Outer Banks Magazine 2019 by Pilot Media

THE SHOOTIST OUTER BANKS LIFE T H R O U G H A LO CA L L E N S

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If Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re Looking for a Reason to Move Your Business to Currituck County, STOP Right Here and START Reading Story by LARRY LOMBARDI, Currituck County Director of Economic Development

hen it comes to starting or expanding your business in the Outer Banks, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s never been a better time to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Think Currituck.â&#x20AC;? Big projects are set to transform the mainland and change our county for the better. Major infrastructure improvements will connect us across the Currituck Sound, across the state to Raleigh and across the border into Virginia. And judging from the traf taking notice. When it comes to economic growth in Currituck County, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s excitement and opportunity in the air. Why do companies consider relocating to (or expanding in) Currituck County? Our tax rates are lower. Our business costs are lower. Our incentives continue to grow and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re refreshingly

pro-business and accessible. Those are all great reasons, but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d also like to add â&#x20AC;&#x153;locationâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;opportunityâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;quality of lifeâ&#x20AC;? to that list, because those are three big things that really help make Currituck the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Best County in the Best State for Business.â&#x20AC;? Here are four things you need to know: 1. In 2045, the population of Currituck County is projected to reach 42,800. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an incredible 71.1% increase from 25,000 in 2015! That kind of projected growth makes Currituck one of the ten fastest growing counties in the State of North Carolina. It also means that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ll be adding approximately 5,900 new residents every decade! 2. Currituck Station is moving forward in Moyock. Exciting progress in the planning phase is helping de

use mainland development. Currituck Station will become home to a blend of residential, commercial, healthcare, corporate and entertainment spaces. The site consists of over 3,000 acres adjacent to the border with Virginia and located on the western side of North Carolina 168/Caratoke Highway in Moyock. an economic home run. Approximately 14,200 people associated with tournaments and events came to Currituck Community Park in 2018. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s becoming a well-known sports tourism destination and you can bet that the county will continue to promote this outstanding facility for its positive economic impact to Currituck County. 4. The Mid-Currituck Bridge (MCB) will do more than connect the mainland to the beaches. Yes, the project will create a second crossing

of the sound â&#x20AC;&#x201C; north of the Wright Memorial Bridge â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to help alleviate a hurricane or severe storm. It will also provide easier access between the Currituck Outer Banks and Virginia, as well as other communities in northeastern North Carolina. But just as exciting is that the MCB will create a new hub of businesses, clustered around the mainland connection point. Under NCDOTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current timetable, construction of the bridge could start in July 2020 and be complete sometime in 2024. Want to read about more new projects, local businesses in Currituck County? Visit us online at www.ThinkCurrituck.com

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| 2019

30 PAGE

NORTH CAROLINA FOOD, OBX STYLE

The best of North Carolina's signature dishes made on the Outer Banks.

46 PAGE

TCB in the OBX

Seven area women are charting their own course to success.

62 PAGE

The Shootist

Photographer Daniel Pullen makes a name for himself by shooting life as he sees it.

40 56 70 08

HISTORY | Buffalo City LOCALS | E.M. Corsa FOOD | Village Table & Tavern

Outer Banks Magazine

2019

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got a sixth sense. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s electric.

Humans have five senses: sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. But I have one more! Stingrays have electroreceptors called the ampullae of Lorenzini. These jelly-filled pores allow me to feel the vibrations of buried prey. Like a metal detector â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but for mollusks.

OUTERBANKSMAGAZINE.NET Outer Banks Magazine covers the good life, from Corolla to Roanoke Island, from the Currituck and Dare county mainland to Hatteras and Ocracoke islands.

PUBLISHER

Allyson Sproul EDITOR

Clay Barbour ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Victoria Bourne CREATIVE DIRECTOR

EJ Toudt ART DIRECTOR

Allyson Garner COPY EDITOR

Brian French

ON THE COVER Photograph by Daniel Pullen

he ocean, the lifestyle, the dunes; there’s a lot to love about the Outer Banks. But if you ask me, the best thing about this little slice of paradise is the people. Laid-back and friendly, they cherish time spent in a quality place. This is why, when we put our issue together every year, we make sure that along with food, art and fun, we also talk about the individuals who make this place so special. This year we’re introducing you to some truly amazing locals. We have an artist whose beautiful watercolors reveal the natural world around her and a photographer whose lenses capture the rugged beauty of life on these barrier islands. We have a woman who literally

Outer Banks Magazine

2019

wrote the book on cooking and a bartender who can bring the bar to you. And we have a collection of entrepreneurial women who have combined their passions with their love of the Outer Banks to achieve the right career-life balance. Of course, inside you’ll also find stories on restaurants, advice for shopping and dates to circle on your calendar. But I think the stories that will resonate with you most focus on the people who call the Outer Banks home. Thanks for reading. And have fun out there.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS James D. Charlet, Amy Gaw, Mary Ellen Riddle, Ben Swenson, Eric J. Wallace

PHOTOGRAPHERS Lori Douglas, Brooke Mayo, Baxter Miller and assistant Ryan Stancil, Daniel Pullen

PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT Shea Alvis, Susan Cofer

ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Kelly Allman, Elizabeth Catoe

EDITORIAL INQUIRIES Clay Barbour, 757.446.2379, clay.barbour@virginiamedia.com

Outer Banks Magazine is published by The Virginian-Pilot, a Tribune Publishing Company.

As you walk in the door you are greeted by a peaceful and beautiful space, inviting smiles, and helpful hands. Our wide variety of Fine art and craft is an inspiring museum quality collection. Housed in a renovated, early Outer Banks home, Silver Bonsai displays wood, ceramic, glass, and fine art created by Artisans with the utmost care. Wander through the bonsai garden and explore the vast selection of little trees. Our well versed staff will guide you in the art of bonsai and help you choose the perfect tree for your lifestyle.

Ben Stewart crafting jewelry

As you reach the back of the store glimpse into the jewelry making studio of owners Ben and Kathryn Stewart. You will hear the buzzing and tapping rhythmic studio tunes that are the sound of creativity and we look forward to sending you home with a special locally crafted treasure . Known across the nation for the jewelry collection, Modern HeirloomÂŽ, as well as for their masterful use of turn-of-the-century jewelry making techniques and sense of style. The Stewartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s design jewelry with Gemstones, Gold, Platinum, and Silver and specialize in the Lost Art of Hand Engraving. Each piece of jewelry is created with attention to detail and simple elegance which will always leave a lasting impression.

Kathryn Stewart teaching the Art of Bonsai

SilverBonsai.com 905 US HWY 64 Manteo, NC 252.475.1413

T A EEAT P P O H O SSH Y A Y L A P PL 12

Sleep back in time

Outer Banks Magazine

2019

Who needs a McMansion when you can go retro? The See Sea Motel offers a touch of vintage 1950s and ‘60s charm in the heart of Kill Devil Hills. The motel, located within walking distance to the Atlantic Street beach access, the See Sea – made up of surf villas centered around a pool – has been around awhile, according to its website, but it “needed some love,.” according to its website. Made up of surf villas centered around a pool, The owners took the interiors down to the studs and reopened fully renovated in June 2018. The rooms are individually decorated and sport fun names such as Turtle Roll, Duck Dive, and Shoot the Curl Suite.

Horsing around

Let’s be honest. Is there anything more magical than riding horseback along the seashore – the wind whipping your hair, salt spray on your face, the rhythmic badum, ba-dum, ba-dum of your mount’s hooves across the sand? Equine Adventures offers visitors just such an experience on Hatteras Island. Established in 2001 by owner and operator Sylvia Mattingly, the barn is situated on 8 acres about 2 miles from the beach in Frisco. The horses are beginner-friendly and experienced guides lead the treks.

Vineyard voyage

All aboard for a unique vineyard tour. Take a 6-mile boat ride across the Currituck Sound from Duck to Sanctuary Vineyards in Jarvisburg, an area rich in waterfowl heritage and farming that dates to the 1800s. Visitors disembark at a historic hunting lodge and boathouse on the Currituck mainland and trek through the marsh to the 33-acre vineyard in an open-air safari truck. Upon arrival, they enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour and private tasting at the winery. Sanctuary Vineyards produces more than 7,000 cases of wine seasonally, including its best selling Wild Pony White—a chardonnay, pinot gris, viognier, sauvignon blanc and chardonel blend. Reserve your spot at kittyhawk.com.

4 Pretty baubles

Modern bohemian chic may be the best way to describe Denise Turner Jewelry. Helmed by local Manteo-based designer, Turner, with help from her assistant Mandy Bartell, it produces custom and wholesale pieces featuring gemstones set in a variety of metals. From chunky bracelets and large, statement rings, to delicate hoop and drop earrings, the color palette and shapes evoke nature and the sea. The company just launched a new website, Turner says, but its work can also be found at Muse Originals OBX in Kitty Hawk, The Sanderling in Duck and Silver Bonsai Gallery in Manteo, as well as various seasonal farmers markets.

5 Arrrrrrgh and a pint Once a pirate’s hideout, now a home for craft beer, the 18-mile stretch of barrier island known as Ocracoke scored its first brewery in October 2017 . Dubbed 1718 Brewing Ocracoke – an homage to the year of the infamous Blackbeard’s death – beer styles range from kolsch to Mexican chocolate stout, from lemon saison to double IPA. So after a day at the beach or a bike around the village, grab yourself a pint.

7 The play’s the thing

Ugly but good

They’re not pretty, but they sure are tasty. Orange Blossom Bakery & Café, a decades- old institution in Buxton, is known for its fried and baked Apple Uglies. They originated as “a wonderful accident” when a visiting baker showed the previous owners how to make an apple fritter from leftover doughnut dough, according to the bakery’s website. There’s even a chocolate covered version that resembles … well, go see for yourself.

The Lost Colony is renowned as a longrunning, seasonal outdoor drama, but you can also see their performers in children's productions. This year’s selection is Wanda’s Monster, which runs on Tuesday mornings and Wednesday afternoons from June 25 to Aug. 21 in the air-conditioned SoundStage Theatre on Roanoke Island. If your family needs a break from the beach, go check out this musical about an imaginative little girl named Wanda and her unexpected bond with a fuzzy, purple monster. At $10, it costs roughly the same as going to the movies.

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t ' n t ' a n C . a .. . C s s i m s mi s s t n eevveents NOTE: Calendar items are subject to change. compiled by Joe Wagner

JUN.

Aug. 10-16: Pirate’s Cove & Alice Kelly Billfish Tournaments. Features food, entertainment and fun for the crew and the family – not to mention some serious fishing. Aug. 14-15: New World Festival of the Arts. A free, outdoor show on the Manteo waterfront featuring a wide range of artists. Sept. 8: Outer Banks Food Truck Showdown. Features food trucks, breweries, and local performers at the Soundside event site in Nags Head.

OCT.

Oct. 12-13: Duck Jazz Festival. Free event and held rain or shine at Duck Town Park. Oct. 19-20: Mustang Rock & Roast. Featuring a barbecue cook- off and oyster roast as well as nonstop live music at Mike Dianna’s Grill Room in Corolla. Oct. 19: OBX Seafood Festival. A celebration of the area’s fishing heritage that features live entertainment and held at the Soundside event site in Nags Head.

JUN

June 1-7: The 12th annual Triple-S Invitational. Featuring the most influential kiteboarders at REAL Watersports in Cape Hatteras. June 7-9: Ocrafolk Festival. Featuring musicians, storytellers, artisans, and characters of Ocracoke Island and beyond. Aug. 8-10: Surfing for Autism. For individuals and families impacted by autism spectrum disorder and offering a supportive environment to experience the therapeutic benefits of surfing.

Outer Banks Magazine

2019

Oct. 26: Brewtag. A celebration of flight and beer, contestants will compete to see who can launch and fly an empty 1/6 keg barrel the furthest at the Soundside event site in Nags Head.

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Living Legends

and History Abound in Corolla

Discover a land of wild wonder

ild horses on remote beaches aren’t the only cultural treasures you’ll find in Corolla on the Currituck Outer Banks. In the heart of Corolla, you’ll also find Historic Corolla Park. With it’s wide open green spaces and awe-inspiring views, Historic Corolla Park is home to three unique landmarks — Whalehead, the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education and the Currituck Beach Lighthouse — and hosts both weekly and seasonal events sure to please the whole family.

Discover the Currituck OBX

Here are a few of the wonders to take in while visiting Corolla: Whalehead in Historic Corolla Whalehead in Historic Corolla is a 1920s era Art Nouveau architectural masterpiece and the centerpiece of what has now come to be called Historic Corolla Park. Whalehead’s intriguing past is steeped in the 1920s lifestyle of its patriarch and matriarch, Edward Collins Knight Jr. and his wife, Marie Louise Lebel Bonat Knight. The Knights shared a passion for waterfowl hunting, so when Mrs. Knight was not allowed membership into the all-male hunt clubs, her husband had the majestic 21,000-square-foot “mansion by the sea” constructed for his bride. Tours and exhibits are offered daily. The Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education The Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education houses models of hunting and fishing boats, a duck blind, a million-dollar decoy collection and a wellrounded bounty of exhibits on both the natural and wildlife history of the area. Offering free educational programs to visitors, the center sits between the Atlantic ocean and the Currituck Sound, on the edge of the waters that helped put the Outer Banks on the map for waterfowl hunting at the turn of the 20th century.

There’s a lot going on... The Currituck Beach Lighthouse This red-brick lighthouse towers above the northern Outer Banks landscape of Historic Corolla Park. Visitors can climb the winding staircase, 220 steps in all, to the top of the lighthouse for a panoramic view of Currituck Sound, the Atlantic Ocean and the Currituck Outer Banks. Inside the lighthouse, at the base and on the first two landings, there are museum-quality lighthouse exhibits. On the way up or down, stop to learn about the history of coastal lighthouses, the Fresnel lens, shipwrecks and the lighthouse keepers. The Currituck Beach Lighthouse is known as a first order lighthouse, which means it has the largest of seven Fresnel lens sizes. With a 20-second flash cycle (on for 3 seconds, off for 17 seconds), the light can be seen for 18 nautical miles. The distinctive sequence enables the lighthouse not only to warn mariners but also to help identify their locations. Like the other lighthouses on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, this one still serves as an aid to navigation. The beacon comes on automatically every evening at dusk and ceases at dawn. To distinguish the Currituck Beach Lighthouse from other regional lighthouses, its exterior was left unpainted and gives today’s visitor a sense of the multitude of bricks used to form the structure.

Corolla Events on the Currituck Outer Banks

SPRING AND SUMMER WEEKLY EVENTS: WEDNESDAYS

Whalehead Wednesdays Wine & Beer Tastings: Historic Corolla Park, featuring live music, Currituck Cornhole Tournaments and (on select days) Meet a Mustang. End your day experiencing Whalehead’s Legend and Lore Ghost Tour.

THURSDAYS

Free Yoga in the Park: Historic Corolla Park, All Levels, 60 minute Yoga class with Jennifer Spore. Whether you need a good long stretch after being in the car or a chance to escape the craziness, this class has just what you need. Kid’s Day: Join us for many free activities in Historic Corolla Park including a Bounce house, Will You Escape the OBX mobile pirate ship, Kitty Hawk Kites kite making, kids games and refreshments.

SIGNATURE ANNUAL EVENTS: MEMORIAL DAY BEACH BLAST

Date: May 26, 2019 • Noon – 5:00 pm Location: Historic Corolla Park, Corolla, NC Free Event, Live Music, Kid’s games, fun zone & Food vendors

18th ANNUAL UNDER THE OAKS ART FESTIVAL

Dates: June 18 – 19, 2019 • 10:00 am – 5:00 pm Location: Historic Corolla Park, Corolla, NC Talented fine art vendors gather at the park to showcase and sell their unique artwork

INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION

Date: July 4, 2019 • 3:00 pm – Dusk Location: Historic Corolla Park, Corolla, NC Free Event, Live Music, Kid’s games, Food vendors, Fireworks

Visit us online to learn more about events and activities happening on the Currituck Outer Banks and Mainland.

Corolla • Carova • The Mainland

Outer Banks Magazine

2019

Supper time Simple, fresh and local is the beating heart of Sharon Peele Kennedy’s food and advocacy. by Mary Ellen Riddle photography by Baxter Miller

he taste of Hatteras Island is in Sharon Peele Kennedy’s blood. The daughter of a commercial fisherman and a professional cook, she grew up to become a notable seafood cook herself, as well as a radio personality, an author and a supporter of local fisheries. At the heart of Kennedy’s endeavors is a style of meal preparation that was born out of necessity, ingredient availability and hard work. “Everything was fish, fowl or from the garden, literally,” says Kennedy of growing up on Hatteras Island. “We didn’t fry food. Everything was either boiled or baked.” Initially, there were no fancy seasonings to be had. Her mother cooked what Kennedy calls Hatteras-style meals, which meant seasoning with only salt or salt pork, pepper and olive oil. Kennedy, 63, holds to that tradition, keeping the recipes that appear in both her food demonstrations and her seafood cookbook, What’s for Supper?, basic. “Dad taught us to keep it simple because when you’ve got the freshest seafood, you’ve got all the flavor right there,” she says. Her first experience was at a local restaurant, working under watchful eyes. “The ladies were hard; they didn’t take no foolishness,” she says of the kitchen cooks who trained her. “My job was to keep up with the mashed potatoes, flip eggs and keep up with the prep work,” she says, not to mention making sure lemons adorned each plate. She was 16 when she became a private cook for Nags Head cottage vacationers, preparing three meals a day for two-week spells. She served meat entrees and seafood, peeling pounds of shrimp and opening

loads of clams for chowder. Later she ran a bed-and-breakfast where she made sautéed shrimp and scrambled eggs, shrimp quiches and clams casino. When she moved on to Hatteras Harbor Marina, she not only developed a recipe for a popular shrimp burger, but gave the daily fishing report for local radio listeners. Kennedy introduced a broader Outer Banks audience to her childhood fare through that medium. She eventually segued from the fishing report, where she occasionally talked about favorite dishes such as soft-shell sand fleas, to having her own show focused on cooking seafood. “I developed a following,” says Kennedy. “People wanted to meet the girl eating fleas.” That was the beginning of What’s for Supper with Sharon Peele Kennedy, which airs on Beach 104 (WCXL) and Water Country 94.5

(WCMS). The North Carolina Department of Agriculture is the official sponsor. “I’m in my 10th year,” says Kennedy. She was thrilled to help support area fishermen by encouraging her listeners to purchase local seafood. Three years after her first radio show, she published her seafood cookbook, now in its third edition. This small-town, salt-and-pepper cook has come a long way from placing lemons on plates to helping avert net bans and bringing recognition to traditional food and livelihoods. She co-founded Outer Banks Catch, a nonprofit advocacy group that eventually came under the umbrella of North Carolina Catch. Kennedy is a spokesperson for the local fisheries and does cooking demonstrations at seafood festivals and other venues using locally caught fish. Her efforts bring a practical, yet vital, message to the table, shining a light on the money that commercial fishers contribute to state coffers as well as the many adversities they endure. But being a cook came naturally. “Somehow I have known how to put things together that people have always liked,” Kennedy says. “It just kind of grew with me.” O

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Outer Banks Magazine

2019

A short interview with Sam Harriss Sam Harriss slings liquid melodies at weddings and other events from the window of a remodeled 1969 Shasta camper trailer. The 36-year-old calls Kill Devil Hills home, but seems often as not on the road. Camp Cocktail, a mobile bartending business that Harriss founded in 2014, was fueled by a food-truck revelation and a need to constantly move, she says. Since then, her caravan bar for hire has taken her north to New York, south to Florida and all the way west to California. But that’s only part of the story. Here’s more. What was your life pre-Camp Cocktail? My background is in fine art, and I studied from Savannah, Georgia, to Wollongong, Australia, for painting. Then I fell into the crafts movement of woodworking, metals, and fibers and moved to the Northwest to pursue this in full. When I finally moved back to the Outer Banks, I struggled to use my art as a way to make ends meet. The whole foodtruck craze of Portland was a revelation for me. … I found a camper to renovate and thought the worst that can happen is I will have a permanent bar in my front yard. What is it about the camp culture that inspired you to start this business? I have always had a very romantic relationship with the road, and the idea of being able to make a living and get to travel around our amazing country is more than a job perk. What’s the biggest challenge of operating a mobile-bartending company? Emails! Everything techy I am terrible at. I struggle to sit down in front of a television, let alone a computer.

use fresh cherries that I brandy and can every year and stir up with mole bitters and orange rind. It’s a great cold-weather campfire cocktail or a boozier alternative to a summery tequila drink. A percentage of your profits go toward national parks. How much have you given? Not enough to brag, unfortunately – a couple hundred each year. But here on the Outer Banks, we are always supporting our national seashores. So where’d you get those “travelin’ bones”? When I was 21, I stayed up late and bid on a 1959 Airstream and won. I remember telling my family and they had no idea what an Airstream was; they thought I was going mad. That was the turning point and it's been hard to keep me in one spot ever since. I have traveled across the USA now seven times and each time I fall more in love with our beautiful country.

What do you love most about your little Shasta? The fantastic couple that built her, Paul and Kim (Fuelling) at Mabel Studios. I get to see their little artistic signatures all over her from the antique metal wings to creative uses of found driftwood. Why the vintage vibe? When I picture the idealistic camper, I always envision the 1950s-’60s with the tasseled candy-striped awnings, the Coleman lanterns and coolers, folks sitting around in those aluminum folding chairs using church keys to pop their beer cans. Just kinda fits to throw in a record player and serve Moscow mules out of enameled camp mugs. What is your signature cocktail for 2019? A mezcal old-fashioned is something we have made quite a few of this year. I

What are you doing when you're not slinging drinks? Probably rolling around with my dog; he’s always within arm’s reach. But I’m still an artist by trade, and my hands are always dirty in some way that allows me creative expression. I have a small home pottery studio that I get lost in, and a big garden that I keep up for my business, growing all the fresh herbs and edible flowers. Did you really bartend for Bill Murray, and was it as cool as we imagine? It was bizarro – from the first phone call to watching the award show, just surreal to see my tiny, homegrown business inside the Kennedy Center (for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., for Murray’s Mark Twain Prize celebration). Wish I could say we exchanged some words, but he had an entourage around him like a pack of wolves. O – Victoria Bourne

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TING 20

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lieved that a design and débelieved a Outer designBanks and cor store that on the décor store on the Outer could succeed. Hart, who Banks succeed. at Hart, studiedcould accounting the who studied accounting at University of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh, helped set up the business helped setand up came the business structure on board structure and came board full-time in 2001, on just one full-time 2001, one year afterinthe shopjust opened. year after the shopsaid, opened. The name, Crisler is a The Crisler said, is a blendname, of modern and contemporary a coastal vibe. blend ofwith modern and contemUrban with Cottage has evolved porary a coastal vibe. from a Cottage lifestyle has storeevolved – gifts, Urban homeadécor andstore furnishings from lifestyle – gifts, – to one that and also furnishings offers home home décor packages. –design to one that also offersCrisler home and her associates routinedesign packages. Crisler and ly work withroutinely builderswork and her associates clients on everything from with builders and clients on ﬂooring to furnishings and everything from ﬂooring lighting. Though the bulk of to furnishings and lighting. their work is local, they have Though the bulk of their work helped furnish and design is local, they have helped furhomes from Nantucket to nish and design homes from Florida. Nantucket to Florida. “It’s very personal what we verysaid. personal what do,”“It’s Crisler “We go into we do,” Crisler said. “We go people’s homes and try to creinto people’s homes and try ate an environment for them to environment to create raise an their families for and them to raise their have memories in. families It’s imand have memories It’s important, so you getin.personal portant, so you get personal with your clients, you get perwith you get personalyour withclients, your customers.” sonal with your customers.”

Crisler, her husband Mac Crisler, her husband Mac and and childhood friend Jamie childhood friend Jamie Hart Hart own Urban Cottage, the own Urban Cottage, the home home design and décor and design and décor and gift gift boutique in Duck, now boutique now enterentering in its Duck, 20th year. ing its 20th year. “We have developed some “Wenice havefriendships developed some really with really friendships with many nice of our customers,” many of said. our customers,” CrisCrisler “Without them, ler “Without them, Bewe we said. wouldn’t be here. tween our staff wouldn’t becommitted here. Between and committed loyal customers, really our staff and loythat’s what has kept us here.” al customers, really that’s Fromhas its kept modest beginnings what us here. From in a shop beginnings at Scarborough its modest in a Faire, 2016 the Faire, business shop at in Scarborough in addedthe thebusiness buildingadded that for2016 the merly that housed Greenleaf building formerly housed Gallery on Duck Road. The Greenleaf Gallery on Duck addition quadrupled their Road. The addition quadruavailable space to approxipled their available space to mately 4,000 square feet and approximately 4,000 square provided greater visibility. feet and provided greater visThe larger building is geared ibility. The larger building is toward home furnishing and geared toward home furnishdesign, though both locations ing design, though both gifts and decoofferand unique locations offer unique gifts rative items. and decorative items. native Crisler, a 49-year-old Crisler, a of Hanover, Pa.,49-year-old graduated native of Hanover, Pa.,of gradfrom Moore College Art uatedfrom Moore College of and Design in Philadelphia. Art and Design in PhiladelShe always intended to put phia. She always her studies to use intended and beto put her studies to use and

efore pursuing her dream dream job job in in Manhattan, Manhattan, Amy Crisler Crisler decided decided to to spend spend one one last lastsummer summer on the Outer Outer Banks. Banks. She Shenever neverleft, left,and and27 27years years later she presides presides over overaalocal localinstitution. institution.

2019

T WO DU CK LOCATIONS 1169 Duck Road and Scarborough Faire Shoppes theurbancottage.com | 252-261-6877

Outer Banks Magazine

2019

North carolina food OUTER BANKS STYLE by AMY GAW photography by LORI DOUGLAS

he best of North Carolina's signature dishes are made on the Outer Banks. Sweet, soft-shell blue crabs pulled from nearby shedders, and briny, summertime shrimp only taste this good when served fresh from the water. Red- pepper- and-vinegar- based pork barbecue is a regional specialty and is always in high demand, as are grab-and-go biscuits and zesty pimento cheese. Here are a few of our favorites.

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Biscuits Ms. Helen's, otherwise known as Biscuits N’ Porn, is a delistyle eatery located inside the Stop Quik Citgo gas station in Nags Head. Never fear: the clever branding is spicier than the inventory, so it’s OK to take the family to pick up breakfast. Hot, flaky and homemade, the biscuits are available only in the morning – until they sell out, that is. There’s a cheese version, too, and the just-baked treats can be filled with traditional egg, bacon and cheese combo or with ladles of creamy sausage gravy.

Outer Banks Magazine

2019

Shrimp and Grits Wild-caught shrimp are the star of this Blue Moon Beach Grill entree in Nags Head. It’s a locals’ favorite and can be ordered for lunch or dinner. Cajun spices lend a zip to these fresh shrimp, which are sautéed with peppers, onions, garlic and a bit of Applewood- smoked bacon. Served over smoked Gouda and aged cheddar cheese stoneground grits, this is a dish not to miss. A variety of craft beers make perfect accompaniments.

Fried Green Tomatoes Rooster’s Southern Kitchen in Kill Devil Hills serves up comfort food with a twist. Its rendition of this classic puts the crispy and tart tomatoes atop grilled romaine with caramelized onions, Applewood bacon bits, Caesar dressing and lots of fresh parmesan. Indulge in the dish as a starter or make it your entrée – either way, save room for dessert:, Rooster’s custard bread pudding is topped with bourbon glaze.

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Pimento Cheese Pimento cheese is one of those dishes that can go uptown or downtown. It can share a plate with sweet- potato biscuits, deviled country ham, and pork terrine, or head out in a to-go container for a picnic on the beach. The Blue Point in Duck offers pimento cheese that guests dream about. It’s just the right amount of creamy, slightly spicy and absolutely craveinducing. Sometimes it’s featured on the menu as part of the restaurant’s changing selection called Taste of Southern Spreads. Get an extra order to take home; you won’t regret it. Community- beloved and familyowned Conner's Supermarket in Buxton has cheese that, once tasted, will draw you back any time you’re near. Homemade jalapeno pimento cheese and a variety of crackers, as well as every other gastro-treat you might desire, can be found at this well- stocked grocer on the southern end of N.C. 12.

Northeastern North Carolina Barbecue Corolla Village Bar-B-Que is tiny in stature but huge on flavor. The eatery’s slow smoked, pulled pork barbecue is seasoned with plenty of vinegar and crushed red peppers, and can be served on a bun or a plate. Orders are taken from a small, screened-in stand in Corolla Village. For a filling meal, check out the Hadley BBQ bowl, featuring a generous portion of pulled pork barbecue, baked beans, macaroni and potato salads, and cornbread layered in an easy to carry bowl. And when on a quest for authentic, pitcooked barbecue, drive straight to Carolina BarB-Que Company in Manteo. Recipes include the wood for the pit; owner Mike Weaver often wields the axe and pecan trees are a favorite. The barbecue, pulled and chopped, is just the right amount of smoky with a touch of heat in the peppery homemade sauce – vinegar based, of course.

Outer Banks Magazine

2019

Fried Soft-shell Crabs I Got Your Crabs Shellfish Market and Oyster Bar, in Kitty Hawk, is run by a Bell’s Island crabbing family who guarantee that its blue crabs are locally caught. In season, the delicate, justmolted soft- shell crabs are cleaned just before frying. Eat the whole crabs with a side of sweet- potato fries or inside a soft taco, or just on their own. However you eat them, be sure to take advantage of the opportunity while they’re in season because, there is no greater treat.

Jumbo Lump She-crab Soup Basnight's Lone Cedar Café in Nags Head makes a version of this creamy, bisque-like soup that is chock full of justpicked crab and served with a classic lacing of sherry. Both comforting and elegant, this indulgence is available as a cup or a bowl. Make it a starter, make it a meal, just make sure to order it. O

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Surviving the swamp Tales of a hardscrabble life is all that remains of Buffalo City. by JAMES D. CHARLET photography provided by the OUTER BANKS HISTORY CENTER

Outer Banks Magazine

2019

The story of Buffalo City can be summarized with two words: logging and moonshine. But really it was more than that, and while the town has been written about extensively, this epic saga of local history is not widely known.

Opposite: Ethel Basnight, Levi Ambrose and William Basnight after the bear hunt. (John T. Ambrose Collection.) Right: Main Street, Buffalo City, N.C.

It’s a unique tale of a hardscrabble existence in a logging town carved from forested North Carolina swampland more than a century ago. It’s set in Dare County in what is now the vast Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, but this story begins nearly 700 miles north. In the 1850s, Buffalo, New York, developed a substantial lumber trade. Businessmen Frank and Charles Goodyear concocted a brilliant plan: buy large tracts of isolated forests near water transportation, build sawmills, then connect to shipping centers by waterways and railroads. This is exactly the formula they employed in 1888 with the Buffalo Timber Company in North Carolina. They purchased 100,000 acres of forested swamp land just 20 miles west of present-day Manteo. The timberlands were extremely isolated – they remain so today – but Mill Tail Creek was nearby, traversing much of the mainland and flowing into the Alligator River. That provided access to the Intracoastal Waterway and the entire U.S. East Coast became their marketplace. The Buffalo Timber Company brought its own labor force, which included African Americans and Russian immigrants, who built the town in the middle of the wilderness by hand. Plain, simple houses were constructed on opposite sides of Main Street using rejected company lumber. Rows of identical structures were divided by a railroad spur down the middle. “We lived in a three-room house built right straight with kitchen, living room and bedroom all in one line,” recalled former resident Iona Basnight Padgett in Suzanne Tate’s book Logs & Moonshine: Tales of Buffalo City, N.C. “There was no front or back porch. Mama made a flour paste and stuck up papers on the inside walls to keep the wind out. One time, I looked up at a piece of wood nailed up on the wall and saw a snake slithering there. I screamed.” The city was modeled on a combination of two classic designs: the New England

mill town and the Southern plantation. The company provided housing and food as well as a school and hospital. By paying in “script,” or currency that could only be used in the company store, profits from the timber operation stayed with the owners. There was no electricity or plumbing. No plumbing meant no running water. For every drink, bath and cooked meal, residents had to fetch water from the community pump by the post office, hauling it in buckets back home. Toilets were nonexistent so outhouses were used. Buffalo City had a series of owners and at one point in the early 1900s, the town’s population of 3,000 made it the largest city in Dare County. It belonged to the Buffalo Timber Company until 1903. It was abandoned for four years until the Dare Lumber Company bought it in 1907. Later, the Duvall brothers – Claude, John, and Ephraim – took over for a decade. By 1928, those operations dwindled. The men of Buffalo City worked for the lumber company. They left home before sunrise and returned after sunset. The work was labor-intensive. They logged and milled cypress and juniper trees, also called Atlantic white cedar, which produced weather resilient lumber that made excellent roofing shingles and shake siding. Later, they harvested pine. There were several different jobs: felling trees, cutting logs, loading skiffs, working on locomotives

HISTORY

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and boats or at the mill or transfer station. Pay ranged from 30 cents to $2.50 per day, depending on the job, and was distributed in the form of aluminum coins called “pluck,” which could only be spent in the company store. Laborers were also assigned days to maintain an artificial thoroughfare called Pole Road; absentees were fined $2.50. Women’s roles were as wives, mothers, housekeepers, cooks and washers. They also lent their husbands a helping hand when they could. A lucky few were the postmistresses. From Tate’s book, Padgett recounted that her mother married young, “and when her first husband died, she had to farm out her children – give them away. Wasn’t nothing else she could do about it because she couldn’t feed them. She always said, ‘You never know what dog’s ass you got to kiss before you die.’” There was a small company school for children. Families paid $2 per month per child for the schooling, but most only finished a few grades. Children often helped with their parents’ work. Playtime excursions included hunting bears, snakes and bullfrogs, or fishing, or riding homemade seesaws, several former residents recalled in Tate’s book. It was a hard life in the swamp. Literally outside their doors were black bears, wolves and alligators,

Outer Banks Magazine

2019

not to mention mosquitoes, ticks, biting flies, roaches and rats. The boggy land was so soft, roads were made by laying down poles and branches that were then covered in sawdust. Anywhere else, you sank in the mud. Justice was handled internally. Many Buffalo City residents lived like that for years. They weren’t trying to make a living as much as trying to survive. Since the work was hard and the pay virtually nonexistent, residents sought ways to make real money on the side. “Though it’s tempting to think of logging and bootlegging as two distinct industries that operated during different eras of Buffalo City’s history, the truth is that they overlapped,” writes Amelia Boldaji’s in her article, Ghost Town: The Forgotten Story of Dare County’s Buffalo City. Most accounts explain the turn to moonshine as the result of the national prohibition of alcohol in 1920; however, North Carolina had already passed a referendum in 1908

making it a “dry state.” Stills were easy to make and operate, and the town’s extreme isolation made a perfect environment for illegal activity. Highly profitable, large-scale bootleg operations flourished in Buffalo City. Shipping routes and markets from Florida to New York were already well-established by the lumber trade. Jesse “Gus” Basnight told Tate that the ingredients were always the same: “Our recipe for making moonshine was 400 gallons of water, 100 pounds of rye, 300 pounds of sugar and five pounds of yeast. We made 35 gallons of 107-proof rye whiskey per week.” Probably every home in Buffalo City had a still. The moonshiners employed tricks to evade the “revenooers,” as they called the tax men from the Internal Revenue Service. They posted lookouts and used verbal cues that required a correct response. When transporting a load of moonshine by boat, they tied the jugs together on a line that was dragged behind the vessel. If revenuers appeared, they cut the tether and retrieved the sunken containers later. The moonshiners didn’t just want to be the biggest,

“It wasn’t your run-of-themill homemade whiskey either; this was the good stuff … demand was high for this carefully crafted liquor, particularly in big cities such as Washington, D.C. and New York,”

Opposite Top: inside the Dare Forest Co. General Store. (Dare Mainland Photo Collection) Bottom: Coins called "pluck," which could only be spent in the company store. (Gary Cosgrove Collection.) Above: Men with train. (Randall Holmes Collection.)

but also the best. Instead of corn, they used rye for a smoother, tastier whiskey. Some added hickory chips or burnt sugar to enhance the flavor, while others stored the moonshine in charred kegs. “It wasn’t your run-of-the-mill homemade whiskey either; this was the good stuff … demand was high for this carefully crafted liquor, particularly in big cities such as Washington, D.C. and New York,” Boldaji writes. It even made it as far as Europe. A boat called the Hattie Creef already had a history in Buffalo City as a mail carrier. The little Carolina Sharpie became most famous for carrying Wilbur and Orville Wright to Kitty Hawk in 1900. But it became infamous for helping Buffalo City moonshiners. “The Hattie Creef often came in fully loaded with sugar,” recalled Gus Basnight in Tate’s book. “Tons and tons of it came into Buffalo City.” When Prohibition ended in 1933, the demand for illegal liquor dropped severely and most Buffalo City moonshiners were soon out of business. With the lumber harvested, and no stills to operate, the town slowly faded away. By 1950, it was completely abandoned. It’s tempting now to call it a “ghost town,” but there’s nothing left for spirits to inhabit. With the exception of its unique history, all that remains are a few buried railroad tracks. O

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TCB OBX IN THE

Seven area women who are charting their own course to success. by BEN SWENSON photography by BROOKE MAYO

Outer Banks Magazine

2019

The Outer Banks offers many people a respite from their frenetic lives, a break from the workaday stress in a place of beauty. For others, it is simply home. But whether folks come to enjoy the sand and surf for a week, or live here year-round, this thin sliver of land between sound and sea is always an inspiration.

What follows are profiles of seven young women who not only live here, but have allowed the beauty of this place to lead them into unique, fulfilling, business. These women have moved from dreamers to doers and in the process have made the Outer Banks a richer place â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for visitors and locals alike.

Melanie Westheiden was invited to work a table at an art show and sale at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Initially a photographer, she instead found passion and joy with her hands caked in clay. She discovered ceramics classes at UNCW, spending hours throwing pottery in a campus studio. The pots kept piling up, boxes cluttering corners. She was unsure what she could do with all of it. Today, the 24-year-old Westheiden owns Swell Ceramics in Nags Head. Westheiden’s ceramics are inspired by her love for the ocean and the sense of belonging she feels in this area. Among the original designs that Westheiden imprints on her pottery are ocean waves and sea turtles, a nod to her time spent volunteering with the Network for Endangered Sea Turtles, an Outer Banks-based nonprofit. About half of Westheiden’s business is online through Etsy, with the remainder occurring during summer and holiday art shows. Westheiden says the blend of online and in-person sales gives Swell Ceramics broad reach – she has shipped pottery as far away as Australia.

Melanie Westheiden Swell Ceramics swellceramics.com

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Outer Banks Magazine

2019

Brittani Williams Sea Yarn Shop etsy.com/shop/seayarnshop

Taylor Williams Taylove Shop etsy.com/shop/tayloveshop

Brittani and Taylor Williams may be sisters, but they share more than DNA. For one, they’re roommates, splitting a Kill Devil Hills beach house where each makes space for living and for labor. They are both self-taught artisans who have launched separate, ambitious ventures to craft and sell their work. Brittani, 24, owns Sea Yarn Shop, an online store that sells crocheted swimwear. Taylor, 23, sells original fine art and prints through her online shop, Taylove Shop. For the Williams sisters, the business of crafting and selling art is a family affair. They grew up in a creative home. “I think a lot of people our age remember iPads and other technology, but I recall coloring, arts and crafts, and making bracelets,” Brittani says. Each one took a stab at college after graduating from high school, but they each felt too constrained. They ended up traveling to Hawaii together, which offered the sort of reflection that they needed. They decided that workaday life wasn’t for them, so they let their creative impulses blossom. For Brittani, it was crochet. On a cold March day in 2017, she learned crocheting from her mother. She soon made a crop top – cute enough, in her estimation, to share the accomplishment on social media. Feedback was immediate and positive. People loved it. She began creating bikini tops. The bottoms, which are trickier to make, came later. Reassurance was right there all along.

“Friends were interested. Then friends of friends were interested, and it just took off,” she says. The burst of inspiration for Taylor Williams began on canvas. Enamored with this area, she captured some of her favorite scenes – sunsets, storm clouds and ocean waves – on camera. Then, summoning painting skills she had acquired in high school art class, she committed those vistas to canvas. Taylor’s paintings are earning acclaim. “Sandy Wave” took home the People’s Choice Award at the 41st Annual Frank Stick Memorial Art Show in Manteo in February, and she had a painting in the Black & White Juried Show at 311 Gallery in Raleigh in 2018. As with her sister, social media has played a large part in Taylor’s professional growth. Both sell their products through online retailer Etsy, and they say digital savviness is critical to their business in today’s culture. The sisters are pleased that their products are becoming well-known, but say they wish the business side of things left a little more time for creativity. Nevertheless, they’re happy to have each other to help navigate uncharted waters. “We’ll throw ideas at one another, about sales or color schemes,” Taylor says. “We share what works and what doesn’t. We found out that when you have a good following, you’re going to have good sales.”

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bri vuyovich Outer Babes and Outer Surf outersurfnc.com

Bri Vuyovich has two passions: mentoring kids and surfing. The 25-year-old Kitty Hawk native, one of four siblings, grew up surrounded by saltwater, so it’s no surprise that she was unable to resist the call of crashing waves. Vuyovich worked for years as a lifeguard and surfed at every opportunity. In 2017, she combined those passions and created Outer Babes, a surf club for middle and high school girls. Vuyovich knew well that a lot of young women in the area shared her appetite for surfing, but often felt out of place, outnumbered and a little intimidated by the hordes of guys who flocked to the beach. The club was an immediate hit. Weekly gettogethers became important gatherings for young surfers. Less than two years later, the club is not only going strong, it’s inspiring other opportunities. For the second summer in a row, Vuyovich is offering surfing camps and private lessons through the Outer Babes offshoot, Outer Surf. Outer Surf has five camp sessions scheduled this year. Girls can choose to participate at the beginner or advanced level. Vuyovich also offers a camp for women. While the core constituency is female, there is an opportunity for the men to join in during couples and group lessons. Part of the aim is to teach fundamental skills that will make girls stronger surfers. But there’s a larger goal here, too. “I want to see young women encourage and empower each other through the art of surfing,” she says.

Outer Banks Magazine

2019

Esther Faith Davis is as local as they come. The 27-year-old Kitty Hawk native was born on the Outer Banks – in a home on Arch Street – back when the nearest maternity wards were in Elizabeth City and Hampton Roads. Davis grew up steeped in the culture, the youngest of four kids in a family who loved all things ocean – surfing and swimming, the general “beachiness” of her community, she says. As a young lady, she found a love for creating music. Singing and songwriting led her to Nashville, but she discovered that a career in music was not for her. Her other interest was the beauty industry, so she trained to be a cosmetologist at a nearby campus of Paul Mitchell Schools. After earning her degree, Davis returned home. “I couldn’t do the whole landlocked thing,” she says. Back on the Outer Banks, Davis married and built a career and clientele at a local salon. When the opportunity arose to buy the studio where she worked, she became a business owner. She and husband Forest Davis mulled over the decision for months and sought advice from her brother, who runs a successful photography business. In early 2017, the couple launched the rebranded business, Salty Hair Salon, which Forest Davis says has a very “modern, beach vibe, without being cheeky.”

Esther Faith Davis Salty Hair Salon saltyhairsalonobx.com

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Caroline Jarvis Caroline Jarvis Photography carolinejarvis.com

Entrepreneurship is in Caroline Jarvis’s blood. Her mother and father both own successful businesses on Hatteras Island, and her grandmother owns the Outer Banks Motel in Buxton. After four years at East Carolina University, she moved to New York to put her degree in fashion merchandising and business marketing to good use. But life in the city didn’t go as planned. “I was miserable,” she says. “I was a small-town girl in a big city with tons of people.” So she left after only a year. Back on Hatteras Island, Jarvis took solace in all that she loved about the Outer Banks – the sunrises and sunsets, the beaches and animals. And she made a simple but life-changing choice: “I picked up a camera,” she says. She shared some of her favorite images on social media. The feedback she received was not only kind, but inspiring. Friends wanted portraits. Her dad arranged for her to shoot a wedding at the Outer Banks Motel. “It was zero to 100 overnight,” she says. That was five years ago. And Caroline Jarvis Photography has been growing ever since. Jarvis says she wants her photography to reflect not only the splendor of the setting, but also the intimate vibe of her lifelong home. Before shooting a wedding, for instance, Jarvis sends the couple a lengthy questionnaire to make sure she knows them like family and can tailor their sessions accordingly. “We have amazing beaches, sunrises and lighthouses,” she says. “But we are really just a small town.”

Outer Banks Magazine

2019

Ashley Linnekin describes a good blend of coffee like a sommelier describes a fine wine, explaining how notes of nuttiness and earthiness can come through depending on the roast, as well as the land and climate where the beans originated and the blends she has carefully fused. After earning a culinary degree from Johnson & Wales University in Norfolk, she landed on the Outer Banks, where she dived into the food scene. She soon found a knack for roasting coffee and never looked back. She stacked up an impressive resume roasting with a couple of area establishments – first with Front Porch Café, then as co-owner of Morning View Coffee. Last fall, she and husband Erik Linnekin decided to open Ashley’s Espresso Parlor. Her enthusiasm for the coffee bean earns encouraging feedback from customers. She often hears that it’s the best cup of coffee they’ve ever had. “That’s especially meaningful, because I think about how many cups of coffee they’ve had in their lives,” she says. The good vibes also feed into a respectable side hustle. Linnekin and her husband are longtime surfers, and for much of that time, she has maintained a money-making hobby as a surfboard shaper, creating custom surfboards by hand. From foam core to fiberglass finish, Linnekin cuts, planes and coats until the perfect board emerges. She sells them under the somewhat tonguein-cheek brand, Crashley Surfboards (a reference to her skateboarding days). Although she has taken a brief hiatus from the surfboard shaping to get Ashley’s Espresso Parlour off the ground, she remains eager to get back into the workshop. “It’s an amazing feeling to watch someone have fun on something you’ve made,” she says. O

Ashley Linnekin

Ashley’s Espresso Parlour and All-Time Roasting Co. Crashley Surfboards facebook.com/ashleysespressoparlourobx/ Instagram @crashleysurfboards

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Backyard wild by MARY ELLEN RIDDLE photography by LORI DOUGLAS

With a keen eye and an open heart, North Carolina artist chronicles the world around her.

Outer Banks Magazine

2019

.M. Corsa believes in magic and wild things. Nature, says the Kill Devil Hills artist, has been her muse from the start. She remembers as a child walking with her father through the western Massachusetts woods where she was raised. “Dad would find abandoned raccoons and baby animals, and we would take care of them – squirrels, rabbits, snakes, lizards; you name it, we had it,” Corsa says. An image of her mother rocking a dying robin wrapped in a dish towel is seared in her soul. “We just grew up outdoors. That’s my studio.” Corsa, 67, a watercolorist and mixedmedia artist, encourages others to appreciate the environment and to protect

all that slithers, flies, and hops within it. For more than 30 years, she’s filled stacks of sketchbooks with cloudscapes, patches of woods and swamp, and portraits of the myriad creatures that visit her crooked yellow house high on a hill. It’s a magical place where rare-bird sightings occur, and the yard is filled with pyracantha, trumpet vine, quince, rosemary, and a wild cherry tree. Her sketches and daily reflections inspire new work that she sells at art fairs, on Etsy.com and at SeaDragon Gallery in Duck. The creative process is ever-present. Each time she leaves her house, Corsa carries her olive-colored knapsack filled with a sketchbook and art supplies. She’s not interested in creating scientific studies, but

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Outer Banks Magazine

2019

Corsa has filled stacks of sketchbooks with cloudscapes, patches of woods and swamp, and portraits of a myriad creatures she has stumbled upon.

capturing something’s essence. “What I do is a loose first impression,” she says. “I’m not concerned if every little thing is perfect. My sketchbooks are the best things I’ve ever done. That book is filled with the air of every place I sketch.” Often, inspiring sights are at her doorstep. Each season brings visitors to her home. The camelia blossoms show up in January. The chimney swifts arrive in August. A sharp-shinned hawk visits every year. Corsa sits at a picnic table under a trumpet-vinecovered pergola, capturing it all in her sketches. Along with the art she creates, such as drawing colored-pencil creatures on vintage poetry book pages and painting birds on antique maps, she reproduces the sketchbook pages to share. Her Window Series features torn decorative paper from which watercolor birds peek. Just as change comes annually to the environment, Corsa has reinvented herself over and over to stay fresh. Self-taught, she began years ago creating impressionistic acrylic paintings. But then she found watercolor. For decades, she created wildly popular, whimsical watercolor collages of anthropomorphized animals with humorous titles. The art gave her a name, but Corsa lost her desire for the genre. Before ending the series, however, an international company called Creative Co-Op picked up the characters, and her illustrations were turned into wall art, figurines, pails, trays, and dishes. Corsa’s creative portfolio is diverse. She’s exhibited watercolor cloudscapes and illustrated a coloring book as well as a poem she wrote for a children’s magazine.

She’s also created nature-themed wine bottle labels. Recently, Corsa created a deck of hand-cut oracle cards – her take on tarot cards – from sketchbook illustrations. Dubbed Sketchbook Oracle, she chose 25 images that resonated deeply with her and wrote personal meanings for each. The owner of the deck is invited to pull a card daily for inspiration. For example, a loon sketch originated from Corsa finding an exhausted bird on the beach. She scooped it up and got it to a vet. The card asks: “Is there someone you could help today by lending a hand?” Her latest venture involves working with Yupo, a synthetic paper with a plastic-based substrate on which the watercolor sits but isn’t absorbed. A recent Yupo painting of a bluebird appeared on the back cover of Watercolor Artist magazine. Corsa says it lends intricate patterns and saturated color to the art that she can’t achieve with regular watercolor paper. She uses it to bring pet portraits and bird paintings to life. “It has movement, and it pulls that personality out,” she says. And just as she opens herself up to nature’s daily menagerie, Corsa tries to help others develop their own keen observations by teaching field sketching. “It’s not just about learning to draw, but it’s a way to get out in nature,” she says. Artists and nonartists alike are invited to attend. It’s healing and meditative, says Corsa, who approaches her work with a steady eye and a loving heart. But there is also a greater purpose. “Get people to appreciate the world and you will not look at nature the same way again,” she says. “You just won’t!” O

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THE SHOOTIST

His eye sharp, his art teeming with humanity, photographer Daniel Pullen makes a name for himself by shooting life as he sees it. by ERIC J. WALLACE photography by DANIEL PULLEN

Daniel Pullen prowls the docks as the sun begins rise over the Roanoke Sound, snapping candid photos of the bustling Wanchese Marina. The 43-year-old takes a knee before an old john boat, its hull streaked with rust. The stern features faded black stenciling that reads “JOHN 3/16.” Two men – perhaps a father and son, the younger appearing roughly Pullen’s age – chop bait atop weathered wooden planks. They wear heavy boots and thermal undershirts tucked into suspendered oilskin pants. Matching slicker jackets are draped over the captain’s chair. Pullen looks radically out of place in his skinny jeans, skateboard-style flannel jacket, modern blackframed glasses, and a flat-brimmed baseball cap. “I was raised on the Outer Banks, but was more into surfing and the arts,” he says. Though the livelihoods of countless friends and neighbors depend on fishing, Pullen didn’t take an interest until recently. It happened in 2012, when a local magazine asked him to photograph an annual Hatteras fishing festival. “I’d grown up hearing about it, but had never gone,” Pullen says. “There, I witnessed an incredibly deep-rooted culture that, I realized, is in danger of vanishing.” The event inspired “Endangered Community: The Independent Waterman Project”. For the past seven years, Pullen, one of the region’s most well-regarded editorial and wedding photographers, has been documenting the lives of Outer Banks commercial fishermen in his free time. The project has generated considerable interest – with preview exhibitions being held for state legislators, officials at North Carolina State University, and various museums. The images, and their impact, led the Dare

Outer Banks Magazine

2019

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County Arts Council in February 2018 to name Pullen its People’s Choice artist for the year. “Daniel’s work teems with humanity,” says Chris Sawin, the council’s executive director. “It has a haunted quality that draws you in and demands you look closer.” Pullen hopes to publish his waterman images in book form by the end of the year. “We’re talking about a community that was once totally dependent on the sea for its survival, where fishing was part and parcel with life,” he says. Much of that heritage remains. “These are multi-generational family operations I’m photographing. Some of these guys and gals can tell you stories about their great-great-grandparents working as fishermen. They’re as real it gets.” Pullen calls The Independent Waterman the culmination of 20 years of development as a photographer. Fittingly, the project marks a return to the aesthetic of his early career. A Buxton native, Pullen spent much of his childhood catching waves with friends. As a teenager, he was a fixture of the Outer Banks surfing community. When well-known photographers showed up on the beach, it was a big deal. “You’d pray they’d catch an awesome shot of you,” Pullen says. “Back in the ‘90s, that was about the only way you were going to see

Outer Banks Magazine

2019

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how you looked in the water.” Initially, those action shots impressed, images of himself and others carving the thundering blue-green pipeline enthralling. But after graduating high school, Pullen felt that something was missing. “Looking at the pictures, what I remembered most was the stuff we’d done before or after surfing,” he says. For instance, goofing around in a parking lot at sunrise, or sharing beers around a fire on an abandoned beach. As friends left for college, the moments gained a sense of urgency. “I’d see a buddy sipping coffee and gazing out at a wave, and I’d want to take his picture,” says Pullen. “Hiding behind the mundanity was something intimate, and quiet, and deeply personal. That’s I wanted to capture.” The effort began with disposable cameras. Within 18 months, Pullen had acquired a used pro-grade pointand-shoot. By age 23, his work was getting noticed. Local photography icons such as Russell Blackwood

Outer Banks Magazine

2019

and Mickey McCarthy began offering tips. By 2002, Pullen was exhibiting in area galleries. His documentary approach to surfing culture led to freelance assignments with magazines such as Eastern Surf, Surfing and ESPN The Magazine. In 2003, a friend and area florist suggested to Pullen that he take up wedding photography. “There were two main guys shooting weddings and one of them was about to retire,” Pullen says. At first, he worried about his qualifications. “But then my friend said, ‘Just do the same thing you do when you photograph surfers.’” The strategy worked. Pullen’s ability to both idealize and capture the essence of a merging family awed brides and grooms. Word spread and his portfolio grew. Today, he’s shot more than 500 weddings. Related images have been featured in publications including North Carolina’s Our State, The Knot and The Outer Banks Wedding Guide. International listing site Wedding Wire has given Pullen four Couples’ Choice awards since 2014.

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“His photos cut to the core of a person’s identity,” says 2016 bride Abbey Spellman. Her wedding album includes photos of a recently deceased grandfather. Pullman caught him laughing and joking. “Looking at those images, I can literally hear and feel his joy,” she says. Shooting weddings has taught Pullen to read people and relationships. “Family dynamics are so diverse, you have to figure out what’s going on, like, immediately,” he says. Brothers and sisters may be estranged. Parents and step-parents bitterly divorced. Capturing happy candid images requires knowing where and how to look for them. “I try to identify idiosyncratic expressions or gestures that, in some small way, reveal a person’s inner humanity,” Pullen says. “Then I look for the proper moment and context, where that element can express itself in relation to the event.” For instance, a stoical father may gaze at his daughter, the bride-to-be, from afar and suddenly tear up. Like a hunter, Pullen positions himself and waits. The experience was instrumental in preparing him to work on The Independent Waterman. The weddings gave Pullen the confidence to enter and photograph the intimate worlds of strangers. “It’s like I’ve circled back to the beginning, when I was taking pictures of this neat, insular community of surfers,” says Pullen. “Just, back then, I was of that community. With [Waterman], I’m an outsider. I’m asking these people to bring me into their reality and trust me to look for the beauty in a rusty hull or a weathered pair of hands.” O

Outer Banks Magazine

2019

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â&#x20AC;˘

Elevating the familiar Owners of a popular Kitty Hawk restaurant are at it again, this time in scenic Duck. by AMY GAW photography by BROOKE MAYO

Outer Banks Magazine

2019

Opposite: Jennifer Minnich, Kenneth Hyman, John Minnich. Above: seared tuna steak with grits.

he newest restaurant on the Duck waterfront is the brainchild of the team that brought the first modern cheese bar and beverage program to the Outer Banks. Owners of the Trio Restaurant and Market launched Village Table and Tavern last summer, bringing to life a new spot for a relaxed, sit-down meal with some of the best views in the region. The restaurant, owned by Jennifer and John Minnich and local wine entrepreneur Kenneth Hyman, offers a family-friendly approach to dining and a menu that pairs easily with an ever-changing lineup of beer and wine. More importantly, it differs from Trio in concept, menu and ambiance. Jennifer Minnich says the goal with the new place is to elevate the familiar. Says John Minnich: “We really wanted people to feel like they could just come in, be comfortable, be with the people they wanted to eat with, immediately understand the menu and not break the bank.” Though a few items may be familiar – such as the crave-inducing caramelized-onion dip from the Trio

menu – guests can also expect a lot of new favorites, including raw oysters or fried pickles – all perfect appetizers for sharing. Vegetarian falafel with naan, tzatziki, pickled red onion, cucumber, spinach and feta and the fried chicken sandwich have become favorites for the local lunch crowd. Bone-in cuts of meat, comforting chicken and gravy, lump crab cakes and fresh, local seafood are on the dinner menu. Several dishes will change seasonally. Sharing is encouraged; even the desserts are meant to be shared and paired. A deliciously creamy slice of cold-smoked cheesecake keeps the familiar approachable and encourages the diner to have fun when choosing a beverage. One of the main features of the dining room is a wraparound bar that faces a wall of taps. A changing screen shares the daily selections and reminds customer that the same information can be found on their personal device if they download the provided app. Not all of the taps pull beer. Cold-brew coffee is also available. A full bar menu highlights both classic and clever craft cocktails featuring North Carolina spirits as

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2019

well as familiar, global favorites. House-made sodas and whimsical non-alcoholic beverages are on the menu, too. “If you like what you pair, share with your neighbor,” says John Minnich. “We like the sense of community around the tables and love when we see guests talking to each other.” Set on the northern edge of Duck, the business shares a location with Nor’banks Sailing and Watersports. There’s live music outside in season and inside by the fireplace when it’s chilly. Tables are spacious and comfortable, and parties are welcome. The keep-it-simple concept also translates to the seating system. Reservations are not accepted and with so much to do, look at and taste, you’ll barely notice the wait. Plan to arrive early and venture down to the Sound Lounge, an all-ages-friendly, waterside hangout spot where the entire family can enjoy a snack, dip toes in the water, sip a cool, canned craft beer or cocktail and play a little cornhole. There is plenty of outside seating and additional space for the young at heart to run off pre-meal excitement. O

Other hot spots Ashley’s Espresso Parlour Favorite local coffee maven Ashley Linnekin and her design-minded husband, Erik, have created a roomy yet cozy gathering spot in Kitty Hawk that offers coffee a number of ways. Traditional drips, pour-overs and espressos are just the beginning of the extensive beverage menu, which also includes teas, kombuchas and waters. Scones, sweet and savory pastries, and grab-and go snacks round out the beach-friendly offerings. Watch for live paint sessions, cuppings and other coffeecentric adventures.

Greentail’s Seafood Market & Kitchen Southern hospitality is on full display at this Nags Head restaurant, especially if your version of the South includes your mama reminding you to wash your hands before you eat and where to sit after you do it. Co-owner Brandi Midgette’s voice is usually the first one heard when entering the local-seafood-only hot spot. You can find chefs and co-owners Bryan Whitehurst and Mark Newsome in the tiny kitchen, making everything fresh to order. Whitehurst led the kitchen at 1587 Restaurant for years, and Newsome is a commercial fisherman, among his other skills. Both excel at putting a delicious twist on old-school favorites. Fried shrimp and oysters are served in baskets, as are small, whole, crispy fried fish of the day; mullet and spot are deliciously flakey when prepared this way. Eat everything but the spine.

Johanna’s Located in the former Queen Anne’s Revenge location, this incredible Wanchese eatery has a historical presence, with the added attraction of local authors and previous owners–now landlords–R. Wayne and Nancy Beach Gray living nearby. Customers can enjoy old-pressed juices, espresso and kombucha while browsing the local art and handmade wares. Wi-fi stays on and long visits are encouraged. Meals are available all day, with display cases showcasing daily offerings. Taking food home is encouraged. Everything is encouraged here. That’s the vibe, really: delicious empowerment. And if you had favorites from her Nags Head location, she serves a few here, including that amazing crab bisque with just a hint of cayenne pepper. O

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