reunion. Madge Quthrie tosses a memorial wreath into the water. 



J.A. Rose enjoys the Ca'e Banks 



T 



in 1899, the big one came," says 

 Yeomans, 79. "The water came from the 

 ocean and sound and covered all the 

 banks and went in homes. People realized 

 that it was time to leave the spot where 

 they lived and loved so much." 



Yeomans walks up a sandy hill, 

 stopping at the only telephone pole left on 

 the island. With a small crowd around 

 him, he lays a wreath to commemorate 

 the descendants of the Banks communi- 

 ties, including Diamond City — named 

 for the diamond pattern on the nearby 

 lighthouse. 



The ceremony marks the 100th 

 anniversary of the 1 899 storm that forced 

 families to leave thriving, close-knit 

 communities and migrate to safer ground 

 at Harkers Island and Morehead City. 

 Today, Diamond City is a ghost town. 

 Ca'e Banks, where the Cape Lookout 

 lighthouse stands, also are deserted. 



"We thank you for this day," says 

 Yeomans, the retired postmaster at 

 Harkers Island. "It's been a memorable 

 day all day long. Now, Lord, we lay this 

 wreath on this hallowed spot. We thank 

 you for those who lived here, our 

 families. Thank you for the countless 

 memories that flood our soul." 



Earlier in the day, more than 600 

 descendants and friends of Bankers had 



gathered at the end of Harkers Island on 

 Shell Point. 



This reunion 



will help us keep our connections," says 

 Barbara Guthrie Humphreys, whose 

 mother wrote Cartaret Love Song, a 

 poetry collection. "It's making you 

 stronger. It's acknowledging who you are 

 and where you are going." 



Although Humphreys' ancestors left 

 the island 1 00 years ago, she and her 

 family still follow many traditions. 



"Faith has been embedded in us," 

 says Barbara's sister, Julie Guthrie 

 Fulcher. "Our ancestors also brought over 

 our preference for food — love of seafood, 

 collard greens, fried hogfish, sweet 

 potatoes, dumplings and fried cornbread." 



As the descendants gather under 

 white tents, they feast on traditional 

 dishes, including clam fritters, light bread 

 biscuits (yeast rolls), oatmeal hurricane 

 cake, collards and dumplings. 



"Thoughts of bringing together all 

 the family connections of the Banks 

 communities first surfaced when I read 

 Somerset Homecoming many years ago," 

 says Karen Willis Amspacher, reunion 

 organizer and Core Sound Waterfowl 

 Museum director. "That story of a 



commitment to family and heritage 

 challenged me to think of our own 

 scattered kinfolk and how wonderful it 

 would be to bring them all together again 

 — for the first time." 



Since music is an important part of 

 the Banks heritage, the reunion partici- 

 pants sing a variety of traditional and 

 gospel songs. 



While standing under an old cedar 

 tree, Yeomans commands an audience 

 while singing "The Booze Yacht," a song 

 about finding high-quality whiskey from 

 a rumrunner that ran aground on Cape 

 Lookout. Nicknamed the "Harkers Island 

 national anthem," the song was set to the 

 tune of "The Sidewalks of New York." 



"I was 5 when they got together in 

 my father's house and wrote the song," 

 he says. 



Later in the afternoon, the descendants 

 gather at the Church of Jesus Christ of 

 Latter-day Saints cultural hall for a couple 

 hours of singing, clapping and readings. 



"It is fitting that we are one hour 

 behind schedule," says Joel Hancock, the 

 reunion's master of ceremonies. "Time 

 didn't mean anything to our ancestors." 



At times, the service becomes 

 solemn. When Annette Fluhart Willis sings 

 "I Stood on a Hill — on Shackleford," 

 many descendants' eyes fill with tears. 



8 HOLIDAY 1999 



