Though less dramatic than hurricanes, the daily assault of salt air, sun and wind takes a heavy toll on the aging buildings. Portsmouth's main ally in the battle against decay is Dave Frum, who spends three days a week in Portsmouth as maintenance man for Cape Lookout National Seashore. He is perhaps the epitome of job satisfaction. He fell instantly in love with Portsmouth on his first visit long before he went to work there eight years ago. Every day he spends intensifies his affection.
Every day is an adventure.
He patrols the lanes in an all-terrain vehicle, tools at hand. He stops to hammer a board on the side of the church, where nails have crumbled to rust. On another front, he combats fast-growing vegetation, kept at bay by roaming livestock in Portsmouth's earlier days. Frum recently has cleared much underbrush, restoring the view that islanders once enjoyed. The clearing also reduces the scourge of mosquitoes long synonymous with Portsmouth.