THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 27, 1995 TAG: 9508270052
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER CHRISTMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
When struggling newlyweds Roger and Dorothy Leisenring first ventured to the Outer Banks in 1949, they were looking for a bargain getaway.
They spotted a tiny advertisement for the then-undiscovered barrier islands in an issue of ``Better Homes & Garden'' magazine.
``We didn't have any money,'' Dorothy says. ``We were only married a year and living in a trailer. It was our first vacation together after our honeymoon, and we were looking for a cheap vacation.''
That search led to what was the beginning of a long love affair.
For the past 46 years, the Paramus, N.J., couple has returned almost each summer to the Outer Banks for a week or two at a time. In the process, they saw an isolated area, which once sat barren except for sand and brush, explode into the bustling tourist mecca it is today.
``It used to be very quiet back then,'' Dorothy says from the time-share penthouse in the Outer Banks Beach Club that the couple uses for two weeks in the summer and another two weeks in the fall. ``You could walk on the beach and never see another soul out there. It was a place where you could relax. It felt like we owned it, that we discovered it.
``I kid my husband, `You never should have told anyone about it.' ''
During their decades of visits, the Leisenrings watched history in the making. They were there when a young Andy Griffith judged kite-flying contests and when former Vice President Hubert Humphrey made a quiet appearance at ``The Lost Colony'' outdoor drama one evening.
They were there when a ferry was the only way to get from Oregon Inlet to Hatteras Village, and when a narrow wooden bridge was the only way from the beach to Manteo.
Roger, an aeronautical engineer, says the Outer Banks of today looks entirely different from the mental picture he retains from his first visits.
For better or worse, Roger says the rampant commercialism that keeps the Outer Banks thriving now was not present when he and his wife first fell in love with the area.
``I just remember trying to find a place to eat - there was nowhere,'' Roger says, smiling. ``There was Owens and Midgett's, and that was about it. You didn't have the commercialism you have today. No fast food.''
However, neither of the Leisenrings bemoan change.
``It's progress,'' Roger says with a shrug. ``Nothing stays the same.''
The one thing that keeps the Leisenrings coming back is the special memories they have of their vacations.
The beach remains a perfect place for the couple to meet up with old friends and spend quality time with their two children and three grandchildren.
``The times we have shared here have been so special,'' Dorothy says, smiling at her husband. ``We fell in love with the area when we first came here, and that is something that has grown as we have.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
VICKI CRONIS/Staff
Dorothy and Roger Leisenring at the Outer Banks Beach Club in Kill
Devil Hills, where they stay when they visit from New Jersey. ``The
times we have shared here have been so special,'' Dorothy said.
by CNB