Posts by WB Magazine
My Christmas Tree
Since my early schoolboy days, I have been a Christmas tree aficionado. In those callow days, Christmas was a time when I built a “holly stand” out by the old Wrightsville Road in Seagate, our little town on Bradley Creek. Propped against my holly stand were one or two unadorned Christmas trees that I had…
Read MoreAnd Then There Were Some
In Colonial times, there were so many wild turkeys in America that Ben Franklin advocated for them to be the national bird. In 1621, Plymouth Colony Gov. William Bradford wrote in his journal during his first autumn, “There was a great store of wild turkeys of which they took many.” In his book The Old…
Read MoreGame Changer
There are a number of programs in the county and region that focus on youth violence intervention but one flying under the radar is the ELEMENTS program within the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office. In its 17th year, the program helps young people see a different path than violence through year-long, one-on-one mentorships for children…
Read MoreRoll Out!
Some of the best childhood memories are tied to riding bikes with friends — wind at the back, breeze in the hair, fits of laughter, endless afternoons, and the joy that comes from being on the way to a favorite destination. Wrightsville Beach business owner Jimmy Gilleece has been sharing the love for seven years…
Read MoreThe Splendor of Fort Caswell
Eastern North Carolina is rich in American history and historical sites. One within an hour’s drive of Wilmington is lesser-known Fort Caswell. It lies on the eastern end of Oak Island at the convergence of the Cape Fear River and Atlantic Ocean, between Southport on the Brunswick County mainland and 12,000-acre Bald Head Island. Now…
Read MoreMy Thoughts
I knew the first time I drove onto the Fort Caswell grounds, I had to write about it. Fort Caswell on the eastern end of Oak Island is so close and yet when you’re out there on that peninsula you feel as if you are a million miles from everywhere. In today’s really challenging climate,…
Read MoreThankful
Around the time Wrightsville Beach got its first dial telephone installed and Newell’s expanded to become a landmark variety store, a beach cottage on North Harbor Island was built. The year was 1940, back before Johnnie Mercers Fishing Pier and Waynick Boulevard existed, when the Blockade Runner Beach Resort was still called the Seashore Hotel,…
Read MoreThanksgiving for Seafood Lovers
Any holiday gathering typically revolves around the main meat choice, ham, turkey or beef, but most families will say no meal is complete without the traditional dressing. Not unlike the family gravy, this recipe is held in great esteem. It is a meal memory maker. Nods can be observed around a table, yep, that’s it,…
Read MoreEmerging Art
Art rarely adheres to any schedule but its own. Artists know a piece becomes complete in its own time. They explore every possible path until finally it is done. David Norris, a Wilmingtonian whose mediums include painting, printmaking, drawing and photography, knows all about this process. “I’ll find something to focus on,” says Norris. “I’ll…
Read MoreEverett’s Yachtel on Causeway Drive
Everett’s Yachtel was a marina and motel on the Wrightsville Beach Causeway crossing present day Harbor Island, formerly known as The Hammocks. With an early awareness of successful business branding, owner Martin Everett creatively combined yacht and motel to get the unique name. Everett went by the nickname Hot Shot Everett. “Everybody knew him as Hot…
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