Winner of the 2007 NC Seafood Festival Poster Contest
Down by the river, I came upon a fishing operation where I saw some men sorting crabs just brought in that morning. With their permission, I took several photos of them working. Thanking them, I moved on down the road. By the time I reached the intersection where the road turns to the left to go to Lake Mattamuskeet, it was lunch time. Thinking I’d have a better chance of finding a place to eat in Swan Quarter, I turned right instead. Sure enough I found a small cafe where they had an all-you-can-eat buffet. I loved the environment. It was like being caught in a time warp, going back forty years and the food was delicious. After consuming too much, I made my way to the waterfront where I found Cahoon’s Seafood. There, I met Claudia Cahoon and her granddaughter, three year old Belle. The little girl was pestering two crabbers who were sitting on an old couch and lounge chair in the cinderblock office, taking a break from their morning’s work. During a conversation with Mrs. Cahoon about the fishing industry there in Swan Quarter and the hardships faced by the people who bring in the bounty of the sea, she told me about Hurricane Floyd and how it had nearly destroyed Swan Quarter and the seafood industry in Hyde County. After asking permission, I stepped outside to photograph the men sorting the crabs. Belle followed me out. Standing beside me, she cocked her head, placed her hands on her hips, and said, “Why don’t you take my picture?” I grinned, and as I took a step back to focus my camera, she reached into a basket full of crabs, pulled out the largest blue crab I had ever seen, held it up beside her face, and grinned that toothy grin.
When I got home from my trip and looked at my photos, the one of Belle holding the crab jumped out at me. I made a decision to build my entry for the seafood poster competition around this little girl who, I believed, represented the seafood industry’s future in our state. It was two years before I actually started the painting. Although Belle was the focal point, I used elements of other photos, putting the three men from the fishing operation in Belhaven in the background. Making her look older by changing her hair and leaving off the little cap she was wearing, I thought that she was not recognizable because my painting looked very different from the photograph.
The awards ceremony at the aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores was reported on regional television. When I returned home to Saxapahaw, there was a message on my answering machine from Claudia Cahoun. She had seen the television coverage and wanted to know if that was her granddaughter in the painting. I called her back and told her I thought it was. She informed me that her telephone had been ringing off the hook from friends and neighbors who said, “That’s got to be Belle!” She asked about the three men in the background because no one up there recognized them. I told her I had met them in Belhaven. Since she wanted some of the posters, I arranged to meet with Belle’s mother and father in Washington, NC. Of course, Belle came along. I met them down by the waterfront and I couldn’t believe it when I saw her. She had grown into my painting. Her father informed me that he knew the three men in the poster. They worked for his father. So, the only two places I stopped that day were thirty miles apart and owned by both sets of Belle’s grandparents. This little girl really does represent the future of the seafood industry. I have been told that the next time I pass through Swan Quarter, I have a seafood dinner waiting for me on the docks at Cahoon Seafood, and Belle has promised to show me how to hold a crab.
It’s funny how things work out. I never made it to Lake Mattamuskeet, but a right turn instead of a left led me to some interesting people and resulted in a painting and poster with which I am quite pleased.
Remarques Available
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Pricing Information
North Carolina Seafood Festival
Website
Get Information about the 2007 festival.
View of Swan Quarter fishing fleet as seen
from Cahoon's Seafood dock
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