North Carolina Marine Resources Center Audiocassettes, AV.5231

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[Identification of item], AV.5231, North Carolina Marine Resources Center Audiocassettes, Outer Banks History Center, Manteo, NC, U.S.A.

This collection consists of 17 unique audio recordings on 18 audiocassettes created by or donated to the North Carolina Marine Resources Center at Roanoke Island. These recordings primarily focus on black history on Roanoke Island and North Carolina's Outer Banks, with a particular focus on the Roanoke Island Freedmen's Colony and the Pea Island Life-Saving Station. The tapes include oral history interviews with local citizens and recordings of conference proceedings, exhibit unveilings, and other events. The interviews were conducted with black descendants of residents of the Roanoke Island Freedmen's Colony and surfmen at the Pea Island Life-Saving Station (such as Maulsie Phillips, Herbert Collins, Cora Tillett Scarborough, Arounia Mae Berry, and Virginia Tillett) as well as elderly white members of the Roanoke Island community. These interviews were conducted by Marine Resources Center Staff and historian Patricia Click. Events documented in the collection include a 1981 presentation on the black experience on Roanoke Island, a 1985 exhibition opening of artwork by James Melvin featuring the Pea Island surfmen, and a 1981 humanities forum and symposium on preserving local history.

Also included is a folder of supplementary papers photocopied by Patricia Click related to the Summer Humanities Series grant to collect interviews and create programming, as well as a description and historical sketch of the collection created by North Carolina Aquarium staff.

Original order has been retained. The collection is arranged into two series: Marine Resources Center Materials and Patricia Click Materials.

The recordings in this collection were either created by or donated to the North Carolina Marine Resources Center (MRC), now known as the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island, primarily in pursuit of documenting the area's black history. The MRC had had connections to black history from its earliest inception; when a U.S. Navy infirmary was demolished to construct the MRC in 1974, workers rediscovered the grave of Richard Etheridge, first black keeper of the all-black Pea Island Life-Saving Station.

Several years later, the town of Manteo and the MRC used the approaching 400th anniversary of English exploration in America as a catalyst to facilitate local history projects and events related to the black experience on the Outer Banks. Grant funding was obtained to bring in historian Patricia Click as a "Humanist-in-Residence" in 1981 to research local history and to help organize the Summer Humanities Series, a series of three presentations on local history topics. The series featured three presentations: "Wind, Water and Sand: Transportation, Bridges, and Wind Power;" "The Black Experience on Roanoke Island;" and "Preserving Local History: Using Roanoke Island as an Experiment." This collection documents the latter two of those presentations. Additionally, Click's research (primarily consisting of oral history interviews with local residents) led to the creation of additional MRC exhibits and programming on black history.

Upon completion of her residency, Click donated the recordings she created to the MRC for long-term preservation. The tapes were then misplaced and believed to be lost until they were found by North Carolina Aquarium staff in 2018.

1. Marine Resources Center Materials, 1979-1985

Interview with Herbert Collins, Pea Island Station, Conducted by Les Picker, E. Kays, and Dale Martin [audiocassette], 5 June 1979

Scope and Content:

Herbert Collins (1921-2010) served with the Pea Island Life-Saving Station under his uncle Maxie Berry, Sr. and was the petty officer in charge of decommissioning the station in 1947. Less Picker was the director of the Marine Resources Center, and E. Kays and Dale Martin were on staff there. This interview was conducted at the former site of the Pea Island Station.

Interview Index:

[00:00:21]- Early career
[00:08:24] - Getting caught in a typhoon off of Okinawa, Japan
[00:14:20] - Being black in the Coast Guard
[00:19:17]- History of the Pea Island Life-Saving Station
[00:22:47] - Competition and pride at the Life-Saving Station
[00:25:17] - Movie theater and dancing in Rodanthe
[00:31:05] - Typical day at Pea Island, drills, recreation, cooking, and horses
[00:37:31] - Rescuing a dog from a capsized boat
[00:39:47] - Searching for a young man who drowned at the harbor near Henry Cabot Lodge's house
[00:42:50] - Inside a Coast Guard Station

AV Box 1

Interview with Maulsie Pigford Phillips, Born 1886 [audiocassette] [2 copies], circa 1980

Scope and Content:

Maulsie Pigford Phillips (1886-1986) was the daughter of Richard Gibson Pigford (1859-1921), a native of Burgaw, N.C., and a surfman with the Pea Island Life-Saving Station. He came to the Roanoke Island Freedmen's Colony as a child, was literate, and ultimately served on a committee for Dare County Schools in the 1890s. 2 copies.

Interview Index:

[00:03:30] - The passing of Mrs. Etheridge
[00:11:39] - Her father, coming to North Carolina from Barbados and then to Norfolk during the
Civil War
[00:15:35] - Her mother
[00:21:53] - The Pea Island Life Saving Service and Richard Etheridge

AV Box 1

The Black Experience on Roanoke Island Presentation: Bliven [audiocassette], 15 July 1981

Scope and Content:

This recording was captured at the second of three programs in the Marine Resources Center's Summer Humanities Series, held during the summer of 1981. Speakers at this program, entitled "The Black Experience on Roanoke Island," were local artist and amateur archaeologist Herbert "Hubby Bliven, Dr. Tommy Bogger and Dr. William Ward of Norfolk State Univeersity, Maulsie Pigford Phillips, and Elsie Pigford Daniels, Phillips's sister.

AV Box 1

The Black Experience on Roanoke Island Presentation: Bogger [audiocassette], 15 July 1981

Scope and Content:

This recording was captured at the second of three programs in the Marine Resources Center's Summer Humanities Series, held during the summer of 1981. Speakers at this program, entitled "The Black Experience on Roanoke Island," were local artist and amateur archaeologist Herbert "Hubby Bliven, Dr. Tommy Bogger and Dr. William Ward of Norfolk State Univeersity, Maulsie Pigford Phillips, and Elsie Pigford Daniels, Phillips's sister.

AV Box 1

The Black Experience on Roanoke Island Presentation [audiocassette], 15 July 1981

Scope and Content:

This recording was captured at the second of three programs in the Marine Resources Center's Summer Humanities Series, held during the summer of 1981. Speakers at this program, entitled "The Black Experience on Roanoke Island," were local artist and amateur archaeologist Herbert "Hubby Bliven, Dr. Tommy Bogger and Dr. William Ward of Norfolk State Univeersity, Maulsie Pigford Phillips, and Elsie Pigford Daniels, Phillips's sister.

AV Box 1

Unveiling of Portraits of Pea Island Lifesavers by James Melville (Black Lifesaver Exhibit) [audiocassette], 12 November 1985

AV Box 1

2. Patricia Click Materials, 1981, 2019

Interview with Edna Evans Bell, Conducted by Patricia Click [audiocassette], 16 July 1981

Scope and Content:

Edna Cofield Evans Bell (1899-1989) was a white Manteo citizen and one of the first college-educated women in Dare County, having graduated from the Woman's College of Greensboro (now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro) in 1921. Her house is part of the Manteo Historic District. Her sister, Mabel Evans Jones, was an active member of the community and influential in the production of the 1921 silent film precursor to Paul Green's The Lost Colony.

Interview Index - Side A:

[00:00:08] - Childhood in Manteo, bathing suits and swimming
[00:04:09] - The schoolhouse
[00:08:08] - First trip off the island
[00:09:55] - Father meeting her mother, going up to Edenton for the wedding by sailboat
[00:12:54] - Moving to Manteo, buying a hotel in Roanoke
[00:17:12] - Brother going on a camping trip, getting scared by a raccoon
[00:22:39] - Going to college in Greensboro, traveling by steamboat and train
[00:26:55] - Getting a teacher's certificate, teaching at Red Oak

Interview Index - Side B:

[00:00:07] - Being offered a job with the Home Demonstration club in Arkansas
[00:03:41] - Meeting her husband, Mr. Bell
[00:06:47] - Children
[00:13:53] - Boating up to Mother Vineyard Farm, getting the boat stuck
[00:16:21] - Recreation, watching the steamers come in, dancing at the Coast Guard station

AV Box 1

Interview with John Edmond Ferebee, Conducted by Patricia Click [audiocassette], 16 July 1981

Scope and Content:

John Edmond Ferebee (1891-1985) was a white business owner and house mover who married into the family of Edna Evans Bell and Mabel Evans Jones. This interview takes place in his home.

Interview Index - Side A:

[00:00:05] - Coming to Manteo, buying an orange crush
[00:04:56] - Delivering bottles by truck, driving trucks on the sand to get to Hatteras
[00:11:10] - Buying beer to deliver, breaking the axle of the truck
[00:20:38] - Salvaging a boat from the ocean, trying to sell it
[00:24:07] - Moving houses from the land where the Manteo airport was built

AV Box 1

Interview with Arounia Mae Berry, Conducted by Patricia Click [audiocassette], 23 July 1981

Scope and Content:

Arounia Mae Scarborough Berry (1903-1996) was married to Maxie Berry, Sr., and the aunt of Herbert Collins, both of whom serve at the Pea Island Life-Saving Station. Her son, Maloyd Berry, and her mother, Cora Tillett Scarborough, were also interviewed for this project.

Interview Index:

[00:02:27] - Being interviewed for "Reflections of the Outer Banks"
[00:05:19] - Education, Elizabeth City and State Normal School
[00:07:20] - Churches in Manteo
[00:08:26] - Ferry from Manteo to Elizabeth City
[00:09:56] - Recreation and children
[00:11:29] - Family and the Pea Island Life-Saving Station
[00:14:04] - Getting to the station at Pea Island
[00:17:48] - Family roots

AV Box 1

Interview with Cora Tillett Scarborough, Conducted by Patricia Click [audiocassette], 23 July 1981

Scope and Content:

Cora L. Tillett Scarborough (1882-1986) was the oldest person interviewed by Patricia Click for this project. This interview takes place in her home. Several members of her family were involved with the Pea Island Life-Saving Station.

Interview Index:

[00:02:11] - Going to school on Roanoke Island
[00:10:14] - Her mother, slavery on Roanoke Island
[00:15:00] - Her mother, cooking for the Union soldiers
[00:17:09] - Slave markets on Roanoke Island

AV Box 1

Interview with Maulsie Pigford Phillips, Conducted by Patricia Click [audiocassette], 10 August 1981

Scope and Content:

Interview Index:

[00:01:20] - How her father came to Manteo from Bermuda
[00:04:01] - Childhood at Sunnyside, the farm
[00:06:57] - Colony of freed slaves
[00:09:42] - Parents' farm and the land it was built on
[00:16:10] - The Pea Island Life Saving Service, Richard Etheridge, Theodore Meekins
[00:19:46] - How Pea Island changed from an all white station to an all black station
[00:21:15] - Visiting the Pea Island Station, following seagulls down the beach
[00:26:19] - The old windmill run by Sally Owens

AV Box 1

Interview with William McKinley Simmons, Conducted by Patricia Click [audiocassette], 11 August 1981

Scope and Content:

William McKinley Simmons (1897-1987) served as a surfman for the Pea Island Life-Saving Station. This interview takes place in his home.

Interview Index - Side A:

[00:00:49] - Mother working for a dollar a week, Manteo in childhood
[00:08:47] - Joining the Pea Island Life Saving Station, integration of the station
[00:18:21] - Going into a bar without a registration card during World War I
[00:20:40] - Getting involved with the burial insurance company on Roanoke Island
[00:24:32] - The California land tract, how Good Luck Street got its name

Interview Index- Side B:

[00:00:29] - Good luck bottles and the naming of Good Luck street
[00:01:47] - The old AME church and building the new one
[00:05:25] - Daily routine at the Pea Island Life Saving Station
[00:21:09] - Story of Haven's Creek, slaves escaping there to be free

AV Box 1

Interview with Minerva Golden Brown, Conducted by Patricia Click [audiocassette], 24 August 1981

AV Box 1

Interview with Virginia Tillett and William Tillett, Conducted by Tommy Bogger and Bill Ward [audiocassette], 12 August 1981

Scope and Content:

Virginia Tillett (1941-2021) was Dare County's first black official elected in the 20th century. She served on the Dare County Board of Education for 20 years and served as a commissioner for 12 years. William Leo "Snooks" Tillett (1912-1997) was her first husband.

Interview Index - Side A:

[00:00:15] - Family background, buying land
[00:10:24] - Father's work as a farmer and fisherman, the family values
[00:15:18] - Becoming an independent commercial fisherman, buying a boat
[00:20:24] - Fishing up in Nova Scotia for lobster
[00:23:29] - Running into a major storm off of Cape May

Interview Index - Side B:

[00:00:04] - Boat running aground, fishermen helping out other boats
[00:10:06] - Moving back to Manteo from New York, getting a job with Project Head Start
[00:13:15] - Deciding to run for the school board
[00:17:13] - Experience working as a black woman on the school board
[00:18:39] - Position in Dare County, lack of support from the black community in Manteo
[00:24:36] - Biggest problem facing the black community in Manteo

AV Box 1

Interview with Maloyd Berry, Conducted by Tommy Bogger and Bill Ward [audiocassette], 12 August 1981

Scope and Content:

Interview Index - Side A:

[00:00:33]- Family background, grandfather's service at Pea Island Life-Saving Station as part of the all black unit
[00:05:48]- Family background, father's service at the Pea Island Life-Saving Station
[00:07:52]- Visiting his father on Pea Island before there were roads or bridges
[00:12:58]- Reasons for joining the Coast Guard, family tradition
[00:18:34]- Educational opportunities for black children growing up in Manteo
[00:22:48]- Early career in the Coast Guard, experience being black in the Coast Guard
[00:29:02]- Marriage

Interview Index - Side B:

[00:01:53]- Decision to retire in Manteo
[00:03:23]- Coming back home
[00:05:12]- Forming the NAACP for Dare County

AV Box 1

Humanities Forum: Preserving Local History, Reel 1 [audiocassette], 12 August 1981

AV Box 1

Humanities Forum: Preserving Local History, Reel 2 [audiocassette], 12 August 1981

AV Box 1

Supplemental Papers (originals dated 1981), 2019

AV Box 1

Pea Island Life-Saving Station (U.S.)

African Americans--North Carolina--Roanoke Island--History

African Americans--North Carolina--Roanoke Island--Social conditions

African Americans--North Carolina--Outer Banks--History

Freedmen--North Carolina--Roanoke Island--History

Freedmen--North Carolina--Roanoke Island--Social conditions

Donated by the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island, June 2019.

Processed by Samantha Crisp, December 2019.