Kenan Charitable Trust buys 1,500 copies of Hugh Morton book for state’s libraries

By DAVID WILLIAMSON
UNC News Services

CHAPEL HILL -- The William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust of Chapel Hill has purchased about 1,500 copies of the new University of North Carolina Press book, "Hugh Morton’s North Carolina," as gifts for all public high school and middle school libraries as well as public libraries across the state.

Morton, who lives at Grandfather Mountain, which he owns, is one of North Carolina’s best-known photographers, environmentalists and promoters.

On Sept. 22, UNC Press published his 204-page book, which draws together hundreds of the 1943 UNC-Chapel Hill graduate’s favorite photographs since his days on the Daily Tar Heel, the student newspaper.

"Through his photographs of people, scenery and events, Hugh Morton has brought to life the very best of this wonderful state," said Dr. Richard Krasno, trust president.

"The trust is proud to be associated with this chronicle of North Carolina history and delighted to help make it available to so many citizens of North Carolina through its distribution to libraries throughout the state."

Scenes in the book range from the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Orton Plantation and a Hurricane Hazel-battered Carolina Beach to UNC’s Old Well, the N.C. Zoological Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Individuals pictured include former presidents Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, Reagan and Clinton. Others are senators Sam J. Ervin, Jesse Helms, John Edwards and Elizabeth Dole, all N.C. governors since 1942 and such entertainers and athletes as Andy Griffith, Bob Hope, Michael Jordan, Ted Williams, Catfish Hunter, Doc Watson and Dale Earnhardt.

Examples of wildlife include bald eagles, peregrine falcons, whitetail bucks, fawns, river otters, black bears, turkeys, hummingbirds, laughing gulls, horses, cows and pigs.

"The trustees have always looked with great favor on UNC Press, " said Thomas S. Kenan III of Chapel Hill, a trustee of the charitable trust. "We feel that it is unique among university presses and know that it relies on private donations to do its best work.

"We at the Kenan Charitable Trust like everything that Hugh Morton does," Kenan said. "He is a good friend, a great citizen and he has always tried to make North Carolina better. When we learned that Bill Friday was also involved in the project, we knew that the book should be in every library in the state."

William C. Friday is UNC president emeritus.

"The generosity of the Kenan Trust in giving ‘Hugh Morton’s North Carolina’ to all of the public libraries and all of the public school libraries really demonstrates just one of the creative ways they act as leaders as well as committed citizens of the state," said Kate Torrey, UNC Press director.

Copies of the book were mailed in late September. UNC Press held a reception in honor of the trust and of Morton at the Kenan Center today (Oct. 22).

Over the years, the former combat cameraman became the state’s unofficial photographer, Friday wrote in his introduction to the book. Morton also championed numerous public causes from protecting the environment and promoting Wilmington’s Azalea Festival to preserving the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and the massive Jockey’s Ridge sand dune. He also helped bring the U.S.S. North Carolina, World War II’s most decorated battleship, to a permanent berth in Wilmington as a memorial to the 10,000 service personnel who died during the war.

Morton also "…has been a forceful leader in developing tourism into the major industry it is in the state today," Friday wrote.

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Note: To download a photo of the event, click here. Morton’s number is (828) 733-2013. Details about the book are available at www.ibiblio.org/uncp/media/morton and http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-7123.html.

UNC Press Contact: Gina Mahalek, (919) 966-3561, ext. 234, gina_mahalek@unc.edu

UNC News Services Contact: David Williamson, (919) 962-8596