.W. Carver Elementary School September 18, 1999

Hurricane Floyd victims to be remembered

Bynum Farm Road Will be Celebrating the 10th Year Anniversary of Hurricane Floyd Flood

Hurricane Floyd Flood Of The Century Bynum Mill Road Community September 16–18, 1999

The anniversary date of Hurricane Floyd Flood is September 16.

Click on the Picture to see the Water Pinetops, Tarboro, Princeville NC Video 1.

Click on Picture to see Gospel Singing and Preaching At The Shelter G. W. Carver Elementary School Pinetops NC Video 2.

See related video:

Hurricane Floyd

Hurricane Floyd 10 – Year Commemoration Sponsored By The Bynum Mill Road Community Club Pinetops NC by Curmilus Dancy II DCN Publisher

Click on Picture to view 159 Pictures

Click on Picture to View 23 Pictures

Congressman G.K. Butterfield (L) Wanda Mayo (R)

Click on Picture to Watch The Full Video

Yes it was, “A Time to Remember Hurricane Floyd Flood 1999.” This was the 2nd commemoration that I have attended within the last 2 months. Like the first event I was not pleased with the way this event turned out. There were plenty of folks present and that was great however plenty of folks and a shabby program do not excite me.

I have an issue with the way the programme was carried out because the program had too many deviations and the real meat of the event was lost.

On the programme was “In Memory of the Mayos” Dr. Evelyn Johnson was suppose to read a letter that was written by Wanda Mayo who lost all of her immediate family which consisted of her father, mother, sister and niece in the flood. Wanda drove down from Maryland where she was living during the flood.

My main concern was that the most important part of the program the “Unveiling of the Memorial Lest We Forget” as stated on the programme would not be lost after the remarks from special guest.

Although it was not stated the day of the event, the beautiful memorial will be placed at the entrance going into the Training Center whereby people can ride by and/or stop by and walk up to it. I invite everyone to come and see this memorial in person.

During the “Unveiling of the Memorial” everyone should have been asked to go over to the memorial especially the family members instead of having to wait until the program was over to see it.

During the remarks I was very much pissed off when my Edgecombe County Public Schools Chair Evelyn Wilson talked about rebuilding a school in Princeville. Damn we were in Pinetops. She never mentioned G. W. Carver Elementary School that was set up for a shelter during the night of the Hurricane Foyd where my family and some others stayed while Hurricane Floyd was happening. The next day those who were trapped in their homes were brought to the school. Since we had someone we could go stay with across from the school we moved on and this made room for some others to stay.

Elder Donnie Atkinson who is a janitor at G. W. Carver Elementary School volunteered to manage the shelter. I bet if Elder Atkinson had been a white man she would have mentioned the school and also recognized him. I am so sick and tired of folks in elected positions whom do not give credit where credit is due.

My Congressman G.K. Butterfield (and I say that proudly) arrived around 1:40 PM and he addressed the group. He did an excellent job as always by bringing us up to date about health care reform. He said that he hope he was not letting the cat out of the bag but they are suppose to vote on the heath care initiative on November 6.

The closing of the program just got way out of control.

Click on Picture to Watch The Video

See related:

Video - Flood of the Century (Pinetops, Tarboro, Princeville North Carolina) – September 1999 – Featuring Former Governor Jim Hunt

Video - Flood of the Century Fellowship Preaching and Gospel Singing at the Shelter at G.W. Carver Elementary School September 18, 1999

Hurricane Floyd victims to be remembered

Bynum Farm Road Will be Celebrating the 10th Year Anniversary of Hurricane Floyd Flood

Hurricane Floyd Flood – 10-Year Commemoration “From Floyd to the Future” Tarboro NC

          J. Ed Bridgers former 
             Princeville Mayor

      Click on Picture to View Video

The event was sponsored by Edgecombe County  on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at the Edgecombe County Administration Building Auditorium.

I went to work that morning at 5:00 am and attended the event and then returned to work. I was not pleased with the event but they did do something.

One thing I didn’t appreciate is there were no one from Pinetops on the program.

I did enjoy Mr. J. Ed Bridgers testimony of survival however Princeville. I am glad Mayor Perkins casted the deciding vote to rebuild Princeville but Dodge City in Pinetops chose not to rebuild. This is where the 6 people died. Actually it was 7 because Otis Reid has not been counted. Hear the names of the dad, mother, daughter, grandbaby Ben Mayo family and two siblings from the flowers family.

I want to thank Mayor Vines Cobb of Pinetops who got up and told the story about the mother who left Highway 258 in Pinetops living in a trailer and went to her mother’s house in Dodge City because she thought she would be safer from the hurricane. She didn’t know that it was going to be a flood also. She lost 2 of her children.

The other family of 4, the daughter and her child came home from Zebulon to stay with her parents in Dodge City and all four of them died.

Ben Mayo had been hauling folks out on his boat but later because the current got so bad, he and the others didn’t make it out.

The public is invited to come join us in Dodge City as we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Hurricane Floyd Flood. See details in the link below.

See related:

Pinetops NC – Bynum Farm Road Will be Celebrating the 10th Year Anniversary of Hurricane Floyd Flood