Elinor Hawkins, the longtime host of Telestory Time on WCTI NewsChannel 12, died Wednesday at the age of 95.
She was Miss Elinor to thousands of eastern North Carolina children who watched her every Saturday morning, but she also helped build libraries around eastern North Carolina. She retired in 1992 after 34 years with the Craven-Pamlico-Carteret Regional Library System where she served as the Regional Director. She continued Telestory until 2020.
In 2013, Miss Elinor was presented with the Long Leaf Pines award, the state’s highest civilian honor.
Every Christmas Eve since 1911 a wreath has been laid at the grave of Clement Clarke Moore, the author of “A Visit from Saint Nicholas”, in New York. In 2017, in honor of her love of “The Night Before Christmas,” the wreath was named the “Elinor Dixon Hawkins Wreath”.
Episodes of Telestory Time are still available on YouTube HERE.
