Like a boat slowly disappearing in the early morning fog, a lifestyle that has sustained Core Sound residents for more than 200 years is drifting away. Fishermen, boatbuilders and residents in an area of Carteret County known as “Down East” North Carolina are witnessing a steady decline in the commercial fishing industry, one that has affected traditional fishing communities nationwide.
For generations, Down East families have relied on finely crafted, hand-built wooden workboats for their livelihood. Today, many of these sturdy workboats lie idle, no longer a vital part of these fishing communities. In 2004 photographer Lawrence S. Earley realized these trawlers, skiffs, runboats and haulboats were fading away, so he set his lens on documenting them. His images appear in Workboats of Core Sound, opening Friday, May 8, at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh. The exhibit will run through May 2, 2010, and admission is free.
“This exhibit conveys how workboats are unique expressions of the region’s boatbuilders and traditions,” explained Emily Grant, exhibit team leader. “Each boat carries multiple stories about the people, history and culture of fishing communities in Down East North Carolina.”
Captured in black and white, Earley’s photographs in Workboats of Core Sound document a startling diversity of handmade boats, ranging from 18-foot skiffs to a 60-foot trawler. Others reflect the distinct boatbuilding traditions of a community, such as the flared bow of a workboat built in Harkers Island or the straight bow of an Atlantic boat. Still others detail the process of long-haul fishing, for which many of these boats were built.
In 2004 during a photo exhibit at Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center on Harkers Island, Earley discovered that his photographs of workboats held deeper meanings and connections for the people of Core Sound.
“When I first started photographing these old boats, I thought of them almost as scenics,” said Earley, an author and the former editor of Wildlife in North Carolina. “But I learned firsthand that when Core Sound residents look at photographs of workboats, they see many layers of history, stories and family connections. To them, a workboat was almost like a family member, emotionally charged with the names of individuals and families and communities associated with her.”
With camera and digital recorder in hand, and the support of the N.C. Arts Council and Core Sound Waterfowl Museum, he spent the next few years visiting the fishing villages to interview local residents and shoot more photos. A kiosk in the exhibit features audio-slide shows of fishermen discussing their boats.
“It has been a great honor for our museum to be the link between photographer and subject and to help bring the stories and meaning of these workboats to these images,” emphasized Karen Willis Amspacher, director of Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center.
Workboats of Core Sound celebrates the native artistry of Down East boatbuilders, and especially the traditions of the community of Atlantic and its most famous boatbuilder, Ambrose Fulcher. Like all the Down East boatbuilders of the early 20th century, Fulcher used only a saw, hammer and hatchet to build boats. He followed no plans, using what boatbuilders called “the rack of the eye.”
As a result, no two handmade Core Sound workboats are exactly alike. Added Grant, “Each workboat is like a cultural document that is a key to understanding the region’s maritime heritage. However, these are changeable documents that are amended each time a boat is rebuilt, repaired, renamed, sold or refitted.”
To further enhance the exhibit, Workboats of Core Sound features a 16-foot skiff on loan from the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center that was owned and worked by Leckler Lewis, a lifelong resident of Stacy, Carteret County. Visitors will also see two model boats by Jimmy Amspacher, who bases his models on Core Sound workboats. Each model takes more than 1,000 hours to complete. The exhibit also includes a touch area focusing on boat hull styles.
Plan to see this exhibit that captures an important part of our state’s heritage. Like the workboats, Earley’s photographs will carry memories and stories of a disappearing lifestyle for future generations.
Brief Biography of Lawrence S. Earley
Earley is a Raleigh resident who worked for 20 years with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, where he served as editor of Wildlife in North Carolina and directed the Wildlife Commission’s educational publications unit. He is the author of Looking for Longleaf: The Fall and Rise of an American Forest (UNC Press, 2004). A photographer for more than 35 years, his images have been exhibited widely in North Carolina.
EXHIBIT-RELATED PROGRAMS
The N.C. Museum of History offers programs for children and adults that complement the exhibit Workboats of Core Sound, opening Friday, May 8, in Raleigh. Join the exhibit’s opening reception, where you can meet photographer and guest curator Lawrence S. Earley, and enjoy food and lively entertainment by award-winning musician and author Bland Simpson, a member of the Red Clay Ramblers.
Additional programs include a photo preservation workshop on May 9 and a lunchtime lecture by Earley on July 8. There is something for all ages.
All programs are free! Evening and weekend parking is free.
Workboats of Core Sound Opening Reception
Friday, May 8
7-9 p.m.
To register, call 919-807-7847 or e-mail mdees@ncmuseumassoc.com.
Get a taste of “Down East” North Carolina. Meet photographer Lawrence S. Earley, and hear music and stories presented by Bland Simpson. Tour the exhibit to see Earley’s photographs of the area’s distinctive traditional fishing boats.
Curator Tour’s: Workboats of Core Sound
Saturday, May 9
1-2 p.m.
Lawrence S. Earley, Guest Curator
On this special exhibit tour led by Earley, hear stories about fishing communities “Down East” that he gathered from fishermen, boatbuilders and other Core Sound residents.
Photo Preservation Workshop
Saturday, May 9
10-11:30 a.m.
To register, call 919-807-7992 by May 6.
Stephen Fletcher, Photo Archivist, North Carolina Collection, UNC-Chapel Hill
Learn how to protect your family photos at this introductory workshop covering the basics of preservation and storage, and get tips on identifying historic photographs.
*Time for Tots: Skiffs, Sharpies and Sailing Ships
Tuesday, June 2 or Tuesday, June 9
10-10:45 a.m.
Ages 3-5 with adult
Registration is required. Call 919-807-7992.
Learn about different kinds of boats and make a sailing vessel to take home.
History à la Carte: Working the Water
Wednesday, July 8
12:10-1 p.m.
Bring your lunch; beverages provided.
Lawrence S. Earley, Guest Curator
In his illustrated lecture, Earley will discuss what makes the hand-built wooden fishing vessels of “Down East” North Carolina so special, particularly as commercial fishing ebbs along the coast.
*History Corner: Boats on the Coast
Thursday, Aug. 6
10-11 a.m.
Ages 5-9 with adult
To register, call 919-807-7992.
Learn about the boats that people on North Carolina’s coast built and used to go to work, school, church and just about everywhere else. Make a model workboat to take home. This program is presented with Cameron Village Regional Library.
For more information, call 919-807-7900 or access ncmuseumofhistory.org. The museum is located at 5 E. Edenton St., across from the State Capitol. Parking is available in the lot across Wilmington Street.
* programs of interest to children or families
The N.C. Museum of History’s hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. The museum is part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archives and History, an agency of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. The department’s Web site is www.ncculture.com.