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Yours for the Asking
Water Quality Testing Available
The town of Pine Knoll Shores is responsible
for delivering quality water directly to your
home, and offers water testing free of charge
upon request. Water System Operator Sonny
Cunningham carries two kits that will give
instant results for the following:
• Hardness of water. From a practical
standpoint, this means that Sonny is
testing to see if your water softener is doing its job.
Presence of chlorine and the absence of bacteria. While there has never
been a problem in this area, this test is performed 365 days a year at
outdoor taps at randomly selected homes and other locations in town—
and we will be glad to run it for your home as well.
Keep in mind that Sonny is not authorized or licensed to do any work that a
licensed plumber or water conditioner vendor does, but he can tell you what he
believes is causing the problem. To arrange for a test, call Betty Carr at 247-4353,
ext. 13.
Ancient Mariners
Nearing Season’s End
By Charlie McBriarty
The Ancient Mariners Bowling League will end its season on Thursday, March 27,
with their annual banquet at the Clamdigger. This concluding event is eagerly antici
pated, not only because it will mark the end of a “grueling” season of bowhng, but
also because the food and drinks are plentiful and prize money will be awarded. And
if past banquets are an indication of what is in store, this will be an enjoyable night
filled with conversation and good humor.
The season got underway this past September at Mac Daddy’s in Cape Carteret.
Ten three-person teams have bowled three games of friendly competition on Monday
afternoons. As usual, the season is divided in half with a two-week respite during the
weeks of Christmas and New Years. The team with the most points at the end of each
half will face off on Tuesday, March 25. Of course, if one team dominates and finishes
first at the end of both halves, there will be no need for a roll-off. At this juncture, it
seems quite unlikely that there will be any bowling on the 25th.
The Ancient Mariners Bowling League was formed in the late summer of 1974, not
many months after the town of Pine Knoll Shores came into existence. The story of
how the league began is that a number of newly transplanted residents of this newly
identified town were talking about what they would do when winter arrived. This
group was looking for a way to extend the good times they had been experiencing
during the summer at the beach. It was suggested that they might enjoy something
indoors over the winter months and bowling seemed like a reasonable solution. The
group decided on the name to call themselves and the rest is history. '
Over the years the league has offered wintertime entertainment that has provided
a good time for all with friendly conversation, a lot of humor and just a touch of
competition to make it interesting. From the beginning, the league has included both
women and men, the focus has been on fun and the atmosphere has been welcoming.
If this sounds interesting to you, the Ancient Mariners Bowling League is always
looking for new people to become involved. As stated earlier, the season begins in late
September and continues until late March—with a two-week break over the holidays.
The April issue of The Shoreline wiU have an article on the final results of the sea
son, identification of the “new” officers and some of what transpired at the season-
ending banquet. With any luck, the April article will also identify some of the reasons
you should seriously consider joining us in September.
NC Author Lee Smith to Speak
By Monika Bottlinger
The Carteret Arts Forum will present North Carolina author Lee Smith on
Wednesday, April 9, at 11 a.m. at the Coral Bay Club in Atlantic Beach. Cur
rently a resident of Hillsborough, Ms. Smith is a fiction writer whose 16 books
and short stories typically incorporate her roots in the South. Growing up in the
Appalachian mountains of Virginia, nine-year-old Lee was already writing—and
selling, for a nickel apiece—stories about her neighbors in the coal boomtown of
Grundy.
Ms. Smith has received many writing awards, including the O. Henry Award,
the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award for Fiction, the North Caro
lina Award for Literature and, in April 2013, was the first recipient of Mercer
University’s Sidney Lanier Prize for Southern Book Critics Award. Smith reached
a wider audience with The New York Times bestseller The Last Girls (2002), which
was also a “Good Morning America” Book Club pick.
A talk she often uses is entitled “A Life in Books,” in which she speaks about
her childhood, how and when she started writing and how that writing has
changed over the years. The program ends with a reading from her latest book.
She loves to answer questions from the audience.
This program is included in the Carteret Arts Forum’s subscription series, and
single tickets are available for $35 ($30 for book clubs purchasing as a group).
Buffet luncheon tickets are $15 and reservations must be made by April 4. There
will be a cash bar at this event.
For information, to purchase a ticket or make reservations for the luncheon,
please contact Tim Bradford at 240-1699. Tickets may be purchased online at
www.carteretartsforum.org..
Iron Steamer Sighting
By Bill Steenland
Better known locally as The Iron Steamer, the SS Pevensey was grounded on June 9,
1864, in an apparent attempt to escape Union warships, one of which was the New Berne,
which had fired multiple cannon rounds causing some damage. When aground, 35 of the
crew lowered smaller boats and made it safely to shore only to be captured and impris
oned at Fort Macon. Upon departure from the Pevensey, the crew caused a huge explo
sion which destroyed the steam engines, broke the bulkheads and many other vital parts.
The Pevensey was built in London and launched earlier in 1864. She was 224 feet long
and 26 feet wide. The part of the ship visible in this picture, taken at low tide on January
29, is thought to be the port paddle wheel hub.
Photo by Bill Steenland
March 2014 I The Shoreline
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