The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1958-09-05
A DYING NEIGHBORHOOD
is A SADDENING SIGH
BIZ VICTOR MEEKiNS


Nothing about the scenery of
our coastland has tugged more
painfully at my heart strings than
to witness the death of a neigh
borhood. On Saturday | visited an
other of these which is now in its
terminal illness. Of course there
may be some development in a
few years that will create a new
neighborhood on the same spot,
but there will not be another like
the old Corolla at Currituck Beach.
A community is giving its last
gasps when they discontinue it's
school because there are not
enough children to attend it. This
year Corolla will not have school
for the first time in the memory
of man. Yet on the same day,
when l rode up the beach, l met
S. C. Chandler, Currituck County's
School Superintendent com i n g
southwark after a visit to Corolla.
Like the community of Ocracoke
in Hyde County, the people of
Corolla, bound for their own coun-
ty by vehicle, must first drive into
Dare County. While being of one
race and with the same interests
as the people of Dare, they are
as wide apart geographically as
the two sections of Thailand over
which a busy America felt it had
to pause in it's affairs and send
mediators to assist in their contro-
versies.
Corolla was long a community
of good neighbors and friends. 1t
had a school, a church, a light
house and a coastguard station. 1t
was long known as Currituck
Beach; sometimes as Whaleshead,
later by the name of its postoffice,
Corolla. 1t grew and flourished,
because year round many of its
citizens had the solid backing of
well paid jobs in the Coast Guard
and Lighthouse stations. 1t also
got support from it's smaller
neighboring community of Pen
ney's Hill, called by some Slab
town, and later by the name of a
new postoffice, Sea Gull, which
has long since disappeared as pop
ulation declined.
The thriving community of Cur
rituck Beach, Corolla, Whaleshead,
or what you may wish to call it,
had many sources of income. The
traditional offerings of the sea
from shipwreck was no trifling
contribution until wooden ships
finally disappeared from the seas.
There was great income from fish
ing in both ocean and sound, and
trappers of small animals picked
up a nice bonus too.
The wildfowl shooting season
was a great thing. There were no
bag limits, nor season limits.
When the birds started coming,
and until they left, the best shots
lived in clover. They could get up
to a dollar a pair for some birds,
and they could get hundreds of
birds a day. The business was so
great that buy-boats piled these
waters to take on the kill each
day, and carry them on ice to
Norfolk for shipment to the coun-
try's epicures.
The unrestricted and reckless
slaughter of game birds through
out America almost destroyed the
species. Restrictive laws were
created, seasons were shortened
barely in time to save the birds.
Invention and enlargement of
facilities, did the same for the
commercial fishing industry as
had been done by the hunters of
birds. Profits from fishing dwindl-
ed year by year.
So sportsmen dropped off; their
money didn't do much any more
for guides and lodges which cater
ed to their needs. Fishermen went
away to other places looking for
fish. The Coast Guard abolished
its stations and moved away its
men. An engine replaced the men
who had attended the light. Corol-
la began to wither on the vine.
There are several nice homes
left at Corolla. One may ride up
the beach from Duck in half an