This collection, composed of eight photographs and one copy of a postcard, documents the aftermath of the Catch-Me-Eye explosion on US 301 at US 70 in Selma, N.C. on March 7, 1942. The explosion occurred after a car rear ended an ammunition truck headed to Fort Bragg with 30,000 pounds of explosives. The truck and car caught fire around 1:30 am, and a crowd formed to watch the blaze as firefighters from Smithfield attempted to put it out. The crowd was told to stay back, but this was not enough to prevent the death of 6 people and the injuries of 50 more when the truck exploded at 2:57 am.

Casualties included Minnie Lewis, the driver of the car, as well as George Stroupe and Cecil E. Propst, who were riding together when they attempted to pass the flaming truck just as it exploded. Claude “Buck” Mitchell, a bystander, was killed instantly in the blast. Gurkin’s Tavern, formerly known as Catch-Me-Eye, as well as the Hotel Talton were destroyed in the explosion. Only a 20-30 foot crater was left of the complex, and debris was found up to two and a half miles from the site. Edward E. Howell and Jessie Holloway were inside the hotel at the time of the explosion and were engulfed in flames. The blast was heard up to 40 miles away, and it took days to convince locals that it was not a German air raid.

These photographs show the debris left behind after the explosion. The copy of the postcard shows Gurkin’s Tavern and Cabins as they would have looked prior to the explosion.