1940

Photographs Frank Porter Graham walking with Eleanor Roosevelt.

1942

Volunteers n the Army's Signal Corps as a photographer. Is transferred to New Caledonia, an island off of Australia, and Bouganville with the 37^th Division. Upon arrival in the South Pacific, is made a newsreel photographer.

1944

Harlan P. Kelsey mounts a campaign to buy Grandfather and Grandmother Mountains and turn them over to the national park service. He was originally granted an option to buy by Hugh MacRae and Julian Morton, for $165,000. Kelsey never raised enough funds to buy.

1945

While on Luzon, Hugh is assigned to shoot General Douglas McArthur when his regular photographer is ill. He is injured by a Japanese boobytrap on a later date and is awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. Marries Julia Hathaway Taylor.

1948

President of the first Azalea Festival in Wilmington.

1949

Elected president of the Carolina Press Photographers Assoc.

1950

Meets Andy Griffith when he hires him to be the entertainment at a banquet for $25. A few weeks later, Griffith records "What it Was, Was Football." Hugh's grandfather Hugh MacRae dies.

1951

Appointed to state Board of Conservation and Development by Gov. Scott. Serves as chairman of the advertising committee, vice-chairman of the state parks committee and member of the mineral resources committee. Opposes the NPS when it wants to operate a chain of government-owned tourist accommodations along the Blue Ridge Parkway, opposes parkway tolls and opposes change in signs that drop all mention of private tourist accommodations.

1952

Hugh Morton inherits Grandfather Mountain. Creates Grandfather Development Co. to develop the mountain. Borrows $45,000 to extend the road to the top of the mountain and build the "Mile High Swinging Bridge" from the road to the top of the ridge, charging motorists $0.90. Along with his sister he develops Grandfather Golf and Country Club.

1953

Highway Commission suggests middle route for Blue Ridge Parkway.

1954

Park Service prepares to build last 7.7 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway, from Cone-Price Campground to Pineola, over Grandfather Mountain. Grandfather Mountain is condemned, but Morton fights until they build the Linn Cove Viaduct. In the 1980s, Black Rock bats are discovered along the road and would have been extinct if the Park Service had blasted the road.

1955

Hugh Morton orders engineers from NPS to take samples for a tunnel through his mountain. Since the state had already bought right-of-way for the road, the Highway Commission deeds the condemned land back to Hugh and proposes a middle route, which the NPS refuses.

1956

Hugh Morton serves as state campaign publicity manager for then Luther H. Hodges successful gubernatorial run.

1959

Elected to the board of the AAA Carolina Motor Club. Served a term as chairman. Will sit on board until 1998.

1961

State magazine names Hugh North Carolinian of the Year. Gov. Terry Sanford appoints him chairman on commission to bring the USS North Carolina to Wilmington. Raises $315,000 for the ship.

1962

Participates in a televised debate with Conrad Wirth, director of the NPS about the route of the Blue Ridge Parkway over Grandfather Mountain. Gov. Sanford says NC will not try to acquire a high route over Grandfather Mountain.

1960 Continues >>