A Primer For N. C.
Shell Collectors
Don't hide your vacation memories
away in a shoe box.
By RITA BERMAN
Ten years ago the North Carolina
General Assembly adopted the Scotch
Bonnet as a State Shell. By this act,
and because they were the first State
to adopt a State shell, it was recognized
that North Carolina and its people have
an interest in seashells.
Shell collecting is a hobby that
usually begins with a visit to the sea.
In North Carolina we are fortunate to
have over 300 miles of coastal areas
to enjoy. Each year visitors to our is¬
lands, reefs and capes gather their
precious finds and take them home.
Shell hunting is fun; every stretch
of beach offers the opportunity of lo¬
cating a better specimen than the one
you may be holding in your hand. Small
wonder that many beach visitors can be
seen stooped over, closely examining
the sand and water’s edge. Low tide is
the time when Bivalves are left
stranded on the beach and unless you
are in a restricted area you might wish
to pick up some of these.
There are a lot of good shells to be
found in North Carolina even if the
colors are not as lively as those found
in the tropics. Cape Lookout, Bogue
and Shackelford Banks, as well as
beach sites near Morehead City and
Beaufort are some of the areas where
fine shells may be found. The less well-
known areas, however, frequently offer
the collector a greater variety. “Beach
collecting for shells washed ashore is
best done in early spring after winter
storms and before the tourist season
arrives,” says Hugh J. Porter in his
1
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booklet Sea Shells Common to North
Carolina.
There are over 700 different kinds
of mollusks (shell-bearing animals) in
our estuarine and. marine waters but
the ones you will most likely find are
members of the Ark family, Cockles,
Clams, Boat or Slipper Shells, Tulips,
Whelks, as well as Mussels, Oysters
and Scallops.
Shell collecting is a popular hobby
because there are so many ways in
which you can approach the subject.
You can simply collect shells, enjoy
touching and looking at them for a
while, and then put them away in a
drawer or shoe-box and forget all about
them. This is what many visitors to the
beach end up doing with their finds.
Alternatively, you may prefer to use
your shells for decoration. By stringing
small shells together you can make
necklaces, or with a little more work
you can fashion earrings and brooches
from shells, By doing this you can ex¬
tend the touching and looking ap¬
proach.
An Art Form
Shell decoration can become an art
form if you proceed to make pictures
and other objects from the shells. For
example, a member of the North Caro¬
lina Shell Club won several awards for
her shellcraft display last November at
the club’s Shell Show in Chapel Hill.
Mrs. Ralph Lawrence made an animal
zoo from shells and merely by adding
ears, paws and tails cut from scraps of
felt or leather, and with the aid of a
marking pen to draw in the faces, she
produced a very amusing display.
The North Carolina Shell Club has
over 400 members from all over the
state and surrounding areas. Formed in
1959 some of the early members of the
club were instrumental in getting our
State to adopt a State Shell. Most of
the members live on the coast and three
of the four meetings held, each year are
located in a beach area. The fourth is
usually held inland, frequently in the
Raleigh area. Members participate in
Colors of North Carolina shells may not be as lively as some found in the tropics, but our coastal
waters offer a wide variety. — (Photo of seafans and seashells is by Ezra Berman.)
THE STATE, JUNE 1975
