Mattamuskeet 



By Julie Ann Powers 

 Photographs by Scott D. Taylor 



L 



vanquish Lake Mattamuskeet. Its second, as a 

 waterfowl hunting lodge, was to take from the lake's 

 bounty. Now, the 82-year-old Mattamuskeet Lodge 

 has been cast in a third relationship with its environ- 

 ment: to protect and preserve the biological wonder- 

 land around it. And this role has saved the striking 

 structure itself from destruction. 



After sitting empty and decaying for two decades, 

 the lodge still has plenty of peeling paint and chipped 

 plaster. Nevertheless, the building is at work as a 

 university research field station and environmental 

 education center. The lodge also has resumed its place 

 as the premier community gathering spot. Its neighbors 

 couldn't be happier to see this eminence of Hyde 

 County history find a future. The lodge, with its red- 

 tiled roof and tall blue-and-white-striped tower, holds a 

 place in the hearts of most local residents. A few 

 remember its pump house days; many more recall 

 when it was open for guests and events. 



'There's hardly a person in Hyde County who 

 doesn't remember a wedding reception or a prom 

 here," says Annette Gibbs, a lifelong lakeside resident 

 who danced at her own senior prom in the lodge's 

 great hall. "It was heartbreaking to see it closed. You 

 didn't even want to go past it." 



The lodge shut down in 1974 and steadily 

 declined until a cooperative rescue effort brought it 

 new purpose. In addition to environmental research 

 and education facilities, the lodge someday will house 

 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offices. 



Though a massive makeover has just begun, 

 Gibbs, now the lodge coordinator, conducts tours and 

 oversees the lodge's increasingly busy events calendar. 



"I'm in love with my job," she says. "I've lived 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 7 



