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OAK ISLAND , NC
The other group of people was the temporary residents. These were the people who owned houses and property on the island, paid their property taxes and utility bills, and were there on weekends, holidays, and every other excuse for a vacation known to mankind. These people were practically locals. Not quite, but almost! However, a large number of this group would sooner or later, become permanent residents of the area. From this group I made a number of good friends and always looked forward to them getting to come down to the island on weekends and holidays.
Although I had a good time at the pier with my friends, I enjoyed other activities also. I enjoyed finding shells on the beach, both for collecting and for shellcrafts, which I was learning to do from an older lady who lived in Caswell Beach. Today my wife and myself have transformed this art into a business, as we are the owners of Tidesout Shellcrafts.
My Grandmother loved to fish in the surf. She and I would fish down at the end of our street in the late afternoon until an hour after dark. We would clean our fish and take them to the Coastal Restaurant in Yaupon Beach where Mr. Sinclair would deep fry our fish restaurant style and put them on takeout plates with fries, hushpuppies, and slaw for us to take home and enjoy, just as if we had ordered the food there. Try doing that at a restaurant today.
Since I was not yet old enough to drive, my Grandmother and I would explore all parts of the island, Southport, and the surrounding areas and beaches. Two of our favorite places were the westernmost tip of the island called �The Point�, and a remote location on the waterway called the �Yellow Banks�.
The �Point� was a beautiful place with huge sand dunes, some of which were fifteen to twenty-five feet high. It also had a beach that was at least a quarter of a mile wide from where we would park the car to the water. The water separated Long Beach from Holden Beach with very swift and deep currents, shifting sandbars, and rough seas where the Lockwood Folly River met the sea.
The �Point� was not the place for a swim, but it was a mighty nice place to catch a Flounder or two. And rest assured that over the years, I have relocated a large number of these flat delicacies from the water to the dinner table.
The �Yellow Banks� was a spot on the Intercoastal Waterway, which was rather secluded and remote in location during the early 1960�s. The only good way to reach it was to go to the end of Middleton Street in Long Beach, since Oak Island Drive and Yacht Drive were for all practical purposes, non-existent.
At the end of Middleton Street was a canyon of yellow sand cliffs with the waterway twenty feet below. It was extremely quiet and serene there, with the only sounds being of birds, the wind in the pines, and occasionally a passing boat slowly making it�s way to somewhere. There were no wooden steps to descend to the narrow beach below, so, most people were content to absorb the peace and solitude from high above the water, and not spoil what nature had worked hard for centuries to create. This was truly one of the more beautiful places on the island. A person could always go there alone and always find the whistle of the wind in the trees a companion and friend.
Although the �Yellow Banks� are still there, modern development and abuse have replaced the remoteness and tranquillity. Sadly, things change. Sometimes I wonder if the goods we get are worth the price we pay, for progress.