Jack Dudley is a Carteret County resident an the area's most popular local historian. He spends his free time pursuing his interest in coastal history and folklore, and applies his avocations for photography and historical research towards documenting the history and traditions of North Carolina's coastal communities.

Down East: Portraits of the Past

Coming in November! Call 800-DEEGEES

A photographic history of Down East from the early 1900s through the 1960s. Before the early 1900s, Down East was not considered isolated, it was the link for Carteret County and much of central Norh Carolina with the outside world by way of maritime traffic through Ocracoke and Beaufort inlets. After the days of sailtrains, however, roads and automobilesbecame the arteries for transportation in mainstream North Carolina. Down East had no major roads, consequently it was isolated and remote even by the standards of the era. But by 1930 a road had been built from Beaufort toAtlantic, paving the way (literally) for numerous adventurous photographers.

In Down East, Dudley has collected the best examples of the work from these early recorders, creating a pictorial history that documents life in a bygone era. Maritime scenes, churches gatherings, schools, post offices and other landmarks preserve the memory of a community now lost to the past. Many of the structures in the photographs have long since gone, but in Down East, their images will remain unforgotten. 

MOREHEAD CITY: A Walk Through Time

The most popular "coffee table" book on the area, Dudley's Morehead City is the standard reference for people interested in the history of the town, and the most sought-after keepsake for visitors who want to remember their time on our coast. Dudley's books stand apart from other local histories for their attention to detail and the care taken to reproduce the many vintage photographs they contain in the highest possible quality.

Island Born and Bred: A Collection of Harkers Island Food, Fun, Fact and Fiction
compiled by the Harkers Island United Methodist Women

$17.95

From the Introduction:

Over the past twenty years we have watched "our little Island" turn from an isolated rural community, into a rapidly growing retirement and vacation resort. The "Harkers Island" that we grew up with has begun to disappear with the changes taking place. We realize that many of these changes have brought opportunities to the people of the Island, and for that we are grateful. Yet, we have paid, and are paying, a price. We cannot help but begin to savor and cherish the vanishing closeness and seclusion we once shared.

So, that is what this book is all about. It is our attempt to tell the people who come and look that  there is more to this Island than a weekend retreat or a Sunday afternoon drive...This is our home. It is a "special place for special people"...Our character has been shaped by the fact that our forefathers could not rely on anything but their own hands and minds to meet the needs of their families. They were forced, by sheer geography, to be self-reliant, inventive, tolerant, and most of all, determined, to survive. From these accomplishments they - and now we - have grown to be proud of the lifestyle that was established.

Twelfth Summer
by Kay Salter
Soundside Publishing, $12.95

Leaving her friends and their summer vacation plans behind, twelve-year-old Sarah Bowers finds herself spending the summer at her grandparents' home in the small coastal town of Beaufort, North Carolina.

Although Sarah looks forward to staying with her Papa Tom and Granny Jewel, the girl is uncertain how she will pass the time. "The most I have to look forward to  is piddling around in the salt marsh, being eaten alive by mosquitoes and covered in sticky salt water," Sarah thinks. However, Sarah's Beaufort Summer proves to be anything but boring.

About the author:

Kay Salter is a retired school teacher and native of coastal Beaufort, North Carolina.  Books are her life-long friends and she considers it a joy and priviledge to sharegood literature with her students, children and grandchildren.

When she is not working on teh Beaufort Summers seris, Kay teaches Sundya School and makes quilts for orphans in Romania.

She and her husband, Jimmy, enjoy fishing and swimming in the clear, clean ocean water off the North Carolina Coast.

Sea of Greed
by J. Douglas McCullough
Fish Towne Press, $20

When the Coast guard hailed a Gulf Coast shrimp trawler near Cape Lookout, North Carolina on Fourth of July weekend 1982, the routine stop set in motion a chain of events that ended with the U.S. invasion of Panama, overthrow of dictator Manuel Noriega, and the biggest drug bust in America's history.

Now, more than 25 years later, the full story is told in a gripping true-life account by the man who brought the drug lord to justice.

J. Douglas Mccullough, the U.S. attorney who unraveled the Cayman Island cartel, reveals never-before-known facts of the case that began on the docks of the historic fishing village of Beaufort, North Carolina when authorities found a shrimp boat full of marijuana.