The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1953-10-09
An Entertaining Recital of
Travels Along the Outer Banks
Chapel Weekly Editor Writes Beauty and Delights of
Atlantic, Ocracoke and Hatteras Island
Bv JOE JONES

lina's Outer Banks, a trip impos-
sible to take without backtrack-
ing if you go in a private car,
Travelling by bus, went by way
of New Bern, Morehead City, and
Beaufort to Atlantic, where l left
the mainland by passenger boat
for Ocracoke, stayed there sew
eral days, proceeded northward
up the banks by mail truck,
ferry, and bus to Mays Head,
thence by bus to Elizabeth City
and home to Chapel Hill.
When I started out 1 didn't
know it would take me two days
to reach Ocracoke. 1 left Chapel
Hill at 6:45 a. m. Saturday and
arrived in the early morning at
Beaufort, where 1 waited about
three hours for the bus to Allan
tic, arriving there at sunset and
learning that the Ocracoke mail
and passenger boat didn't leave
till p. m. next day.
Atlantic is a tiny fishing viii
lage with no hotels or motels.
The bus stop was in front of a
combination filling station and
grocery store which are almost
the entire business section. I went
in the store and asked the pro-
prietor if he knew where I could
spend the night. He turned to his
wife and said, Does Minnie still
take overnight guests?"
They decided that maybe she
did and directed me to walk back
up the road a piece, turn to the
right, and follow a sand and
oyster-shell road to the Nelson
house, which turned out to be a
rambling old two-story frame
structure with a long front porch.
The only trouble was the house
was dark and had nobody in it.
But a neighbor had seen me ap-
preaching with my suitcase, and
/ heard him calling to somebody
named Tom. This turned out to
be Tom Nelson, Miss Minnie's
elderly father, who materialized
out of the cleaning, his footsteps
making no sound in the sandy
lane. He gave me friendly well
come and showed me to a room.
I put on a clean shirt and went
back downtown" to get some
thing to eat.
The return walk to the Nelson's
was made in darkness, since
there were no street lights. But I
received a CHEEKY welcome. BY
then Miss Minnie had come home
and she was accompanied by her
niece, an uncommonly pretty
young woman whose two-year-
old daughter was also present.
The four generations and I sat up
late in the dining room and had
a good time talking in the old
time way, without benefit of tele-
vision.
Miss Minnie, veteran school
teacher, knew a number of peo-
pie I knew. She said the John
/ Gillins of Chapel Hill had stayed
with her and her father on trips
to the coast. Mr.. Nelson, retired
! fisherman, told some of his ex-
periences of the old days when
there were no radio warnings of
hurricanes and a boatman had to
be able to make his own weather
predictions. Fort Monroe, Va,
was the topic the neice and I had
in common. / had been stationed
there during the war, and she is
there. now working in an office
while her husband, an Army cap
tain, is abroad.
The next morning all of us
went to the Baptist Sunday
school attended class taught
by a seasoned and forceful At
lantic school teacher who really
told those men what was what
Most of her talk was about the
unimportance of money and
worldly goods, precept felt
wasn't fully SUBSIDIZED to by her
flock of weatherbeaten, horny
handed fishermen. She also said
she hoped the visitor would bene-
fit by attending the Sunday
school class. Had she given me a
chance to reply would have
/ said / had got much good out OF
it, not only from her lively talk
but from the friendliness and air
of quiet strength and dependa-
bility one senses when among the
seafaring men of Atlantic. also
enjoyed singing Rescue the Per-
! ishing," hymn popular when ]
/ was child but now generally
neglected.
After lunch I went down tc
the dock and watched the fishing
boats taking on crushed ice while
awaited the arrival of the mail
boat from Ocracoke. I was ap.
preached several times by At.
lantic natives who took it fol
| granted had a car and wanted
to know if they could take care
| of it while ! was in Ocracoke