SENC Winter 2018 by Jim Sills

SE WINTER 2018

North Carolina

STILL

ROCKINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; AFTER ALL THESE YEARS

Nantucket ALSO...

WOUNDED WARRIORS

BEAST OF BLADENBORO PARROT SANCTUARY

WE NEVER LOSE SIGHT of THE LIVES WE TOUCH.

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Editor’s Note For your enjoyment

SE North Carolina www.sencmag.com Issue No. 13

Staff / Credits / Contributions PUBLISHER Jim Sills EDITOR Trevor Normile PRODUCTION/ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Jillian Smith Content & Photography Jacqueline Hough Abby Cavenaugh Trevor Normile Michael Jaenicke CONTRIBUTING Writers Annesophia Richards Advertising Becky Cole Alan Wells CIRCULATION Lauren Guy SUBSCRIBE: Four issues (one year) $19.95 plus tax lguy@ncweeklies.com CONTACT senc.ads@nccooke.com senc@nccooke.com 1.910.296.0239 ON THE COVER Nantucket Photo by Trevor Normile The band was once called “Stax of Gold,” a very Seventies name, perhaps in hopes of being named to the famous Stax record label of Memphis, or perhaps because they liked... stacks of gold. Either way, they eventually settled on the timeless “Nantucket” and have been rocking hard ever since.

Well, folks, we’ve hit the three-year mark. This quarterly magazine has seen some serious high points in those years, as well as the occasional hiccup, but then again a three-year-old with hiccups isn’t all that rare. Our goal from the get-go has been to bring you interesting features with original angles, something to stand out against every other dentist’s office reader you might pick up. How else can we stand out at the dentist’s office, after all? We submit for your enjoyment this season the story behind some of the state’s most vaunted rockers, Nantucket, who from their humble beginnings in the 1960s have become one of the respected names in local music. They’ve lived the

country find renewed purpose in military service. If that’s not enough yuletide cheer, take a peek at our photo feature of the Swansboro Flotilla from last month. We went expecting a few lit-up boats and a good time, but that was only the start of the fun. It wouldn’t however be an issue of SE North Carolina without a dose of the strange. Consider it an early Christmas present: two tales of the surreal, one of dedication to a largely unsung cause, one of historical horror. In the first, we visit the Cape Fear Parrot Sanctuary, where volunteers are working to save as many parrots as they can from what they see as a never ending cycle of purchase and It’s been to the re-homing. In the second, we revisit the credit not only legend of the Beast of Bladenboro. Is of our writers, it a panther? A bear? Something much photographers stranger? We make no warranty of truth, and artists, but of we just tell the tale as it was told to us. our readers and Those with a hankering for history will also enjoy our history of Camp Daadvertisers that vis, built as a fuel depot in the late 19th this project is still century and converted in the 1940s into marching forward a major anti-aircraft training center. into the future. It’s been to the credit not only of our hard life of rock n’ roll, and they have a writers, photographers and artists, but lifetime of rich tales to share for it. of our readers and advertisers that this But it is the season of Christmas, of project is still marching forward into the serving others, and so we interviewed the future. Our New Year’s resolution is the local people who support the Make-asame as it always has been: get out and Wish Foundation’s mission to brighten tell the great stories of southeast North the lives of unwell children and the Carolina, from the movers and shakers to Wounded Warrior Battalion, which helps the artists and bakers, the heroes and the those who are injured defending our fakers. As always, feel free to drop us a line at 910-296-0239, email senc@cooke.com and be sure to visit us on Facebook and at sencmag.com for electronic copies of this and past issues.

SouthEast North Carolina Magazine is a publication of the Duplin Times and Cooke Communications North Carolina. Contents may not be reproduced without the consent of the publisher.

SouthEast North Carolina

North Carolina

Trevor Normile, Editor Winter 2018

Mystery Photo

Where in SENC is this? Where in southeast North Carolina is this? A quick explanation, in case it’s needed: Every quarter, SE North Carolina plans to include a cropped-down version of a landmark in one of SENC’s many signature communities. Try and guess the city in which we took this photo—it’s one of several historic structures from a bygone era. Hint: When these weapons were brand new, the Navy watched from these windows as they flew. Turn to the end to find out if you guessed correctly.

See page 58 for answer

Where we are this Winter! • DURH

CUM

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• BLAD

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• WAKE

WAYN E

SAMP

SON

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• • IN •

MBU

PEND

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DUPL

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COLU

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PITT

LENO

CRAV

JONE

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ONSL

•

BRUN

SWIC

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N HAN EW OVER

PAML IC

••

CART

ERET

•

Look for features or mentions of these places in SE North Carolina and beyond: • BLADENBORO • BLADEN COUNTY • CAMP LEJEUNE • DUPLIN COUNTY • DURHAM • FAYETTEVILLE • GOLDSBORO • HOLLY RIDGE • JACKSONVILLE • KENANSVILLE • LUMBERTON • MOUNT OLIVE • ONSLOW COUNTY • PAMLICO COUNTY • PENDER COUNTY • PITT COUNTY • POTTERS HILL • RALEIGH • SWANSBORO • TOPSAIL ISLAND • WASHINGTON • WILMINGTON

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Feedback: No need to spit fire, but if you’ve got something to say, just say it! Welcome to our summer issue of SE North Carolina. We hope you like it, and all of our previous issues dating back to 2014. Now it’s time we heard from you. Like our features and information this time? Got suggestions for future stories? Let us know. Got any thoughts on how this magazine can be improved? We’re all ears. Tell us what’s on your mind and anything else you’d like to share that would help us provide southeastern North Carolina with a magazine you’ll be excited to look forward to four times a year! Send us a message at the address at right. We hope the information and features herein will be the kind of information you want and will look forward to each edition, in portraying our corner of North Carolina

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in an interesting and honest light. And, if you want to advertise, we provide great service and coverage so your message is most effective over the 15-county region we call home—southeastern North Carolina!

Features LEGACY 10

Cape Fear Parrot Sanctuary

Make-A-Wish

Just what in the Sam Hill are all those parrots doing in Potters Hill, North Carolina? See the faces behind the wishes — and read their stories.

Contents Winter 2018

HAVEN 22

Wounded Warriors

“Once a Marine, always a Marine.” But even Devil Dogs need time to heal.

Camp Davis

Anti-aircraft guns. Ladies in bomber jackets. Holly Ridge was suddenly a happenin’ place.

JAMBOREE 32

Nantucket

They toured with AC/DC. They lived the life of rock ’n roll. These guys are still hard at it, almost 50 years later.

Dick Macartney

Dick Macartney: Champion of Curl, Baron of the Bonspiel, still throwing stones at 75.

EXTRAS

Play Dates

Murmurs

Upcoming concerts, theater and more in southeastern N.C.

Stanley Morrison has always been a corner-cutter, a halfasser, not a bad man per se, but a lazy man, an over-actor and an over-reactor — unstoppable whiner meets unmovable car.

The Beast of Bladenboro

Folk column

Just what was it that people saw all those years ago in Bladen? Confessions of a foreignborn. Just don’t judge too harshly.

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Tartan Tasting Room & Gift Shop: Tues.-Fri. 12-7 Sat. 12-9

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Lunch: Tues.-Fri. & Sun. 11:30-2 Dinner: Tues.-Sat. Starting @ 5 Winery: Tues.-Fri. 12-7 Sat. 12-9

SE LEGACY

North Carolina

10 Parrot Sanctuary

Ces Erdman and the Cape Fear Parrot Sanctuary are hard-at-work giving wayward parrots a forever home. It’s not a zoo and it’s not quite a rescue, either. Think of it like, “a retirement home for parrots.” Here’s the rub: parrots imprint on their owners, see them as parents or mates. When that mate goes away, it’s hard on them. It’s a sad truth, considering that their life spans can outlast the life, or often interest, or their owner.

Make-A-Wish Foundation

The Eastern North Carolina branch of the Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the longings of children living with illness. It’s not all trips to Disney World, either — their wishes increasingly focus on the needs of others. See just how Make-A-Wish carries out its mission and read the stories of those who make it happen.

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PANDEMONIUM: A LOVE STORY How the Bird Man of Potters Hill and his sidekick, Charlie, are giving down birds a wing up.

Story and photos: Trevor Normile ear the JonesDuplin border, Potters Hill isn’t quite in the middle of nowhere. It has a hardware store and a diner, an old garage and a volunteer fire department. It once had a country store where Geneva Turner carried Pepsi, candy and bottle rockets, but it closed when we were kids. Its residents are those average Southern folks who attend jobs and church and speak quietly, for the most part, except for a few hundred parrots that chatter away in a field down the road toward Beulaville. “I LOVE YOU.” “HEY.” “HEY.” “I LOVE YOU,” a scarlet macaw shouts from an enclosure, surrounded by hundreds of others at the Cape Fear Parrot Sanctuary. Of course, the macaw doesn’t really

love me. But love is, in a way, why he’s here — a human along the way comes into a bird’s life, imprints upon him, and almost invariably leaves. And the loving macaw, along with thousands of others sold to pet owners each year, is caught adrift in a fleeting human world. That is, until he found sanctuary. Ces Erdman drags a watering hose around the jungle of large wood-andwire boxes, topping off baths in each. Erdman, 39, of Wilmington, is the president of CFPS, and he’s there nearly every day to care for the 240 birds, which range in size from tiny cockatiels to glorious macaws. In eerie moments, the parrots’ squawking almost resembles conversation, which is probably a comfort to Erdman when he’s there alone. He started out life in the company of bird lovers and when he was three years old, Erdman’s parents got him a cockatiel that was hand-raised and friendly to humans. Unlike people who seem to outgrow

their love for the birds, Erdman didn’t lose his passion for them. “I just liked parrots, they were just normal. My parents had a bird-sitting business when I was in high school. People in town would bring their parrots to our house and we’d babysit them,” he explained. “I went to a huge high school and no one else had parrots at home, so it was normal to me, but not to anybody else.” FROM THE FOREST I first met Erdman in 2014. It was one of those bizarre local news stories you almost can’t believe at first blush — someone in passing mentioned that, as a matter of fact, some stranger from the city opened a parrot rescue out in the country. It was true, and that truth was stranger than I could have imagined. A year prior Erdman and the Cape Fear Parrot Sanctuary, which grew out of a parrot club in Wilmington, had already installed large aviaries for about 60 birds

“PANDEMONIUM” - (noun), a large group

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on the property. Unlike Wilmington, the countryside offered space — and amiable neighbors who don’t seem to mind the racket birds make. The sanctuary’s population has since quadrupled, and it’s hard work. “Like any nonprofit, you’re always in the red, you’re just trying to stay afloat. The only way we stay afloat is through people donating money and trying to help out. It’s never going to be a money maker,” Erdman says. “It may sound kind of cheesy, but it’s a dream come true for me. People ask me why I drive out here every day, but it’s a labor of love, I want to be here.” But the CFPS isn’t a zoo, since it only cares for parrots and it’s not open to the public, except by appointment. It isn’t exactly a rescue either, since it only takes parrots; it doesn’t give them away. It is, as Erdman puts it, a “retirement village for parrots.” “I have to treat them like they’re my pets. They’re not, but they are. My job is make sure they’re okay. Most people don’t care when they drop them off, but some people do care. They call me all the time, they want to know if their

bird is okay. It’s almost like you have [240] pets,” he says. Since CFPS opened, Erdman quit his job to care for the birds full-time. He drives to the site six days a week to keep up with the growing pandemonium, lodged in a small hamlet of ever more wood-and-wire homes. In the open air and sunshine sits a living rainbow of macaws and cockatiels. The sight is overwhelming. Impossibly bright reds, blues, greens and yellows just shouldn’t exist here. This is the land of soybean fields and sweet tea. Gravy and porkchops. Mud covered trucks. Brown, brown, brown. Backed up by some recently published research, Erdman insists the open air is better for the parrots. He says the birds’ sensitivity to toxins and disease is mitigated outside, whereas being kept inside can lead to sickness. Birds are sensitive due to their hollow bones, he says, which is why miners used canaries to detect deadly gas deep underground — unfortunate, though one dead canary could have helped save scores of lives. The aviaries allow space for the parrots to stretch and fly. Some only

“Like any nonprofit, you’re always in the red, you’re just trying to stay afloat,” Erdman says. “It’s never going to be a money maker.” of parrots, also called “flock” or “company”

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learned to do so since they arrived. Still, many are only a generation or three from the wilds of South America, Africa and Asia, Erdman says. It’s been a busy few years. The Sanctuary has been beating bushes at every fair within driving distance to raise money for the sanctuary. “We’ve raised $44,000 this year. That’s just amazing. I have a lot of people who donate once a month. You can be a member of the sanctuary for $19 a month. It’s allowed me to do more events, but it’s really through individuals, aside from the grants,” he explains. That money’s already spoken for, however. Food alone for the birds runs over $600 a month, not to mention fuel costs and other needs. Erdman and his board have had to find cunning ways to raise more funding — they apply for grants (the sanctuary was funded for $11,000 through Bob Barker’s pet foundation recently), but it’s individual effort that keeps the aviaries going. Part of that effort comes from a tortured artist named Charlie. TO THE SITTING ROOM According to the CFPS, it’s hard to know exactly how many parrots are kept as pets in the United States. The organization’s best estimate is that between eight and 16 million birds of

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all species are kept here, not counting those in shelters, breeding facilities, zoos and sanctuaries. Part of the high parrot turnover is down to pet owners taking on responsibilities they don’t understand, Erdman says. A parrots can live 80 years, but in that time might see a new home every two years. Therein lies a tension for Erdman. He’s an ardent conservationist; he believes people shouldn’t trap or keep parrots in the first place, at least not for the most part, but he understands the desire to do so — as a former owner, he was part of that world too. So Erdman walks a line with the sanctuary, since there are good people out there who keep parrots and he needs help from anyone willing to give it. It’s a logical problem. Parrots are tame, not domesticated, he says. But while the birds squawking away in the sanctuary and in living rooms across the world are as good as feral, they can’t go back. “It’s how people get their new pets, they feed them as a baby. So [the bird] thinks you’re its parent. That’s why some are harder to get back to being a bird again, they don’t know ‘bird,’ they only know ‘people,’” Erdman explains. “All people care about is if they talk, that’s why they get them. They’re

pretty and they talk. But the reality is, most of them do not talk. If they do talk, it’s not ‘talking,’ it’s screaming, microwave noises, trucks backing up, babies crying, things you don’t want to hear.” And that’s how many parrot owners end up in one of two destinations, as Erdman describes: “You have the person who’s like, ‘oh [expletive], I made a mistake, but I’m not giving up.’ And you’ve got other person who’s like, ‘oh God. Who wants this bird?’ There’s no in-between.” Which brings us to Charlie, the tortured artist. He’s actually a green eclectus parrot, or rather a partially green one, since he has developed a nervous habit of plucking out his own feathers. Charlie’s gig isn’t so bad. He has to stay at home with Erdman, but he has his own movie collection and flat screen TV. The plucking is likely due to stress; being particularly intelligent, parrots have farther to fall emotionally than many other animals. They’re also wired differently. Unlike dogs, parrots don’t warm up to new people easily. Once they’ve imprinted on a human, viewing them as a mate or parent, the stress of separation can be extreme — to the point of aggression and selfmutilation. “He outlived his owners and got re-homed twice, and then came to us.

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He’s only had four homes, so he’s very fortunate, he’s getting ready to turn 61. Charlie actually doesn’t live at the sanctuary because he’s disabled, so he has to live at my house,” Erdman explains. But Charlie finds his place with the sanctuary as a kind of savior. Billed as the “Picasso of Parrots,” he’s become its defacto mascot. Technically more given to Pollock than Picasso, the brush-wielding eclectus raises thousands for the sanctuary each year, as much as $1,500 at a good event, Erdman says.

Charlie, the Picasso of Parrots Photo submitted/CFPS

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Charlie’s really just making a mess in the paint, but the pieces are still endearing and donors get a little something for their money. “Charlie’s our biggest ambassador, people love that bird. And people buy the paintings because they know it’s a way to donate and get something for it. They relate to him for some reason, they love it. He’s brought in $5,000 this year, just him, with his paintings. “That’s not counting events. If it was just me, no one would give us any money (laughs). He’s probably raised close to $8,000.” The World Parrot Trust states one in nearly three parrot species is endangered. Of 330 known parrot species, 95 are listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Status Survey and Action Plan for vulnerable to critically endangered parrots. Despite that, as Erdman is also quick to point out, mysteries still abound in the field of parrot study. Charlie’s species, eclectus, wasn’t known to be sexually dimorphic (that is, males and females are different colors) until recently. “The proportion of extant parrot species that are threatened (28 percent) is one of the highest for any major family of birds,” the report reads. “Yet the number of parrot species that have been given careful field study to determine the best means of conservation remains low.” Still, it’s believed most of the species

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listed in the Action Plan are on their way out due to deforestation and hunting, though “perhaps more than any other bird group, parrots face the considerable pressures of the bird trade.” “That’s the sad thing, because it’s the dumbest question to ask: ‘How are they as pets?’” Erdman says. It’s the most common question he gets at the CFPS booth during local events. It irks him, but it’s also his in. “They should ask themselves, ‘can I make a commitment?’ Many people can’t keep a dog for 12 years, much less a parrot for 50. They’re very messy. They should say, ‘I want a parrot as a pet, what should I look for? Am I good candidate to get a parrot?’ Ninety-eight percent of people are going to be a ‘no.’ “And Craigslist has made everything worse — you can go on Craigslist today and get a bird for free somewhere. So you don’t think about the investment. If you don’t like it, you can put it back on Craigslist and get rid of it.” Out of curiosity, I checked. On one day last month, seven parrots were available for sale on the Eastern N.C. Craigslist. “Ironically, it is our overwhelmingly positive responses to these birds that have been the root cause of the conservation woes of many species,” writes the IUCN. “Because of their attractive colors and abilities to imitate human speech, parrots have been kept in captivity by many different cultures worldwide.”

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EVENTUALITIES Despite their beauty, many of the birds will never be friendly to humans. Some might have been locked in dark rooms for much of their lives. One abused cockatiel at the Sanctuary, named Lucky, speaks German. She was trained for a circus-style animal show, but her trainers used a stick to teach her. Lucky isn’t fond of humans, but she tolerates her bunkmate, a fellow cockatiel named Crackers, and the two may one day become friends. The enclosures provide the birds enough room to avoid one another until they’re comfortable together. Many are also aggressive. The aviaries have locks on the doors, to keep the birds in, and the people out. A wild animal with a beak that can clip through 19-gauge steel wire could demolish a human finger. As I take his picture, the loving macaw bites at his aviary fence, pulling angrily at it. He is beautiful but modeling is probably not in his future. Erdman tells the story of Wendy Huntbatch, a Canadian parrot lover who dedicated her live to saving parrots through her World Parrot Refuge — nearly 600 at the time of her death last year. Huntbatch’s death made news because she didn’t just run the refuge, she was the refuge. After she died, the parrots were

transferred to her husband who couldn’t care for them. By failing to organize a nonprofit, the parrots were legally considered Huntbatch’s property, so they couldn’t be sent to the U.S. easily. According to an article from a Canadian newspaper, the caretaker who took over the refuge even called it a “hoarding situation,” despite Huntbatch’s good intentions. “It was almost selfish, she had no plan for them when she died, she had no plan,” Erdman says. “And no one can step in and say, ‘hey, I’m quitting my job and I’m going to pay $3,000 a month to keep the birds happy.’ I can’t do that. The fundraising does that.” And the fundraising is only possible since CFPS is a nonprofit. It also allows the sanctuary to carry on as long as there’s a board to run it. The eventualities are considerable with parrots — the younger birds at CFPS will outlive Erdman, the current board members, the Pirates for Parrots and the Barefoot Gypsy belly dancers, two groups who help CFPS raise money. When they do, the board of directors, which makes up part of the 30 or so people who support CFPS, will take over. All of which makes the surplus of unwanted parrots is a serious problem, Erdman says, one that isn’t going away any time soon. But while the plight of the parrot in the wild remains difficult,

owners seem to be wising up. “The problem with any animal rescue is that it’s never going to stop. It’s such a small percentage of what’s really out there, you know. But we’re recognizing that there aren’t a lot coming from North Carolina,” he explains. “I got a bird from Pennsylvania recently, two are coming from Maine. A lady called me today about two birds from Virginia Beach, they’re coming from everywhere. I think the ‘seeing a bird in a cage’ mentality is stopping, transitioning with the younger generation. Times are changing. The whole country’s shifting in a positive way, becoming more animalconscious, it’s great, it’s about time.” Parrots have a unique image problem, he says, echoing the IUCN. In some ways, parrots need less attention, not more. He thinks man should learn to leave pretty things alone in the forest, not lock them in cages in lonely rooms. “If something’s pretty, we just want to trap it. We think we’re superior to everything, when really we should be part of the cycle,” he says, adding that the birds’ beauty is precarious for other reasons as well. “It’s almost like the Humane Society thing, they show the dogs that are all covered in flies. People respond to that. When I post a picture of these parrots looking happy, sometimes I’m afraid they think, ‘Oh. We’re good. We won,’” Erdman said, clapping his hands together. “And I do get cases where we deal

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with a bad situation, but we don’t deal with a lot of those. My people are usually, ‘yes, I want you to take my bird, here’s $5,000.’ A lot of times they continue to support us.” So the Bird Man of Potters Hill and Charlie, the Picasso of Parrots will continue on into the foreseeable future. Age seems to have informed Erdman’s opinions, but like the minds of the animal he works so hard to preserve, those opinions are complicated. “The whole bird community is just so fascinating to me. When I got back into it in my 20s, I had them as pets. And they can be good pets, challenging, but interesting. But the older I got, I thought, no, this was an epidemic, it was horrible. I have ex-breeders who send me money. They say, ‘we just didn’t know, back in the Seventies what it was going to do in the long run.’ You didn’t have Facebook and social media, you didn’t know what was happening worldwide, or countrywide. It wasn’t so visible,” he says. “We’re just a retirement village for parrots. I can’t bash the pet bird people. But before you get a parrot, think about its needs. You probably can’t meet them in your house. I can’t, so you can’t, though good luck trying. So why try meet their demands when you can’t? I don’t know, it’s a tricky question.” To learn more about the Cape Fear Parrot Sanctuary, visit them online at capefearparrotsanctuary.org. SE

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Wish granters help Make-A-Wish fulfill children’s dreams Story: Jacqueline Hough Photos: Jacqueline Hough, Make-A-Wish ENC

For a child with a life-threatening illness, a wish from Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina can make a difference. According to Jerry Peters, vice president of brand advancement for MakeA-Wish ENC, the mission is to grant wishes to kids with life-threatening medical conditions in the 49 counties in ENC.

“We believe in the power of a wish and the impact of a wish,” he said. “It provides hope, strength and joy to not only the kids but the families when they are going through a difficult time.” As wish granters for Make-A-Wish ENC, Kelly Barber and Michelle Woodard wanted to help create memories to sustain the children in tough times. “It gives them something to remem-

ber on the days when they are in the hospital with tubes running everywhere and feeling [badly],” said Woodard, a nurse who started granting wishes in 2010. Each year, Make-A-Wish ENC has granted 200 wishes to children ages 2 1/2 to 18 living with a life-threatening medical condition. The goal is to grant each eligible

Wishes fall into one of four categories “I wish to be,” “I wish to go,” “I wish to have,” or “I wish to meet.”

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child his or her one “true wish.” And while their title is “wish granter,” they and other volunteers don’t have anything to do with the actual wish as far as money needs or getting tickets. “We get to meet the kids,” Woodard said. With 200 wishes granted a year, this means roughly one is granted every other day. Peters noted hundreds of kids are waiting for a wish to be granted. “Right now, we have roughly 300 kids eligible for a wish,” he said. And in order to grant the wishes, volunteers are needed. People interested can sign up online to be wish granters. Once assigned, the volunteers meet with the families and children on behalf of Make-A-Wish ENC. Peters said volunteers have been trained, know the policies and become ambassadors and advocates for them to help keep the wish process moving. “Sometimes it is a very emotional moment for them,” he said. “It is critical for us. We would not be able to

SouthEast North Carolina

Each year, Make-A-Wish ENC has granted 200 wishes to children ages 2 1/2 to 18 living with a lifethreatening medical condition. grant those wishes without those volunteers.” Woodard says she volunteers because she loves kids and feels the need to offer them a better childhood than she had. “This gives me the opportunity to make sure that other children have at least some sort of joy and happiness,” Woodard said. “And their childhood isn’t all glum, scary and bad stuff. There

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can be good stuff with it.” For Barber, a paramedic, it is a reality check for her as a mother. “When I think I am having a bad day, I can think back to one of those little kids and what they have to go through,” said Barber, who started wish granting in 2012. “All those treatments, I just couldn’t imagine it.” Make-A-Wish Foundation started in 1980 with a “To be” type of wish in Arizona. A seven-year-old named Chris Greicius had leukemia and wanted to be a police officer. Peters said the community rallied around to grant his wish. A few days later, the child died. Because of the experience, the child’s mom and a couple of the law enforcement officers started what is now Make-A-Wish. Wishes fall into one of four categories “I wish to be,” “I wish to go,” “I wish to have,” or “I wish to meet.” “I wish to be” is often a child’s dream to be a soldier or an athlete with their favorite sports team. For example, Peters said they will soon meet with a young girl at Camp Lejeune who dreams to be

a U.S. Marine. “I wish to have” is often a child’s wish for a material thing, perhaps a playset or a shopping experience. Make-A-Wish ENC says it had a young boy from the Raleigh area recently who wanted musical equipment because his dream was to be a deejay. “I wish to meet” often includes a child’s desire to meet a celebrity, such as an actor or sports figure. Peters said one of the more popular ones in this category is wrestlers. For instance, WWE Wrestler John Cena has granted more than 500 wishes in the last few years during his career as a professional wrestler. Finally, “I wish to go” is usually a trip, the most popular being Disney related. “I think now it is up to more than 50 percent of all wishes granted in the U.S.,” Peters said. “This is all 62 plus chapters in the U.S. with more than 50 percent of the wishes Disney related.” Other wishes include going to Hawaii, Australia, to the beach or theme parks. Peters noted the travel wishes cost

the most of the four — it’s not just the child going to New York or Disney but their immediate family with airfare, accommodations. But Peters said they are starting to see a fifth category emerge — “I wish to give back.” These are youth who want to use their wish for greater good even beyond what they need or want. “This is truly special when someone is going through such a life-threatening period of their life is willing to give their wish to someone else,” he said. For instance, Peters remembered the story of a girl who wanted to learn how to cook soup, then have the soup distributed to the homeless in her area. One of Woodard’s favorite wishes was that of a teenage boy who was able to refurbish the Mustang given to him by his grandmother. Barber remembered another story, that of a young lady who was not mobile but liked the beach and loved to swing. A swing was built for her so she could roll her wheelchair onto it. Wishes have limitations. Make-aWish can refurbish a car but not buy

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a new one, they explained. They can improve a room but not add value to a home. They also can’t override doctor’s oders — Barber remembered a child who wished for a hot tub, but because she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and was sensitive to hot temperatures, her doctor could not approve of the wish. To receive a wish, a child must live in one of the 49 counties in Eastern North Carolina. The child must not have previously received a wish from Make-AWish ENC, from another make-a-wish chapter or from another similar organization that grants dreams or wishes. The child must be between the ages of two and a half and 18 at the time of referral. They have to have a life-threatening medical condition. “We rely on the children’s doctors and medical professionals to help us determine if that condition is life-threatening,” Peters said. If interested in volunteering or donating, visit eastnc.wish.org or call 1-800-432-9474 and talk with the volunteer coordinator. SE

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Wounded Warriors

Camp Davis

It’s not easy for a trained Marine to be pulled from duty, not even due to an injury. Turns out, it’s also not so easy to sideline a determined one. So the Wounded Warrior Battalion - East has a unique mission — get the soldier well in body and mind, and get them back into the service. While not every Marine can return to their responsibilities, it’s far from a one-way ticket out of the Corps these people serve so faithfully.

Seventy-eight years ago, the town of Holly Ridge had something like 28 residents. Then World War II happened. The tiny coastal village then ballooned into one of the most important training sites in the United States, with more than 100,000 residents from the military and civilian sectors. It was all because of a nearly-forgotten artillery installation, called Camp Davis.

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After a decade, Wounded Warrior Battalion-East continues to care for those wounded at war Story and photos: Jacqueline Hough As a platoon commander, Captain Andrew Yeary was proud to be a Marine. He was so proud that when he was wounded — his tank struck an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan — he chose not to leave the country, but to stay with his men. Yeary healed from injuries, but he had injuries below the surface as well. “When I came back, my wife kind of gave me an ultimatum,” he said. “I wasn’t the same. I needed to get some help.” In November of 2014, Yeary was assigned to the Wounded Warrior Battalion-East (WWBn-E) at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville. The battalion started in 2005 as a barracks for Marines recovering from combat injuries. Then Lt. Colonel Tim Maxwell had an idea — bring combat wounded onto the base so they could share their experiences and talk about recovery. Thus began the first Wounded Warrior Barracks in the Marine Corps. And from that idea came the Wounded Warrior Regiment and Wounded Warrior Battalion. WWBn-E is comprised of the 22

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state-of-the-art Wounded Warrior Complex with a Battalion Headquarters, a 100room barracks, the Fisher House and the Warrior Hope and Care Center. In working with the staff there, Yeary realized there were a lot of the things he could no longer do. “I was very stubborn,” he said. “I didn’t want to admit that I had anything wrong.” He learned techniques and cope with his short-term memory loss and trouble with finding words. “So a lot of times I will be talking and the word will just slip my mind,” he said. “I used to get frustrated and very awkward. Now, I just kind of let it go and move on, find another word or move to another subject.” Yeary can’t physically train like he used to, so he has learned to use adaptive sports gear. Lt. Col Chris D. Hrudka, commanding officer at WWBn-E, said each person has an individual case and circumstance when they are Winter 2018

assigned. “We don’t paint with a broad brush and come up with generic solutions,” he said. Every Marine who visits the battalion has had a hand in figuring out what is possible for their recovery,” he said. “It is a long road for some and a quicker road for others,” Hrudka said. “But it is a road they don’t have to travel alone because this organization exists and the Marine Corps continues to invest in it.”

After coming to WWBn-E, Yeary went before the Medical Evaluation Board and was found medically unfit to serve. He applied for expanded permanent limited duty and was approved, but it meant changing his military occupational specialty, going to school — and to another duty station. Yeary didn’t want to put his family through a move, especially on the verge of completing 20 years of service. He was offered a chance to work as staff at WWBn-E until his retire-

The Warrior Hope and Care Center is technologically advanced physical training equipment including a three-lane, 25-yard lap pool; underwater treadmill; rock climbing wall; and reconditioning, aerobic and training rooms

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ment in 2018. “They helped with the family life at home because when I got back, obviously I wasn’t the same person after my injuries,” Yeary said. “So it helped to get me back where I should to be a dad and be a husband again.” Craig Stephens, command adviser at WWBn-E, said it is an environment with access to a full range of services such as counseling, medical care management, physical reconditioning, and transition services. A Marine is assigned a recovery care coordinator to assist them and their family in creating and maintaining a comprehensive recovery plan that outlines their individual goals for recovery. The Warrior Hope and Care Center is technologically advanced with physical training equipment including a three-lane, 25-yard lap pool; underwater treadmill, rock climbing wall and reconditioning, aerobic and training rooms. Stephens said they take care of wounded, ill and injured. “No matter how the Marine received his injuries, we are going to take care of him,” he said. Ten years ago, it was all combatwounded Marines at WWBn-E. Five or six years ago, it dropped to 80 percent combat wounded and 20 percent non-combat. Now it is 20 percent combat wounded and 80 percent non-combat. “The need is still there for the battalion,” Stephens said. The Wounded Warrior regimental headquarters, located in Quantico, Va., commands the operation of two Wounded Warrior Battalions (Camp Lejeune and Camp Pendleton in California) and multiple detachments in locations around the globe, including major military treatment facilities and Department of Veterans Affairs Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers. As a whole, there are 870 wounded warriors for the regiment. “The Marine is the mission,” Stephens said. “And the Marine 24

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needs to realize that he or she is still a Marine.” Staff Sgt. Melinda Gutierrez knows this mission well. She was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 30. “I didn’t think it could be me. I was at the height of my career,” she said quietly. “I had just picked up Staff Sergeant the year before. I felt like I was unstoppable until my diagnosis came.” Gutierrez admitted she fought to get to WWBn-E because she had heard it was a place where she could heal. After going undergoing a double mastectomy, she began chemotherapy in August. The first round went okay but the second one was worse. “By my third round, I wanted to die, she said. WWBn-E was able to help her and family through it. Around the same time, Gutierrez’s daughter had a seizure lasting three and half hours. She was diagnosed with glioblastoma, stage 4. Her daughter was given seven days to live initially. “By the grace of God and the love and support I had, we were able to help her fight through it,” Gutierrez said. Then she faced another challenge in her sister’s battle with pancreatic cancer. WWBn-E was able to support Gutierrez and family so she could go home to see her sister. “It was a really dark time,” she said. By being a part of WWBn-E, she was able to talk with others there who had experienced hard times. Gutierrez’s sister died on Dec. 15, 2015. At the same time, her daughter was suffering from multiple seizures. Gutierrez’s daughter died in February of this year. She said WWBn-E helped her and her family endure. “At the end of the day, you still have feelings,” she said. “At the end of the day, you have thoughts. At the end of the day, you are still human. And here, you are able to feel those.” Winter 2018

But being in the fleet Marine Corps, you are “not supposed to,” Gutierrez said. She noted some have misconceptions about WWBn-E. Some believe seeking help is a sign of weakness, that the battalion is a one-way ticket

Every Marine who comes there has helped in figuring out what is possible for their recovery and help in getting them there.

out of the Marine Corps. Yeary said they have developed a platoon called Delta Platoon, which is a return-to-duty-platoon. “If a Marine desires to be a Marine, we will bring them here and let them take a knee for 90 days, 120 days or

however long it takes,” he said. “They stay with their unit. We bring them here, let them recover, get them fully trained and send them back.” Hdruka said a stigma still exists about Marines seeking help. “We are trying very hard to educate the broader Marine Corps that this is not what that is,” he said. “This is a place where the Marine Corps can focus on the most complex cases, the most critically wounded, ill and injured and provide them with the support they need. There is no stigma to it.” He added WWBn-E is a regular Marine Corps unit with professionalism, discipline and focus required of other soldiers, but with the added mission of recovery. However with the complexity of some cases that come to the battalion, most Marines may not be able to continue to serve. Hrudka said they work with Marines about the transition to take away the fear and uncertainty of having to stop one career and start another one. “Most of the Marines want to stay in the service,” he said. “They didn’t ask to be here. They didn’t ask to be wounded or injured but it happened. Their new reality is that they have got to deal with it.” If a Marine wanted to stay in, everything is done to allow them to continue service. Ten percent go back to the fleet and continue service in one-way or another. Sgt. Amber Fifer was in this 10

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percent. In 2012, she was assigned to WWBn-E for injuries sustained in Afghanistan. After she recovered, she reenlisted and went back into the fleet. As time went on, new problems have arisen from her old injuries. Later, she realized she needed more care and came back to WWBn-E. After eight years in the Marines, her focus is getting out of the military and being a successful person. “And I know I am ready for the next part of my life,” Fifer said. Yeary is also making a transition as a staff member. “Nobody really likes a desk job, especially if you are used to being in the tank,” he said. “But I enjoy it.” He says he has a chance to help others who are where he once stood — with the same wide-eyed look and sense of frustration. When he got there, he had almost 17 years in the Marine Corps. “The amount of stuff I didn’t know that I have learned since being here is amazing. It is a wealth of untapped knowledge.” Hdruka said it is a humbling and emotional journey every day to see Marines and their families struggling with whatever illness and injury they have. “I learn something new every day about people and their resiliencies and about what it means to be truly recovered,” he said. “It is individual and different for every person.” SE

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Camp Davis:

The nearly forgotten military base Story: Abby Cavenaugh / Photos: Contributed

A few miles from Topsail Island, a sprawling military base appeared seemingly overnight, taking the population of the town of Holly Ridge from 28 in 1940 to more than 100,000 by 1943. However, by the end of World War II in 1945, the camp was already being dismantled and its buildings sold. Today, very few remnants of Camp Davis can be found in Holly Ridge. There are the simple white wood-frame buildings here and there, paved streets that now lead into a thick pine forest, a pair of brick columns marking what was

once the main entrance off U.S. Highway 17. As late as the 1990s, brick chimneys and street signs could be seen in the woods along N.C. Highway 50 outside Holly Ridge. Despite the few physical reminders, the Army anti-aircraft artillery training center left an indelible mark on southeastern North Carolina’s history. In its heyday, Camp Davis had more than 30 miles of paved streets, 22 miles of asphalt sidewalks and 90 acres of paved parking spaces, according to the book, “Greetings from Camp Davis” by Clifford Tyn-

Camp Davis hosted integrated training at its Anti-Aircraft Artillery School, a rarity in the military during the 1940s.

dall. “I think part of the mystique for me is just seeing … it was here, and then it was gone,” Tyndall said. Constructed in just 160 days, Camp Davis quickly became one of the premier anti-aircraft artillery training centers of the American World War II effort. The base was named for North Carolina native Major General Richmond Pearson Davis. Many people from surrounding counties were able to get jobs helping to build the base — a great boon to the economy after the recent Great Depression. “They start

WASPs — Women’s Army Service Pilots — were based at Camp Davis during World War II. The majority of the female pilots towed targets for anti-aircraft artillery training.

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ed building this place in late 1940, still in the depths of the Great Depression,” Tyndall said. “We think about the Great Depression being over in 1940, but it wasn’t around here. They were still suffering. What this place did was it offered very well-paying jobs, construction work, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, bricklayers, painters. I mean, just thousands of people across eastern North Carolina got jobs here, including my grandfather.” In addition to bringing much-needed jobs, Camp Davis also brought people from all over the country to this tiny corner of coastal North Carolina. “It played a big part in basically bringing people to eastern North Carolina that were not native,” Tyndall said of Camp Davis. “A lot of people from Pennsylvania, New York, they came down here and met their wives in the area, while they were living here, training here. It was the first big influx of people from outside eastern North Carolina.” Camp Davis reached its full strength on Aug. 21, 1941, with 20,000 soldiers and more than 900 civilian workers. “The first Barrage Balloon Training Center was started at Camp Davis,” reads the Town of Holly Ridge’s website. “Camp Davis also had the

In addition to military visitors, Hollywood also came to call at Camp Davis. The movie, “There’s Something About a Soldier,” was partially filmed on the base. “Camp Davis was some of the backdrops,” Tyndall said. “Most of it was filmed on a sound stage, but there were some backdrop scenes filmed on base. It’s pretty cool.” distinction of being the only post with anti-aircraft, seacoast defense and barrage balloon that fell under one command.” Barrage balloons were similar to the blimps of today, and were designed to protect cities and bases from low-flying aircraft. They were attached to the ground with steel cables that blocked aircraft’s flight paths. The majority of the soldiers stationed at Camp Davis were from the Midwest and New England. Anti-aircraft

artillery regiments included the 93rd, 94th, 96th, 99th and 100th. Among those units, the 99th and 100th were comprised of African-American troops, which were kept segregated from white troops for the most part. The Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) school, however, offered some integrated training. In addition to the diversity provided by African-American regiments, Camp Davis also played host to many female soldiers. WACs, or members of the Women’s Army Corps, were stationed

A 1943 letter from Second Lietenant Lester Bailey to a Mrs. Joe Beasley, asking her to “get us some girls” to the base for a dance with soldiers stationed at Camp Davis during World War II. 28

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A collection of Clifford Tyndall’s Camp Da provided Tyndall with items such as a br case. Also shown is a letter from Second Lie

on the base starting in 1943. The women took over electrical and similar jobs at the base, “to make available a man for other duties.” They also worked in the camp commissary as cashiers and inventory clerks. They did not train for any combat-related assignments. On the other hand, WASPs — Women’s Army Service Pilots — were also stationed at Camp Davis, and had a much more dangerous job. According to Tyndall’s account, WASPs arrived in the summer of 1943 and began training to tow aerial targets for the anti-aircraft artillery regiments. In other words, they flew planes with targets attached to them. A number of WASPs were killed in the line of duty, mostly due to engine malfunctions in their older planes. “The big thing here was training men to shoot down aircraft,” Tyndall said, and that’s what the WASPs helped the troops to do. During its heyday, Camp Davis attracted a number of American and Allied civilian and military leaders. The U.S. Secretary of War Henry Stimson visited in 1941, Tyndall said, and Head of Army Ground Forces, Lt. Leslie J. McNair spent 36 hours at the base in 1943.

Soldiers from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Cuba and Venezeula also visited Camp Davis for various training courses. In addition to military visitors, Hollywood also came to call at Camp Davis. The movie, “There’s Something About a Soldier,” was partially filmed on the base. “Camp Davis was some of the backdrops,” Tyndall said. “Most of it was filmed on a sound stage, but there were some backdrop scenes filmed on base. It’s pretty cool.” That film is one of the few remaining records of Camp Davis’s existence.

The U.S. Marine Corps has taken over much of what used to be the base, using it for field exercises and training. “There’s actually more of it here than people realize,” Tyndall said. “The kind of extremes of the base, the Marine Corps has taken over. Here in Holly Ridge, you can still see a fair amount of streets, there are some remnant buildings and foundations.” “It’s just such a great story,” he continued, “because people don’t realize how important a role Camp Davis played during World War II. It’s just paramount in the war effort.” SE LEFT: The largest building on Camp Davis was Farnsworth Hall, a gymnasium for the troops. BELOW: Today, all that remains of Farnsworth Hall are these concrete columns on the edge of town in Holly Ridge. BOTTOM: A set of barracks on Camp Davis. The base once housed more than 20,000 soldiers during World War II.

avis memorabilia. Many veterans of the base have rochure, “pictorial review,” guidebook and pillowetenant Lester Bailey to a Mrs. Joe Beasley, asking her to send girls to the base for a dance. Winter 2018

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North Carolina

Nantucket 32

For nearly 50 years, Nantucket has been rocking the house and making people dance to their blend of rock and R&B. They’ve been inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame, along with greats like James Taylor, Charlie Daniels, John Coltrane and the Chairmen of the Board. We sat down with Nantucket after a recent show to learn the band’s history, their hopes for the future, and to learn just how these guys can keep putting on a great show after all these years.

Dick Macartney

Dick Macartney has been throwing rocks around for four decades, but not out of boredom, nor out of sheer vandalism (well, provided he doesn’t toss too hard). Macartney is a curling enthusiast, and he’s been quite competitive too. A chance meeting in an Albany hotel bar introduced Macartney to the peculiar sport, and now he’s on a mission to spread it to North Carolina.

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Nantucket

keeps on rockin’

Story: Abby Cavenaugh

ince the late 1960s, members of the rock band Nantucket have been making music and performing for crowds all over the U.S. In their heyday, Nantucket toured with AC/DC on their Back in Black Tour, as well as numerous other well-known acts like KISS, Styx, Journey, the Doobie Brothers and the Charlie Daniels Band. “We played with just about every band there was,” said Tommy Redd, one of Nantucket’s original members

and the writer of most of their material. The group started out as Stax of Gold in 1968, and later changed the name to Nantucket Sleigh Ride before dropping the “Sleigh Ride” portion of the name in 1973. One might wonder how the band got a name like Nantucket, when the band formed in Jacksonville, North Carolina. “I’ve never even been to Nantucket,” said Eddie Blair, who joined the band in 1973. He said the name Stax of Gold was limiting the band, because though they started out playing R&B and beach music, they were turning more rock and roll. “We were playing Jacksonville

one night, and had a ‘name the band’ contest,” Blair explained. “A Marine put in the name Nantucket Sleigh Ride and it stuck. In 1973, we decided Nantucket Sleigh Ride was too long and dropped the ‘Sleigh Ride.’” The original group was made up of six members —Tommy Redd, Larry and Mike Uzzell, Eddie Blair, Kenny Soule, and Mark Downing. Nantucket developed a following after playing mostly covers throughout North and South Carolina. In 1977, they signed a record deal with Epic Records and released their self-titled debut album the next year, which featured their hit single, “Heartbreaker.” The success of their first

Nantucket in their heyday. From left, Eddie Blair, Larry Uzzell, Peewee Watson, Mark Downing, Kenny Soule and Tommy Redd. 32

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Nantucket was inducted in to the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2012, joining other prestigious inductees like James Taylor, Charlie Daniels, John Coltrane and the Chairmen of the Board.

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album — it sold about 200,000 copies and landed on the Billboard charts — led the way for them to open for many of the top rock bands of the early 1980s. “The AC/DC tour was great,” Blair said. “And I got to be a guest soloist with the Doobie Brothers, and that was a charge.” Blair plays saxophone and provides lead and background vocals, while Redd is a gifted songwriter and guitarist. Larry Uzzell is the band’s frontman and one of the founding members, and also plays trumpet, harmonica and percussion. Bass player Peewee Watson joined in 1980, and was with the group when it recorded its second album, “Long Way to the Top.” Drummer Jason Patterson joined in 1986, and rejoined 20 years later. Rounding out the group today is Walt Garland, who replaced longtime member Ronnie Waters on lead guitar. Garland’s first performance with Nantucket was at the 2017 Muscadine Festival in Kenansville. After a successful decade in the music business, Nantucket split in 1989. “In 1992, we did a reunion concert,” Blair said. “We did one or two shows a year for several years, and then in the mid1990s, they started making our records into CDs and we started getting royalties, so we decided to perform again.”

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Clocwise from left, Jett Matthews, Mike Uzzell, Bill Cain, Kenny Soule, Tommy Redd, Mark Downing, Eddie Blair and Larry Uzzell.

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Nantucket has been performing ever since, though not on a fulltime basis. “This year, we have 1617 shows,” Blair said. “Next year, it may be more than that.” There are still a lot of Nantucket fans out there, and the band has found a niche performing at festivals throughout the Carolinas. The band released a new CD, “You Need a Ride to Raleigh,” in 2011, which harkened back to their beach music roots. The title track was nominated for Best Song at the Carolina Beach Music Association (CBMA) Awards. Nantucket was inducted in to the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2012, joining other prestigious inductees like James Taylor, Charlie Daniels, John Coltrane and the Chairmen of the Board. Though they started out with R&B and beach music, and transitioned into rock, Blair is hesitant to call Nantucket a Southern rock band. “When we started playing original music,” he explained, “we had to write in a way that was our music but was palatable with the clubs we were playing in. We ended

up doing a lot of vocals, because we loved the Beatles, the Beach Boys … we had a lot of different influences.” Many people call Nantucket Southern rock, but Blair said it’s not a Southern rock band. “We are unique,” he said. “We’ve got Southern rock influences but R&B influences as well. We have our own little niche.” When asked what keeps them going, Blair said, “The love of music. As long as the crowd loves it, we will continue to do it.” He pointed out that music icon Paul McCartney continues to tour, even though he’s in his 70s. “He’s got millions of dollars so he doesn’t need to do it, but he does it for the love of music.” There’s no end in sight for Nantucket. “As long as we can do it, we will,” Blair said, adding that he’s visited family at assisted living facilities and seen guys who are 85 still rocking out on a guitar. “We are still legitimate, as far as being Nantucket,” Blair said. “We’re the real guys. We just didn’t make as much as the Rolling Stones and the Beatles.” SE

Peewee Watson, left, and Larry Uzzell perform as Nantucket opened for AC/DC on their Back in Black Tour in the early 1980s.

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Dick Macartney: still throwing stones at 75

Story & Photos: Annesophia Richards

When it comes to throwing some stones, Dick Macartney has no reservations. A curling enthusiast since 1977, his history with one of the world’s most baffling sports has led him sweeping across the world in pursuit of the perfect shot. With an unwavering passion for the game, a competitive spirit, and the support of his wife Charlotte, Macartney has managed to unleash a game previously obscure to the South into the heart of North Carolina’s sports scene. Macartney’s love affair with the sport of curling started late one night over 40 years ago, in the bar of a tiny

hotel in Albany, NY. On the eve of starting a new job in a new city, a coworker sitting beside him kicked up a conversation and invited Macartney along for a friendly pickup match later that same night. “The guy asked what I was doing that night and if I’d like to try curling. I told him I’d never heard of it, but why not?” Macartney remembers. A quick trip over to the Albany Curling Club gave Macartney his first taste of the sport, and the camaraderie that followed made a lasting impression. After the games were complete, Macartney followed

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the players over to the clubhouse for some ‘broomstacking.’ One of curling’s most beloved traditions, ‘broomstacking’ takes place when the losing team buys the winners drinks after a game, and it was during this time that Macartney decided that curling was a sport he could see in his future. “We sat down and everyone was very friendly and very open. Plus it was an athletic sport, and so I said ‘I like this!’ I signed up right then to become a member and was just thoroughly hooked.” Macartney’s wife Charlotte also

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joined the club, and the two curled at least once a week, both together and separately in different leagues. However, Macartney’s work in the food industry soon led the couple away from Albany and on to other states over the next several years, most of which, disappointingly, lacked a curling club. Then in 1992, a job at Carolina Turkey (now Butterball) in Mount Olive led the Macartneys to southeastern N.C., and it was here that Macartney was once again reunited with his long lost passion. “A few months after we arrived, a friend brought in the Raleigh News & Observer and showed me a little article in there about a group trying to get curling started here in North Carolina,” says Macartney. “So I called the contact person, and later that year we went to the organizational meeting, and then in 1995 we helped start the Triangle Curling Club in Durham.” The fledgling club began as a small group of curling enthusiasts and newbies who met for pickup games in various arena rinks across the Raleigh area. Membership numbers significantly multiplied after each Winter Olympic Games, as televised curling competitions inspired people to jump on the internet and research just what this curious sport involving rocks and brooms on ice was really all about. “Curling really takes off in membership in Olympic television years. They’ve found that NBC has higher ratings for curling than any other winter sport except ice skating. During the last Olympics it even became a thing for people on Wall Street to bet on shots at the bars,” chuckles Macartney. “It’s a good thing.” By the time Macartney retired in 2006, he was the Triangle Curling Club’s official representative with the sport’s governing body, the Grand National Curling Club. An organization dating all the way back to 1867, Macartney made his way up from director to vice president, and finally to Grand National President in 2012. The position marked the first time that the club had ever elected an arena curler as its leader, let alone the first time that leader also resided south of Washington, DC. 38

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“Curling really takes off in membership in Olympic television years. They’ve found that NBC has higher ratings for curling than any other winter sport except ice skating. During the last Olympics it even became a thing for people on Wall Street to bet on shots at the bars,” chuckles Macartney. “It’s a good thing.” Even before beginning his presidential reign, Macartney had already set his curling sights high and wide. He made it a personal goal to get a spot on the U.S. Curling Association’s senior men’s team for the Scot Tour, a 60-year old tradition between Scotland and the United States. Every five years both countries take turns sending a 20-man team across the pond to compete against the other, the event culminating with one country being awarded the coveted Herries Maxwell Trophy. “I wanted to get on the Scot Tour team, so I knew I had to branch out. I was curling in the Grand National senior events, so we got a team together and we began going out to the Midwest to complete. We didn’t do very well out there, but we still went for seven years Winter 2018

in a row,” says Macartney. But Macartney had played his cards, or maybe his stones, right. When it came time for the U.S. Curling Association to pick their 2012 Scot Tour team, his strong presence across the country’s curling community, coupled with his impressive credentials, made him an easy choice for the Scotland-bound American team in 2012. “The signature capstone for a curler is to get to represent his country, and when you’re 69 years old that’s pretty

hard!” laughs Macartney. “It was a great experience.” It was during those years when Macartney competed in the Midwestern ‘bonspiels,’ or weekend tournaments, that he realized the full potential of his curling club back in Raleigh. Due to its lack of an ice facility, the Triangle Curling Club constantly struggled to share ice time in the area’s skating and hockey-dominated rinks. “We were arena curlers, and we quickly realized that we couldn’t

compete with these other guys. We curl once a week on terrible ice, so we started the dream of getting some land and a dedicated ice facility.” The club quickly found that they did not have the backing needed, as the younger members lacked the experience and understanding of just how much that sort of an undertaking would cost. That’s where Macartney and his fellow seniors stepped in. The four teammates found a piece of land, pooled their resources, and together helped the club purchase and finance their own official facility. As soon as the ice was ready, the Triangle Club’s membership skyrocketed. “It’s like that old adage ‘build it and they will come.’ Well, it’s worked that way in Durham, and now it’s what Wilmington is looking to do,” says Macartney. “I really think we unleashed a good thing, and it’s picking up speed. Triangle has gone from 64 members to almost 300 in less than 2 years, and now there’s a club in Charlotte, in Charleston, in Atlanta. We haven’t even scratched the potential of it all yet.” Wilmington’s Coastal Curling Club also has Macartney to thank for its inception. The club originally started when interest formed in Wilmington after the 2010 Winter Olympics. Macartney reached out to the Wilmington

Winter 2018

Ice House and secured permission to hold a ‘Learn to Curl’ event there one evening. He then called upon fellow curling friends from Raleigh and Charlotte and asked them to help out and participate. “I left them with $100 and I said ‘after curling, bring everyone who attends out for drinks until this money is gone.’ So they did that and signed up 14 members that same evening!” chuckles Macartney. At 75, Macartney has aged out of some of the senior competitions, but he still remains active in the curling community as part of the Rotary Curling Club. He plans to compete in Ontario this January, followed by the U.S. Senior Men’s Championship in Wisconsin in the spring, and then finally to Scotland in April to compete in the World Rotary Championship. “I’ve been in a bonspiel where there was even a 99 year-old guy competing. So it’s a great sport that I can still do, it gives me a lot of satisfaction and of course the world travel is great,” says Macartney. “I’d like to break the record for a 99 year-old competitor. I think 100 is a good goal!” As for Charlotte, she says that although she has always enjoyed curling, she doesn’t quite share the intense passion for the sport that her husband still holds strong. “That’s his goal, and I hope he makes it. I curl when I can and that’s enough for me,” Charlotte says. The Macartneys both hope to see the sport of curling expand throughout North Carolina and especially the Port City area, where the Coastal Carolina Curling Club’s next endeavor is to secure a dedicated ice facility much like the bigger clubs in Raleigh and Charlotte. The club already has a large bonspiel event planned in Wilmington in June, with the tournament’s championship event aptly named the “Macartney Trophy.” “We seem to have a little bit of heritage here in this area, Charlotte and I. So we’d just like to be around to see and meet the people who are going to carry it all off.” SE S outhEast North Carolina

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Winter 2018

Come see us!

PHOTO FEATURE SE

North Carolina

Swansboro 42 Flotilla

So, here’s the deal. We stumbled into the wrong flotilla, and we thought we were going to Wrightsville Beach, but ended up in Swansboro, et cetera, et cetera, so-on so-forth. Turns out, the Swansboro Flotilla is much more than some lighted boats on the water, it’s an entire downtown celebration of Christmas time. Check out our photo feature, and be sure to kick yourself if you missed it.

Play Dates

As always, we’ve collected a whole pile of interesting things to see, exciting things to do for our readers. See Play Dates for listings from Wilmington, Goldsboro, Fayetteville, Greenville, Kure Beach and even Washington. Our picks: A Christmas Story: The Musical, The Great Wilmington Nutcracker and the East Carolina Wildlife Arts Festival. Though to be fair, we’d hit them all if we could.

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Christmas in Swansboro Photos: Trevor Normile

I didn’t check the calendar when we set off for the Wrightsville Beach Flotilla, I just grabbed my camera, hopped in my mother-in-law’s Toyota and off we went. I intended on meeting Ces Erdman, president of the Cape Fear Parrot Sanctuary, for a photo of Charlie (see story page 10), where I assumed the CFPS would have a booth. It did not matter. As I finally noticed, looking up from my phone as we turned onto the back streets of Swansboro, I was at the wrong flotilla. We arrived a little late but the brightly lit boats still circled off the shore. We soon had our fill and wandered over to Church Street where, as we got closer, it became clear the main happening was on the street, not on the water. Thousands of people, laughing, talking, walking together,

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seemed to revel in this early welcome of Christmas. Atop the bandstand, Santa Claus heard the wishes of hundreds of excited children. All around, the little enclave of shops around the Church Street Pub (I’d been downtown once, for the pub) was lit up and alive. The odors of espresso and cigar leaf traveled throughout. After my photo trip, I finally found my wife, standing by the Edventure candy shop, holding a candy apple. The candy was dandy, though I was admittedly more taken by the cannonballsized Great-Granny Smith apple underneath. So the boats were pretty but the Christmas-primed crowd in Downtown Swansboro was an even warmer welcome for the holiday season. Not bad for a failed photo assignment. SE

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SouthEast North Carolina

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Play Dates

Paramount Movie Night:

DEC

“It’s a Wonderful Life” TUES 7 p.m., Paramount Theatre, Goldsboro

The Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” will be showed in a special Paramount Movie Night, scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 19. After George Bailey wishes he had never been born, an angel is sent to earth to make George’s wish come true... and George starts to realize how many lives he has changed. Admission is $5 and free for children 12 and under with a paying adult. www.goldsboroparamount.com/ its-a-wonderful-life-2/

jan

SUNDAY

SE Pick

A Christmas Story: The Musical

Thalian Association presents: A Christmas Story: The Musical. Book by Joseph Robinette, Music & lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. “This classic holiday tale centers on a mischievous, bespectacled boy, Ralphie, who dreams of getting a BB-gun for Christmas. In the weeks before the big holiday, Ralphie, his friends and his family get into all kinds of situations — including run-ins with a bully with “yellow eyes,” a tongue stuck to a flag pole, a bar of soap in the mouth, a garish leg lamp, a major award and a Chinese Christmas dinner.”

Paramount Theatre

The Malpass Brothers 3 p.m., Jan. 21, Paramount Theatre, Goldsboro • Tickets $15-$20

FEB

The Malpass Brothers’ annual show will include a documentary about the brothers and their home town, Goldsboro. The film touches on the brothers’ passion for traditional country music and the city they grew up in. “The Malpass Brothers are as authentic as stone-ground grits, country ham and red-eye gravy, hushpuppies and chopped pork barbecue… and they’re every bit as good,” the Theatre writes. The Malpass Brothers are sure to please fans of traditional country — and win over a few new adherents too. www. goldsboroparamount.com/the-malpass-brothers

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16 FRIDAY

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Dec

8 FRI

DEC

17 SUN

Shows held on select dates from Friday, Dec. 8 through Sunday, Dec. 17 at Thalian Hall. Show times at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Sunday shows at 3 p.m. More at www.thalianhall. org.

10th Anniversary Gala 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16, Paramount Theatre, Goldsboro • Tickets $15-$20

The Paramount Theatre’s 10th Anniversary gala performance is Friday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. The performance will feature Emmy-winning composer and Goldsboro native Ray Bunch and local artists representing StageStruck: The Young People’s Own Theatre, Center Stage Theatre, Goldsboro Ballet, Artistic Dance Academy, Desiree Autrey’s Academy of Performing Arts, Studio 33, the Malpass Brothers and more. www.goldsboroparamount.com/ paramount-10th-anniversary-gala/

SE Pick

Jan

13 SAT

An Evening with Bill Engvall 7:30 p.m., Wilson Center, Cape Fear Community College • Tickets from $42-$79

An evening of “Standout stand-up” planned as Bill Engvall shares the clean-cut, everyday humor and ‘common man’ outlook that have endeared Engvall to a nation of audience. “Engvall will showcase his iconic brand of observational satire that is as relatable as it is laugh out loud funny.” Visit cfcc.edu/capefearstage/bill-engvall.

16 SAT

TRAXXAS FEB Monster 16-17 Trucks

DEC

FRI-SAT

Crown Coliseum, Fayetteville

Dec

Friday, Feb.16 Saturday, Feb.17 Show time 7:30 p.m. • Tickets $21-$33

SUN

“The TRAXXAS Monster Truck Tour invades the Crown Coliseum on February 16 and 17. See these incredible 10,000 pound car crushing giants compete in racing, wheelie contests, and then rock the house with amazing freestyle action during the TRAXXAS Monster Truck Tour.” Meet the drivers for autographs, pre-show pit party. Visit www.crowncomplexnc.com/events/detail/traxxas-monster-truck.

The Great Wilmington Nutcracker Ballet

by the USIB, Wilmington Ballet Co. Wilson Center, Cape Fear Community College Downtown Wilmington Showtimes: 6 p.m. Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. • Tickets $25-$35

The U.S. International Ballet (USIB) partners with The Wilmington Ballet Company to produce the Great Wilmington Nutcracker. The production features aerial artists, stilt walkers, LED effects and more. “Majestic sets, stunning costumes, and intricate choreography create an enchanting holiday experience.” Local youth dancers perform with the professionals. With past shows selling out, Tickets go quickly. Italian Ballet stars Walter Angelini and Ines Albertini artistically lead the new company. Visit cfcc.edu/capefearstage/great-wilmington-nutcracker-2017.

MORE FUN FOR THE HOLIDAYS Dec. 1417 • Show times vary

Crown Coliseum, Fayetteville.

Tickets $21.50 - $66.50 Disney heroines spark the courage inside us all in “Dare to Dream.” Characters Moana, Anna, Rapunzel, Belle and Cinderella. Hosted by Mickey and Minnie Mouse. “Discover why no dream is too big when we find the strength to shape our own destiny at Disney On Ice presents: Dare To Dream.” www.crowncomplexnc.com.

plus... Holiday Lights in the Garden

•Dec. 26 through Dec. 30, 5:30 p.m. - 9p.m. at Cape Fear Botanical Garden, Fayetteville Admission $5-$12.Tour the beautiful Cape Fear Botanical Garden, including a mile-long stroll and thousands of lights aglow. Photos with Santa, s’mores roast, garden gift shop available. Visit www.visitfayettevillenc.com/ event/2017/12/26/holiday-lights-in-thegarden.

Art for All 2018

• Saturday, Feb. 17• 516 N. Front Street, Wilmington. Unique and creative art show. Admission $5, kids under 12 free. Food trucks, cash bar, more than 50 vendors and raffle tickets. More at www.northcarolinafairsandfestivals. com.

Jolly Skull Beer and Wine Festival Jan. 20 Greenville Convention Center

Tickets $35-$50. Eighth annual beer and wine festival in Greenville to include live music, auctions and more than 50 American craft microbreweries and wineries, with more than 125 beers and wines to taste. Special rate for designated drivers. Profits go to Beer Army Foundation. More at www.beerarmy.org/jollyskull.

Tickets $17-32. Director Melissa Rain Anderson and 2 Ring Circus return for musical based on the works of Dr. Seuss. Horton the Elephant, Cat in the Hat, Gertrude McFuzz, Lazy Mayzie and Jojo. At Cape Fear Regional Theater, Fayetteville. More at www.cfrt.org/project/seussical.

New Year’s Eve Gala

Polar Plunge of New Hanover

• Sunday, Dec. 31, 7p.m. • Thalian Hall, Wilmington Tickets $150, VIP $200 with private buffet, bar and Starlight Room. Starts at 7 p.m., co-presented by Opera House Theatre Company. Curtain at 8:30 p.m. All tickets include dinner, dessert, drinks, champagne toast and a sensational life performance of Broadway musical “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” by Opera House Theatre Company. More at www.thalianhall.org.

• Saturday, Feb. 17, 11 a.m.• 100 Atlantic Avenue, Kure Beach Support the local Special Olympics program by watching, running, walking or jumping in the chilly Atlantic Ocean. Music, food, art, auction and a classic car show. Prizes to the best dressed. Registration fees range from $30 to $65 for events, though attendees will be given the opportunity to raise funds and support the cause. Visit www.classy.org and search “New Hanover.”

Comedian James Gregory

East Carolina Wildlife Arts Festival

• Saturday, Jan. 27, 7:30 p.m. • Thalian Hall, Wilmington. Tickets on hold at publication time. The James Gregory Show is “clean” and suitable for all ages. The trademark caricature is the essence of James Gregory’s comedy: rib-tickling reflections on life from the front porch. www.thalianhall.org

Winter 2018

• February 8-10 • Downtown Washington One-day passes $7 at Washington Civic Center. Weekend passes $12 at Turnage Theatre, online or by phone. 22nd Annual Wildlife Arts Festival, featuring Steve Creech Jazz Band, daytime exhibits, kids programs, featured artist Pat Holscher. Art gallery walk on Saturday. Concessions available. www.artsofthepamlico.org.

S outhEast North Carolina

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North Carolina

Beast of 54 Bladenboro

Some folks think it was all a stunt. Others think there’s a little bit of truth sprinkled amongst the lies. And the rest — they believe every bit of it. When dogs started showing up dead in the town of Bladenboro, a panic ensued that made headlines across the state. Of course, it’s silly to think a fourlegged hellbeast resembling a bear or panther stalks the woods of Bladen County at night. It was probably all a stunt. At least, that’s what some folks tell themselves.

Murmurs

A pointless story about a pointless man who believes his fortunes are governed by everyone and everything but himself. And why not? It might as well be so — especially when his unstoppable whining meets an immovable car in a hot hotel parking lot in Fayetteville. Do you see a little of yourself in Stanley, or is he Goofus to your own imagined Gallant?

Winter 2018

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North Carolina

STANLEY MORRISON: Fuel pump rhapsody Story and Illustration by Trevor Normile

tanley Morrison’s old MG finally clapped out cold as a mackerel in a busy intersection on a hot day in April. Disregarding the honking and gesticulating of drivers who rushed past with their sunglasses and lattés, he leapt from the rusted jalopy, grabbed the hot metal and pushed, laying down a punishing, scorchedearth carpet bombing of obscenities only halted when two young men in dreadlocks and hemp bracelets helped him push the car into a hotel parking lot. The boys pushed with such gusto Stanley had to pull the parking brake to keep from demolishing a holly bush. He thanked them as they patted his shoulder and went back to their stoop and their slushies. Stanley was too irate to think, much less call for help. Fayetteville bothered him. It was too dirty, too loud, busy, vibrant, and he had no intentions of walking to his appointment. He retrieved a book from his floorboards, a collection of short stories meant to be a self-help book, written by some tired old author he’d read six or seven times already, an Eighties neoliberal who wrote with wry humor and short sentences. Entitled

SouthEast North Carolina

“Parables of the Profit of God,” it was a blasphemic riff on the old Goofus and Gallant serials in Highlights for Children, which championed the adoption of laissez-faire practices into everyday life as the key to success for the common slob. Like a magician of Middle Egypt or a Druid of downtown Fayetteville, Stanley believed that if he read the words enough times and believed them, perhaps he would find salvation. Between his reading and his proppedopen hood, Stanley sheepishly avoided the questioning stares of the cleaning ladies who disappeared into rooms on the stuccoed second floor. The ladies were humble towel changers, honest and hardworking immigrants, Latina and Hindustani women who shared naught but broken English and a mutual disdain for scrubbing toilets. At least they had their business together, unlike Stanley, who was in town for work and wouldn’t be working today. It was his own fault. The Lucas fuel pump, located on the rear passenger side above the car’s rear axle, had been making grinding noises for a week and a half, which, despite having been manufactured by Lucas, it was not supposed to make. His reading stopped when, in the parking lot of the big chain buffet across the road, the alarm of a pickup Winter 2018

truck worth more than Stanley’s home blared in a frenzy, drawing some wandering geese squawking into the road, which, in turn, caused more beeping. “Some corpulent sheep must’ve sat on his key fob at the feeding trough,” he thought. The image of a deadeyed whale of a man in a tucked-in NRA t-shirt, sucking mashed potatoes through a straw flashed through his mind. Or perhaps it was some ice creamstuffed child, swollen from the buffet, searching for attention from his disinterested parents, reaching into Mother’s purse for bubble gum money, his chocolate-coated mitts smashing everything in their way, including the panic button. The beeping stopped. The sound must have finally traveled through the restaurant, past the buffet, over the Brunswick stew, through the folds of a customer’s rotund face and into his fat, fat ears. Sweaty and irate, Stanley undid a button on his wrinkly Oxford shirt, wiped the sweat from his dirty eyeglasses and reviewed his day up to this point: (9:52 a.m.) Rolled out of bed, very late. Fifteen minutes spent selecting wardrobe. Settled on clean pants

and a wrinkled shirt. Put oatmeal in microwave. (10:07 a.m.) Put shirt in dryer. Four minutes washing up in kitchen sink. Ajax dish soap in hair. Forgot deodorant. Removed shirt from dryer. Still a little wrinkly. Note to self: do not, under any circumstances, get sweaty. Do not, under any circumstances, get oatmeal on shirt. (10:11 a.m.) Forget oatmeal. Out the door, one minute late. Strange grinding sound emanates from under the rear seat as the car starts. Fix it next week. (11:50 a.m.) Ten minutes before meeting a client in the city, the car’s fuel pump seized. The MG sputtered and strained, but no matter how hard Stanley mashed his pleather-encased foot into the dusty firewall, the sportster couldn’t defy the laws of nature. He knew it. He knew it. He damn well knew it would happen. It wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t. It couldn’t be. With most poor souls who find their disposition in the grand scheme of things uncomfortably disrupted there’s a process involved: the moving from a state of calamity, of free-fall back into one of relative comfort, of controlled descent. The professionals assign five stages to grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.

Stanley Morrison however has always been a corner-cutter, a half-asser, not a bad man per se, but a lazy man, an overactor and an over-reactor. He’s always been critical without having been mission-critical, he sells advertising for local mogul Butts-Salinger, but doesn’t even buy his own brand of BS. Lazy Stanley Morrison was even too shiftless to grieve properly. When his home burned down, his wife left and his dog died, he jumped straight from grief to anger before backsliding into denial, where he has remained. So, in a fit of almost transcendent stupidity, he purchased a road-weary rust colored convertible with torn seats, an untreatable stench and a sputtering Lucas fuel pump. Stanley had settled into controlled descent without having lowered his landing gear or checked his speed: a guileful personal charade of non-life. Things were fine, better this way, he’d say. The dumb skank he married always bugged him anyway. She nagged him to play cards constantly. Stanley hated cards. So she finally left after the umpteenth threat and Stanley gave up all dinners and all cards for a life of cheeseburger wrappers, wrinkled shirts and rinsing emptiness. The mad ad man could never quite work out why the cosmos would, time and again, fold over to give him paper cuts without the rewards to balance him out. Because it was the universe that had stranded Stanley in the middle of Fayetteville with a heat index over a hundred degrees. As beads of sweat dripped onto his eyeglass lenses, he tried to relax and read while the world melted around

him. “Knock-knock,” a voice taunted from behind. Startled, Stanley slammed the book shut and turned to see his pouting had garnered a spectator. The man was young, Hispanic, with his hair clipped on the sides and long on top, slicked down with pomade so to leave not one hair straggling. He wore all black and a gold chain. The edges of his collar were sharp enough to slice bread. “Need some help?” Roberto asked. “No, just letting her cool,” Stanley, said, full of Butts-Salinger. Roberto put one hand in his pocket and stroked his thin beard as he walked around the front of the car. No coolant on the ground. No burst hoses. No steam, no knocking. “Want me to take a look at it? My dad owns a garage,” Roberto asked, as Stanley joined him by the engine. “Nope, no, just letting her cool.” Stanley repeated, getting nervous. Roberto moved in closer. Here it comes, Stanley thought. A switchblade to the gut. He’s gonna gut me and now I’ll have to pay the hospital and the tow truck. Maybe he’ll slice my seats after he slices me. Maybe he just wants my wallet. So much for this trip. I swear to God I am going to community college after this, I am done with this entire [expletive] life. “Then move it by tonight or I’ll have to tow it. You’re costing me money in that parking space,” said Roberto Armando Frias Garcia, CEO of Frias Hotels, LLC. “By the way, sorry about the alarm earlier. Sat on my keys.” He turned and swaggered away. SE

SouthEast North Carolina

Winter 2018

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Winter 2018

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The Beast of Bladenboro

Story: Michael Jaenicke Illustration: Trevor Normile

ou can hear a lot of stories at Rodney’s Barber Shop in Bladenboro. Most sound real. Some clearly sound like tall tales, spun out of control and into fantasy. And you’ll others where the lines between reality and fiction are blurred. Folks there still remember all the good moonshining spots. The appearance of Carolina Bays is another popular topic for old-timers. Cottons mill fable are often on the same wavelength, seen as legitimate as Biblical scriptures. Hunting and fishing stories are big, too. But no story carries more weight than the Beast of Bladenboro. And you can hear about it from more than just the comfort of a swiveling salon chair. Most people are likely to laugh, denounced it as myth, nothing more than a publicity stunt for the town. Others consider it interesting folklore — a spot of truth spiced with layers of chapters in a book that remains open after more than 60 years. A minority say the fear is real. Their words and the memories of longtime townsfolk are often enough to convince an outsider that the beast not only existed but is still at-large. While most people don’t see it through that far, many wonder enough about the specifics to toss it into the “itcould-have-happened” pile. The skull-crushing, skin-eating, blood sucking beast devoured eight dogs during a month-long period that started in December of 1953, and caused total panic in this southeastern North Carolina town of 1,000. “I’m not calling it all true, but I will say I believe some of it,” said a 59-year resident. “People say lots of things. All I am saying it’s not an all or nothing kind of thing. I’ve heard too much from people I trust to discount it as a joke.” Former Bladenboro gas station owner Tater Shaw believes, and said as much to anyone who would listen, even into his 90s while living in a nursing home in the town. He said he heard about a goat being killed by the beast near the outskirts of town. He also said two cows and three dogs were “completely devoured.” The oddity of how they died struck Shaw as “well beyond the bounds of normal ani54

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mal behavior.” Witnesses have given conflicting stories as to what the beast looked like, yet many agree the beast had four legs, weighed between 90 and 125 pounds and resembled a bear or panther with its bushy fur, dog-like paw prints and 2-foot long tail. Hysteria over the hungry monster put Bladenboro in the national spotlight, said Bladenboro Historical Society member Sam Pait, as a nation heard the story of something dark and evil lurking in the swamps near town. Hunters and trappers nearly doubled the population of Bladenboro. The woods were packed as stories of the beast hit the front pages of papers in North Carolina and nationwide. Jabe Frank, who worked at the town’s Esso station on Seaboard Street, believed the marauder, who dragged at least one dog into the swamp, was more vampirelike. Women and children stayed inside. Men left their abodes armed with a pistol or shotgun and ready for an attack. Dogs, other pets and farm animals were stowed away in barns and henhouses. A 21-year-old mother, Mrs. Charlie Kinlaw, was a reported victim of the beast, and things went to a whole other level. Bill Shaw, a writer for the Fayetteville Observer wrote: “All of Bladenboro is up in arms about this mysterious thing called by some a vampire. Should the varmint show itself in the daytime, it wouldn’t be worth the proverbial plugged nickel. For all over Bladenboro the blue steel of guns is gleaming in the warm January sun. A farmer chopping wood for supper has his trusty rifle leaning carefully against the woodshed, and if he absolutely has to leave the protection of his home after dark you will more than likely see a bulge under his coat that wasn’t Winter 2018

there before. When the sun goes down in Bladenboro so do the shades and night latches.” From the beginning, the town embraced the beast – or at least the idea that morphed into an appearance in Bladenboro. ‘It’s really a ….’ Hunters and trappers brought in hordes of wild, semi-tamed animals and road-kill in hopes or collecting a hefty reward. Explaining exactly what the beast “was” has been an never-ending conversation. There are a few theories as to the nature of this “creature.” Many locals believed it was wild dogs, a coyote, bobcat, an ocelot, a panther. Another theory was that it was an escaped circus animal. About a year earlier, one was reported loose near Lumberton, about 15 miles from Bladenboro. Ocelots, which are capable of killing dogs and small farm animals, weigh about

50 pounds but would have a hard time inflicting serious damage to a bigger animal. But ocelots generally didn’t carry their kill away, and would return to a past kill. While considered exotic pets in the 1930s and 1940s, because they adopted well to the N.C. climate and

weather, they had all but become extinct –

“Something’s still out there. I’ll put money on that one. I’ve seen enough signs and talked to people I trust. So, balk if you want, but there’s something out there.”

so to speak. After one ocelot was killed by a car, they were ruled it out as the identity of the beast, even though a hog was found partiality eaten and a goat died after its nose was bitten off. The Carolina panthers, big cats that didn’t meet their fate until the mid-1960s, were perhaps the most likely candidate. Very small numbers remained from a species of the Florida panther. Commonly seen from 1800, most have been and are spotted in heavily forested areas, such as the Dismal Swamp, Green Swamp, Lake Mattamuskeet and near Wilmington. Bladenboro Animal Control Officer C.A. Ludlum, said he is certain panthers exist in Bladenboro. When Hurricane Hazel hit the area, he and his buddies camped out near Crawly Road on N.C. 410. “They had two- or three-foot tails,” he Winter 2018

said. “They were not bobcats. They could clear the road in one jump. We never saw one but we sure heard one. Each night we could hear a large animal breathing heavily and occasionally screaming in the woods near a hog pen. They don’t like fire so we made one as our campsite. The cat made a sound like a baby crying or hurt woman.” Ludlum said he believes the cats live deep in the swamps of southwest Bladen County and move around when high water or logging operations disturb them. A wildlife resource biologist said panthers weren’t around by the 1950s yet Ludlum pointed out, “Yet there’s still a $5,000 fine if you shoot one. So go figure that one out?” The Bladen Journal called it “a large coyote, possibly a circus animal.” Publicity beast Yet not everyone takes the Bladenboro beast seriously. One theory is that it was a big wild dog killing smaller dogs. Bladenboro Mayor W.G. Fussell never envisioned the publicity the beast would bring Bladenboro, but when it came he stirred the pot a bit. The general thought was even scary publicity was good publicity. The event happened just after Christmas, so spoon-feeding a hungry press was easy. Fussell told Carolina Farmer reporter John Corey, “the animal is 90 percent imagination, 10 percent truth.” Former Police Chief Danny Russ and his family lived in the Bladen County for decades. Count him as a doubting Thomas. “All my life I’ve heard about it, but have never seen anything, myself,” he said. “ Charles Hunt, a resident of Bladenboro for 32 years who moved to Fayetteville in 1990, said the beast was a total fabrication. “Lots of talk and very little evidence, even circumstantial,” Hunt said. “OK, I know people who bought into this hook, line and sinker, but I’m not one of them. If all that was said is true that beast would have been caught and turned in for the reward and fame it would bring.” He believes the beast got a life of its own from people talking and newspapers printing stories. “It just kept snowballing and snowballing. It got so nobody would want to believe the truth, if it could even be found in the many tales about the beast,” he said. S outhEast North Carolina

Beast Fest For years, Bladenboro shied away from the beast before embracing it with a festival 12 years ago. Beast Fest is held annually in the last weekend in October, and 10,000 to 12,000 people attend the two-day event. In the past decade it has been one of the fastest growing festivals in the southeast. The somewhat official ending came in Jan. 13, 1954 when a bobcat was caught in a steel trap and shot in the head. It prompted Fussell to call off serious hunts for the beast, mostly because of public safety concerns. Fussell told the Wilmington Morning Star, “I just hope this is it. If not, I just hope the other one starts down the road and keeps going.” People lined up for blocks to see the feline. Days after it was buried, a newspaper ran this headline, “Bladenboro Beast Returns from Hiding.” “It was real then and it’s real now,” said Carl Prevatte, who was puffing on a cigar outside of Rodney’s Barber Shop in early October. “Something’s still out there. I’ll put money on that one. I’ve seen enough signs and talked to people I trust. So, balk if you want, but there’s something out there.”

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Where in SENC is this?

North Carolina

MISSILE TOWER, TOPSAIL ISLAND Photo by Abby Cavenaugh These structures, some better maintained than others, show a glimpse into Topsail Islandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s military-related past. Eight towers were built on the 26-mile island, starting in 1946, after the end of World War II. The U.S. Navy used the towers from 1946-1948, testing about 200 missiles on the pristine oceanfront of the island, as part of Operation Bumblebee. Today, all but one of these towers re58

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main standing. Tower 8 was destroyed in 1989 by its owner after several trespassing incidents. While some, like this one, remain mostly abandoned, several have been renovated and converted into unique oceanfront homes, available for vacation rentals. You can learn all about the missile towers and other interesting historical Topsail tidbits at the Missiles and More Museum, 720 Channel Blvd. in Topsail Beach. Winter 2018

Our corner of North Carolina offers much more than just scenic beauty... Here are some great places you can appreciate for the good foods, good times, history, and oldfashioned SENC hospitality!

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SAMPSON COUNTY

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There’s a reason why our friends and family call our BBQ the best they’ve ever had. If you’ve never tried it, you must!

Our corner of North Carolina offers much more than just scenic beauty... Join us here for good foods, good times, history, and old-fashioned SENC hospitality!

LENOIR COUNTY

The CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center offers state of the art exhibits that invite visitors to larn about the ironclad gunboat. The Confederate Navy launched the Neuse in al ill-fated attempt to gain control of the lower Neuse River and the occupied city of New Bern.

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SE Folk

North Carolina

Surely a strange kind of tourist By: Trevor Normile

“Super Frost Moon Will Light Up Your Sky This Weekend” wrote an NBC affiliate in Philadelphia a few weeks ago. I read it in the news ticker on the side of my Facebook page. It went mostly ignored for two reasons: 1.) The moon never looks particularly super, bloody, frosty, manned or cheesy from my perspective. Perhaps it’s a lack of imagination, perhaps it’s a lack of effort. 2.) It’s late fall in eastern North Carolina, so I know good and well it’s cloudy and wet outside. Despite the damp night, the chilly floor, the sneezes induced by the dusty cinnamon of a hastily-mixed toddy, the lonely road outside, the rattling and thumps of my old car as the weather steps back and forth across equinox with the rising and setting of the sun and, now, the missing moon, it is good to be back in the South. In October I married a woman named after a tree, ilex aquifolium, my Holly, a girl who caught my eye in 11th grade and who never quite devised a way to get rid of me. We got married in a good Southern way, with a Methodist preacher and a pig picking near a pond on a warm day. The Carolina Band played into the wild night. The succulent hog was cooked by good men. The bridesmaids were elegant and the groomsmen looked like gentlemen. Todd and Becky Wetherington, former colleagues at SENC, took the photos. Beaucoup friends and family; merci, beaucoup. And after the great coming together of her proper and charming New Englanders and my rusticated and beloved

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family (from down here and up there) we set off for Lancaster County, Pa. I should mention: this isn’t a travel column, nor a wedding announcement. It’s an admission of guilt. Not one of those Hollywood deals: “My behavior may have offended some, and for that I am regretful so-on and so-forth.” You see, I am not a serial groper, nor a dabbler in illegal substances. I am something much worse yet. I, Trevor Normile, editor of the foremost regional quarterly variety magazine published in a North Carolina county with less than 100,000 residents... Am a Yankee. Now. I went to a respectable Big South college in Harnett County and married my high school (Go Panthers) sweetheart. My cooking medium is bacon grease and I like sweet tea and the smell of hog houses, at least as much as is possible. I secretly covet those who win the Order of the Long Leaf Pine and am the unofficial vanguard keeper of the tradition of the Back Road Finger Wag Steering Wheel Wave of my generation, on my back road. But by birth, I am a Yankee. My family moved here from Lancaster when I was 11 or so (I alluded to this one or two columns ago). It’s not so different The PA boys’ Skoal cans wear holes in their jeans just like the Southern ones, but at least here they have claim to the Confederate flags plastered every which place. Seeing Dixie in the back glass of a truck with Pennsylvania tags just leaves a peculiar taste in my mouth, like drinking tea with Splenda. But on our honeymoon we found

Winter 2018

ourselves in my old haunt, Conestoga, a place I had not seen since childhood. As we drove in, I feared I would become unstuck, “re-enter” as the great Southern writer Walker Percy would have put it – overcoming my orbiting angelism and burning up in the atmosphere. “Is this still home?” I wondered silently. We drove past the foliage, the hills, the Amish homes, the resting places. The spot in the Conestoga river where I caught 15 sunfish while playing hookey in fifth grade. Oak Road. River Road. Safe Harbor, the feeling and the place. The dam over the mighty Susquehanna. The victorious return. The sentimentalism. The hills. The view. The woman. A fisherman watched across the Conestoga as we stopped and I posed by a beat-up old park sign for a photo. Surely I seemed a strange kind of tourist. We made it to my old road. The house was still there and I felt no re-entry. I truly was a strange kind of tourist and I felt for a moment the fidgety feeling one gets when waiting on the check in a restaurant. That’s what I needed to feel, because nostalgia is a terrible waste of energy if wallowed in for too long. We spent a week up in a cabin in the Catskills and visited Uncle Vern in Roscoe, NY and Uncle Dennis, Aunt Dottie and their four jolly dogs in Princeton, NJ. My wife and I had plenty of whiskey and love and I cooked for her nearly every night. I shook hands with viability, now fully a man. It was a grand tour, but my home is now among the lonely Southern roads, writing admissions of guilt under the missing moon.

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