Oriental has a historic marker – first N.C. school bus

Oriental’s “Porch Pirates” are a friendly bunch of locals who gather ‘round at The Bean, a legendary coffee shop in town. They love telling visitors stories about their community.

Here’s a good one that’s even true: The first motorized school bus in North Carolina ran its route in Oriental on Sept. 5, 1917. The 30-passenger bus for the Oriental Graded School was purchased by the Pamlico County Schools for $1,379. It was manufactured by the Corbitt Motor Truck Company in Henderson, N.C. 

The first bus driver was Zeb E. Brinson, who was credited with “marshalling in a new era of student transportation.” Previously, students had been carted to and from school in horse-drawn wagons. 

The school superintendent, T.B. Attmore, who authorized the acquisition of the new bus and engineered a hike in local school taxes to pay for it, ensured his place in history by taking the bus to Raleigh for show-and-tell. 

Attmore loaded up Gov. Thomas Walter Bickett and several other politicians to take a ride around the capital city in the new school bus.

 

Gov. Bickett

There’s a void of information about how that little excursion unfolded, but soon thereafter, Richard Johnson Corbitt’s small factory had orders for buses rolling in from places like Edgecombe, Wayne and Franklin counties.

Richard Corbitt

Corbitt originally intended to build automobiles. He produced 13 in 1912 but lost money on every car. In 1913, he wisely abandoned that plan, switching to buses and trucks. He built his first bus in 1916 and his first truck in 1917. 

Now, the Corbitt Company was making some serious money, and contracts to supply 4,000 trucks to the Army and Navy during World War I set the wheels in motion for the company to succeed over the long haul.

 

One source said: “The military loved doing business with Corbitt; his small company was flexible and able to do quick modifications.” 

Richard Corbitt is enshrined in the North Carolina Transportation Hall of Fame. (Read more about the Corbitt Preservation Association online at corbitttrucks.com.) 

Moving right along, the Porch Pirates gang also has nice things to say about a fellow who grew up in Oriental and has entertainment industry hall of fame credentials. 

He is Kevin Williamson, who created the television series “Dawson’s Creek,” named after a Pamlico County tributary to the Neuse River near Oriental. The show premiered in January 1998 and struck a chord with high schoolers and young adults. It ran for six seasons through 2003, totaling 128 episodes.

 

“Dawson’s Creek” catapulted Wilmington’s film industry into the national spotlight. Although filmed in North Carolina, the series was set in the fictional small seaside town of Capeside, Mass., and later in Boston, as the cast entered adulthood.

 

Williamson’s Outerbanks Entertainment production company in Los Angeles reflects his strong ties to coastal North Carolina. 

The Porch Pirates roll out the red carpet to welcome boaters who are cruising up and down the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), especially the northern “snowbirds” who head south during the winter months. Oriental is a favorite stopover. 

We just missed Oriental’s annual Croaker Festival. It’s a really big deal and occurs on the first weekend in July. Atlantic croakers are tasty fish that can grow up to 20 inches in length and weigh up to 5 pounds, but on average are 2 pounds or less. 

There’s a big parade and pageant to crown Miss Croaker and little Miss Minnow.

 

Coming up soon, though, is The Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival in Oriental on Oct. 6-7. Organizers promise “21 or so” bands. Admission is free.