Travis Morris Libros

Nestled within North Carolina's Outer Banks lies Currituck County, a gem to both residents and tourists alike. Prolific local author Travis Morris pays tribute to this close-knit community with personal anecdotes and interviews of lifetime residents, from those who danced at Nags Head Casino (which allegedly had the East Coast's largest dance floor in the 1940s and '50s) to those who hunted fowl at the Wright Brothers Hunting Lodge. Stories of old Currituck will resonate with anyone who remembers feather beds, kerosene lamps and families crowded around the first battery radios to listen to the Grand Ole Opry. Glimpse potato hills"--used to store sweet potatoes in the winter--the muddy roads of Dismal Swamp, fishermen bartering oysters for corn and other larger-than-life characters in this collection of stories about Currituck's early years."

Before sleek factory boats dominated Currituck Sound, locals piloted these waters in hulls made by hand. Some still can be seen today--beautiful works of art designed for the utility of travel, fishing, hunting, scouting and touring. They figure prominently in recollections of a bygone sportsman's paradise, and native storyteller Travis Morris offers this engaging collection based on anecdotes, interviews and detailed craft descriptions. It's an insider's history of Currituck's boating heritage featuring the famed Whalehead Club, an accidental run-in with the Environmental Protection Agency and a harrowing U.S. Coast Guard rescue.

People called Currituck County a sportsman's paradise back when the skies clouded over with ducks and the waters teemed with fish. The game is more elusive these days and the hunting methods more sophisticated, but native Travis Morris shows through these stories that the thrill of it all is just as intense. From a four-year-old boy on his first hunt with his grandfather to an eighty-two-year-old woman who still loves to shoot her supper, Morris highlights both the heart and humor of the sportsman. There's a three-strand cord that will forever bind Currituck passion for the hunt, love of the outdoors and respect for the dangers of open, shallow waters.

The Outer Banks of Currituck County are home to large mansions and see thousands of tourists each year. The islands weren't always populated, however. Much of the land was purchased to raise cattle before larger homes were constructed. In 1857, the Currituck Shooting Club became one of many early hunting clubs that dotted the islands. The area endured complex political battles in the 1970s over the construction of roads and residential development that would eventually exchange the hunting clubs for housing communities. Follow lifetime Currituck native and prolific author Travis Morris as he retells the history of development through newspaper articles and personal anecdotes and offers an insider's glimpse into the movers and shakers who made the islands the popular getaway they are today.