The Conference had its beginning during a 1950 trip to Manteo by a small group of North Carolina writers who went down to see the outdoor drama “The Lost Colony” in support of their friend, Paul Green. While there they met informally to discuss writing and had such a good time that they decided to make it an annual event, inviting a few new members each year.
Among those attending this year were Pinehurst resident Lois Wistrand and former Whispering Pines resident Sally Logan as well as authors Ruth Moose, Sally Buckner and Margaret Maron.
Author Bland Simpson organized this year’s event (the group always meets the last weekend of July) and made arrangements for participants to enjoy a Friday night reception, complete with music provided by Simpson, Shelby and Linda Stephenson and Jan DeBlieu, at Page After Page, a local bookstore.
Saturday morning’s session at the Pasquotank County Courthouse offered an opportunity to hear authors Janet Lembke, David Cecelski, Carole Boston Weatherford and David Stick talk about maritime life.
Lembke is the author of seven books on nature and natural history. Cecelski’s most recent book is “A Historian’s Coast: Adventures into the Tidewater Past.” He is also in his fifth year writing “Listening to History,” an oral history series for The News & Observer.
Weatherford, a columnist for the News & Record in Greensboro, wrote “Sink or Swim: African-American Lifesavers of the Outer Banks” and “Princeville: The 500-Year Flood.”
David Stick has written extensively about the North Carolina coast and is the author of several books, including “Graveyard of the Atlantic, Shipwrecks of the North Carolina Coast.”
After a break for lunch and a business meeting, participants returned to the courthouse to hear a panel discussion on “Journalism in the Old North State.” Featured on the panel were Jack Betts, associate editor of The Charlotte Observer; Betty Hodges, former book editor of the Durham Morning Herald and Tara Powell, a UNC graduate student who is the editor of Carolina Quarterly and a monthly columnist for The News and Observer.
Jerry Leath Mills, former longtime editor of “Studies in Philology,” a publication of the Department of English at UNC Chapel Hill, entertained everyone with a reading of “The Dead Mule Rides Again,” an essay about the use of dead mules in Southern literature. And B. Culpepper Jennette Jr. offered remarks on editor W.O. Saunders.
For those willing to brave the heat, Tom Butchko, an architectural historian with the Museum of the Albemarle, led a walking tour of one of Elizabeth City’s historic districts.
In 1977, the Conference began the tradition of celebrating the life and works of one of its members. Past honorees include Southern Pines’ own Glen Rounds, the late Sam Ragan, former editor and publisher of The Pilot and Shelby Stephenson, a former Southern Pines resident.
This year’s honoree, Roy Parker Jr., has worn many hats in the literary community over the years — journalist, preservationist, historian and book critic.
“We’ve gathered to celebrate Roy’s accomplishments and his particular brand of humor,” said Simpson, who served as master of ceremonies.
Offering comments and anecdotes on Parker’s life and career were Bob Anthony, Marsha Warren and his daughter, Ann.
Parker grew up in a newspaper family in Ahoskie and is a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill where he was the editor of The Daily Tar Heel in 1951. Early in his career, he was editor of the Northampton County News, Bertie Ledge-Advance and the Hertford County Herald.
From 1957-1972, Parker was a Raleigh correspondent and later a Washington, D.C. correspondent for the The News & Observer in Raleigh.
In 1973, Parker became the founding editor of the Fayetteville Times and wrote a book column, “Bookmark,” for the Fayetteville Observer-Times from 1976 through last year. He still contributes a weekly column on military history to that newspaper.
“He made many contributions as a newspaperman, in literature and in history,” said Anthony.
Warren, executive director of the Paul Green Foundation and former executive director of the North Carolina Writers’ Network, worked closely with Parker on the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame.
“Calling him was just like being on-line,” said Warren. “As a writer, journalist and historian, he helps us remember.”
Daughter Ann Parker recalled her father’s influence on his children with regard to books.
“Our house had books they way most houses have dust,” she said.
“I was standing on somebody’s shoulders to accomplish all you’ve heard about me tonight,” said Parker when his turn came to speak.
Among Parker’s many honors include induction into the N.C. Journalism Hall of Fame in 1999 and an honorary doctor of letters from Methodist College in 1988.
He is also a member of several statewide organizations and currently serves as president of Friends of Hope Plantation.
Other family members attending the banquet were Parker’s wife, Marie and sons Jody and Scott.
The weekend concluded with a breakfast hosted by North Carolina Northeaster Partnership’s Albemarle Region Trails.
