THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 30, 1996 TAG: 9606290086
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: Ronald L. Speer
LENGTH: 144 lines
TIMES THEY are a-changin' on the Outer Banks, just as they are everywhere else.
There are more people, more houses, more businesses, more cars, more hoodlums every year. There is a lot more of everything than there was a decade ago, when The Virginian-Pilot gave birth to The Carolina Coast.
Some of the differences are dandy. Some aren't.
Most people didn't lock their doors in 1986 when Jeffrey Smith DeBlieu cranked out his first column for the Coast.
Traffic flowed smoothly. Fifteen-pound bluefish traveled in schools of thousands, and blitzed the beach each spring and fall to the delight of recreational fishermen.
But the even more-popular striped bass had disappeared. Commercial fishermen reaped what they thought was a never-ending harvest of all kinds of critters.
Shoppers, however, had few choices. So did diners. There wasn't much to do, especially during the off season, unless you liked to fish.
Corolla was an isolated community, with few homes. There weren't many places to stay in Ocracoke. Marc Basnight was a greenhorn legislator little known west of Manteo.
Jockey's Ridge was a beacon for all visitors. And there were open stretches of the seashore everywhere, a Mecca to beachgoers accustomed to fighting for space on the sands at other resorts.
Ten years later, in the summer of '96, most folks around here worry about thieves and burglars, with reason. Traffic can be a headache.
The bluefish haven't blitzed in years. But the striped bass have made a miraculous comeback. Watermen wonder whether they can feed their families - and worry about their future.
Shoppers have small malls and scores of options. So do folks who come for the pleasure of eating out.
And more and more shops and stores and eateries are staying open year-around.
Corolla has hundreds of houses, many of them among the fanciest on the East Coast. Ocracoke has become a popular place to stay overnight. Marc Basnight, president pro tempore of the state Senate, is readying for a run for governor, and is known across Carolina.
Jockey's Ridge is still a beacon for all visitors, with 10,000 people expected to explore the sand dune on the Fourth of July. There still are open stretches of the beach everywhere, still a Mecca for beachgoers who delight in open spaces.
And there are modern amenities that offset some of the drawbacks that come with growth.
Put bike paths high on that list. The lovely trails that now carve through nearly every community are a delight for the young and the old, the families and the bachelors, the joggers, the cyclists, the walkers, the parents pulling kids in wagons.
There is a celebration of sorts every weekend, even in the winter. Theater groups perform. Artists are everywhere. Cultural offerings abound. If you can't find something satisfying to do on the Outer Banks these days, you're a mighty picky person.
A high-rise span has done away with the regular waits for the swing bridge to shut on the causeway between Nags Head and Manteo. A second two-lane span has been added to the bridge over the Currituck Sound, virtually eliminating what used to be hours of delay for folks coming and going.
Serious efforts are being made to protect the waters and wetlands and forests and beaches that make the Albemarle area so bountiful.
Only a slob in today's environmentally conscious world would toss beer cans along the highway, throw trash out of a boat, leave garbage at the beach or pump pollutants into our streams and rivers (well, maybe only slobs and greedy hog farmers).
Recreational fishermen are releasing their catches of trophy fish, no longer bringing them to port for a photo and then tossing the carcasses in the dumpster.
Medical facilities are growing. There are more and more programs for the troubled.
Yep, there have been a lot of positive changes in the past decade. And we have tried to record them for history every Sunday in The Carolina Coast.
I've lived here only for the past two years, after visiting regularly for more than 15 years. I'm no Pollyanna. And I'm well aware that bad husbands and mean dads abuse their wives and kids here just like they do anywhere else. I know that some politicians here use their offices to cheat the taxpayers who pay their salaries. There's increasing concern about the growing number of troubled kids who are doing their best to disrupt our schools. And the rich here are getting richer while the poor get poorer.
Nevertheless, most people do good things. And the Banks abound with beauty.
Special to me are the generous waters that I can explore in my little sailboat, the beaches when no one else is in sight, the ferry rides that are free and the best bargain on the Outer Banks, the porpoises that frolic within a stone's throw of our beaches, the fishing villages like Wanchese that retain the character of the past, the flowers at the Elizabethan Gardens, the selection at Manteo Booksellers, the memories packed in the Wright Brothers Memorial, and the unending sound of the surf, a reminder that there's always a tomorrow.
But the best of places, of course, are barren without people, the ultimate determiner of happiness. I'm in awe of:
The storytelling talent of author Suzanne Tate, who spreads the wonders of the Outer Banks in her 18 children's books so warmly illustrated by James Melvin.
The exuberance of restaurateurs Mike Kelly and R.V. Owens III as they do their things for the community.
The determination of Peggy Birkemeier, who makes things happen.
The sailing skills of George Kendall, a delight to watch as he singlehandedly drops the sails on the Seaweed at the perfect moment and glides gently up to the dock.
The sense of community and continuity provided by the Burrus boys - Dale and Allen - the latest caretakers of the ancient grocery store at Hatteras who also serve on boards that help all residents of these islands.
The knowledge and information historian David Stick has shared with readers.
The unabashed enthusiasm artist Glenn Eure has for other painters, poets and storytellers and his fellow men and women who gather regularly in his gallery.
And the largess Sen. Basnight has brought Northeastern North Carolina during his career as a politician - determined to reap a fair share of Raleigh's goodies for his constituents.
As The Carolina Coast heads into its second decade, we want to salute people like them - and the hundreds of others who give and give and give.
They are the reason we can still agree, more than 400 years later, with the assessment of the Outer Banks by geographer Richard Hakluyt.
Summing up reports in the 1580s by the first English settlers on Roanoke Island, Hakluyt described our barrier islands thusly:
``The Goodliest land under the cope of Heaven.'' ILLUSTRATION: The photographs that accompany the 10th anniversary
cover stories were shot by staff photographer Drew C. Wilson and
published on the cover of The Carolina Coast.
Photos
Sandboarding at Jockey's Ridge, 1989
Community cleanup of Cape Hatteras School after Hurricane Emily,
1993
Artist Renee Landry stretched out on her latest creation,
``Twister,'' 1993
Manteo boatbuilder Buddy Canaday, 1988
Beach haul crew, 1993
An aerotour plane, 1989
KEYWORDS: 10TH ANNIVERSARY by CNB