The Many Lives of Goose Creek Islanders

     I am very proud of my heritage.  I am proud of Goose Creek Island and it's people.  This journal is my way of preserving some of our Island heritage and culture.  The people who live on island's have a unique sense of place.  It's different than other localities.  The way of life of our Island grandparents and parents was very different compared to our lives today.
     I used to define my community as a place.  It was made up the houses that surrounded mine, the store that we all shopped in, or the churches we all attended.  But it's not the location that makes a community, it is the people in it.  The Goose Creek Island community is made up of people who you can turn to for guidance, support, and friendship.  We laugh and cry with everyone in our community.  Some live close by, yet some in our community live far away.  Many I will never meet face to face, but they are just as important to our community as those who continue to reside there.  

     The people in our communities were molded by our ancestors who were young once.  They started families, lived and worked hard, had happiness and sorrows, and were of strong faith.  They were more than names and dates written in family bibles.  These folks lived!  They were the many lives that made Goose Creek Island what it is.  It is a privilege to share these iconic images of these hard working men and women.

Charlie Jones ran a grocery store in Hobucken.  If an Island resident couldn't drive or didn't have a way to get to his store, all they had to do was make a phone call and he graciously delivered your groceries to you.   (In the photo, Charlie Jones, Steven Jones, and Edmond Jones)

Vernell Ballance was the Island diesel mechanic.  His knowledge of engines and all those things mechanical were most appreciated throughout the Island and seaports up and down the coast. Vernell greeted everyone with his jovial "picking" and a quick smile.

Alex Mason worked for Harbor Packing Company in Lowland.  He had seen his share of hard crabs, shrimp, and fish unloaded at its dock.  He was always one to greet a child with a hot steaming crab claw.

Herman Pate was a boat builder.  He built his first boat in 1927 and on the shores of the Intracoastal Waterway,  he rolled out many commercial fishing boats for Island fishermen and beyond.

Catherine Mason was the smiling face at Harbor Packing Company in Lowland.  She ran the little store within the fish house and was the company secretary.

Joshua Potter, Sr. was a hardworking cotton and tobacco farmer.  He toiled in the Island's rich soil all of his life.  Many Island children and adults worked for him "in tobacco". 

Even a skinny kid named Bones McKinney, who lived with Jonah Lewis, worked in the cotton and tobacco fields up Middle Prong Rd. did pretty well as the Head Basketball Coach of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.  He was always proud of his roots.

Many of today's fishermen will tell you that Capt. Merritt Watson was one of toughest fishermen around.  He was also one of the most faithful members of Lowland Church of Christ.

I think Carrie Lewis earned more riches in visiting with all of the Island women than she earned selling her Avon products.  Her visits brought great joy to many young girls and teenagers, who hoped to receive one of her little lipstick samples that she often gave.

It is any body's guess how many lives Ms. Ruth Mayo touched in all of her years teaching at Hobucken School.

Two mothers who had seen their share of triumphs and tragedies, Melissa Lewis and Mary Henries were women of strong faith, who led by example, and both lived to the age of 102 and 99. 

     You see, the many lives that made up Goose Creek Island reflects in our lives today.  We all learned what hard work was...nobody was exempt.  These men and women bestowed upon us that together as a community we all prosper, through the good and the bad.  It is these faces above, that shared, provided, touched, taught and prayed that our Island home will always be a place to call home.  Mechanics, mothers, teachers, boat builders, fishermen, and farmers.... these are all just occupations.  Their real job was providing a sense of family and community spirit.

Many thanks to the contributors of these photos.  From the Goose Creek Island Album on Facebook.