If Hugh Porter is the state's 

 most knowledgeable professional, 

 Buddenhagen is among the state's 

 most informed amateurs. When 

 vacation rolls around, Buddenhagen 

 has one thing on her mind — collect- 

 ing shells. 



"I'd plan my whole life around it 

 if I could," she says. 



Buddenhagen' s vacations are 

 filled with hours of searching for rare 

 seashells: scuba diving in North 

 Carolina and Caribbean waters, 

 combing sandy beaches and trudging 

 through thick, black marsh mud. Like 

 a scientist, she carefully documents 

 where she finds each shell. She also 

 photographs each in its natural habitat 

 to give fellow members of the North 

 Carolina Shell Club a glimpse of how 

 the mollusks live. 



Buddenhagen caught shell fever 

 by accident. In August 1979, she was 

 determined that Hurricane David 

 would not ruin her long-awaited beach 

 trip. After the storm passed, she 

 combed the beach for the remaining 

 days of her vacation. She found some 

 unusual shells, but no one knew what 

 they were. She had almost forgotten 

 about them when she stopped for ice 

 cream and saw a small shell guide. It 

 was written by the late R. Tucker 

 Abott, well-known for his larger 

 volume, "American Sea Shells." In the 

 guide's introduction, Tucker empha- 

 sized the importance of carefully 

 documenting the location of every 

 shell you collect. You can always add 

 the names later, he advised. 



After reading the guide, 

 Buddenhagen wrote down everything 

 about the shells she'd found. The 

 result was a new passion in life, not to 

 mention numerous awards for her 

 shell collections. 



Most members of the Shell Club 

 share this passion. The club formed in 

 1957 and now boasts more than 200 

 members. Its members meet at the 

 coast four weekends each year to 

 listen to speakers or participate in 

 workshops on shell crafts or identifi- 

 cation. On Saturday, they go on a field 



Continued 



Lesser star-turns 



Scotch bonnets 



COASTWATCH 11 



