Profile 2019

PROFILE 2019

A PUBLICATION TO THE WASHINGTON DAILY NEWS

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INTRODUCTION

IMPACT 4

DISTANT PAST

BLACKBEARD 44

PAST

PRESENT

JAMES BONNER

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HULL ANDERSON

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SUSAN DIMOCK

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REV. J.A. BEEBE

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C.A. TURNAGE

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JUANITA JACKSON

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CHOPPY WAGNER

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ELSIE CARVER

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ASHLEY FUTRELL

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WILLIAM RILEY “BILL” ROBERSON JR.

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BOBBY ANDREWS

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LEO MILLER

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MAYOR THOMAS STEWART

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DR. JOSHUA TAYLOE

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FLORENCE LODGE

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DICK LEACH AND BILLY JACKSON

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DAVE MCNAUGHT

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SAVE BLOUNTS CREEK CREW

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GENE ROBERTS

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LEESA JONES

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ROB SANDS

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JIM WILEY

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JOE TKACH

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DEBRA TORRENCE

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REGGIE FOUNTAIN

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BISHOP SAMUEL JONES AND MOTHER REGINA

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IMPACT WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

A wealth of history exists in Beaufort County. It’s a wealth that has grown for more than 300 years, from across a sprawling county that spans both sides of the Pamlico River; that includes the Pungo River and all the tributaries in between.

It’s growth stemmed from naval stores: pine, pitch and turpentine.

It’s location made it ideal for international trade, in an era when big ships traveled the world, sharing goods. Later, agriculture took over as the driving force of the economy and its natural resources continue to make a worldwide impact today.

Throughout the centuries, it’s the people of Beaufort County who have made its history — people who were born and raised here; those who chose to make a life, and a living, along the river.

Their impact has been felt in both large and small ways. Some have molded it physically, changing the landscape itself. Others have made a mark culturally. Still others have shaped its people. Some are groundbreakers; others are average people whose work has influenced past generations and will influence generations to come.

The combination has created a sense of place, one that pays tribute to history while looking toward the future.

This issue of Profile Magazine explores just a small sample of some those lives, the lasting impact of those from the past and the future impact of those working to build a better Beaufort County today. §

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PHOTO COURTESY OF LARRY BOYD

Publisher Ashley Vansant Editorial Matt Debnam Sean Finnerty Vail Stewart Rumley Contributors Meredith Loughlin Advertising Director David Singleton Marketing & Sales Cecilia Prokos Amy Whitaker Scott Williamson Distribution Sylvester Rogers Art Direction Elizabeth Reed Contact information Washington Newsmedia LLC. P.O. Box 1788 Washington, NC 27889 Advertising inquiries 252-946-2144 Ext. 221 Subscriptions & change of address 252-946-2144 Profile is published once a year

by Washington Newsmedia, LLC. Copyright 2019, Washington Newsmedia, LLC. 5

IMAGE COURTESY OF U.S. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, PUBLIC DOMAIN

COLONEL JAMES BONNER WRITTEN BY SEAN FINNERTY

Colonel James Bonner was a patriot who commanded 125 men in the Beaufort County Regiment as part of the Revolutionary War. But for those who call Washington home, he’s had a larger impact than serving our newborn country in its battle for independence. As Washington’s founder, Bonner left a physical and historical impact that cannot be forgotten.

Bonner was born in Beaufort County in 1719, the son of Thomas Bonner and Abigail Brian Daw. In 1729 the elder Bonner acquired a portion of land on which Washington currently stands and established his home at Bonner Hill, one mile north of presentday Washington. The younger Bonner then inherited the site of Washington when his father died and built his own residence there.

Bonner soon came to realize the strategic location of his plantation on the Pamlico River, as ocean-going ships couldn’t navigate any farther upriver into the Tar River. By 1771, Bonner decided to establish a town and, as a member of the colonial House of

Burgesses from Beaufort County, petitioned the colonial assembly for permission to establish a township.

The bill was never approved, due to the confusion caused by from Royal Governor William Tryon’s march against the Regulators that year, but Bonner finally found success in the fall of 1775. It is thought that Washington might have been the first town erected in America after the collapse of the British Royal government in North Carolina.

Bonner didn’t get to live to see much of Washington’s growth, as he died in 1782. His grave is located in the churchyard of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, which was built on land he donated for the building of a church.

Bonner’s recognition of the advantageous position on the Pamlico proved to be prosperous, as Washington developed into an important trading center, chiefly exporting tar, pitch, turpentine and rosin, among other things. To this day, the Pamlico plays a big part in Washington, and Bonner’s foresight played a big part in that. §

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DAVE McNAUGHT WRITTEN BY SEAN FINNERTY Washington’s North Carolina Estuarium opened in January 1998 as the world’s first estuarium, located on the shores of the Pamlico River. It took the help of many, including community leadership, and after three years of fundraising and two years of construction, the Estuarium opened to the public to educate people about the vital estuaries and coastal waterways of the area.

While many helped in making the Estuarium a reality, it might’ve never come into existence if not for Dave McNaught. The Estuarium was the brainchild of McNaught, who developed the idea of “an estuarine education center” around 1990, while serving as the executive director of the Pamlico-Tar River Foundation.

But McNaught was also vital in developing the overall vision of the Estuarium, which included not coming off as too preachy or bogging people down with science, according to Tom Stroud, the Estuarium’s director. Instead, McNaught wanted to help people make an emotional or personal connection with the river.

“It was essential because he understands that it’s not so much science that drives people to care about a place,” Stroud said. “It’s just feeling like they have a personal bond with an area that really drives them to care and to do the right thing and to encourage other people to do the right thing.”

McNaught was influential in encouraging much of the artistic components of the Estuarium, including, arguably its biggest attraction — the lobby sculpture of the water cycle constructed by local artist Whiting Toler using driftwood and other materials that washed ashore from the river — which greets every visitor upon entering.

McNaught’s impact isn’t just felt in helping Washington boast the world’s first Estuarium, but his innovative ideas on teaching about nature were just as impactful.

“Any time someone leaves a museum and has a memory of something specific in there, then you’ve touched them; you’ve succeeded,” Stroud said. “And I think Dave’s vision of including those artistic components that we have through here, in addition to the science that we help educate people with, was just brilliant.” §

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PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVE MCNAUGHT

REV. J. A. BEEBE WRITTEN BY MATT DEBNAM

A planter of churches throughout the United States, the works of Joseph Alvin Beebe can be seen not just in Washington, but also throughout the United States.

Born into slavery in Fayetteville in 1832, Beebe was the 16th of his siblings. The mistress of the house, a woman named Melinda Beebe was a devout Methodist and remembered that John Wesley was also the 16th born in his family. She recalled too the story of Moses, an adopted slave child who grew to become a great leader.

Thus she adopted him, taught him to read the Bible and other literature. At age 17, he joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and at 19, he was licensed to preach. Having learned the shoemaker’s trade, he maintained a successful business that eventually allowed him to purchase his freedom for $2,300.

Sent to several cities to preach, Rev. Beebe eventually reached Washington. With land awarded for the establishment of a Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, Beebe organized the first CME Church in the state of North Carolina at the corner of Fifth and Respess streets, where Beebe Memorial CME stands today. The first church was called the Christian Temple CME, and was built in 1873.

Beebe was responsible for planting the “first” CME churches in seven states before his death in 1903.

“He served people, white as well as colored, paid doctor bills and buried the poor of both races,” wrote his daughter, Josephine Beebe.

“He took in his home at different times, twenty-seven other people’s children, cared for them and educated them in the same school as his own.”

And so this man, born into slavery under the auspices of Moses and John Wesley, became one of the great spiritual patriarchs of Washington’s African-American community and a leader of the CME denomination throughout the United States. §

IMAGE COURTESY OF THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY, PUBLIC DOMAIN

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PHOTO COURTESY OF LINDA CARVER (CLARK) | THE CARVER FAMILY

She knew everybody, she knew every customer, just about, by their first name. And don’t you think that she wouldn’t call Washington High School if you were skipping school.

— HAROLD ROBINSON

ELSIE CARVER WRITTEN BY SEAN FINNERTY

Whether you were spending some quality time with your sweetheart or hanging out with your friends, there was only once place to be in town after school got out in Washington in the ’50s and ’60s. Teenagers flocked to Carver’s Drive-in — located where Inner Banks Outfitters currently stands on East Main Street — after that final school bell rang, sometimes packing five to a car.

Operated by Elsie Carver — known as Miss Carver to her young patrons — sandwiches and hot dogs were served. But the No. 1 seller was Carver’s chili, which she served in a bun for 10 cents to accommodate her teenaged customers. The Coca-Cola served from the soda fountain wasn’t too far behind in popularity either.

“She served the best chili dogs. We had never had chili dogs before,” said Harold Robinson, one of those high school students

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who spent many a day at Miss Carver’s. “The best Coca-Colas you’d ever put in your mouth. And some people got cherry Coke, some people got just regular Coke, but her cherry Coke was incredible.”

But Carver’s Drive-in wasn’t just the hangout spot because she provide tasty treats. Carver was also like a mother figure to her customers, making sure to tell those walking in to not let the screen door slam shut, according to Robinson.

“She was like another mother to all of us. She was like a mother hen.

She had all of her chickens out there playing,” Robinson said. “(She) was the sweetest lady you ever met. She knew everybody, she knew every customer, just about, by their first name. And don’t you think that she wouldn’t call Washington High School if you were skipping school. You had to do right, but you better not let that door slam.” §

C.A. TURNAGE WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

In the latter days of the 20th century, it appeared the heyday of Cat Turnage’s theater had come and gone. It once drew crowds to see the vaudeville greats; it delighted audiences with the first films with audio, then with color. A second, palace-style theater was built behind the original in the 1930s, to move audiences away from the noise and traffic of West Main Street. The theater was an entertainment draw for decades, but time and trends had their way.

Eventually, only a group of Washington residents who saw the need to preserve and restore the theater stood in the way of its demolition.

Now, the theater Turnage started building in 1913 is once again a center for the arts, its revival courtesy of the Turnage Theaters Foundation and Arts of the Pamlico, one of the oldest arts councils in the state.

The impact Cat Turnage and his theater has made continues to make an impact today.

“What he did was create a space that has spawned an amazing, lasting industry. He created a space that captured history,” said Debra Torrence, AOP’s executive director. “It’s keeping alive heritage arts, natural fiber and traditional music, and I think it’s pushing the boundaries of art by community theater programming, youth arts programs, building toward a next generation of what I hope will be a downtown academy of arts. … I think Cat Turnage built the building, but there have been hundreds and hundreds of people who have contributed since.”

The restoration continues; the roof in dire need of repair, especially in the original vaudeville theater.

“What Cat Turnage left behind is an old building,” Torrence laughed.

While preserving its historical details amidst construction comes at a steep cost, the payoff will be a one-of-a-kind arts venue.

“It’s one of very few buildings in the nation that have two theater spaces in the same building,” Torrence said. “He’s left us the potential to do something amazing.” §

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PHOTOS BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

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CONTRIBUTED BY LEESA JONES

HULL ANDERSON WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

He was a shipbuilder, a wealthy man and source of employment in the early 19th century. It was said he could “make a ship tighter than a drum and float like a piece of driftwood.” He was also a former slave who purchased his freedom and rose to prominence in Washington.

“For a former slave to obtain the holdings that he did — he was able to obtain property from some of the biggest business owners and plantation owners in Washington,” said Leesa Jones, founder of the Washington Waterfront Underground Railroad Museum. “I think his wealth as an African-American man at that time stood out significantly.”

Hull Anderson’s shipyard was located off of West Main Street, between Bridge and Pearce streets. Ships such as a The Hawk, The Brigs, The George Washington and The Edwin were built in Washington and went on to do battle in the War of 1812 — a collaborative effort that likely included Anderson’s shipyard.

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“All the shipbuilders here in Washington were doing that at the time,” Jones said.

In the lead-up to the Civil War, however, many black people, though they’d purchased their freedom, were losing rights that freedom should have afforded them. When a spokesman for the American Colonization Act came to Washington, Anderson decided to take part. Along with four others from Washington, he and his family immigrated to Monrovia, Liberia, in 1841, part of the government-led effort to create a colony of freed slaves in Africa, a movement led by such American notables as Thomas Jefferson and President James Monroe.

In Liberia, Anderson again found success as a grocer and coffee grower; he and his wife, Cherry, became missionaries and started a charitable fund to educate African children.

“He had significant cultural impact on both continents,” Jones said. §

BOBBY ANDREWS WRITTEN BY SEAN FINNERTY

There might be no person who had a greater impact on youth sports in Washington than the late Bobby Andrews. Beginning in 1955 until retiring as the athletic director for Washington’s Parks and Recreation Department. Continuing on for several years after on a part-time basis, Andrews’ tireless work in youth sports saw a grassroots petition to rename the Seventh Street Recreation Center the Bobby Andrews Recreation Center culminate in a unanimous vote by the Washington City Council in 2005.

During his time with the department, Andrews ran, and was involved as an official or umpire for, the youth basketball league, baseball league, softball league and both tackle and flag football leagues. Well-respected by all those involved in the athletic programs — from other officials to the young athletes — according to former recreation department director Philip Mobley, perhaps Andrews’ crowning achievement was founding the Washington

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Youth Basketball League roughly 40 years ago.

“He was totally responsible for the formulation of the youth basketball league, and it was awesome,” Mobley said. “It was just great because his heart was in it for the kids, and winning and losing, he felt like it would take care of itself. He was in there to make sure every kid had an opportunity to participate in some way, shape, form or fashion. And that’s to make sure every kid got a chance to play, not just sit on the bench.”

But Andrews didn’t just simply give kids a chance to play; he truly cared for them and would help in any way he could.

“I’ve seen him buy shoes for kids out there (to be able to play),” Mobley said. “You never saw those kind of things, you never heard those kind of things, but Bobby had a real impact on those kids.

All those kids that ever went through the program, they knew that Mr. Bobby cared about them, and that’s important. It was a job, but his job came from the heart.” §

PHOTOS COURTESY OF RILEY ROBERSON

WILLIAM RILEY “BILL” ROBERSON JR. WRITTEN BY SEAN FINNERTY

William Riley “Bill” Roberson Jr. was a man who had a lasting impact on Washington and eastern North Carolina overall.

He served as a representative in the North Carolina General Assembly from 1966 until 1974, where he introduced or co-introduced legislation that created Goose Creek State Park, the Swan Quarter-Ocracoke Ferry and Beaufort County Community College, while also being active in passing legislation that made the East Carolina School of Medicine possible, to name a few of his accomplishments as a legislator.

Closer to home, he helped grow the family business, Roberson Beverage, from a small operation in the backyard — across from the First United Methodist Church on Second Street — into a much larger business that covered almost all of eastern North Carolina, earning him, as chairman and CEO, an induction into the National Soft Drink Association Hall of Fame and Beverage World Hall of Fame.

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“He was very positive for eastern North Carolina,” said his son William Riley Roberson III. “He was very smart and dedicated. It was a combination of public service and love of doing business and serving people in eastern North Carolina. He had a dose of all of that. I’d say he had a good mix of all of it.”

Perhaps Roberson Jr.’s longest lasting impact can be found in his founding of WITN-TV, an NBC affiliate which went on air in 1955 from Washington. Serving as chairman and CEO of the station for 30 years, Roberson Jr. made sure the station focused on serving this part of eastern North Carolina, which he felt was neglected, and tell its story, according to his son.

“He always took great pride in the East. But he also felt that the East was neglected from the state and on a national scale, as far as receiving resources from the state government or the national government,” Riley Roberson said. “And he was sworn to tell the story about eastern North Carolina about who we were.” §

ASHLEY FUTRELL WRITTEN BY SEAN FINNERTY

The accomplishments of Ashley Brown Futrell Sr. are almost too many to count. After serving the United States Army during World War II, Futrell returned home to eastern North Carolina and eventually became editor and publisher of the Washington Daily News in 1949 after working as a tobacco buyer for Imperial Tobacco Co. Both he and, under his guidance, the Daily News won numerous public service awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Public Service — journalism’s highest honor — in 1990.

“All through his career, he looked at the newspaper as kind of a conduit to lift up the whole community and provide leadership, and he used that voice through the newspaper to try to do positive things for the community,” said Ashley Brown “Brownie” Futrell Jr. The elder Futrell, who served as president of both the North Carolina Press Association and the Eastern North Carolina Press Association, also served three terms in the North Carolina Senate.

During his time as a legislator, he was a strong advocate for the establishment of the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University and also fought for the founding of Beaufort County Community College.

Always looking to do the right thing and help improve eastern North Carolina, according to his son, Futrell Sr. felt like the region lagged behind the populous areas of the state and fought to improve the infrastructure of eastern North Carolina. His efforts saw the U.S. Highway 17 bypass bridge renamed the Sen. Ashley B. Futrell Bridge in honor of his memory in 2010.

“The Voice of the Pamlico,” Futrell Sr.’s indelible impact was due to his use of his platform with the Daily News to champion what was right and improve eastern North Carolina.

“He had a philosophy of newspapering that the goal of a newspaper was not just to disseminate the news, but it was also to kind of provide leadership in a community, to better the community,” Futrell Jr. said. §

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DR. LEO J. MILLER WRITTEN BY MATT DEBNAM When it comes to altering the physical landscape and economics of Beaufort County in the 20th century, perhaps no one person has had a greater impact than geologist Dr. Leo Miller — the man who brought Texas Gulf Sulfur to Aurora.

While other companies had explored the possibility of mining for phosphate along the Pamlico River as early as 1951, it was Miller who convinced Texas Gulf to invest in mining the area.

“Leo is sort of responsible for two major operations of what was Texas Gulf Sulfur at the time,” former colleague David Edminson Jr. recalled. “He located the ore body on the south side of the Pamlico for possible phosphate operations.”

Miller moved to Beaufort County in 1961 and began a reconnaissance survey that involved logging gamma radiation in local wells. Based on these findings, he recommended that Texas Gulf focus on developing a mine near Aurora.

First working from an office next door to the present-day Washington Daily News, Miller moved his offices to a test pit near Lee Creek in 1963. Starting out, the mine faced major problems.

Operating below sea level near an estuary, reaching the deposit 75150 feet underground, taking care not to impact the Castel-Haynes aquifer — these were all challenges Miller used science to overcome.

From 1963 to 1966, Miller served as the project manager for the Aurora site, helping establish the first mining and processing sites.

From Miller’s arrival in 1961, it took five years for the first shipment of phosphate to leave Aurora. For his contributions to the industry in Aurora and beyond, Miller holds a place National Mining Hall of Fame.

Today, the mine provides 840 local jobs, and is the area’s largest private employer. If not for the persistence of Leo J. Miller, that economic engine might not exist. §

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL MINING HALL OF FAME

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PHOTO BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

CONTRIBUTED BY DR. JOSH TAYLOE

DR. JOSHUA TAYLOE WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

Some things are destined to be. For Dr. Josh Tayloe, studying to be a physician and coming back home to serve his community was one of them.

For many Beaufort County natives, the name Tayloe is synonymous with medicine. For Dr. Josh, as he is affectionately called, the association also comes with the births of countless of chubby newborns and proud parents taking them home from the hospital.

“I didn’t keep count, but I do know it’s lots of them,” Dr. Josh laughed. “I have no idea how many. Dr. Jones and I, the two of us, were delivering 40 babies a month for 10 or 15 years.”

From 1968 until he retired in 1994, Dr. Josh’s services were very much in demand, and very much trusted, according to Washington Pediatrics’ Dr. Debbie Ainsworth.

“There were stories about (patients) figuring out the schedule and being in labor at home and not coming in until they knew Dr. Josh would be on call,” Ainsworth said.

But just as much as his services were appreciated by his patients through the years, so was his graciousness with colleagues and

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patients alike.

“I would just call him a true Southern gentleman. He treated everyone well. He did everything in his power to make sure a healthy baby arrived,” Ainsworth said. “It was just his demeanor. I think that just said so much about him as a person and the whole tradition of medicine in the Tayloe family.”

Dr. Josh comes from a very long line of Tayloe doctors, in Beaufort County and elsewhere, dating back to the early 1800s — surgeons, pediatricians, obstetricians, orthopedists. Currently, the Tayloe family counts 10 generations of physicians in the family, the youngest of which is Dr. Josh’s grandson, now studying emergency medicine at Yale School of Medicine. Between him and his cousin, Dr. David “Dr. Dave” Tayloe IV, the two played a pivotal role in the health of several generations of local children.

For Dr. Josh, bringing new life into the world made for a great career.

“Most of the results were nearly perfect and always happy, so it was a happy profession to be in,” Dr. Josh said. §

PHOTO BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

DICK LEACH

BILLY JACKSON

SOUND THINKING

WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

The fish weren’t as plentiful as they used to be; the water, not as clear. By 1981, the health of the Pamlico River was in deep peril.

It’s continued decline did not go unnoticed by Dick Leach and Dr. Billy Jackson.

“Every time we would go hunting and fishing, every time we went, we noticed the river was getting dirtier and dirtier,” Leach said.

While Leach and Jackson stood on opposite sides of the political spectrum, a love of the river united them. Something had to be done.

An article in the News & Observer alerted them to group of people to the south who were thinking the same about their river — the fledgling the Neuse River Foundation.

“We just cold-called them, and they invited us to go to one of their meetings,” Leach said. “Billy and I came back and recruited people to serve on the board, and from there, we just tried to get members.”

That was the beginning of the Pamlico-Tar River Foundation, an environmental advocacy nonprofit. It couldn’t have come at a better time: then Texas Gulf, the phosphate mining company on the Pamlico near Aurora, had leased thousands of acres of river

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bottom and were asking county commissioners to rezone the land from conservation to agricultural.

“That would have given an implied use for South Creek for mining,” Jackson said.

“People couldn’t believe that was happening,” Leach said.

It was important to Jackson that the organization not come across as anti-Texas Gulf. It wasn’t — it was pro-river.

“Anyone, no matter what their political beliefs, who had a love for the river — we encouraged you to be a member,” Jackson said.

Preventing the rezoning was the first success; working for the river’s designation of “nutrient-sensitive” offered new ways to reduce pollution, requiring Texas Gulf to recycle discharge dumped in the river, a project that cut the waste stream by 90 percent and earned Texas Gulf environmental recognition.

In 2015, PTRF joined forces with the Neuse River Foundation to become Sound Rivers, and continues its work today.

“If you ask me, ‘Has it been a wonderful thing?’ It’s one of the things I’m most proud of,” Jackson said. “I’m proud to have been a part of it, even if I wasn’t always a vocal part of it.” §

MAYOR THOMAS STEWART WRITTEN BY MATT DEBNAM In Washington politics, the Stewart name is frequently repeated during the past 100 years. All told, three generations of Stewarts have served as mayor of Washington.

There was Raymond L. Stewart, who served as mayor at the turn of the 20th century. Then there was L. Stewart Rumley, who served in the same role at the turn of the 21st century.

And in between those two, son to the former and uncle to the later, was a man who was instrumental in forever altering the landscape of Washington. Mayor A. Thomas Stewart served as the city’s top executive for 16 years and Stewart Parkway is named in his honor.

When Thomas Stewart took office in the late 1960s, cities across the United States were seeing a trend of urban renewal — a desire to do away old and decaying relics of the past and to build something new. In 1969, the city, under his leadership, undertook a major renovation project. Tearing down the old wharves, the project established 1,500 feet of bulkhead and walkways, adding nearly 100 feet of new ground on the waterfront.

Of course, any story of the Stewart family would be remiss if not mentioning the famed Stewart’s Jewelry Store on Market Street.

It was at R.L. Stewart’s request that Thomas Stewart returned to Washington to run the store in the 1950s. Upon his retirement in the 1980s, Thomas Stewart’s daughter, Betty Stewart took over the family business, but the elder statesman maintained a role at the store up to his passing in 2001.

Had Thomas Stewart not heeded his father’s call to return to Washington, who could say what the city’s waterfront might look like today? §

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PHOTO COURTESY OF BETTY STEWART

PHOTO BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

JIM WILEY WRITTEN BY MATT DEBNAM

Close behind the 1970s development of Stewart Parkway, the transformation that has taken place during the past two decades on Water Street has been, by far, the most significant change to the city’s landscape in recent memory. At the helm of the Moss Landing Harbor Homes project is Jim Wiley, president of Beacon Street Development.

When it comes to Washington, Wiley holds a natural fondness for the town. His father grew up in Washington, and Wiley and his sister spent many childhood summers roaming its streets. Later in life, when he was presented with the opportunity to develop homes on Washington’s waterfront, he already knew a thing or two about the city and its character.

“For this to be thought of as a new neighborhood would be a mistake,” Wiley said. “If you think about it, the Historic District is 100-150 years old, and what we had the opportunity to do was

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expand it an additional block towards the water where there used to be a business use with the old planing mill that was here.”

While the Moss Landing neighborhood was already under development when Beacon Street took over the remaining acreage on the site, the single family homes now being built seek to dovetail the old architectural designs of the Historic District with modern conveniences.

Now, the most important ingredient for the development to succeed, according to Wiley, is the people who call it home. While many homes on the waterfront tract are already under construction or occupied, Wiley says that seeing new residents move into the development, and blend with the existing community, is an exciting prospect.

In addition to Moss Landing in Washington, Beacon Street also has projects under development in Belhaven, Beaufort, Durham and Raleigh. §

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PHOTO BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

DEBRA TORRENCE WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY The county is a draw for artists — the landscape, the culture, the many others who make their art and their homes in the area.

For nearly five decades, art has thrived with the support of Arts of the Pamlico, the nonprofit that started its life as the Beaufort County Arts Council. As the arts community has grown, so has the organization and the ideas — the wealth of ideas — to make that expansion even greater.

Behind many of those ideas is Debra Torrence, executive director of Arts of the Pamlico. With Torrence at the helm, AOP and its home, the Turnage Theatre have built an arts revival that spans genres and generations, wrapped up in an economic engine for downtown Washington and beyond. Though under her watch, AOP paid off the mortgage on the theater—an effort spearheaded by longtime arts supporter Lynda Lane—and has been awarded grants galore to support programming, performances and even physical renovation, Torrence is quick to point to the many people

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who’ve contributed to the expanding success.

“I think what we’ve done is build on the shoulders of every director and board that’s come before us,” Torrence said. “We try to listen to the community and respond to what they’re interested in; to get programming that ranges in scope and cost and reach. …

We’re growing the diversity of who’s coming in the door, not just who’s performing, but who’s going to watch.”

That means AOP is no longer just a theater and exhibit space, but a haven for all arts: film festivals, a costuming workshop, ceramics studio and place where writers groups, artists workshops and musicians gather. It’s a place where volunteers can learn how to direct and stage manage, where children can learn all aspects of theater production, from writing to acting to sound and lighting.

“To me, that what’s this place should be. It should be a community space that people know and love and want to take care of,” Torrence said. §

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CARDIOLOGY

Vidant Cardiology–Washington Phone: (252) 758-3211

FAMILY MEDICINE Vidant Family Medicine–Aurora Phone: (252) 322-4021 Vidant Family Medicine–Chocowinity Phone: (252) 946-9562 Vidant Family Medicine–Washington Phone: (252) 975-2667 Vidant Multispecialty Clinic–Belhaven Phone: (252) 943-0600

GASTROENTEROLOGY

Vidant Gastroenterology–Washington Phone: (252) 946-1573

HOME HEALTH AND HOSPICE

SURGERY

INTERNAL MEDICINE

Vidant Breast Clinic–Washington Phone: (252) 974-9256

Vidant Home Health and Hospice Phone: (252) 975-8330

Vidant Internal Medicine–Washington Phone: (252) 946-2101

ONCOLOGY

Marion L. Shepard Cancer Center Phone: (252) 975-4308

ORTHOPEDICS

Vidant Orthopedics–Washington Phone: (252) 946-6513

PHYSICAL, SPEECH AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

Vidant Beaufort Hospital Outpatient Rehabilitation–Washington Phone: (252) 975-4395

PULMONOLOGY

Vidant Pulmonology–Washington Phone: (252) 974-7500

RHEUMATOLOGY

Vidant Rheumatology–Washington Phone: (252) 948-4990

To learn more, visit VidantHealth.com. Or, call 855-MYVIDANT (855-698-4326) for an appointment with a doctor near you.

Vidant General Surgery–Washington Phone: (252) 946-0181

UROLOGY

Vidant Urology–Washington Phone: (252) 946-0136

WELLNESS

Vidant Wellness Center–Washington Phone: (252) 975-4236

WOMEN’S CARE Vidant Women’s Care–Washington 1210 Brown Street Obstetrics and Gynecology Phone: (252) 975-1188 Vidant Women’s Care–Washington 1204 Brown Street Gynecology and Primary Care Phone: (252) 946-6544

PHOTO BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

LEESA JONES BRINGING WATERFRONT’S LESSER KNOWN HISTORY TO LIGHT WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

The enslaved found a way — to escape, to make their way north or to the Caribbean isles or any place where freedom beckoned.

There were routes, known along the way, and signs that signaled a safe place to rest. Washington’s waterfront was a stop on that route.

At the Washington Waterfront Underground Railroad Museum, evidence of Washington’s role on the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom can be found.

“There was a lot of interest that the greater Washington area garnered after we received the certification from the National Park Service,” said Leesa Jones, founder of the museum. “There were a lot of people contacting me looking for more information. That was a catalyst for wanting a place where people could physically come and see artifacts and documents.”

Jones and Rebecca Clark approached the Washington City Council about restoring “the caboose” and giving visitors a chance to explore a lesser-known aspect of the town’s history.

The ACL Railroad relic sits on the grounds of the Washington

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Civic Center, on the original track laid in 1898, Jones said.

“We thought it was great to be able to take something that already had historical significance and add another layer of historical significance to it,” Jones said. “To be able to use that and be able to use that for a museum of the Underground Railroad — we thought that was unique.”

A perfect combination of history and historic preservation, now painted the bright orange of its working days, the caboose catches the eye and imaginations of those in search of history.

“A visit to the Underground Railroad Museum is always one of the first places we mention to visitors when helping to plan their trip,” said Erin Ruyle, executive director of Washington Tourism Authority. “(Leesa’s) vibrant storytelling allows visitors to understand the powerful role the rivers played in the cultural history of the area.”

Since the museum opened in 2016, it has attracted people from all 50 states and 18 different countries, Jones said. §

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PHOTO BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

BISHOP SAMUEL JONES JR. & MOTHER REGINA JONES WRITTEN BY MATT DEBNAM

On three occasions in 1999, Bishop Samuel Jones Jr. heard a voice asking for his help. The first time followed a wave of suicides among young local young people. The second time was in the wake of the Columbine Massacre. The third time was after a pair of bomb threats at P.S. Jones Middle School and Washington High School.

It took a while for Jones to answer that voice. But after the third time, he and his wife, Mother Regina Jones, knew that he had to do something to help. It was with this goal that the husband-andwife duo, along with co-founder Harold Gardner III, founded the Purpose of God Annex.

For POGA, 2019 marks 20 years of service to the people of Beaufort County. In that time, the Joneses and their staff have reached thousands of children, youth and adults in Beaufort Coun-

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ty, sharing a message of compassion, staying on the right path, and Christ’s love.

“In doing so, not only are we helping them with their behavior, but we’re helping with social skills and cognitive skills so they make better decisions,” Samuel Jones said. “We’re giving them the opportunity to be loved and have a family around them.”

For their 39 years of marriage, this has been the purpose guiding Bishop and Mother Jones in their life together. Today, the Annex they built is still growing to serve the needs of the community.

From job placement and skill training for adults to afterschool and summer programs for kids and teens, the Joneses and the POGA staff continue to answer a call first heard long ago.

In doing so, they have made a positive and lasting impact on Washington, and Beaufort County as a whole. §

ROB SANDS WRITTEN BY MATT DEBNAM

A relative newcomer to Washington, for the past three years, Robert Greene Sands has made it his mission to make a difference in the lives of veterans and the landscape of the city’s Historic District.

The avenue for achieving those goals came in an unlikely form — a neglected historic home on Washington’s East Third Street. A professor of anthropology at Norwich University, Sands’ involvement with veterans and the military dates back more than a decade.

“I teach in the strategic studies defense analysis program, mostly special forces who are getting their bachelor’s,” Sands said. “I started with the Department of Defense in 2008 as an anthropology professor for the Air Force.”

His wife Allison worked with the DoD’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office. With their respective backgrounds working with active duty military and veterans, Sands understood some of the challenges facing some members of the Armed Forces — Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, sexual assault and addiction.

Coupling those needs with an interest in historic preservation, Sands brought in an old colleague, David Steckel, who decided to move to Washington with his wife Colleen. It was through that collaboration that Pamlico Rose Institute for Sustainable Communities was born.

In 2017, the nonprofit bought “Rose Haven,” a circa-1892 farmhouse at 219 E. Third St. in Washington. With a goal of rehabilitating the house, and establishing meditation and produce gardens next door, Sands and the volunteers at PRISC hope to create a place where female veterans can begin the process of healing their wounds.

“The historic preservation aspect is just an avenue to be able to do what we want to do,” Sands said. “What we really want to do is develop programs that advance wellness and resilience in veterans.” §

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PHOTO BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

It learned me a lot about the water and how it operates with something running along the top of it, because there it is, I’m standing on it with a piece of wood between me, or fiberglass, between me and the water.

— REGGIE FOUNTAIN JR.

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY REGGIE FOUNTAIN JR. 30

PHOTO BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

REGGIE FOUNTAIN JR. WRITTEN BY SEAN FINNERTY

When it came to racing and being on the water, it all started in 1949 on the Tar River for Reggie Fountain Jr. That’s when, with some help from his father who matched some of the money, a young Fountain bought a small ski boat and spent much of his free time water skiing, learning how to “ski barefoot, backwards, slalom, jump wakes and all.”

Fountain credits that time for developing his knowledge of the water, which helped him achieve much success racing and building boats later in life.

“It learned me a lot about the water and how it operates with something running along the top of it, because there it is, I’m standing on it with a piece of wood between me, or fiberglass, between me and the water,” he said.

Fountain went on to a highly successful career racing boats before starting up Fountain Powerboats in 1979. Initially based in Washington before moving to Chocowinity’s Whichard’s Beach

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Road, Fountain’s company went on to build more than 10,000 boats for just over $1 billion in sales in the 30 years Fountain ran the company, with Fountain boats becoming known as the most innovative, high-quality, powerful boats across the world.

Fountain Powerboats provided quite the economic impact on the area, as Fountain made sure to pay his employees, well, employing as many as 455 people, many of which were locals.

“Now I am proud to say after motors, all the high-powered motors and things we put on those boats took the biggest share of our $1 billion, but after that, my employees got the next biggest chunk,” Fountain said. “I paid them well. I could hire almost anybody in the county because people like to work where they get paid the most.

And so we hired lots of good people and paid them lots of money. At the heighth of our business, which was the best year we had — which was 2006 — we did $80 million that year on 409 boats and we had 380 persons working at Fountain that year.” §

More than 40 years of nursing leave a lasting impression JUANITA JACKSON WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

She was known as Little Calloway, Jackson and Liza, but her real name was Juanita.

Her portrait can be found in Vidant Beaufort Hospital. An award, given to a nurse who’s gone above and beyond his or her duty is given out by that same organization in her honor. Juanita Calloway Jackson — who by all accounts started her nursing career reluctantly — came to represent nursing at its finest.

Originally from Jamesville, she followed in the footsteps of her older sister, Eldean Calloway (Big Calloway), as a graduate of Tayloe Hospital’s nursing class of 1947-48. She went on to dedicate her life to her profession, her family and her faith. For more than 40 years, she nursed the sick to wellness, comforted those in pain and mourned with those grieving the loss of a loved one.

“Nurses like Ms. Jackson established a foundation for excellent nursing care from the first day this hospital opened in 1958,” said Harvey Case, president of Vidant Beaufort Hospital. “I love to hear stories from our current team members who worked with Ms. Jackson early in their careers. According to them, her expectations were high and she taught them a lot about commitment and dedication to their profession.”

But it was her force of nature — a positive, upbeat force — and a contagious laugh that made a lasting impression.

“She touched so many people’s lives,” said her niece, Ginnie Batts. “Her impact was her compassion — not only her compassion, but her passion, her vitality, her faith. She has such a strong faith, she’ll tell you that. It carried her.”

Jackson was part of a close group of intrepid nurses who left their small towns, learned their skills shadowing the doctors of Tayloe Hospital, back in an era where penicillin wasn’t yet in wide usage, then took them out into the world to help others.

“She probably cannot remember half of what she’s done because she never intended to record it,” Batts laughed.

What is clear is that it didn’t matter what name she went by, Juanita Jackson made a positive impact for nearly half a century.

“In my book, she’s a legend,” Batts said. “She’s truly a legend.”§

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PHOTOS BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

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GENE ROBERTS WRITTEN BY MATT DEBNAM

North Carolina native, veteran newsman, advocate for historic preservation — these are all titles one might rightly apply to Gene Roberts.

Long before he found success as a newspaper reporter and editor at some of the nation’s largest newspapers, Roberts found a love for a historic village on the Pamlico River called Bath. As a boy, he spent time visiting with family in Bayview, where both his grandfather and aunt had cottages.

Professionally, Roberts carries a weighty resume a journalist. He is the former executive editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, a position he held for 18 years, during which time the paper won 17 Pulitzer Prizes. He went on to work as managing editor of the New York Times from 1994 to 1998.

However, Roberts is most known around here for his efforts to preserve Bath’s structures and helping to create standards with which North Carolina’s oldest town will maintain its historic charm for many generations to come. He’s been instrumental in the completion of several preservation projects, along with the Historic Bath Foundation, Bath High School Preservation and the North Carolina State Historic site.

If his preservation has had an impact, so will Roberts’ generous donations to be displayed in the newly renovated Bath Exhibit Hall — a collection of maps ranging from the 1500s to the 1860s, original illustrations by famed artist and cartographer John White — artifacts that will be permanently housed in Bath, thanks to Roberts.

While his laurels include a Pulitzer Prize, the Columbia Journalism Award, the National Press Club’s Fourth Estate Award, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine and, most recently, the North Carolina Award for Public Service — the state’s highest civilian honor, his historic preservation efforts in Bath rank just as high, in Beaufort County’s book. §

PHOTO BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

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For the Love of Learning Washington Montessori Public Charter School 2330 Old Bath Highway ay Washington, NC 27889 252-946-1977 www.wmpcs.org

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PHOTO BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

FLORENCE LODGE An advocate for people WRITTEN BY MATT DEBNAM

She is considered a matriarch in the City of Washington. She is a peacemaker, a community leader and a seeker of justice. Above all, Florence Lodge is an advocate for people.

Coming up during segregation, Lodge felt the impact of racial division firsthand. When she was a girl, she couldn’t go to school in Washington. Because she was black, she had to walk two miles each day to the Magnolia School off of River Road.

“I have seen a lot improved — we are able to vote and we can go into any building we want to,” Lodge said. “During the time I was coming along, we had a black fountain and a white fountain. At the Turnage Theatre, we could go but we had to go up in the back where the picture was messed up. The schools have improved some, but we’ve still got a long ways to go.”

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When Lodge speaks, community leaders tend to listen. An active presence in city and county politics, she has advocated for many different causes throughout her life, including having Fourth Street renamed in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Above all, Lodge says she is a firm believer in sitting down and having conversations to overcome obstacles. In a world that sees too much anger, yelling and hatred, the elder stateswoman says that only by coming together black, white and all in between, can we hope to solve the problems facing society.

“Jumping at each other, you can’t do nothing,” Lodge said. “You’ve got to come together, and listen. Everything I say, you might not like it or go along with it. But let’s sit down and see what we can work out. If you do it in a Christian way, you will find out that it can be worked out.” §

J.G. “CHOPPY” WAGNER WRITTEN BY SEAN FINNERTY

Some of the greatest heights ever achieved by Pam Pack football came with J.G. “Choppy” Wagner at the helm of the program. After returning to Washington High School in 1946 after serving our country in World War II, he went on to lead the Pam Pack to two undefeated seasons — the only such campaigns in the school’s history — as well as a finish as state runner up. Wagner’s accomplishments on the gridiron are recognized to this day, with Washington’s current football stadium named in his memory.

But Wagner’s greatest impact came off the field of play and was felt by all those who played under him, as the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame member developed relationships with his players that stayed strong well past the time they hung up their pads and helmets.

As Wagner’s players grew older, became successful in life and started families of their own, they never forgot about their beloved coach, writing letters — which Wagner treasured and kept — coming by to visit and making tributes, according to Becky Ward, Wagner’s daughter.

“I think that spoke a lot of my dad that he kept those connections and all the tributes to my dad,” Ward said. “It meant a lot to him, and, I think, meant a lot to them, with their tributes and honors.”

A tribute that sticks out in Ward’s memory was for Wagner’s 90th birthday. In what was a surprise for Wagner, a group of his former players organized a “roast” for the retired coach in which several of the ex-players got up and told fond stories from the past to honor Wagner.

“He never had a son, so I think he considered all the boys who played with him his sons,” Ward said. “I really think every boy that played was special to him. And I think the advice he gave them was like a father giving a son his advice. He really did care about each and every one of those boys.” §

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I really think every boy that played was special to him. And I think the advice he gave them was like a father giving a son his advice.

— BECKY WARD

PHOTO COURTESY OF BECKY WARD

PHOTO BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

NOT PICTURED, BOB BOULDEN

JIMMY DANIEL

ED RHINE BOB DAW Community binds together to save a creek WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

It began slowly enough, much like grass taking root. But by the time the North Carolina Department of Environmental Resources issued a permit in 2013 to let a mining company dump millions of gallons of water used in the mining process into their creek, they’d come together to right what they believed to be a wrong to the creek, the fishermen who fish there, the residents who live there, the greater environment and future generations to come.

Behind the Save Blounts Creek movement were four Blounts Creek residents: Bob Boulden, owner of Miss Bea Charters; Jimmy Daniel, owner of Cotton Patch Marina and Campground; Bob Daw, fisherman and nature-lover; and Ed Rhine, retired science teacher and school administrator. Behind them were hundreds of people who were on board: business people and environmentalists, power boaters and kayakers — those who cared about the fate of a creek and the potential impact mining wastewater could have on an entire ecosystem.

“That’s the most meaningful way to create change: when it’s a

38

community that comes together that makes a collective decision to do something where they see a wrong,” said Heather Jacobs Deck, executive director of Sound Rivers. “People want to shape the community for the better and you can’t get a better example of a community working together.”

Sound Rivers, the local environmental advocacy nonprofit, took the state to court over the permit. At every hearing, Save Blounts Creek members were there, telling their stories, supporting the cause. They held fundraisers and hand-delivered hundreds of letters to the North Carolina governor’s office.

Over the next several years, it bounced back and forth from wins to losses in the courtroom, until December 2017, when the permit was canceled and the mining company essentially ordered to find another plan. Though the case is still being appealed, the founders and members of Save Blounts Creek remain committed to their little slice of heaven on the south side of the Pamlico River.

“The best way to create change, not only locally but to effect systemic change, grows from these efforts,” Deck said. §

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SUSAN DIMOCK WRITTEN BY MATT DEBNAM

She’s remembered to history as North Carolina’s first female doctor, and Susan Dimock’s story begins right here in Beaufort County.

Born in Washington in 1847, Dimock began her medical training at a young age. Accompanying local physician Dr. Solomon Samson Satchwell on his routes through the countryside of eastern North Carolina, she was inspired to pursue a career in the medical field.

Moving with her mother to Massachusetts after the Civil War, Dimmock continued her education under the tutelage of Dr. Marie Zakrzewska at the New England Hospital for Women and Children.

For a woman seeking to practice medicine in 19th-century America, however, cultural and institutional roadblocks prevented Dimock from obtaining the M.D. honorific in her own country.

She applied to and was rejected by Harvard Medical School on the basis of her sex.

Undeterred, Dimock persisted, going overseas to earn her medical degree. In 1871, she graduated from the medical program at the University of Zurich, securing her place in history as North Carolina’s first female physician. She was one of seven women to graduate in that class.Returning to Boston, she became the resident physician at the New England Hospital, where she specialized in surgery, obstetrics and gynecology.

“At the time, she was probably the most trained and the most skilled female surgeons in America,” Dimock scholar Susan Wilson said.

Although initially rejected by the male-dominated medical field, she was eventually accepted into the North Carolina Medical Society in 1872.

Tragically, Dimock was killed in a shipwreck off the coast of England in 1875 at the tender age of 28 years old. While Dimock was interred in Boston, a marker in the churchyard of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church remembers her origins as a native daughter of Washington. §

PHOTO COURTESY OF SUSAN WILSON

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PHOTO BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

JOE TKACH WRITTEN BY SEAN FINNERTY

For 17 years, if a student at Washington High School wanted to learn how to drive, there was one man who would teach them.

Whether it was learning to use your blinkers when turning and changing lanes, three-point turns, backing up or parallel parking, it was Joe Tkach giving the lesson.

During his time teaching driver’s ed, Tkach taught approximately 3,000 students in Beaufort County how to drive safely. And he took pride in teaching how to operate a car properly.

“I knew when I gave my certificate that if I ever picked up the paper and read about one of my students being in a wreck, I was going to know it wasn’t because I hadn’t taught them something. I taught them how to drive properly and the correct way,” Tkach said.

The state took driver’s ed out of the school day in 1991, but that didn’t mean Tkach stopped as an educator and having an impact on students. He moved to teaching social studies and became WHS’s athletic director, before serving as an assistant principal at P.S. Jones

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Middle School and Northeast Elementary School.

He retired in 2002, but he came right back to work as the county athletic director, driver’s ed coordinator and drug testing coordinator for Beaufort County Schools later in the year.

Exemplifying his desire to mold youth and steer them down the right path is his view on the drug testing he administers to high school and middle school athletes.

“We’re not trying to punish the kids; we’re trying to keep them away (from drugs) and help them make the right decision,” he said.

Since 1974, Tkach has been involved in education, either as a teacher or administrator and it was his love of working with kids that drove it all.

“I love working with kids. I like teaching better than anything I’ve ever done,” Tkach said. “They were a joy to teach and work with.

Wouldn’t trade any of those minutes teaching with those young people.” §

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EDWARD TEACH BLACKBEARD WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY

Pirates ruled the seas in the 18th century, and one of the most notorious among them made his home in Bath — Blackbeard. He once held the port of Charleston hostage; he died in a bloody battle off of Ocracoke 300 years ago and his head was brought back to Bath by his victors.

Other than those facts, Blackbeard, Edward Teach, remains a mystery.

Traditional history claims Edward Teach came from Bristol, England, and made Bath his home base while he and his crew pillaged and plundered ships throughout the waters of the Atlantic and Caribbean. Others, however, believe Blackbeard was none other than the son of a plantation owner in Bath; his crew, other prominent sons of Bath and slaves of local landowners.

The legend starts with a shipwreck off the coast of Florida in 1715.

Eleven Spanish galleons, loaded with jewels, gold and treasure from South America, sank off the coast of Florida, likely the victims of a hurricane. Rumor of the sunken treasure spread throughout the colonies, the governments of which began petitioning King George to send salvage parties to the site, hoping to fill their own coffers.

According to Blackbeard historian Kevin Duffus, that’s what happened in Bath — the boys from Bath took off on a grand adventure, hoping to come home heroes. But it went horribly wrong when King George demanded the “pirates” cease their activities.

“Blackbeard is perceived to be this brutal, violent pirate, but my research has indicated that he, and especially those men that he chose to surround himself with — the sons of Bath plantation owners — were simply men living in colonial America doing what was necessary at the time to support their friends and their community,” Duffus said.

Blackbeard’s true identity may remain unsolved, as may the location treasure he reportedly left behind; it’s never been found.

While the small town on Bath Creek is known as the home of Blackbeard today — who knows? Perhaps one day it will be the homes of Blackbeard’s treasure. §

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