Ken Taylor 



Lundie Spenci 



LEFT: Frogs and other wildlife inhabit the Green Swamp. RIGHT: DoDo Clewis has worked the Waccamaw River his whole life. 



sundew and four species of pitcher plants. 



Several rare and unique animals also 

 live in the swamp, including the red- 

 cockaded woodpecker, the eastern diamond- 

 back rattlesnake, Bachman's sparrow and the 

 American alligator. 



The North Carolina Nature Conservancy 

 protects 15,900 acres of the swamp, a 

 National Natural Landmark. 



Recently, the conservancy bought 2,500 

 acres in tracts along the Waccamaw and 

 Juniper Creek and 553 acres in the frequently 

 submerged floodplain along the waters of 

 White Marsh. 



Hervey Mclver, N.C. Nature Conser- 

 vancy land protection specialist, says the 

 White Marsh is an important water source for 

 the Waccamaw River. "Protecting water 

 quality in the White Marsh by maintaining 

 the filtering capacity of its forests not only 

 enhances the full array of aquatic life near 

 Whiteville, but also is critical to aquatic 



habitat downstream," he says. 



The river is also near Lake Waccamaw 

 and Lake Waccamaw State Park. Lake 

 Waccamaw is home to native fish and 

 mollusk that are found only in or around the 

 lake, including the Waccamaw killfish. It also 

 has at least five species on the state's rare 

 plant list. 



CRUSOE ISLAND 



Columbus County also boasts a rich 

 cultural heritage. For many years, Crusoe 

 Island, now called Riverview, was home to 

 numerous canoe builders and distinct river 

 folks. Crusoe is technically not an island. 

 However, it is surrounded by swamps and the 

 Waccamaw River. 



Because of the community's isolation, 

 most residents have a "distinctive" dialect, 

 according to a study conducted by North 

 Carolina State University graduate student 

 Amy Gantt under the direction of Walt 



Wolfram, a William C. Friday distinguished 

 professor in English. 



"The approximately 100 European- 

 American residents of Crusoe Island also are 

 typified by their independence and wariness 

 of outsiders," the report says. Preliminary 

 research has shown that the Crusoe Island 

 dialect combines some features of southern 

 pronunciation such as "tar" for "tire" and 

 "fahn" for "fine" with some unique traits, 

 such as the nasalization of vowels reminis- 

 cent of the way French speakers nasalize their 

 vowels in words like "pan" or "bon." 



One of the island's oldest residents is 

 DoDo Clewis, 70, who lives in a tiny white 

 house that is on a dead-end road and within a 

 few yards of the riverbank. 



"I was bom here and lived here all 

 my life," says Clewis. "My papa dug boats. 

 I watched him dig." 



Until recent years, Clewis was an active 

 boat craftsman, digging boats, bowls — and 



8 HIGH SEASON 2002 



