TRENDS | PEOPLE | CULTURE | HAPPENINGS beachbites
Museum’s Shrimperoo Tradition
Dedicated to a dedicated man
by SHANNON RAE GENTRY
museum being relocated from the beach to the town site, and he had
always been there helping with the preservation of the building itself.”
Not only did Holman care about the beach and his community, he
saw the importance of historic preservation and shared his passion
for it in many ways. Whether as a member of the Wrightsville Beach
Museum of History Board of Directors or Wrightsville Beach Planning
Board, Holman put to use his working knowledge of the area’s built
environment.
This year the museum has also named its front exhibit room the
“Wright Holman Room,” and will present the official plaque designed
by Holman’s nephew in his memory at the shrimperoo on Sunday,
Prior to Memorial Day the historic Palmgren-O’Quinn House
on South Channel Drive will embark on its maiden voyage
to its new home beside the Wrightsville Beach Museum
of History and the Wrightsville Beach Visitors Center on
Salisbury Street.
The circa 1946 home, donated by new owners Mark and Debbie
Mitchell, will be reborn as the regional headquarters for the North Carolina
Coastal Federation, a nonprofit state-wide organization that works to pro-tect
the state’s coastal water resources. Mike Giles, coastal advocate for the
NCCF, says the historic house will be much more than an office for them.
“We are in an office space now where we are cramped and out of
room, and we really can’t … showcase what you can do … as far as low-impact
development, conserving rainwater and reducing stormwater
runoff,” Giles says. “The space is also going to allow us to greatly expand
our outreach in education programs.”
Before all of those things can happen the house must be raised from
its foundation, floated by barge down Motts Channel, through the
Intracoastal Waterway under the drawbridge, into Lees Cut, and hauled
over land to its new site on town property.
There’s nothin’ finer than fresh, boiled shrimp shared
among community friends, especially when paired
with all the trimmings and local music.
As Harbor Island used to be known as the Hammocks
before the early 1900s, it’s only fitting for the South Hammocks
Bluegrass Band to make an encore appearance at the Wrightsville
Beach Museum of History’s annual Shrimperoo.
The annual shrimperoo is dedicated to the late Wright Holman,
who played an integral role when the first hoe-down was held.
“He was really a driving force in getting this started,” says museum
director Madeline Flagler. “As a local builder, he had overseen the
Coastal Federation’s New Digs
Palmgren-O’Quinn House
to Move to Historic Square
by COLE DITTMER
TKF Housemovers haul the top half of a house through
downtown Wrightsville, October 13, 2007. The home was
moved from East Atlanta Street to Alexander Road near
Porters Neck.
WBM FILE PHOTO
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WBM april 2013