Atlantic Research Company leased the property 

 as a site to develop and test rocket fuel that is 

 now used in nuclear submarines. 



After 1965, the house fell into disrepair 

 as people became interested in developing the 

 surrounding land. When Currituck County 

 bought the property for preservation in 1992, 

 only 39 acres and the dilapidated house 

 remained. Much of the original furniture and 

 fixtures were gone — some looted by vandals 

 and others removed by local residents for 

 safekeeping, explain tour guides. 



Today, the Whalehead Preservation 

 Trust is trying to obtain or recreate the home's 

 original furnishings. The dining room is the 

 most complete room, boasting the original table, 

 sideboard and one original chair. The Knights' 

 Tiffany lamps were stored by a developer, and 

 returned to the society for restoration. 



DISTINGUISHABLE 

 DECOYS 



A tour of the Whalehead Club offers only 

 one side of Currituck's storied gunning culture. 

 Duck hunting was merely a passing winter 

 sport for northern businessmen. For many 

 local families, hunting was a steady source of 

 income. Duck hunting was a culmination of 

 everything the locals did year-round. 



'They used their fishing boats to hunt 

 with. They used the skills required of a 

 yeoman farmer — in terms of being able to 

 work with hand tools, being able to make 

 things out of common materials — to create 

 decoys," says Nickens. 



Currituck decoys are easily identified 

 by their simplicity. They seldom had raised 

 wings, detailed paint, or even eyes. At first 

 glance, the wooden figures may seem crude, 



but they weren't made to be pretty. 



"They were made to be used," explains 

 Chandler Sawyer, great-grandson of Churches 

 Island decoy carver Bob Morse. 



"If the duck is close enough to see its 

 eyes, you ought to be shooting anyway," adds 

 Sawyer, who teaches decoy carving at the new 

 Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education. 



Two types of decoys remain popular in 

 the Currituck region — wooden decoys and 

 canvas decoys. 



Wooden decoys are typically made of 

 Atlantic white cedar, or "juniper," according to 

 Neal Conoley, executive director of the North 

 Carolina Aquarium Society and author of a 

 book about waterfowling in North Carolina. 



Juniper is durable, being both rot and bug 

 resistant, Conoley explains. It is also light and 



Continued 



Coastwatch I High Season 2006 I www.ncseagrant.org 9 



