Knotts Island (1970s?)

[Music] here we are on the six car ferry connecting kurur tuck and Knots Island North Carolina the ferry makes several trips each day across cck sound to the island where around 300 families now live this Ferry also transports 60 some high school students to and from schools in K Tu to learn more about the island we talk with a lifelong resident Mr Herman Jones Mr Jones say Nots island is really a beautiful place do you agree yes I agree I've been here all my life and you mind telling me how long that is well all seem to be 79 November and you were born here on N is was born and raised right here on N Island and your people before that was your father here father was here grandfather and grandmothers good gracious so your folks been here a long time haven't they yeah they have well when you think about uh not Island in those days about how many families you reckon lived out here when you were little well well I couldn't estimate that rate off bad I don't think but there's nothing like it is over here now wasn't probably 10 or 15 families then oh yes it was more than that mhm and uh probably 20 25 in those days how did people make a living by fishing hunting and then they sold what they uh hunted and and fish my daddy and and brother used to buy them oh I see that was their first business them up ship them on Bennett line and nor but you're in the grocery business aren't you well I just help pronate I'm not in anything yeah well you were that's where we found you at the grocery store when did that grocery store start uh this one RA in now in' 66 that's a new one but you had an old store didn't you oh I started that in 25 after my father died oh that's a long time ago it's pretty good while well there are lots of interesting things out here one of the new things is this wildlife Refuge isn't it yeah they have quite a program Wildlife does I heard about a third of the island is in that Refuge is that right well something yeah that I imagine uhhuh um when did you you got a church you've always had a church oh yes we've had a church ever since I can remember yeah I I think course the one that's there now I don't know when he built that I help helped fix it did the one before that burned down or something no just the want a new one a bigger one I understand how a church out here you know like 60 or 70 years ago 18 something mhm so it's been a good long while yeah well along with all that hunting and fishing you were talking about I heard somewhere that a lot of uh rich people from the north came down and built clubs here yes we had several clubs around K took clubs still in operation but not but his old men you know years back yeah but now you still have Club over that point of woods yeah they've been here a long time too and there's some other places where people can come and stay like in yeah here's a place right here Miss Grace Williams they come and Hunt Miss Barnes over here and that's in the fall and the winter winter time and hunting season and that's what all those duck blinds are that's right out there in the uh quite a few duck blinds out there people has fix them up every year yeah you got any uh fire department or anything yes we have fire department been here I should say 7 8 years something like volunteer mhm and uh they have a rescue squad or something Rescue Squad ambulance you got a doctor no we don't have any doctor over here well suppose somebody get sick where they go well we go to Creeds Dr Hancock Virginia it's in Virginia you're pretty close to Virginia aren't you well lions are up north end Isle here close as you can get you're in the northeaster part of North Carolina yeah we sure are the very Corner that's right and you do you feel more like you are North carolan or Virginia well I'm a North Carolin I'm T Tar Hill I was afraid since you were living so close to the line you might think you were Virginia no no no well I'm North Carol are there many old homes been here a long time yeah there's quite a few old homes been here but recently some of them have been burn down uhhuh it w't one down two weeks ago Mr Calvin Williams that was quite an old building oh that's too bad they burn it down there no one living in it oh mhm the ones that has it in charge now they just didn't want it I guess and they got the fire department burn down oh you really they burned it down and took care of it as they did it but you got some beautiful homes around new new yeah we have some nice homes over here I heard you talking a while ago when we were up at the store about the trailer business around here they're moving in in trailers oh yeah we have quite a number you've seen that up the road here yeah oh they are working people in Virginia yeah they're most of them service men oh they are yeah most of them are service what was that you called them up there when we were talking about it a while ago comers and goers yeah comers and goers that's right well they bring in business to the island don't they yeah most of them seems to be nice people well you've got got a pretty little school here Mr Jones when you were a little boy did you have a school out here yes we had a school wanted to North End of is and wanted South End and these were one room school one room school all grades and one teacher one teacher and that was quite a job wasn't it yeah it was but one thing about it that you were close enough to get there weren't you oh yeah we used to walk there and back every day well now you've got a real nice uh School building now yeah we have a nice school now the children has TR ation they don't how to walk now that school all good teachers and they're do fine you've got um you have through the seventh grade there and what happens to the high school the older they go over to Mr naps or Central High over in K now you brought up a name that I want to ask you about Mr nap now he was he was a publisher with a New York Harold trivia a great man he done a lot he built that school he built the School yes well how did he get interested in this place well I really don't know did he come down here hunting or something yeah he come hunting and he finally bought Mack uhhuh he owned it and then he just wanted to help everybody yeah he h c Tu over there at school hope us all here with ours and he was a fine man what do you think's going to happen to this beautiful sort of isolated place in the future Mr Jones well I think it'll still exist but I don't know just for how long we have a nice place here I think thank thanks a lot for letting us talk with you sure surely welcome thank you very much for coming