Of
OAK ISLAND , NC
There were periodic events like, some of the colleges renting out the skating rink for their spring break, but these were very few and far between.
The biggest regular event we always looked forward to was a beach party. These parties were a big deal on weekends, and were attended by at least twenty to a hundred people from both Southport and Oak Island, including some of the tourists.
These beach parties were usually held on the western tip of the island among the very large sand dunes at �The Point�. For light, there would always be a fire made from driftwood and anything else that would burn. There was also music from a portable AM radio tuned to WAPE, the �Big Ape�, in Jacksonville Florida, which was the leading radio station on the East Coast with one hundred thousand watts of power. And of course, there were always uninhibited females and plenty of cold beer.
Getting beer, not only for the party, but also at any other time was quite an event in itself. In the early to mid sixties, no beer or alcohol was sold on Oak Island at all. All beer had to be purchased in Southport and probably eighty percent of all beer purchased in Southport was bought at either �The Pines� drive-in or Jake�s Package Store.
Almost every Friday night, a collection was taken up and given to an individual with a car to make a �beer run� to Southport. On many occasions, the volunteer would actually return with the beer.
At the beach parties however, it was an understood responsibility for each person to procure his or her own refreshments. But one thing was for sure. On Oak Island and in Southport, during this era, the partaking of alcoholic beverages was a rite of passage into adulthood, and the practice of beer consumption was entered into at rather early ages.
In order to get people to attend a beach party was an incredibly simple process. No invitations or RSVP was required. It was a simple matter of telling a couple of people where the party was going to be and at what time to be there, and within an hour, practically every living human in the Western Hemisphere knew about it.
These parties could last anywhere from several hours to all night. Regardless of the duration, great times were enjoyed by all, especially those of us, which were lucky enough to pair-off with a member of the opposite sex. These couples, at times, would not leave the dunes until they were awakened by the light of the sunrise.
Beach parties were not the only parties that we had. In fact, we found more ways to party than Bayer has aspirin. There were parties on the waterway at the �Yellow Banks�, parties over on Bald Head Island that had to be gotten to by sea-skiff and parties at numerous houses. Especially, parties at one house named �The Sugar Shack�, where �all nighters� were a regular occurrence.
There were also impromptu get togethers in various places. This usually happened anytime, anywhere, someone noticed anyone who might have custody of an extra beer or two.
One of the favorite spots for this type of impromptu activity was in parked cars at the seaward side of Barbee Boulevard where the one-way street made a horseshoe turn from southbound to northbound traffic. We would park just behind the dance floor and the ice-cream shop, in the shade, under the covered parking area.
This location was also very conducive to viewing and talking to girls as they made their way to and from the beach strand.
Our spirits were as free as a gull on the sea breeze, not yet shackled by the problems of adult life, nor, beaten to submission by the conformity requirements of �Corporate America� and locked away in a dungeon of lost identities.
We were who we were, with honest emotions and possession of the very valuable trait of being able to be ourselves without any concern at all of not being able to meet someone else�s self-righteous and self-imposed standards of living. We just lived for every day and enjoyed it completely.