| Hugh Morton
begins the first episode of Biographical Conversations talking about
his grandfather, Hugh MacRae. MacRae lived in Delaware but decided
to move to the North Carolina mountains because of his interest
in mining mica, an expensive stone at the time. As he familiarized
himself with both east and west North Carolina, he began buying
property on both the coast and in the mountains, including a 16,000
acre tract of land that included Grandfather Mountain. Morton says
that his grandfather's original intent for the land was to use it
as a summer resort.
Morton's most
vivid memory of his grandfather was after World War II, when his
grandfather had bought a 100-acre park in New Hanover County and
donated it to the county. After Morton came back from World War
II, he found the county had been using it for a trash dump, and
his grandfather threatened to revoke the county's rights to it if
they didn't clean it up. The county did clean it up, and after that,
asked him if they could build a high school on it, promising to
name it MacRae High School after him. The day before MacRae died,
he told Morton to look after the park, and Morton refused to allow
the high school to be built there.
Grandfather
MacRae's most famous venture, of course, was Grandfather Mountain,
named for its profile of an old man looking up into the sky. Morton
also describes his parents and how being able to experience both
eastern and western North Carolina gave him a fuller experience
of the state.
Morton's photography
career began at summer camp, when the photography teacher didn't
show up, and he was dubbed a junior counselor because he was 14.
His first photography assignment was for the Charlotte Observer
while he was in camp, as they needed a photograph of the young golfer,
Harvey Ward. After that, he did sports photos for the publications
of his high school, and then the student publications of UNC-Chapel
Hill when he entered as a freshman. His most famous photograph-that
of UNC President Frank Porter Graham-happened as a matter of luck
when he attended one of President Graham's Sunday open houses and
Graham challenged him to a game of horseshoes. Camera in hand, Morton
shot what would become one of the most widely used photographs he
ever took.
His next exciting
photography experience came during World War II, when Morton went
to the South Pacific as part of the Army Signal Corps. After another
photographer was killed, Morton was promoted to news reel photographer
and was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division in Luzan,
Philippines. Morton remembers that conditions were so dangerous
that he had to use code language with his father to let him know
where he was. While in Luzan, Morton photographed General Douglas
MacArthur and saw front line combat; even to the point of being
injured. While he law in an army hospital being treated for his
injuries, he received news that his father had died.
After the war,
Morton returned to Wilmington and traveled back and forth between
the east coast and Linville. He experienced constant reminders of
the war, between the branches that would crack like gunfire and
the Royal Theater in Wilmington, in which he saw the photos he had
taken in Luzan blazing on the movie screen for everyone to see.
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