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From: Tiderunner
Date: 7/6/2020
Time: 8:30:54 AM
Thanks to BK Barringer for sending this and once again, I want to say how sorry I & others are to hear of Doc Rogers passing.
EARLY DAVIS ISLAND & DIFF HISTORY. BK BARRINGER
This early recollection of Davis Island begins with my first trip to the island in the mid 1960s with my cousin Doc Rogers. We went across with Carley Willis.
Beginning probably in the 1950s after WWII sportsmen began building cabins that had been built mostly at home, dismantled it hauled to Davis and put it on the ferry. Probably many trips. Many of the cabins were of reasonable quality. Most had a big door and ramp so that the beach buggy could be stored and secured inside.
Most of the time was spent getting the car running or replacing parts, often stolen from other vehicles. If you parked your car outside you better raise the hood and drive sand spikes all around your motor to protect the starter and battery and other parts that could be stolen. Back then when you brought a new car the first thing you did was remove the muffler and breaks. Cars that seem to perform well were Chev, Dodge, and DeSoto. Overheating was always a problem. It used to be say that the most fish caught were not in fishing holes but when you had to stop, and turn the car into the wind to cool the radiator.
Sanitation was not good. There was no drinkable water. Most cabins had a punched well that the water was not drinkable. Septic tanks were a buried 50gal drum or a plywood box.
A car was run until it rusted out or quit and couldn’t be fixed. It eventually ended up under a sand dune which was holding the island together. Sometime when someone had a 4W drive they would pull the abandon cars to the front of the cabins to create a sand dune to protect the cabins from high tides.
It was a tough life but we didn’t know it.
In the late 60s or early 70s the State of NC sold or gave the Core banks to the NPS. There were a lot of meetings and bad feelings. Once the park service took possession, the cabin owners did a lot of dumb things. Some took the attitude that if I couldn’t use my cabin, no one else could and either burnt them down or dismantled them so they were not occupiable. Those the park service burnet. In hindsight the smart thing to do was just walk away. Many of those cabins lasted another 20+ years and were adopted by others and fixed up. By this time the Carley camp and the Stirling Dixon Camps were merged and Alger Willis became the caretaker and thus the Alger Willis Fishing Camp. Back then, all the ferries were just converted shrimp boats. Finally came the Captain Alger. First piloted by Alger’s son Glen Willis then Ronnie Willis, Lanier, Kyle, James and now Mitch. Oh, the experiences getting on, off and riding on these ferries will never be forgotten.
By the early 80s the bad feelings between the NPS, the locals and the sportsmen settled down enough things began to pick up again.
There were groups from various parts of the state and elsewhere that made their annual trek to the island or were regular visitors. Over the years as the various groups would gather and have opportunities to meet and learn to know each other, realizing they all had the same goals of having a good time and fellowship, taking care of and preserving the island and catching fish. There was a group from Pineville that met regularly at the Pineville Tackle Shop owned by Glen Green. Some of these sportsmen were, Glen Green, Don Eury, Floyd Elkins, Jim Grier, Bob Gladden and others whose names need to be documented. What was discussed on a routine basis at the tackle shop cannot be mention, but the topic was often about surf fishing on Davis Island. The idea of a Drum fishing tournament among themselves and a limited invited guest was planned. They or one of their wives named the group, the Davis Island Fishing Fools; thus “DIFF” Club. The first tournament was held in 1985 beginning on the third Thursday in Sept. Ronnie Bibby from Greensboro, weighed in the heaviest drum and was recognized as the first winner of the DIFF tournament. As word of the tournament spread among the regular island fishermen the 1986 tournament entries expanded to include other Drum fishermen from across the state. Although the fellowship was, as always, worth the cost, no drums were caught and thus no prizes awarded. This experience created an awareness of the reality that the drum has become overfished due to the market demand for the “Blackened Red fish”. The club board voted to carry the prize money over to the next year’s tournament. The 1987 tournament, was a success although only a few drum were caught with the largest drum weight in was only 24 inches in length. BK Barringer was the winner and received a check in the amount of $2250 as it included the previous year’s winnings. It still stands as the largest singles fish prize awarded the tournament winner.
The tournament continued to grow in popularity and eventually expanded into awarding prizes for other species of fish. This was the club’s effort to reduce the pressure on the Drum Fish.
As the club continued to grow the leadership spread across the state and eventually into South Carolina the club became a 501, C 4, Tax exempt entity and was officially named the Davis Island Fishing Foundation.
During these and the following years the club members continued to be active on the island. Club members met with the first NPS Supertendent, Mac Riddle to introduce the club and offer the club as partner with the park service to improve conditions on the island and to promote to the park service the interest of the sportsman. Over the years this relation between the park service, DIFF and club members continued to grow as the park service realizes that they and DIFF had similar objectives. This relation was often controversial, but always in a respectful way that created a respect by the NPS for the club’s opinions.
Each year as there would be changes in the park ranger staff which took some “getting use to” but always a mutual respect between each. Bill Harris became the next supertendent and over the years attended numerous DIFF Membership meetings and was a strong supporter along with his staff of DIFF and club members. A list of the various island improvement projects undertaken by club members individually or as organized work projects is enormous.
To list a few of the early projects: Joined with the NPS, US Army Engineering detachment from Fort Bragg, USA Reserve unit from Morehead City and a National Guard unit from Kinston to remove scrap automobiles and tons of scrap metal from the island. Participate with the park serviced to identify parking areas, beach ramp and backroad identification markers, build beach erosion facilities, build and renovate buildings at Les and Sally’s, Improve the back road with grading equipment and drags. There was continuous work on the various cabins to improve their quality and appearance. Each year the club joined by the Core Banks Fishing Club selecting cabins to be upgraded. Work included structural needs, amenities including shelving, bunks, screens and painted. The club through with the dedicated help of members, other island friends and material suppliers build two cabins, 10A and 10B which as of today remain monuments to the work of the club. During these times of change and the retirement of Bill Harris other supertendents have been supportive and appreciative of Diff’s goal of protecting the island, environment and promoting the use of the island by responsible sportsmen. Supertendent Bob Vogel was instrumental in obtaining funding of all new cabins which bring us into modern times.
Since the early days, the sportsmen have become even more mobile with advent of 4WD vehicles, many with campers and the knowledge to drive RVs on the beach.
NIRVANA. BK Barringer, 1995+-