Coastal ‘objects’ contribute plenty to North Carolina’s identity

Coastal North Carolina fares quite well in the tally of “50 objects” that define The Old North State, a project undertaken by Our State magazine for its September issue.

In a nutshell, editors selected about a dozen items that have direct coastal ties, beginning with the first-order Fresnel lenses that were capable of sending beams of light miles out into the Atlantic Ocean from the iconic coastal lighthouses, dating back to the mid-1850s. 

The first one was installed at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in 1854.

 

Our State’s top 50 list also includes a pair of wind-catching devices. Kitty Hawk Kites are designed to fly high in the sky, while Shibumi Shades stay anchored to the sand on the beach, providing cover from the sun’s rays to beachgoers.

 

The culture and heritage of Down East Carteret County is represented in a “trifecta” of objects that are North Carolina born and bred. They are oyster shucking tools, crab pots and duck decoys.

Our State contributing writer Jason Frye said: “Oysters are a treat to slurp down for supper, steam with friends on a fall evening or fawn over in a fried platter, but first you gotta open them up. And for that you’ll need an oyster shucker.”

It’s a knife-like tool with a blunt edge that fits comfortably in the palm of your dominant hand to pry open the hinge of the oyster shell. “Insert, twist, pop. Easy as 1, 2, 3,” Frye insists.

 

Frye also wrote the piece for Our State about crab pots, the PVC-coated wire mesh baskets that are dropped into the water to snare Atlantic blue crabs, a delicacy.

He also mentioned secondary uses for the colorful crab pots. For one, they can be piled up just-so to form a gigantic, 25-foot tall Christmas tree structure, which has become a holiday tradition at the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center on Harkers Island.

Then, there’s the story about the famous crab pot Christmas trees, invented by the late Neal “Nicky” Harvey at his shop – Harvey & Sons Net and Twine – in Davis. 

He was the first to see that the vinyl-coated wire could be cut into triangles and made into a tree-shaped figure that folds flat for easy storage.

Harvey was awarded a U.S. patent in 2004, forming a cottage industry. Don Acree acquired the business in 2009 and established a company known as Fisherman Creations Inc., developing a national distribution system through major outlets and establishing a huge e-commerce presence.

 

Our State’s Hannah Lee Leidy contributed the article about decoy carving. “Centuries ago,” she wrote, “fisherman…turned to duck hunting for food and extra income during the lean winter months. To lure birds to their blinds, they relied on homemade decoys, crafted from whatever raw materials nature provided” including salvaged timber from shipwrecks.

 

“The decoys’ sophisticated designs gave wings to an emerging school of folk art….During this time, wealthy sportsmen from the North would follow migrating waterfowl – pintails, redheads, brants and geese – to eastern North Carolina. Local watermen would hire out their services as hunting guides.”

 

“Though our state’s heyday as a game-hunting destination has long flown, decoy carving endures as a celebrated art form,” Leidy wrote. “Names like Mitchell Fulcher, Homer Fulcher, Robert Pigott, Julian Hamilton, Alvin Harris and Ammie Paul have been canonized by museum curators and fine art collectors.”

“Some see the decoys as art, others as investments, but for many, these decoys are keepsakes carved from the very woods where they spent hours in the blinds beside fathers, grandfathers and friends,” Leidy concluded.

More columns on “50 objects” are yet to come.