Up Front

The season is upon us when we share the places we love with so many.

Donut shops are increasingly popular in our region. Summertime plans with out-of-town family always include a trip to Britt’s Donuts in Carolina Beach.

Speaking of donuts, enjoy art director Shawn Best’s look at Foods of the Day during the month of June. Is it any surprise June 3 is Donut Day?

Another story this issue highlights is our coastal nature reserves. It is an exciting read with great photographs. I suspect many a field trip will be planned after this read.

We’ve been presenting unique homes every issue since our first. When I was 3, my family moved from a wood-frame, oceanfront cottage in my seaside community to a modern home of stone, glass and redwood with terrazzo floors, a fairly uncommon architecture at the time. This month we have the Figure Eight Island multi split-level called Surrender by its owner. The home provides three stunning wings in a C formation that surround a courtyard, all overlooking the ocean.

June means the beginning of hurricane season. Be sure to read the proactive hurricane insurance update by expert Lisa Sharrard. 

Every June we celebrate fathers. To that end we have two stories of exceptional men who have lived among us.

First, we have a fond remembrance of a well-loved man, David Whitley Mayo, who was in his day known as Wrightsville’s unofficial mayor. Every Christmas I pondered his NOEL. Then, also for Memorial Day, there’s the tale of Harry Bethea. Following his service as a B-17 pilot in World War II, flying with the infamous “Bloody 100th” Bomb Group, he ran his laundry business tucked into the storefronts alongside the Crest Theater, a Wrightsville Beach landmark on North Lumina Avenue. This poignant story looks at a family’s search for answers to what happened to Bethea at the end of his war service. 

Don’t miss our feature on nationally acclaimed artist Lisa Creed, who shares her journey through abstraction. Her art will amaze you.

Enjoy what I hope for all of us will be lazy, blessed days of summer on the Carolina Coast. 

—Pat Bradford, Senior Editor/Publisher