David Stick Papers, PC.5001
Abstract
David Stick was an author, historian, researcher, realtor, real estate speculator, philanthropist, and public figure active on the Outer Banks of North Carolina from the 1930s to the late 2000s. He spent his life accumulating a massive library of monographs, serials, maps, and manuscript materials which became the founding collection of the Outer Banks History Center in 1986. Stick, along with his father, Frank Stick, are were influential figures in Outer Banks history, and they were involved with numerous major developments in the area, such as the creation and preservation of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the development of the town of Southern Shores, the passage of the Coastal Area Management Act, and the erection of milepost markers along NC Highway 12 in Dare County. Stick was heavily involved in dozens of organizations and agencies based on the Outer Banks, including the Dare County Tourist Bureau, Outer Banks Community Foundation, and Coastal Resources Commission. The David Stick Papers, circa 1750-2009 and undated, contains materials related to the organizations and agencies with which Stick was affiliated, drafts and publication information related to his various writing projects, personal and family papers, business records, research files, and photographs.
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- David Stick Papers
- Call Number
- PC.5001
- Creator
- Stick, David, 1919-2009
- Date
- circa 1750-2009 and undated
- Extent
- 155.500 cubic feet, 122.140 cubic feet, 1.000 items, 302 Box, 1 Item
- Language
- English
- Repository
- Outer Banks History Center
Restrictions on Access & Use
Access Restrictions
Available for research. Audiovisual materials may be inaccessible pending reformatting. Contact the Outer Banks History Center for more information.
Use Restrictions
Copyright is retained by the authors of these materials, or their descendants, as stipulated by the United States copyright law (Title 17 US Code). Individual researchers are responsible for using these materials in conformance with copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying these materials.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], PC.5001, David Stick Papers, Outer Banks History Center, Manteo, NC, U.S.A.
Collection Overview
The David Stick Papers, circa 1750-2009 and undated, contains correspondence, meeting
minutes, ephemera, personal papers, financial records, audiovisual materials, photographs,
and maps created or collected by Stick over the course of his life. Materials are
arranged into six series: Organizations and Agencies, 1930-2009 and undated; Writings,
1813-2009 and undated; Personal Papers, 1907-2009 and undated; Business Papers, 1910-1997
and undated; Research Files, circa 1750-2007 and undated; and Photographs, 1909-2008
and undated.
In some cases, materials related to a particular subject or entity appear in multiple
series, and descriptive notes have been added to indicate this. Generally, researchers
should review the entire finding aid when attempting to locate relevant material on
any one topic.
Arrangement Note
Original order and original folder titles have been retained when possible. Stick's original folder numbers have not been retained. Arrangement differs by series and subseries but is usually alphabetical or chronological.
Biographical/Historical
Stick's early career was spent as a freelance writer, contributing articles to newspapers such as The Coastland Times and The Seashore News. He served as a combat correspondent for the United States Marine Corps from 1942 to 1945. From 1945 to 1947, he served as associate editor for American Legion Magazine. In 1948, he focused his writing efforts on books, publishing his first book, Fabulous Dare, in 1949. A full list of both published and unpublished books written by Stick can be found in a separate note in this finding aid.
Stick engaged in a variety of professional projects over the course of his life. He became the first licensed realtor on the Outer Banks in 1947 and remained active in the real estate field for the duration of his career. He served in founding and/or leadership roles in Kitty Hawk Enterprises, St. John Land Company (based in the U.S. Virgin Islands), Southern Shores Realty Company, Kitty Hawk Land Company, Outer Banks Contractors Inc., and Southern Shores Motor Lodge Inc. Stick was influential in developing the town of Southern Shores, which began as a planned community. He would eventually serve as the town's first mayor. From 1949 to 1953 he operated a craft shop, Kitty Hawk Craft Shop, with his wife. Stick was also active as a book dealer, operating North Carolina Books from 1962 to 1972. He used the proceeds from his book business to fund acquisitions for his research library. In 1976, he sold all his remaining business interests and retired.
Stick was also involved in numerous organizations, associations, and civic groups on the Outer Banks. He was involved with many groups from the time of their founding, including the Dare County Tourist Bureau, Outer Banks Recreation Association, Dare Beaches Chamber of Commerce, Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce, and Dare County Erosion Control Board. He was a co-founder and president of the Outer Banks Community Foundation, and his personal library and papers formed the basis of the collections of the Outer Banks History Center in 1987. Stick also served on a number of commissions and committees at the state level, including the Carolina Charter Tercentenary Commission, Carolina Charter Corporation, Governor's Commission on Library Resources, North Carolinians for Better Libraries, North Carolina Marine Science Council, Americas 400th Anniversary Committee, North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission, and Historical Society of North Carolina. In addition to serving as mayor of Southern Shores, he was also elected to the Dare County Board of Commissioners and chaired the board from 1958 to 1962. He received numerous awards and recognitions, including the University of North Carolina's Distinguished Alumni Award (1982), North Caroliniana Society Award (1987), and the Order of the Longleaf Pine (1996).
Stick married Phyllis Stapells in 1948, whom he eventually divorced. The couple had three children: Michael Alan (born 2 June 1954), Gregory (born 23 October 1955), and Timothy Bryan (born 26 May 1958). Stick died in 2009 at the age of 89.
David Stick Bibliography
Fabulous Dare, Dare Press, 1948.
Graveyard of the Atlantic, UNC Press, 1952.
The Outer Banks of North Carolina, UNC Press, 1958.
The Cape Hatteras Seashore (with Bruce Roberts), Heritage, 1964.
Dare County: A History, NC Division of Archives and History, 1970.
Aycock Brown's Outer Banks, Donning, 1976.
North Carolina Lighthouses, NC Division of Archives and History, 1980.
An Artist's Catch: Watercolors by Frank Stick, UNC Press, 1981.
Roanoke Island: The Beginnings of English America, UNC Press, 1983.
Bald Head: A History of Smith Island & Cape Fear, Broadfoot, 1985.
The Ash Wednesday Storm, Gresham, 1987.
An Outer Banks Reader, UNC Press, 1998.
Unpublished Writings by David Stick:
The Currituck Doctor
Mann's Harbor
Musings of a Maverick
David Stick Narratives
Outer Bankers to be Remembered
Contents of the Collection
1. Organizations and Agencies, 1930-2009 and undated
Scope and Content:
The Organizations and Agencies series, 1930-2009 and undated, contains records collected
by David Stick related to various organizations, committees, and agencies with which
he was affiliated or in which he had a specific interest. Many of the organizations
in this series were founded or co-founded by Stick, and he operated in an advisory
or ex-officio role in many others. In most cases, the material in this series dates
from Stick's direct involvement with the organization in question; records created
by an active organization after his departure are generally scant or nonexistent.
Specific content varies by subseries, but documents in this series largely comprise
meeting minutes and agendas; correspondence between Stick and other members of the
organization, as well as third party contacts; programs, flyers, and other ephemera
created for events organized by the group; foundational and administrative records,
such as bylaws, articles of incorporation, and tax documents; financial records such
as budgets and treasurer's reports; copies of bills and other legislative documents
created by the North Carolina General Assembly or United States Congress affecting
the organization; and reports and publications. Please see subseries-level descriptive
notes for more information on each organization and the materials related to it. For
additional material (clippings) on many of the organizations in this series, see the
Clippings subseries of the Research Files series. For copies of speeches and related
material associated with speaking events at which Stick appeared on behalf of some
organizations in this series, see the Speeches and Speaking Engagements subseries
of the Writings series.
America's 400th Anniversary Committee (AFHAC), 1955-1989 and undated (bulk 1978-1987) 1978-1987
Scope and Content:
America's 400 anniversary was observed in North Carolina from 1984 to 1987, commemorating
the quadricentennial of the attempts by Sir Walter Raleigh to colonize what are now
the Outer Banks of North Carolina. A statewide committee was appointed to plan and
oversee the anniversary events, and David Stick served on the committee. This subseries
contains Stick's personal copies of the committee's records, including letters and
memoranda between committee members and various related organizations and individuals;
information regarding publications and creative works written for the event; records
of archeological explorations conducted under the auspices of the anniversary; event
programs, brochures, pamphlets, invitations, and other ephemera related to the celebrations;
and reports, financial documents, budgets, membership rosters, and other records created
by the committee.
Scope and Content:
Includes two original letters of thanks addressed to David Stick from Paul Green, as well as a note of sympathy from the committee sent to Green's wife on the occasion of his death in 1982.
Scope and Content:
Contains extensive documentation surrounding the committee's decisions regarding the portrayal of Indigenous peoples during the anniversary celebrations. Members of the North Carolina Bureau of Indigenous Affairs, as well as individuals across the state, expressed concern to the committee that Indigenous North Carolinians have a role in the 400th anniversary celebrations and that historical Indigenous populations be honored during the observance. The committee responded by appointing an Advisory Committee on Native American Participation as well as and proclaiming 1986 the Year of the Native American. Included in this folder are letters from David Stick responding to expressions of concern about Indigenous representation in the celebrations, and letters from A. Bruce Jones, executive director of the North Carolina Commission on Indian Affairs, regarding efforts to involve his constituents.
American Quadricentennial Corporation, 1978-1988
Archaeology, 1976-1987
EII [Elizabeth II], 1978-1985
Meetings, 1978-1986
Publications, 1978-1989 and undated
Publications (Non-AFHAC)
ROANOAK, 1980-1986
Area Development Coordination Agency (ADCA), 1961-2001 (bulk 1987-1988) 1987-1988
Scope and Content:
The Area Development Coordination Agency was formed in Dare County in 1987. Its mission was to develop a program of action for the county and municipal governing bodies in Dare County to oversee the growth of the area within the capacity of its land and resources. The establishment of the group was precipitated by several decades of unplanned growth in the wake of the Outer Banks' mid-century tourism boom, coupled by little strategic planning to manage the growth. This subseries contains reports, meeting minutes and agendas, correspondence, background material, and other official records of the agency.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore, 1933-1970 and undated
Scope and Content:
The Cape Hatteras National Seashore was the brainchild of real estate developer and
artist Frank Stick, who settled in the Outer Banks in the 1920s. Stick appreciated
the natural beauty and landscape of the Outer Banks and began lobbying to create a
coastal park soon after relocating to the area. Congressman Lindsay C. Warren sponsored
a bill to authorize the creation of the park, which was passed 17 August 1937. However,
the park wasn't officially established until 1953 due to a lack of strong support.
The Cape Hatteras National Seashore subseries documents the establishment of the park
from its early conception to its dedication in the 1950s, and beyond. Included are
correspondence between Frank Stick, David Stick, and various individuals and entities
concerned with the park; clippings; projections and prospectuses; original writings
by Frank Stick; press releases; and other papers related to the park.
Scope and Content:
Contains a published copy of S.B. 311 establishing the Cape Hatteras Seashore Commission, reports, and maps.
Carolina Charter Tercentenary Commission, 1936-1995 (bulk 1959-1969) 1959-1969
Scope and Content:
In 1959, Governor Terry Sanford established a statewide commission to oversee planning
for a celebration in honor of the 300th anniversary of the North Carolina charter
to be observed in 1963. David Stick served on this commission, the Carolina Charter
Tercentenary Commission. The tercentenary celebrations included educational programing,
musical and dramatic performances, and the construction of a building to house several
public history sites, including the State Archives of North Carolina and the North
Carolina Museum of History. The Carolina Charter Tercentenary subseries includes meeting
minutes, correspondence, committee records, press releases, brochures, papers related
to the Colonial Records Project, and David Stick's personal papers related to the
commission.
Committees, 1959-1963
Meetings, 1960-1969
Stick, David, 1961-1995
Colonial Records Project, 1962-1969
Chicamacomico Historical Association (CHA), 1953-1989
Scope and Content:
The Chicamacomico Lifesaving Stationoperated from 1874 to 1954 in present-day Rodanthe,
N.C. After the station was decommissioned, an event called the Chicamacomico Celebration
was held at the building in 1956, featuring demonstrations of a Lyle gun and breeches
buoy operation. This event occurred at a time in which tourism along the Cape Hatteras
National Seashore had greatly increased and the villages of Buxton and Hatteras were
booming, while the villages of Rodanthe, Waves, and Salvo were in decline. When David
Stick was elected to the Dare County Board of Commissioners in 1968, he and several
other newly elected members advocated for the conversion of the Chicamacomico station
into an historic site and museum, in order to boost tourism to the Tri-Villages. The
Chicamacomico Historical Association was established in 1974 to raise money for the
restoration and conversion of the building. Carolista Fletcher Baum, best known for
her successful campaign to preserve Jockey's Ridge State Park in Nags Head, was elected
president of the group in 1977 and aimed to open the museum by 1979, but land dispute
problems delayed the project until the early 1980s. As of 2019, the Chicamacomico
Historical Association still exists and operates the lifesaving station museum in
Rodanthe.This subseries contains materials primarily relating to the early days of
the association prior to the site opening to the public, including administrative
documents, correspondence, maps, reports, and Stick's research notes.
Convention Center and Museum, Inc., 1961-1972 and undated
Scope and Content:
In the early 1960s, David Stick united a committee of twelve community leaders, alternately
called the "Committee of Twelve" and the "Twelve SOBs," or Twelve Sons of the Beach,
to discuss the establishment of a convention center in Dare County to allow the area
to compete with other resort communities. The convention center would also house a
natural history museum. A corporation was established, Convention Center and Museum,
Inc., and Diane Baum Voliva donated ten acres to construct the building in Kill Devil
Hills (on which the present-day town hall complex is located). The corporation began
to sell stock to finance the venture, but the Ash Wednesday Storm in 1962 effectively
killed the fundraising efforts. The project was soon abandoned due to lack of funding
and increased availability of meeting space on the beach, and the Twelve SOBs later
reorganized the corporation as the Outer Banks Recreation Association. This subseries
contains records related to the corporation, including promotional material, financial
records, meeting minutes, and correspondence.
Dare Beaches Chamber of Commerce/Dare County Chamber of Commerce, 1947-1954
Scope and Content:
In the postwar tourism boom of the late 1940s, business leaders in Manteo began to discuss reviving the Dare County Chamber of Commerce, which had existed briefly in the late 1930s. At the same time, fearing a lack of representation in an organization spearheaded by Manteo residents, business leaders from the beach communities of Dare County decided to establish their own Chamber of Commerce, the Dare Beaches Chamber of Commerce. The two groups operated separately and somewhat competitively, and soon the town of Nags Head also established its own Chamber. The Dare Beaches chamber is credited with erecting milepost markers along the Virginia Dare Trail, a project proposed by David Stick during his time as president. The three separate chambers proved to be unsustainable, and the Dare Beaches and Dare County chambers were soon disbanded, while the Nags Head Chamber eventually became the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce. This subseries primarily consists of clippings and correspondence related to the two chambers.
Dare County Board of Commissioners, 1947-1963
Scope and Content:
David Stick served on the Dare County Board of Commissioners from 1958 to 1962. This
subseries contains papers and records he collected during his term as a commissioner.
Included are correspondence, reports, meeting minutes, financial documents, and records
of resolutions and decisions regarding numerous county services, such as schools,
library services, healthcare, and mosquito control. Also included are copies of the
a report issued by Stick in newspaper format designed to advise the public on ongoing
developments in Dare County.
Dare County Board of Realtors, 1960-1994
Scope and Content:
The Dare County Board of Realtors separated from the Northeastern Board of Realtors in 1962. The group had twelve charter members, one of whom was David Stick. According to a history of the group written by stick and included in this subseries, the board accomplished very little beyond "pleasant dinner sessions, punctuated with extensive discussion mainly on how to make more money, plus an occasional informative program presentation." This subseries contains records (mainly correspondence, agendas, and related documents) related to the board of realtors.
Dare County Erosion Control Board, 1962-1968
Scope and Content:
The Dare County Erosion Control Board was established in 1963 at a joint meeting of
representatives from seven Outer Banks organizations. David Stick was elected president.
The group's primary goals were to prevent further erosion in areas of high concern,
gather data on erosion and experimental erosion control, and formulate a long-range
program to bring the threat of erosion under control. Unfortunately, renourishment
projects proposed by the board never materialized, and the group disbanded in 1965.
The Dare County Erosion Control Board subseries contains maps, research material,
and data gathered by the board to create an erosion control plan as well as clippings,
correspondence, and other papers created by the group.
Dare County Storm Rehabilitation Committee, 1956-circa 1981
Dare County Tourist Bureau, 1951-1988
Scope and Content:
The Dare County Tourist Bureau was founded in 1951 by David Stick, Lawrence Swain,
and Wallace McCown in order to encourage tourism and promote Dare County to outside
audiences. Photographer Aycock Brown was hired to manage the organization and coordinate
promotional activities, a position he would hold for the next quarter century. In
December 1954, the board of directors met to discuss ideas to encourage people to
visit the area in the spring. They decided to host an annual pirate-themed event,
the Dare Coast Pirates Jamboree, to begin in May 1955. The Pirates Jamboree became
one of the most successful and beloved events in Dare County's history. Stick served
as the chair of the beard-growing contest. The Dare County Tourist Bureau operated
until 1991, when it was dissolved to be replaced by the Dare County Tourism Board.
The Dare County Tourist Bureau subseries includes meeting minutes, memoranda, correspondence,
and ephemera created by the Dare County Tourist Bureau. Included is extensive documentation
of the Dare Coast Pirates Jamboree, an annual event inaugurated in 1955 to encourage
tourism in the shoulder season.
Scope and Content:
Includes a document condemning cheating in the Pirates Jamboree Beard Growing Competition and clarifying rules governing beard growth, and several other documents addressed to or relating to the "bearded men" of Dare County.
Friends of the Lost Colony, 1958-1959
Scope and Content:
The Dare County Friends of the Lost Colony was founded in 1959 to assist with fundraising efforts to support the Lost Colony drama, which was suffering a decline in sales. The organization existed for less than a year. This subseries contains correspondence, meeting minutes, and other foundational documents related to the group.
Historical Society of North Carolina, 1957-1990
Joint Telephone Committee, 1947-1956
Scope and Content:
The Joint Telephone Committee was organized at the behest of David Stick to improve telephone services throughout the Outer Banks in the early 1950s. This subseries primarily includes correspondence between stick and various telephone companies and individuals related to telephone services.
Marine Resources Center Citizens' Advisory Council, 1969-1984
Scope and Content:
The Marine Resources Center was founded on the north end of Roanoke Island. In 1986
it was renamed the North Carolina Aquarium at Roanoke Island, and as of 2019, it continues
to operate under than name. The materials in this subseries related to the Marine
Resources Center's Citizens' Advisory Council, a group of local constituents who assisted
the aquarium in an advisory role.
North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission (CRC), 1969-1987 and undated
Scope and Content:
The federal Coastal Zone Management Act, passed in 1972, mandated an exploration into
solving mounting problems along the United States coast. The North Carolina legislature
responded by introducing the Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) in the 1973 General
Assembly session. The bill was met with a great deal of opposition across the state,
and it was not passed until 1975. The bill granted authority to a gubernatorially-appointed
15-member board called the Coastal Resources Commission (CRC) to make policy decisions
affecting coastal zone management. David Stick was one of the appointees to the commission.
CAMA was designed to provide a program for the protection, preservation, orderly development,
and management of North Carolina's coastal resources. It affected 20 eastern North
Carolina Counties. The CRC was charged with developing state guidelines that would
allow each county and municipality in the region to create its own land use plan incorporating
public input. Each plan classified its land area into five categories: developed,
transition, community, rural, and conservation. The CRC conducted continuing studies
on coastal zone management in the region and made regular reports to the General Assembly.
The group also identified areas in need of preservation and designated them as Areas
of Environmental Concern, or AECs, which required a special permit before any development
activity could be undertaken. CAMA is considered to have been an extremely volatile
and controversial law, with environmentalists describing it as too lenient and developers
calling it too restrictive. The North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission subseries
is the largest in the Organizations and Agencies series, and contains extensive documentation
of developments regarding CAMA, activities of the CRC, and public input into the process.
Included are drafts and published versions of legislative acts related to coastal
zone management, data gathered and speeches given by Stick in support of the bill,
information on the members of the CRC, public relations material generated by the
CRC, meeting minutes and agendas, correspondence, and other records related to CAMA
and the CRC. Included are drafts and published copies of land use plans (occasionally
including related material, such as correspondence and notes) created by North Carolina
counties and municipalities using guidelines issued by the CRC.
Coastal Area Management Act, 1969-1987
Pre-CAMA, 1972-1976
Board of Realtors Speech, 1973
CAMA and Related Acts, 1969-1977
Personal, 1973-1987
Speeches, 1974-1976
Coastal Resources Commission, 1970-1987 and undated
Commission Members, 1974-1977
Other Individuals, 1974-1987
Other Organizations and Agencies, 1974-1976
Other States, 1970-1978 and undated
Public Relations, 1973-1982
Commission Meetings, 1974-1977
Executive Committee Meetings, 1975-1976
Permit Coordination, 1975-1977
Land Policy Council, 1974-1976
State Guidelines for Local Planning, 1974-1977
Local Land Use Plans, 1974-1977
CAMA Land Use Plans, 1974-1977
Coastal Zone Management Plan, 1974-1978
Local Implementation and Enforcement Plans, 1974-1977
Interim Areas of Environmental Concern (AECs), 1974-1976
Areas of Environmental Concern (AECs), 1971-1977
Post-Resignation Events, 1976-1985
CAMA, 1977-1984
Meetings, 1977-1982
Miscellaneous, 1978-1985
State Guidelines, 1976-1982
Miscellaneous, circa 1972-1978
North Carolina Library Movement, 1940-1981
Scope and Content:
In the 1960s, the state of North Carolina experienced an increase in interest in supporting
the state's libraries. Several organizations were formed during this time to raise
funds and encourage growth of public libraries across the state. The Governor's Commission
on Library Resources, founded in 1963, aimed to study the state's library resources
and needs with the ultimate goal of producing recommendations for meeting those needs.
The commission oversaw a creation of a report by Robert Downs, which it used to make
recommendations for future work. One recommendation was to establish a statewide organization
to campaign for better support for libraries, which ultimately became the North Carolinians
for Better Libraries, founded in 1966. By 1967, thanks to this increased activity
in support of libraries, the General Assembly authorized the creation of a Legislative
Commission to Study Library Support. David Stick was an active member of all three
of the above-mentioned groups. The North Carolina Library Movement subseries contains
records collected by Stick relating to library advocacy in the early-mid 1960s. It
is arranged into three subseries: Governor's Commission on Library Resources, North
Carolinians for Better Libraries, and Legislative Commission to Study Library Support.
Governor's Commission on Library Resources, 1940-1965 (bulk 1964-1965)
North Carolinians for Better Libraries, 1963-1970
Board of Directors, 1966-1970
Committees, 1966-1969
Correspondence, 1966-1970
Meetings, 1967-1969
Origin and Organization, 1965-1966
Legislative Commission to Study Library Support, 1956-1975
Correspondence, 1967-1969
Institute of Government, 1966-1968
Legislative Affairs, 1956-1969
Members of the Commission, 1967-1969
Meetings and Hearings, 1967-1968
Report of the Commission, 1968-1969
Stick, David, 1967-1975
North Carolina Marine Science Council, 1969-1981
North Caroliniana Society, 1974-1987
Order of the Tar Heel 100 [2 folders], 1974-1977
Order of the Tar Heel 100 [2 folders], 1974-1977
Box 74
Scope and Content
The Order of the Tar Heel 100 was a service and outreach organization established
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1974, a precursor to the modern
UNC Board of Visitors. This subseries comprises material collected by David Stick
during his service with the organization.
The Order of the Tar Heel 100 was a service and outreach organization established at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1974, a precursor to the modern UNC Board of Visitors. This subseries comprises material collected by David Stick during his service with the organization.
Scope and Content:
The Order of the Tar Heel 100 was a service and outreach organization established at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1974, a precursor to the modern UNC Board of Visitors. This subseries comprises material collected by David Stick during his service with the organization.
Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce, 1956-1980s
Scope and Content:
The Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce was originally founded as the Nags Head Chamber
of Commerce, an organization that operated more or less in competition with two other
chambers of commerce (the Dare County Chamber and the Dare Beaches Chamber) in the
late 1940s-1950s. This subseries primarily consists of early files related to the
organization collected by David Stick.
Outer Banks Community Foundation (OBCF), 1979-2009
Scope and Content:
The earliest plans for what would become the Outer Banks Community Foundation (OBCF)
grew out of a conversation between David Stick and actor Andy Griffith. During an
interview for an article, Griffith remarked that he wanted to find a way to give back
to the Outer Banks community out of appreciation for the support he had been shown
throughout his career. Stick proposed the idea of a community foundation, and the
two men called a meeting with four other prominent community leaders (businessmen
Edward Greene and George Crocker, banker Ray White, attorney Martin Kellogg, and accountant
Jack Adams) and founded the Outer Banks Community Foundation. The foundation solicited
contributions from local citizens to provide grants, scholarships, and financial support
to worthy causes. As of 2019, the OBCF still operates, managing over $17,000,000 in
assets and over 175 charitable endowments. This subseries largely contains materials
relating to the first decade of the OBCF's operations, including annual reports, meeting
minutes and agendas, correspondence, membership lists and campaign records, financial
data, records of grants awarded, information on various community members honored
by the OBCF, and promotional material.
Banks, 1980-1986
Board of Directors, 1982-1987
Book of Memory, 1982-1986
Community Foundations, 1979-1989
Council on Foundations, 1980-1986
Grants, 1983-2009 (bulk 1983-1986)
Meetings, 1982-1987
Membership, 1982-1991
Memorial Funds, 1982-1986
Unmet Needs Study, 1983-1986
Outer Banks History Center (OBHC), 1978-2008
Scope and Content:
In the course of his career as an historian and author, David Stick amassed a large
library of monographs, serial publications, maps, manuscripts, photographs, and other
North Caroliniana. In the mid-1980s, Stick decided to donate his personal library
to the State of North Carolina, with the stipulation that a facility would be established
in Dare County to make the materials available to the public. The agreement was formalized
in 1986, and the Outer Banks History Center opened to the public in 1989. The facility
serves as the eastern unit of the State Archives of North Carolina and continues to
collect materials related to the North Carolina coast. The Outer Banks History Center
(OBHC) subseries contains materials primarily dating from the first decade of the
OBHC's operations, as well as material predating the State Archives' acquisition of
the collection. Included are card catalogs, indices, shelf lists, and other early
inventories of the David Stick library; files related to the OBHC's affiliate groups
(the OBHC Associates and the OBHC Advisory Committee), papers from the dedication
of the facility on 7 May 1989, records related to major acquisitions (such as the
Edwin Graves Champney Drawings and Aycock Brown Photographs); appraisal records; and
two narratives written by David Stick about the OBHC: "My Personal Papers in the Outer
Banks History Center" and "How the David Stick Library Became the Outer Banks History
Center."
Library, 1978-1993
Paintings, 1984-1986
Outer Banks Recreation Association (OBRA), 1964-1988
Scope and Content:
Following the failure of Convention Center and Museum, Inc., in 1962, the directors
of the project (nicknamed the Twelve SOBs) turned their attention to establishing
a golf course on the Outer Banks. By 1964, David Stick, one of the Twelve SOBs, was
able to secure a donation of land for a golf course from the board of directors of
the real estate group he managed, the Kitty Hawk Land Company, provided that the donation
would be made to a nonprofit group. The Farmers Home Administration (FHA) agreed to
finance the construction of the course. The Twelve SOBs then met 9 March 1964 and
restructured Convention Center and Museum, Inc. into a nonprofit entity that would
become the Outer Banks Recreation Association (OBRA). The OBRA was incorporated 26
April 1965. The organization encountered difficulty in constructing the golf course
when a competing private entity, East Coast Properties, claimed that the federally-subsidized
project was jeopardizing its own project to build a golf course in the area. However,
the OBRA was able to secure the loan and start construction on the Duck Woods Golf
Course in 1967. The course was designed by golf architect Ellis Maples. It was dedicated
8 June 1969. The OBRA and the golf course nearly went under in the early 1970s thanks
to unexpected expenditures and other mounting financial difficulties. Although Stick
had left the organization in 1967, he was asked to return to serve as president in
1971, at which point he presented a plan to make the organization solvent again, and
the course stayed open until 1988, when it was reorganized and renamed Duck Woods
Country Club. The club still operates as of 2019. This subseries primarily includes
material from Stick's time as president of the OBHRA (1971-1972), but later records
are also included, as well as correspondence and other records related to its founding.
Committees, 1965-1975
People to Preserve Jockey's Ridge, 1971-1994
Scope and Content:
The People to Preserve Jockey's Ridge was founded in December 1973 by Carolista Fletcher
Baum, Walter G. Baum, and Betty Clark in order to facilitate the development of a
state park at Jockey's Ridge. David Stick was a member of the initial board of directors.
The group successfully campaigned to have Jockey's Ridge designated a state park in
1975. The group functionally ceased activity the following year and officially dissolved
once its financial affairs were concluded on 21 August 1980. The People to Preserve
Jockey's Ridge subseries contains meeting minutes, correspondence, flyers and ephemera,
newsletters, and other papers relating to the organization collected by David Stick.
Roanoke Island Historical Association, 1959-1989
Scope and Content:
The Roanoke Island Historical Association (RIHA) was established in 1932 to commemorate the history of the first English colonies to settle in America. The organization is most well known for its annual production of Paul Green's The Lost Colony. This subseries contains RIHA papers collected by David Stick.
Town of Southern Shores, 1971-2002 and undated
Scope and Content:
David Stick was instrumental in the founding of the Town of Southern Shores. Two of the companies with which he was affiliated during his real estate career, Kitty Hawk Land Company and Southern Shores Realty, began to develop the area in the late 1940s and promote it as a resort community. Eventually, the community had grown enough to incorporate in 1979, and David Stick was named as the first mayor of the town. The Southern Shores municipal building is named for him. This subseries contains materials primarily dating from Stick's time as mayor, including planning documents, budgets, meeting minutes, and records related to various municipal and public services. For additional research material on the development of Southern Shores, please see the Real Estate subseries in Stick's business papers, as well as the Real Estate subseries of the photographs in this collection.
Pete Peterson Files, 1971-1984
Wright Memorial Museum Committee, 1930-1978
Scope and Content:
David Stick began actively coordinating local efforts to establish an aviation museum
at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in the early 1950s. In 1952, he organized
the Wright Memorial Museum Committee under the auspices of the Kill Devil Hills Memorial
Society, with he and D. Victor Meekins (manager of the Dare County Airport and publisher
of the Coastland Times Newspaper) representing Dare County alongside other committee
members from across the country, such as Harold S. Miller (executor of the Orville
Wright Estate) and Paul Garber (curator of the National Air Museum). The committee
determined that a museum especially emphasizing the Wright Brothers' work in Kitty
Hawk, rather than aviation history broadly, would be most appropriate. The project
stalled for several years when funding did not materialize, before ultimately being
completed in 1960. The materials in this subseries primarily comprise correspondence
between David Stick, members of the committee, and various constituents, as well as
programs and ephemera from various anniversary celebrations of the Wright Brothers'
first flight.
Other Organizations, 1937-2008
2. Writings, 1813-2009 and undated (bulk 1939-2009) 1939-2009
Scope and Content:
The Writings series, 1813-2009 and undated (bulk 1939-2009), contains research material,
drafts, and publication information related to Stick's various writing projects, including
both published and unpublished works. Content varies by subseries, but generally comprises
drafts, publication proofs, correspondence with publishers and readers, reviews and
publicity, and research files. Research materials unambiguously connected to a particular
work have been included in the subseries associated with that work, but there may
also be related research material in the Research Files series. Occasionally, original
photographs are included in this subseries, but larger subsets of photographs related
to Ash Wednesday Storm, Bald Head: A History of Smith Island, Cape Hatteras Seashore,
Currituck Doctor, Dare County: A History, and North Carolina Lighthouses can be found in the Photographs series. This series also includes materials associated
with speaking engagements made by Stick at conferences, ceremonies, business meetings,
symposia, and business meetings (usually including drafts of the speech given), included
speeches given on behalf of several of the organizations with which Stick was associated.
An Artist's Catch, 1970-1983
The Ash Wednesday Storm, 1960-1987
Drafts and Publication Information, 1986-1987
Research Material, 1960-1986
Aycock Brown's Outer Banks, 1962-1983
Bald Head: A History of Smith Island, 1813-1986 and undated (bulk 1976-1986) 1976-1986
Research Material, 1813-1985 and undated
Drafts and Publication Information, 1979-1986
Cape Hatteras Seashore, 1964
Currituck Doctor, 1918-1991 (bulk 1988-1992) 1988-1992
Scope and Content:
Currituck Doctor was a project begun by David Stick in the late 1980s to write a biography of Dr. Charles
N. Wright, a medical doctor active in Currituck County in the mid-20th century. Stick
recorded extensive oral history interviews with Wright as well as members of his family
and people who worked in his practice. He also wrote a nearly complete draft of the
book, but the book was never published due to ongoing disputes with the Wright family
regarding ownership and intellectual property rights surrounding the interviews and
the work itself. This subseries contains drafts of the book, correspondence with members
of the Wright family and their legal representatives regarding ownership of the work
(see folder: Wright Mess, 1990-1992), and research materials collected by David Stick,
including oral history interviews, clippings, and a Wright family photo album. In
his interviews, Wright discusses the history of medicine in rural Currituck County,
including treatments he administered for issues related to reproductive and sexual
health, such as pregnancy, masturbation, and sexual intercourse. Some of the descriptions
are detailed and graphic.
Interviews, 1988-1989
Recordings, 1988-1989
Early Writings (pre-1949), 1939-1950
Scope and Content:
The Early Writings series, 1939-1950, contains articles, columns, short stories, and
other pieces authored by Stick prior to the publication of his first book, Fabulous Dare, in 1949. Included in this series are papers related to Stick's tenure as associate
editor of American Legion Magazine, an article on Toby Tillett and his Oregon Inlet ferry service, and correspondence
and drafts of an article Stick wrote on goggle fishing. Columns contributed by Stick to various publications while he was in high school and
college can be found in the Education subseries of the Personal papers series. Military
writings can be found in the Military Service Subseries.
American Legion Magazine, 1945-1948
Fabulous Dare, 1947-1957
Graveyard of the Atlantic, 1913-1979 (bulk 1950-1952) 1950-1952
Research Material, 1913-1967
Drafts and Publication Information, 1950-1979
Man's Harbor, 1932 and undated
Scope and Content:
Man's Harborwas a fictional work set on North Carolina's Outer Banks at the time of colonization in the late 16th century. The book was never published. This subseries contains drafts of the novel.
Musings of a Maverick, 2002-circa 2004
Narratives, 1960-1997
Scope and Content:
David Stick's Narratives consisted of 33 short narratives describing the history of the numerous organizations
and agencies with which Stick was involved over the course of his life, primarily
written from the documentation of each organization found in the Organizations and
Agencies series of this collection. This work was originally begun under the title
A Half Century of Observations in the 1970s, then revised by Stick in the 1990s. The work was never published. This
subseries contains drafts of the narratives, including early iterations of Stick's
Half Century of Observations, notes, and correspondence with Wynne Dough, who advised Stick on the project.
North Carolina Lighthouses, 1958-1981
Scope and Content:
This subseries consists of research files on North Carolina lighthouses collected
by Stick while researching his book, North Carolina Lighthouses, as well as drafts and correspondence related to Stick's research. The lighthouse
files in this subseries exclusively contain photocopies of articles and publications
containing references to each lighthouse, along with Stick's notes and citations.
No original records or papers are included.
Lighthouse Files, circa 1980
Outer Bankers to be Remembered, 2005-2008
Scope and Content:
Outer Bankers to be Remembered was Stick's final major writing project. It consists of nineteen short biographical
narratives on Outer Banks residents whom Stick believed worthy of recognition. The
work was never published. This subseries primarily contains notes and drafts. Additional
drafts and research material for many of the narratives included in this project can
be found in the Biographies subseries of the Research Files series in this collection.
The Outer Banks of North Carolina, 1939-1991
Correspondence, 1947-1961
Research Notes and Related Material, 1939-1963
Indexed Notes Arranged Chronologically, circa 1958
Notes Not Indexed Arranged Chronologically, circa 1958
Indexed Notes Arranged Topically, circa 1958
Notes Not Indexed Arranged Topically, 1939-1963
Scope and Content:
This folder contains detailed photographs of a shipwreck found on Bodie Island, 1939, including artifacts found on the ship and diagrams of ships believed to be of similar make.
Writing, 1955-1991
Drafts, 1956-1958
An Outer Banks Reader, 1991-2006
Scope and Content:
This subseries contains drafts, publication information, and research files on one
of Stick's later publications, An Outer Banks Reader. This work consists of narratives on various topics in Outer Banks history collected,
edited, and annotated by David Stick. Research material in this subseries primarily
consists of photocopies of documents utilized by David Stick in his research, organized
by document title or grouped together by subject. No original material is in these
folders.
Drafts and Publication Information, 1991-1999
Research Material, 1990s-2006
Roanoke Island: The Beginnings of English America, 1947-1984 and undated
Speeches and Speaking Engagements, 1952-2006
Other Writings, 1947-2009 and undated
Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, 1967-1979
3. Personal Papers, 1907-2009 and undated
Scope and Content:
The Personal Papers series, 1907-2009 and undated, contains materials related to Stick's
personal life. Included are personal and professional correspondence, publications
records related to Stick's high school and college education, papers from Stick's
time as a combat correspondence for the United States Marine Corps, family papers,
and other personal papers. Also included in this series is extensive documentation
of Stick's father, Frank Stick's career as an artist.
Correspondence, 1939-2006 and undated
Scope and Content:
This subseries contains personal and professional correspondence not unambiguously
connected to a writing project, organization, or business described elsewhere in this
collection. Included are several folders of general correspondence followed by folders
filed alphabetically by correspondent or topic.
Scope and Content:
This folder contains letters between Stick and Sharpe regarding topics Sharpe was researching for his work with The State magazine. Papers include a 1957 letter containing Stick's historical account of how milepost markers came to be installed along Highway 12 (Virginia Dare Trail) in the Outer Banks, as well as several letters about the history of the Tuckahoe potato.
Education, 1935-1942 and undated
Scope and Content:
The Education subseries contains original documents, publications, and ephemera from
Stick's time in high school and college, with a special emphasis on his early work
in journalism. Included in this series is a folder titled Hitchhiking 9,000 Miles,
containing clippings, telegrams, and articles created by Stick in the course of a
9,000 mile hitchhiking trip he took at age 18, in which he traveled across the United
States speaking with journalism classes in secondary schools.
Military Service, 1942-1946
Scope and Content:
This subseries contains materials created or collected by Stick during his time as
a United States Marine Corps combat correspondent. Materials primarily consist of
copies of articles written by Stick, issues of newsletters containing material contributed
by Stick, and personal papers, including a diary kept by Stick from 1943 to 1944.
Frank Stick Artwork, 1907-2006 and undated
Scope and Content:
In the 1970s, David Stick began a project to locate, photograph, and catalog every
piece of artwork created by his father, Frank Stick. He amassed a significant collection
of calendars, magazines, and other publications that published Frank Stick's paintings
and illustrations as well as photographs of artwork held in private collections. This
subseries contains publications that feature Frank Stick's works as well as correspondence,
indices, ephemera, exhibit files, appraisals, and research notes related to David
Stick's project to catalog and preserve his father's full collection. Photographs
of Frank Stick artwork can be found in the Photographs series, although isolated photographs
are occasionally included in the folders in this subseries.
Published Frank Stick Artwork, 1907-1950 and undated
Inventory Project, 1966-2006
Other Personal Papers, 1922-2009 and undated
Scope and Content:
This subseries contains other personal papers collected or created by David Stick
not associated with the other categories in this series. Included are papers related
to the various awards and honors Stick received over the course of his life, biographical
information, programs and ephemera from events attended by Stick, Stick family papers,
files described by Stick as "miscellaneous," recordings of Stick's radio and television
appearances, and files on topics of interest to Stick but not related to his historical
research. Also included in this subseries is a folder of material related to the campaign
to construct a bridge across Oregon Inlet (later named the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge)
in the early 1960s.
Awards and Honors, 1965-2007
Family Papers, 1922-2007 and undated
Scope and Content:
Primarily includes correspondence. Includes a 1939 receipt for two pairs of diving goggles Stick used for goggle fishing, and an article on "what President Franklin D. Roosevelt is really like" written for the Daily Advance while Stick was working as a reporter in Washington. Also included are numerous papers (1940s) related to Fulton Lewis's radio news show, including several typed transcripts of what appear to be radio show introductions for David Stick's appearances on the show and a letter from Stick advising Lewis of numerous changes he recommends making to the station's operations, including a raise for Lewis's personal secretary, Jean, whom Stick calls "about the hardest working white-gal I ever saw." The show was broadcast out of Washington, D.C.
Radio and Television Appearances, circa 1940s-1998
4. Business Papers, 1910-1997 and undated
Scope and Content:
David Stick had numerous business interests, but he focused primarily on real estate
and the book trade. This series contains records related to Stick's businesses. The
Real Estate subseries of this series includes extensive documentation of the early
development of various historical housing subdivisions on the Outer Banks, such as
Virginia Dare Shores and Southern Shores. Included are records related to the land
development company founded by Stick and his father Frank, the Kitty Hawk Land Company,
as well as the real estate sales company led by Stick, Southern Shores Realty Company.
The Kitty Hawk Land Company subseries includes several folders of architectural drawings
and plans for Frank Stick's flat-top houses, a famous architectural feature of the
Southern Shores area. Researchers should note that Stick frequently conducted business
on behalf of both companies simultaneously, so papers related to Southern Shores Realty
frequently appear in the Kitty Hawk Land Company files, and vice versa. Other real
estate papers in this series include material related to the Kitty Hawk Shores Corporation,
which was co-founded by Frank Stick in the 1920s to promote development along the
Outer Banks; the Stear-Mark Corporation, for which David Stick served as a contractor
in the late 1950s-early 1960s, and Stick's various licenses and other personal papers
related to his real estate career.
The Book Trade subseries contains records related to two bookselling businesses operated
by Stick: David Stick, Bookman and North Carolina Books. Records in this subseries
primarily consist of payroll and personnel records, correspondence with book dealers,
catalogs, financial records, inventories and lists, and promotional material.
Other businesses documented in this series include the Kitty Hawk Craft Shop, operated
by Stick and his wife, Phyllis, in the early 1950s; Lewis and Clark Explorer Maps,
Ltd., which Stick used to reproduce and sell copies of early North Carolina maps;
Outer Banks Contractors; and the Southern Shores Motor Lodge.
Real Estate, 1926-1991 and undated
Kitty Hawk Land Company, 1926-1985
N. Elton Aydlett Files, 1952-1985
Personal Files, 1951-1976
Stock Purchase Agreement, 1975-1976
Kitty Hawk Shores Corporation, 1926-1961
Southern Shores Realty Company, 1939-1987 and undated
Stear-Mark Corporation, 1955-1964
Other Real Estate Papers, 1949-1991
Book Trade, 1910-1997 and undated (bulk 1949-1997)
David Stick, Bookman, 1951-1997 and undated
North Carolina Books, 1910-1994 and undated (bulk 1949-1976)
Other Businesses, 1949-1982
5. Research Files, circa 1750-2007 and undated
Scope and Content:
The Research Files series contains research material collected by David Stick not
ostensibly in connection with any identifiable writing project or other purpose. This
series is organized into seven subseries: Collections, circa 1750-1997 and undated;
Subject Files, 1869-2004 and undated (bulk 1943-2004); Clippings, circa 1780-2002
and undated; Biographies, 1940-2007 and undated; Maps and Blueprints, 1929-1994 and
undated; Henry Clark Bridgers Steamboats on the Tar Project, 1980-2003; and Oral History Interviews, 1974-2005. Materials include original
manuscripts and publications, clippings, notes, research correspondence, audiovisual
recordings, maps, blueprints, and ephemera.
Collections, circa 1750-1997 and undated
Scope and Content:
The Collections subseries contains original primary source documents and publications
collected by David Stick in the course of his research. In addition to materials documenting
the North Carolina coast, a number of original manuscripts related to western North
Carolina history are included. Several items do not appear to relate to North Carolina,
and the reason why Stick retained these items is unclear. Some resources in this subseries
are unidentified, but when a creator or location is known, this information has been
included. Materials in this series include account books (including numerous account
books created by the Carter Family of Democrat, N.C.), scrapbooks, engravings, ephemera,
Clerk of North Carolina Circuit Court dockets, Civil War pension certificates for
Confederate soldiers, certificates, brochures for African American welfare programs
in the state of North Carolina, notebooks of several North Carolina Supreme Court
Justices, post office records for the Colington Post Office and Kitty Hawk Post Office,
and notes from Allen Taylor of Sealevel, North Carolina, describing his time as a
fisherman during the North Carolina oyster boom of the 1880s and Oyster War of the
1890s.
Carter Family Business Records, 1952-1891
Scope and Content:
Papers on Notable North Carolinians folder: Primarily consists of papers removed from a scrapbook documenting a special recognition ceremony honoring North Carolina's celebrities of the performing arts. Includes original letters and promotional photographs from Andy Griffith, David Brinkley, Ava Gardner, Betty Johnson, and John Scott Trotter. Most letters are addressed to Ted Cramer, account executive in the Office of the Governor. Also included are letters to North Carolina politicians, including a 1932 letter to Baxter Durham, State Auditor, from Amelia Earhart.
Post Office Records, 1921-1947
Subject Files, 1869-2004 and undated (bulk 1943-2004) 1943-2004
Scope and Content:
In addition to clippings and original manuscripts and publications, Stick created
subject files on numerous topics related to eastern North Carolina history. These
files generally contain Stick's notes; photocopies of materials he found in archival
repositories, books, and private collections; correspondence; bibliographies; clippings;
and, occasionally, original primary sources. Audiovisual materials apparently used
by Stick for research purposes are also included in this subseries.
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
Hurricane Research Materials, 1930s-1976
Clippings, circa 1780-2002 and undated
Scope and Content:
The Clippings subseries, circa 1780-2002 and undated, contains clippings taken by
Stick from newspapers and articles related to various topics of interest to him. Some
clippings are mounted on scrapbook pages, and many clippings are photocopies. A number
of the files in this subseries contain clippings related to organizations and agencies
with which Stick was affiliated (original records related to these entities can be
found in the Organizations and Agencies series of this collection).
America's Four Hundredth Anniversary Committee, 1982-1986
Biographies, 1940-2007 and undated
Scope and Content:
The Biographies subseries contains biographical sketches, clippings, and notes, and
other research material compiled by David Stick on influential people in Outer Banks
history. Many of these biographies appear to have been compiled for inclusion in his
book, Outer Bankers to be Remembered.
Maps and Blueprints, 1929-1994 and undated
Scope and Content:
This subseries contains blueprints of Dare County buildings, maps of Outer Banks towns
and regions, neighborhood plats and land plats, and geological and archeological surveys
created and/or collected by David Stick. Some of the maps in this subseries were collected
by Stick for research purposes, while others were apparently created for use in his
real estate businesses.
Henry Clark Bridgers Steamboats on the Tar Project, 1980-2003
Scope and Content:
Captain Henry Clark Bridgers, Jr., (1913-1981) was a well-known local historian in
Edgecombe County, North Carolina, who wrote about railroads, banking, and steamboats
in eastern North Carolina. At the time of his death in 1981, Bridgers had spent years
researching and writing a manuscript entitled Steamboats on the Tar. Bridgers' original research material and drafts were given to David Stick, who was
interested in seeing the project finished, but Stick was also unable to complete the
book it and arranged for another researcher, Lindley Butler, to take over. Bridgers'
work was ultimately published by Ronald Kemp in 2013 using Bridgers' collection of
research material and drafts, which were transferred to the Outer Banks History Center
by Stick and Butler (see PC.5099 Henry Clark Bridgers, Jr. Papers). The material in
this subseries relates to Stick's efforts to acquire and finish Bridgers' papers and
draft.
Oral History Interviews, 1974-2005
Scope and Content:
The Oral History Interviews subseries, 1974-2005, contains recordings, transcripts,
and indexes of oral history interviews conducted by David Stick with numerous Outer
Banks residents. Many of these interviews have been digitized and transcribed; contact
an Outer Banks History Center staff member for more information.
Recordings, 1974-2005
Scope and Content:
26 cassettes with 26 oral histories
Processing Information:
NS
Scope and Content:
Interview Index - Side A:
[00:01:38] - Leaving Nova Scotia
[00:02:50] - Arriving in New York, registering at Columbia University, meeting Mabel
Evans Jones
[00:05:39] - Journey to Roanoke Island from Boston to Norfolk by steamship, to Elizabeth
City by train, to Manteo by boat.
[00:09:14] - Arriving in Manteo, riding in superintendent's Model T car, living in
the teacherage, meeting other teachers Fannie Mae Long, Marjalene Toler and Nora Phillips.
[00:15:02] - Teaching high school English and Latin
[00:17:16] - Challenges of teaching: primitive conditions, no discipline, students
fighting; resignation.
[00:26:43] - Getting married and leaving job after one year, life as a Coast Guard
wife, substitute teaching in Kitty Hawk
Interview Index - Side B:
[00:00:18] - Former students: Ralph Davis, Matilda Etheridge Inge, Sheriff Frank Cahoon,
Thomas Dough
[00:02:15] - Relocations to Southport, N.C.; Boston, M.A., and Norfolk, V.A.
[00:05:04] - Return to Dare County after husband's retirement, return to teaching
at Manteo High School, living in Kitty Hawk
[00:16:27] - Becoming a librarian, meeting Georgia Harwood, early conditions at the
public library, mailing books to patrons on the beach
[00:24:59] - Dispute between Harwood and D. Victor Meekins over racial equality, African
American students' access to library books
[00:29:25] - Obtaining library certification from the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, taking over the library
Scope and Content:
Interview Index - Side A:
[00:01:57] - Nathaniel Eldridge Gould (father)'s education
[00:05:26] - Nathaniel Eldridge Gould's Chatham Hotel on the Massachusetts coast,
destruction of the hotel.
[00:06:00] - Nathaniel's 1892 visit to the Outer Banks, where his brother had died
while serving on Hatteras during the Civil War in the 350th Massachusetts Regiment.
[00:07:08] - Nathaniel's criticism of lumber pioneers for destroying the early maritime
forests, sea oats delivered for planting.
[00:09:26] - Construction of Hotel Roanoke in Manteo, Theodore Meekins, R.C. "Uncle
Dick" Evans.
[00:11:10] - Nathaniel's marriage to Eliza Midgette of Rodanthe in 1900.
[00:12:55] - Acquiring land on Bodie Island and Pea Island, building the Bodie Island
Hunt Club
[00:15:21] - Bringing sea oats to Dare County to stabilize the beaches.
[00:19:47] - Gould family purchase of the Tranquil House, a boarding house in Manteo,
1918
Interview Index - Side B:
[00:00:16] - Colonel Hardenburgh (New York) staying at Tranquil House.
[00:01:42] - Mr. Probst (son of Baron Von Probst and Lady Mary Tavistock), resident
at Tranquil House, heard Franz Liszt play.
[00:02:49] - United States Senator Josiah Bailey visited Tranquil House.
[00:05:03] - Davis's Store in downtown Manteo
[00:07:06] - Sam Griffin, broker, bought locally grown potatoes, corn, Sea Island
Cotton and shipped it away for sale.
[00:12:31] - Father's death, Bodie Island Club sold to A.W. Worth of Elizabeth City,
then to National Park Service.
[00:17:17] - Phoebe Gould and her husband Dewey, Arlington Hotel falling into the
ocean, Diane Baum Johnson and the Wilbur Wright Hotel.
[00:24:42] - 1978 water spout, destruction of the Wilbur Wright Hotel, death of Henrietta
Tillett.
Scope and Content:
Interview Index - Tape 1, Side A:
[00:00:00] Growing up in Norfolk, Virginia, visiting the Outer Banks
[00:02:03] Working at Hofheimer Shoe Store in Norfolk, meeting Diane Baum (Johnson)
[00:05:07] First impressions of the Outer Banks
[00:05:59] Military service at Quantico, attending dental school
[00:14:17] Diane Baum (Johnson)
[00:23:01] Time in the Navy/Marines
[00:27:37] Picking land on the Outer Banks
[00:28:05] Moving the mileposts
[00:30:08] Plans to build motel, existing hotels and cottage courts on the beach,
parents' restaurant (Mrs. Crocker's Fine Foods, Norfolk)
[00:32:58] Obtaining finances for Beacon Motor Lodge from Minnie Mangum
Interview Index - Tape 1, Side B:
[00:00:00] Applying for bank loan from Minnie Mangum to build the Beacon Motor Lodge
[00:06:04] Loan is approved
[00:08:04] Building the motel
[00:17:38] Loan from Bill Peebles
[00:23:05] Living without money, eating frozen peas from Gregory's Store
[00:25:56] Minnie Mangum arrested
[00:29:55] George charged with fraud
[00:35:00] George cleared of charges
[00:37:36] Lawyer tries to steal stock
[00:40:50] John Donoho and the first Pirates Jamboree
Interview Index - Tape 2, Side A:
[00:00:00] - Playing poker with John Donoho at David Stick's house on Colington Island
[00:08:30] - Building model trains
[00:18:51] - Gregory's store, competition from chain stores, tourism boom, changing
landscape
[00:31:47] - Development of Southern Shores, Galleon Award Scholarships
[00:44:38] - 12 Sons of the Beaches
Interview Index - Tape 2, Side B:
[00:00:00] - The 12 SOBs (Sons of the Beaches)
[00:04:15] - Building the convention center in Kill Devil Hills
[00:08:43] - Dare Beaches Sanitary District
[00:16:20] - Minnie Mangum sent to Goochland Prison in Virginia, Mangum's life after
her release from prison
[00:23:55] - Diane Baum, the Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright Hotels
[00:27:08] - David Stick's early work in real estate
[00:40:31] - Topics to be discussed in interview
[00:42:47] - Why George Crocker gave away money
Interview Index - Tape 3, Side A:
[00:01:53] - Deciding to build the Cabana East Motel
[00:05:05] - Getting building permits in the 1960s
[00:11:53] - The 1962 Ash Wednesday Storm
[00:22:16] - Commandeering a motor grader to rescue guests during the storm
[00:26:06] - Party on the Beacon Motor Lodge roof during the storm
[00:28:34] - Aftermath of the Ash Wednesday Storm
[00:41:16] - Getting Trott's Sportswear shop
Interview Index - Tape 3, Side B:
[00:01:05] - Running Trott's Galleon, retail lines and merchandise purchasing
[00:06:17] - The success of the first year
[00:12:24] - Buying the Trott's Galleon and surrounding lots
[00:15:14] - Additions to the Trott's Galleon
[00:21:20] - Winning first place in the Gift and Decorative Accessories Magazine Award
in NYC
[00:24:28] - Other awards won
[00:31:50] - Hiring Margie Peterson
[00:35:10] - Giving Margie Peterson responsibility and authority as a key employee
at the Galleon
[00:41:06] - Selling the Beacon Motor Lodge
Interview Index - Tape 4, Side A:
[00:00:24] - Pirate Jamborees at the Beacon Motor Lodge, filling the swimming pools
with lobsters
[00:06:26] - Getting loans to expand the Galleon, financial partners, and stock in
the company
[00:23:45] - Expanding the Galleon
[00:28:51] - Different shops at the Galleon
[00:33:43] - Staff at the Galleon
[00:36:59] - The 'Champagne Teas' fashion shows with members of the community as models
and college scholarship awards
Interview Index - Tape 4, Side B:
[00:05:43] - Buying trips to purchase merchandise for the Galleon store
[00:11:09] - Getting a good deal on clothing by buying overcut stock from manufacturers
[00:24:32] - Worst purchase of merchandise made for the Galleon
[00:29:39] - Buying too many Van Husen shirts
[00:37:22] - Getting into the restaurant business and developing the menu
Interview Index - Tape 5, Side A:
[00:00:10] - Designing the Restaurant by George
[00:06:39] - Remodeling and adding to the Restaurant by George
[00:10:42] - The interior of the Restaurant by George, the bar, menu, and atmosphere
[00:16:03] - Staff costumes and music in the restaurant, making playlists with a tape
reel machine
[00:21:54]- The menu: appetizers made with shrimp from Spain, Marchand de vin butter
steak, and the Seafood Esplanade
[0031:16] - Using local fish at the restaurant
[00:38:18] - Cleaning crabs and shrimp for the restaurant
[00:42:51] - Hiring Mike Kelly to work at the restaurant
Interview Index - Tape 5, Side B:
[00:02:11]- Bringing Mike Kelly on board the Restaurant
[00:07:18] - Profits of the Restaurant by George, Galleon Esplanade, and Cabana East
Motel
[00:11:11] - Cost of dining at the Restaurant by George
[00:16:29] - Favorite food at the Restaurant by George, fancy coffee
[00:21:28] - Health issues
[00:30:43] - Selling the Cabana East, Galleon Esplanade, and Restaurant by George
to Tom Anderson
[00:39:37] Borrowing a million dollars from Albemarle Savings and Loan to expand the
Galleon
Interview Index - Tape 6, Side A:
[00:04:46] - Starting a car museum in Nags Head
[00:08:34] - Classic cars and collectors around the Outer Banks
[00:11:30] - Bill Harrah's car collection
[00:15:02] - Budget for the car museum, tax deductions, and the museum collection
[00:20:52] - Financial difficulties after selling to Tom Anderson
[00:27:16] - Reasons for selling
[00:34:07] - Decline of the Galleon and the Restaurant by George
[00:37:24] - Looking for perfection in cars for the museum, the cost of restoration,
and the value of originals as opposed to reproductions
Interview Index - Tape 6, Side B:
[00:00:13] - Using Hemming's Motor News to learn about cars and car sales
[00:04:51] - Going to car auctions and reading the signals of the auctioneers
[00:08:14] - Transporting cars from auctions to Nags Head
[00:12:02] - Paying for cars at auctions, checks and title of ownership
[00:19:01] - Best bargain at a car auction, buying Herbie the Lovebug
[00:31:09] - Meeting Tom Monaghan at a car auction
[00:41:09] - Car auctions at the Rear-View Window car museum
Interview Index - Tape 7, Side A:
[00:00:12] - Contracting with Tom Monaghan, C.E.O. of Domino's Pizza, and moving to
Ann Arbor, Michigan.
[00:09:15] - Negotiating a deal to build and market a classic car collection, purchasing
a car owned by Clark Gable.
[00:19:46] - Maintaining Rear View Mirror car museum while serving as president of
Domino's Pizza, splitting time between Ann Arbor and Nags Head.
[00:24:10] - Building a talented team, process of purchasing cars for Domino's Pizza.
Interview Index - Tape 7, Side B:
[00:00:08] - Purchasing a Bugatti Royale, background of the Bugatti family, differences
between extant Bugatti vehicles.
[00:12:45] - Bidding on the Bugatti Royale, picking it up in Texas, organizing a cross-country
charitable tour of the Royale to benefit orphanages.
[00:23:23] - Working with Tom Monaghan in Michigan, successes of the Domino's Pizza
business.
[00:28:15] - Leaving Domino's Pizza.
Scope and Content:
Interview Index - Side A:
[00:00:00] - Coming to Kitty Hawk
[00:05:52] - Anchoring the sand
[00:11:25] - Building of monument
[00:18:14] - Adding doors to monument
[00:26:43] - Historical debate of Wrights versus Langley as first in flight
[00:30:47] - Mother entertaining dignitaries
Interview Index - Side B:
[00:00:00] - List of visiting dignitaries
[00:02:08] - Going to Kitty Hawk School and Kitty Hawk Methodist Church
[00:07:54] - Shopping at Elijah Baum's Store, Perry's Store, and Sears Roebuck
[00:09:39] - Driving, problems with the car
[00:14:59] - Eating swan and goose during the Depression
[00:18:22] - Building a road in Kitty Hawk with mules, riding the mules
[00:20:15] - 4th of July ice-cream, no electricity, Elijah Baum's store
[00:22:04] - Wrapping up the interview
Scope and Content:
Interview Index - Tape 1, Side A:
[00:00:13] - Childhood in Currituck, fishing with David O'Neal
[00:03:41] - Duck hunting with father, Ellie Wilson Saunders, packing killed birds
for shipment
[00:15:42] - Attending school in Poplar Branch, working as a hunting guide, working
in the commercial fishing industry, moving to Nags Head Woods to live with David O'Neal
[00:27:40] - Meeting wife, Emma Johnson, fishing with John Culpepper, Culpepper family,
building a house in Nags Head Woods, layout and families of Nags Head Woods
Interview Index - Tape 1, Side B:
[00:00:12] - Residents of Nags Head Woods
[00:01:45] - Tom Baum's ferry company in Kitty Hawk, Jack Nelson's ferry at Oregon
Inlet, Will Perry's car ferry at Kitty Hawk Sound
[00:07:24] - Other residents of Nags Head Woods
[00:11:00] - Fishing for sturgeon, finding and storing glass floats, decline of the
sturgeon industry, Arlington Hotel, LeRoy's Seaside Inn/First Flight Inn
Interview Index - Tape 2, Side A:
[00:00:12] - Hauling cement for the Wright Brothers National Memorial, "Edenton Town"
on the sound side of Nags Head, building a rush road to deliver cement
[00:15:25] - Churches in Nags Head Woods, building cottages during World War II, moving
to Virginia to work at the naval shipyard in Norfolk
[00:25:40] - Abby Tillett and the wreck of the U.S.S. Huron
[00:31:05] - The Virginia Dare Trail
Interview Index - Tape 2, Side B:
[00:00:10] - Building the Virginia Dare Trail/Highway 12 road
Scope and Content:
Interview Index - Tape 1, Side A:
[00:00:11] - Introduction, leaving the ministerial studies program at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study music
[00:03:14] - Auditioning for the Lost Colony through the Playmakers Repertory Company,
living in 4-H camp barracks on Roanoke Island, Westminster Choir and its singing technique
[00:08:58] - Growing up in classist Mt. Airy, Ted Cronk's nightclub shows at the Nags
Head Beach Club, singing with Ruthie Thompson
[00:12:20] - Developing an identity and artistic method as a comedic actor with the
help of Don Mason
[00:17:14] - Meeting his first love, Frances Pressler, traveling to Williamsburg to
see The Common Glory
[00:20:22] - Reactions to meeting gay men for the first time
[00:22:00] - Hitchhiking back to Chapel Hill after the end of the season, meeting
future wife Barbara Edwards who played Eleanor Dare
[00:27:09] - Borrowing a boat from Sam and Omie Tillett to catch fish for a fish fry,
Waterside Theater fire of 1947, living with Alphaeus Drinkwater
Interview Index - Tape 1, Side B:
[00:00:10] - Don Mason in The Lost Colony
[00:03:08] - Traveling to New York and auditioning with the Papermill Playhouse, meeting
jazz musicians
[00:08:25] - Auditioning for Ainslie Pryor, writing original material for the first
time, writing an original monologue based on Johnny Ray's "Please Mr. Sun"
[00:12:57] - Producing shows at the Shrine Club at Whalebone Junction, writing a monologue
based on Hamlet, writing "What it Was, Was Football"
[00:17:08] - Living on "Millionaire Row" in Manteo, meeting Ainslie Pryor, going barefoot
during the summers, wedding to Barbara
[00:24:13] - Hunting for "wind sculpture" with Gene McLain at the Dare County Bombing
Range, going to the beach at Jennette's Pier, playing volleyball with the locals
[00:26:57] - Gene McLain's marital and money problems
Interview Index - Tape 2, Side A:
[00:00:13] - Formative relationships with Manteo residents, meeting Dr. Joseph Barach
[00:03:28] - Boat building boom, Outer Banks accent, locals' attitudes towards outsiders,
similarities to Appalachia
[00:09:40] - Directing the Mt. Olivet Church choir, providing funds to support hiring
a music teacher at Manteo High School, importance of extracurricular activities in
education
[00:15:30] - Becoming a member of the Manteo community, campaigning against rezoning
on the north end of Roanoke Island, some community members' resentment of success
[00:24:16] - Service on America's Four Hundredth Anniversary Committee, various houses
owned across the country, dislike of Mt. Airy, anonymity in Manteo
Interview Index - Tape 2, Side B:
[00:00:11] - Living in North Hollywood, missing Manteo when out west, being pulled
in several directions during wife's nervous breakdown
[00:10:52] - Relationship with manager Richard "Dick" Linke, dissatisfaction with
Paramount production, desire to work with Don Knotts again
[00:16:42] - Linke's investment advice, traveling to Hawaii.
Scope and Content:
Interview Index - Side A:
[00:00:45] - Oma Pearl Tillett and the Haymans
[00:02:45] - Gardening
[00:03:30] - Parents (Rosaline and Gardner Kernan DeLaune)
[00:05:45] - Parents' divorce and Rosaline's relocation to Norfolk, VA, to work in
a sewing factory
[00:08:53] - Mother's return to North Carolina, meeting and marrying Hickey Swain
[00:14:17] - Martin's Point and Southern Shores
[00:18:27] - Hodges Gallup, treatment of enslaved people
[00:22:14] - Rosaline's hunting club
[00:26:27] - Martin's Point gate and neighborhoods, going to school
[00:28:14] - Kitty Hawk schools and school bus
[00:46:05] - End of side "a"
Interview Index - Side B:
[00:00:10] - Marriage to Linwood Tillett
[00:08:34] - Shipwrecks, Jack and Mary Nelson's store and cottages
[00:12:25] - Selecting daughter Tanya's name
[00:15:06] - Moving Jack Nelson's house from Colington to Kitty Hawk
[00:16:50] - Death of Jack Nelson, buying the house
[00:24:04] - Working at Wink's Grocery Store, Wilbur Wright Hotel and Kitty Hawk Hotel,
Dare Beaches Chamber of Commerce
[00:33:22] - Linwood's death, Tanya's graduation from Duke University and attending
nurses' training in Arizona
[00:41:03] - Mother and father's life in Texas
Scope and Content:
Interview Index - Side A:
[00:00:09] - Truxton Midgett's childhood in Kitty Hawk in the early 1900s, hauling
fish, Captain Martin Johnson and the John H. Small and the Hattie Creef
[00:08:18] - Theodore Meekins and R.C. Evans, construction of lifesaving stations
in Rodanthe
[00:10:36] - Enlisting in the Coast Guard, serving at Oregon Inlet Lifesaving Station
and Paul Gamiel's Hill Lifesaving Station, promoted to keeper Caffey's Inlet station
[00:13:30] - Combatting rum runners in Florida and Bogue Inlet during Prohibition,
working with Commander Walter Etheridge
[00:17:57] - Transfer to Virginia Beach station, restructuring of Coast Guard districts,
Palmer Midgett
Interview Index - Side B:
[00:00:12] - Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944, San Ciriaco Hurricane of 1899
[00:09:48] - Lack of electricity, lack of privies or outhouses, using slop jars in
the house
[00:12:55] - Flooding during the 1932 storm
[00:17:28] - Remembering the 1899 storm, Midgett's mother pregnant when storm hit
[00:22:22] - Residents of Kitty Hawk and distribution of houses in 1899
[00:28:30] - Water supply in Kitty Hawk
Scope and Content:
Interview Index - Tape 1:
[00:01:00] Early life
[00:03:45] Father's work during construction of the Wright Memorial Bridge
[00:11:20] Living on the bridge, description of bridge tender's house
[00:16.41] Toll charges
[00:18.56] Getting to school
[00:21:19] Opening and maintaining the toll bridge draw
[00:26:05 ] Living on the bridge, Delco battery electrical plant
Interview Index - Tape 2:
[ 00:01:10] Kitty Hawk government, Early positions, Town Hall
[ 00:05:40] Training at Institute of Government
[ 00:07:08] Police Department, Tax rates, Town incorporation, Board of Commissioners
[ 00:13:40] State maintenance of Kitty Hawk roads
[ 00:16:20] Sherriff's office, Planning Board, Elections
[ 00:26:22] Albemarle Commission
[ 00:28:50] Breakfast meetings
[ 00:30:09] Reflections on career and personal life, Health issues
Scope and Content:
Interview Index - Tape 1, Side A:
[ 00:00:29] Early memories
[ 00:04:02] Father's freight business, dock, fish house, ice house, rail track
[ 00:10:57] Financing business, Family members
[ 00:12:23] Building houses
[ 00:13:37] Grandfather duck hunting
[ 00:17:50] Building Father's boat in Colington
[ 00:19:49] Getting a whipping
[ 00:22:07] Description of freight boat
[ 00:27:44] Trips to Elizabeth City for supplies
Interview Index - Tape 1, Side B:
[ 00:00:19] Purchasing for the store
[ 00:02:54] Delco power plant
[ 00:04:32] First automobile
[ 00:08:20] Road location
[ 00:13:30] Colington fishermen
[ 00:23:24] School, Lucky 13, Sports
Interview Index - Tape 2, Side A:
[ 00:00:16] Almost drowning, Origination of name
[ 00:09:10] High School, College
[ 00:11:35] Oyster Shell Road
[ 00:13:25] College, Army Reserve, Work during breaks and after college
[ 00:18:45] Post office move, Martone house, Division of property
[ 00:22:43] Anchoring Kill Devil Hill for monument
[ 00:33:59] Driving freight truck to Elizabeth City
[ 00:35:21] Hauling supplies for illegal whiskey, Ferry incident
[ 00:42:38] Calvin and Roland Sawyer
Interview Index - Tape 2, Side B:
[ 00:00:33] Suppliers in Elizabeth City, Road to East Lake, Delivering whiskey supplies
[ 00:05:00] Driving as a young man
[ 00:09:40] Entertainment, Annie Vansciver, Reputation as a ladies man
[ 00:13:12] David Stick car wreck
[ 00:13:54] First truck, Selling cars
[ 00:16:44] Getting in trouble, Building houses
[ 00:24:40] Parents working in store and post office, Store burns, After Fire
[ 00:27:34] Father's demise, Disposition of Father's tools
Scope and Content:
Interview Index - Tape 1, Side A:
[ 00:01:27] Family background
[ 00:02:34] Coast Guard Career, Meeting future wife, Leaving Coast Guard/ re-enlisting
[ 00:14:12] Caffey's Inlet Station assignment, Transfer to ---
[ 00:16:47] Change in Coast Guard mission
[ 00:24:04] Transfer to Duluth Buoy Tender, Picking up aids to navigation in winter
[ 00:26:50] Transfer to Elizabeth City, Transfer to French Frigate Shoals
[ 00:28:27] Setting out lights for PBM flights
Interview Index - Tape 1, Side B:
[ 00:00:11] Army assignments, training
[ 00:03:26] Transfer to Chesapeake Bay lightship, Recreation, Description of lightship
[ 00:10:12] Getting to shore leave
[ 00:15:24] Duties on-board, Water evaporator, radio, radio beacon, fog horn
[ 00:22:08 ] Preparing for a hurricane, Incident of broken anchor chain
Interview Index - Tape 2, Side A:
[ 00:00:08] Making wine on Chesapeake Lightship, Sea pay
[ 00:06:23] Transfer from Chesapeake lightship to Elizabeth City Air Station Depot
[ 00:11:38] Transfer to LORAN station at French Frigate Shoals, description of island.
[ 00:20:17] Hurricane evacuation
[ 00:21:00] Description of personnel, entertainment, eating sea turtle
Interview Index - Tape 2, Side B:
[ 00:00:39] Fraternizing, French Frigate Shoals, Long-range aid to navigation
[ 00:05:04] Responsibilities of executive officer, Replacements, Isolation
[ 00:07:39] Transfer to Fifth District
[ 00:18:00] Ash Wednesday storm, Coast Guard
[ 00:19:12] Bodie Island Light Station
[ 00:23:48] Closing Kill Devil Hills Station
[ 00:28:25] Post retirement employment, Retirement
Scope and Content:
Interview Index - Tape 1, Side A:
[ 00:00:48] Vernon Davis, H.A. Creef background
[ 00:03:49] Boat building, Bartered trips, Cypress & Juniper shingles
[ 00:06:23] Shad boat development
[ 00:22:00] Location of George Washington Creef Senior's boathouse
[ 00:24:42 ] Chappelle's description of shad boat, Development of name, Boat parts
Interview Index - Tape 1, Side B:
[ 00:00:39] George Washington Creef Senior
[ 00:03:35] Boat types, Creef boathouse, Motorizing boats, Early income sources
[ 00:10:58] Vernon and Ralph Davis boatbuilding, Racing boats
[ 00:18:21] George Washington Creef, Jr. and New Jersey boat builders
[ 00:20:18] The Hattie Creef
Interview Index - Tape 2, Side A:
[ 00:00:30] Herbert Creef, Motorizing boats, Designing speedboats
[ 00:04:56] The Miss Chevrolet, The Dodger, The Vim, Hassell brothers
[ 00:08:20] Hydroplanes, The Miss Manteo I, Design problems, The Miss Manteo II
[ 00:19:00] Davis brothers racing & boat-building, The Pat series, The Ella Creef
[ 00:24:29] Vance Brinkley
[ 00:26:30] Winning the President's Cup Regatta
[ 00:29:07] Manteo Boatbuilding
Interview Index - Tape 2, Side B:
[ 00:00:14] Manteo Boat-Building WWII government contracts, End of the company
[ 00:06:23] Davis Boat-Building, The Little Buddy.
[ 00:08:00] Local boat-builders
[ 00:09:09] The Fearmac
[ 00:11:59] Roanoke Island design
[ 00:14:59] Buddy Davis, Davis Boatworks
[ 00:25:58 ] H.A. experiences building boats
[ 00:30:25] Worden Dough, The Germel
Scope and Content:
Interview Index - Side A:
[00:00:11] - P.D. Midgett III's name, father, grandfather.
[00:03:34] - Life in Wanchese and surrounding areas, trapping and eating songbirds,
recreation (kite making, "stick frogs," "cow tailing"), moving to Smithfield, Portsmouth,
and Engelhard.
[00:16:22] - Birth of shrimping industry
[00:17:09] - Childhood in Engelhard
[00:20:50] - Working in the family garden, selling magazines, working in the ice plant
[00:23:55] - Graduation from high school, attending the Citadel, army service in World
War II
[00:26:36] - Coming back after World War II, decline of the ice and fishing industries,
father's work with the Godwin family
Interview Index - Side B:
[00:01:20] - Entering the ministry, various positions, Methodist Church circuit
[00:09:09] - Retirement from the ministry, interest in photography, Midgett Video
Production
[00:10:55] - Southport becomes home, settling in Southport
[00:14:25] - P.D. Midgett II's political career
[00:22:56] - Video production project on the Chicamacomico Lifesaving Station in Rodanthe
[00:25:35] - Bald Head Island, Captain Charlie
Scope and Content:
2 90 minute cassettes, 2 60 minute cassettes
Scope and Content:
1 60 minute cassette
Scope and Content:
Interview Index - Side A:
[00:01:08] - Francis growing up in California, Rogallos move to Virginia, Virginia
beach houses
[00:04:20] - Finding the Outer Banks, searching for first Outer Banks cottage
[00:08:23] - Purchasing first vacation home, becoming permanent residents
[00:16:17] - Hurricane experience
[00:18:24] - Family agreement, planes, friends
[00:24:17] - Engineering, Francis' education and early career
Interview Index - Side B:
[00:00:34] - Professional experience leading up to Langley, nationwide aeronautics
examination
[00:05:24] - Interest in aeronautical engineering and airplanes
[00:06:56] - Failing pilot medical examinations
[00:12:39] - Meeting Gertrude
[00:15:10] - Early life, siblings, step-father, step-siblings, education
[00:18:19] - Family legacy in Sanger, CA, the French Hotel
[00:22:03] - Parents' background, the Rogallo Hotel
[00:27:42] - Family's language aptitude, what sparked Francis' interest in flight
Scope and Content:
Interview Index - Side A:
[00:01:37] - Elijah William Baum, Hettie Mae Baum Baum, Joseph Edward Baum
[00:06:00] - Wright Brothers come to Kitty Hawk
[00:07:18] - Bill Tate, postmaster
[00:08:42] - Elijah Baum's store, post office and dock
[00:12:40] - Trading trips to Elizabeth City
[00.13:36] - Suffering carbon monoxide poisoning on Elijah Baum's boat
[00:22:40] - Otella Post Office
[00:23:27] - Tunis Lumber Company in WWI
[00:25:36] - Up-Road and Down-Road Schools
[00: 27:16] - Sundays at Kitty Hawk Methodist Church
Interview Index - Side B:
[00:00:12] - Working at Elijah Baum's store
[00:01:06] - What people bought at Baum's store
[00:09:46] - Swimming, Captain Bob Wescott saves Orville Baum from drowning
[00:17:34] - Nags Head Casino opens
[00:20:39] - Ferries, then bridges, change life and commerce
[00:21:29] - Baum store moves as commerce shifts to road from water
[00:23:23] - Meeting Alonzo Harris, marriage
Scope and Content:
Interview Index - Side A:
[00:00:11] - Theory on Run Hill's Function in the natural system
[00:04:01] - Theories that Nags Head Woods was connected to the mainland and cut off
due to rising sea levels and that the maritime forest has existed for over a thousand
years
[00:07:06] - Dunes provide a windshield from salt spray enabling salt-intolerant species
to grow in the forest, prevent ocean over wash, well-developed water table
[00:16:17] - Theories on how the hills were formed, migratory dunes
[00:21:53] - Source of the sand, measuring the movement of the dune
[00:25:58] - Possibility of a vegetated ridge running along an inlet, Kitty Hawk Bay
core samples, functions of dunes
[00:31:52] - Mr. Wells' theory on salt spray, Bald Head Island, live oaks, pruning
effect of salt on the vegetation
[00:36:32] - Difference between dunes and sand hills, Run Hill as a migratory dune,
changes to Run Hill from the 1920's to present day, serving as a windbreak
[00:44:15] - Dune ridge preceded the forest, maritime deciduous forests protected
from salt spray
Interview Index - Side B:
[00:00:08] - Theoretical impact of the removal of Run Hill on the maritime forest
[00:04:54] - Nature Conservancy's position on the School Board's plan to construct
a high school on Run Hill, change to the shape of the dune, stabilizing the dune
[00:14:36] - Idea of an alternate site for the high school, questions about putting
a high school on Run Hill
[00:21:29] - Analysis of putting a structure on top of the dune and the theoretical
impact on Nags Head Woods
[00:25:08] - Discussions with School Board members on an alternative site
[00:30:31] - Nature Conservancy's approach to land acquisition, revolving fund from
National Board, current standing of payment on last land acquisition
[00:38:50] - Discussion of the Nature Conservancy obtaining Run Hill and Dare County
purchasing land for an alternate site, other solutions for obtaining an alternate
site for the high school, potential future owners of Run Hill
[00:43:45] - Proposal for a subcommittee to enter into formal discussions between
the School Board and the Nature Conservancy
Scope and Content:
2 60 minute cassettes and 1 90 minute cassette remastered 3rd generation
Scope and Content:
5 90 minute cassettes, 1 60 minute cassette
6. Photographs, 1909-2008 and undated
Scope and Content:
The Photographs series, 1909-2008 and undated, contains photographs collected or taken
by David Stick for research purposes, for documentary purposes, to be included in
his publications, or for preservation. Numerous formats are represented, including
film negatives, black and white and color prints, 35mm slides, and contact sheets.
Photographs are arranged into four subseries: Frank Stick Artwork, circa 1950s-2008
and undated; Personal and Family Photographs, 1909-1989 and undated Photographs Used
in Books, 1962-2000 and undated; Real Estate, 1957-1979 and undated; and Other Photographs,
1935-1999 and undated. Additional isolated photographs may be found in other series
in this collection as well.
Frank Stick Artwork, circa 1950s-2008 and undated
Scope and Content:
This subseries contains photographs taken by David Stick of paintings, illustrations,
and sculptures created by his father, Frank Stick. Stick preserved and cataloged these
photographs in an effort to create a full inventory of his father's artwork after
his death. For more information on Frank's artwork and David's inventory project,
see the Frank Stick Artwork subseries of the Personal Papers series in this collection.
Personal and Family Photographs, 1909-1989 and undated
Scope and Content:
The Personal and Family Photographs series, 1909-1989 and undated, contains portraits
and other personal photographs of David Stick as well as photographs taken by or depicting
members of the Stick family. Included in this subseries are a number of photographs
of houses owned by the Stick family, including a flat top cottage presumably designed
by Frank Stick, David's father.
Photographs Used in Books, 1962-2000 and undated
Scope and Content:
The images in this subseries were compiled for use in Stick's various writing projects. Additional isolated photographs, along with research material, drafts, and publication information for these books, can be found in the Writings series.
Real Estate, 1957-1979 and undated
Scope and Content:
The Real Estate subseries, 1957-1979 and undated, contains photographs taken or collected
by Stick apparently for use in his real estate business. The photographs overwhelmingly
depict lots and homes in the Southern Shores area, including photographs of early
Southern Shores flat top cottages, largely dating from the 1950s to the 1970s. Promotional
photographs of the Southern Shores area, taken by Aycock Brown and B.J. Nixon for
advertising purposes, are also included, as are aerial photographs of Southern Shores.
Other Photographs, 1935-1999 and undated
Scope and Content:
The photographs in this subseries appear to have been taken or collected by David Stick for a variety of purposes but primarily seem to have been used in his research or created to document events, people, and places on the Outer Banks. Included in this series are numerous photographs of the damage incurred throughout Dare County during the Ash Wednesday Storm and other hurricanes and storms; images of local flora, fauna, and landscapes; portraits and snapshots of individuals and groups; photographs of local buildings, ferries, businesses, and lighthouses; snapshots taken at local events, such as the Pirates Jamboree and Old Christmas; and images of Outer Banks towns and neighborhoods, including early photographs of Virginia Dare Shores.
Subject Headings
Acquisitions Information
Donated by David Stick in various accessions, 1986-2012. 2 boxes containing clippings and Musings of a Maverick materials donated by Brewster Brown, who purchased them at an auction, December 2017. "A Place Called Jockey's Ridge" manuscript with Stick's comments donated by Jockey's Ridge State Park, June 2019