North Carolina Conversations Summer-Fall 2008.pdf

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Down East — From the InsideKaren Willis AmspacherDown East is that string ofcommunities that follow along andnear Highway 70 and then ontoHighway 12 where you reach the“big water” of Pamlico Sound. Itbegins with Bettie, then Otway, andturning south takes you throughStraits, Harkers Island, back throughGloucester and Marshallberg beforeheading northeast through Smyrna,Williston, Davis, Stacy, Sea Level,Atlantic, and Cedar Island.Down East is thirteen communitiesof men born to be fishermen,boatbuilders, decoy carvers, huntingguides and of women born to be allthose things if needed and everythingelse — mothers, community leaders,teachers, storekeepers, fish houseworkers, doctors, nurses, preachers.Traditionally, women have been thebackbone of these communities whilethe men fished, and that continuestoday. Here, there are no such thingsas rights without responsibilities andhere everyone has a responsibility —to God, family, one another.“But, change is a-coming.”We hear that a lot Down Eastthese days. We know it, wesee it, we feel it. Every daya new name appears in ourcommunity, a new home, anew neighbor. Property valuesare rising much quicker thanlocal folks’ checkbooks canhandle. People are worriedabout taxes, getting to thewater, where to tie their boats,keeping community schools, whereand how their children are going tosurvive in this new economy.Yes, Down East Carteret County is abeautiful, natural, and until recentyears, isolated and unspoiled landscapethat had already survived allkinds of change including hurricanes,a world war, roads and bridges. Butthose changes came at a pace andin a way that local people could stillhold onto their homes, their communities,while maintaining a respectfor the past and hope for their futureand their heritage.Regardless of what economic developmentreports may tell or not tell,commercial fishing remains themainstay of Down East’s heritage, thebackdrop for its landscape, a sharedbond among Down East people.When this industry is threatened, weall fear together for what this meansfor the fishermen, their families, andthe communities they serve.It is more than a livelihood that isat risk. It is what this way of liferepresents — the tradition, the characterthat has been instilled in eachgeneration to work the water. It isthe underlying and deep-rooted senseof independence and self-reliancethat fishermen are made of that wehold dear, that reaffirms our heritage,holds us together as a community,and gives us hope for an uncertainfuture.Now, as a people we face a futurein a place we locals do not recognize,cannot afford, and feel helplessin warding-off. First one bulldozerat the time and now in 10-, 20-,up to 90-acre tracts, marshland isturned into subdivisions that emptyinto productive rivers, creeks, andsounds. Fishermen and their familiesare wondering what this will do tothe waters they depend on for theirlivelihood, their mortgages, theirgroceries, their children’s education,their tomorrow.In a haul-net skiff on a stormyOctober afternoon, Hugh Styron, Jr.,(left) and Shane Moldenhaur (right)work the nets at the northern endof Core Sound. Photo by LawrenceS. Earley.10 • North Carolina Humanities Council
Jonathan Robinson: Fisherman and Community LeaderInterview with Jonathan Robinson, Core Sound Waterfowl Museum’s Oral History CollectionWhen Jonathan Robinson speaks of commercial fishing, it is not only about something he has learned. It isabout something he has lived. The son of a commercial fishing family in the community of Atlantic, Robinson isa college graduate, former legislator in the NC House of Representatives, and currently a county commissionerfor the Down East area of Carteret County.Most proudly though, Robinson is a long-haul fisherman on Core Sound, part of the shared fishing grounds ofNorth Carolina’s watermen. He is one of the fishermen who has roots generations deep in the shallow waterswhere he has worked his entire life. Robinson’s words speak to the deeper meaning of commercial fishing, itsplace in history, its connection to the people and this place, their hopes — and fears — for the future.We’re all kind of willing to sharewith each other. Maybe that comesfrom living in a sense of communityor being out on the water, the vastnessof the water. You’re dependenton one another. I’ve found that mostof the people who’ve fished for aliving will always readily share anyinformation they have. Anything I’veever learned about fishing I learnedit from a fellow fisherman whowillingly shared it with me. I thinkthere’s a camaraderie in the fisheriesthat doesn’t exist in some industries.Today there’s more and more demandon our coastal resources. There’sa certain appeal about living alongthe water and magnetism about theshore that draws people here. One ofthe biggest threats, I think, that thoseinvolved in the fisheries face will bethe loss of access to the water front.We need some immediate — notonly long-term — but immediate andshort-term efforts by the governmentand economic developers to ensureaccess not only for the fishermen, butfor the public along our waterways.Our founding fathers held our waterwaysas resources. I’ve had to liveunder the umbrella of the public trustdoctrine: that these resources belongto all the citizens of the state. Alongthat same line and under that samethought process, if the waterwaysbelong to the public then we need toprotect the public’s access to them.And that includes commercial access.The lingering question of the tidemenof North Carolina is: Is there goingto be a place here for us? Many ofus see the tidewater becoming aplayground for the rich and we feelthreatened by that. It’s a real threatbecause we’re all struggling hereto survive in trades that have beenpassed down to us by our fathers andhave served our communities. Part ofour character has been to welcomepeople here. I always thought itwas a virtue, but it seems like it hasbecome a liability.Fishermen Jonathan Robinson (left) and DarylStyron (right) sort fish at Quality Seafood onCedar Island. Quality Seafood (owned andoperated by Bradley Styron) is one of the fewfishhouses in Carteret County that works yearround. Photo by Susan Mason.NC Conversations • Summer 2008 • 11
Page 1 and 2: Summer 2008N o r t h C a r o l i n
Page 3 and 4: Table of Contents2John Tyler Caldwe
Page 5 and 6: Americans will live up to our promi
Page 7 and 8: Caldwell LaureatesWe can perhaps ag
Page 9 and 10: een the harbor and the fish house.I
Page 11: The Long-Haulare being sold at pric
Page 15 and 16: Confessionsof an AccidentalDocument
Page 17 and 18: presented in my films resonate with
Page 19 and 20: North Carolina Literary Hall of Fam
Page 21 and 22: Financial OverviewListed below are
Page 23 and 24: Durham County$9,800 to the North Ca
Page 25 and 26: Let’s Talk About ItLet’s Talk A
Page 27 and 28: JACKSON COUNTYNorton/Cashiers Homem
Page 29 and 30: Leah KarpenWilliam Keesler &Barbara
Page 31 and 32: The Eastern 4H EnvironmentalEducati
Page 33 and 34: Seminar Offers Personaland Professi
Page 35 and 36: Again! Celebrating an AmericanIcon;
Page 37 and 38: Council Bids a Fond Farewellto Out-
Page 39 and 40: Visiting the Wright MemorialMy Brot

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