State

Tar Heel. Towns By Scott Smith Yaupon Beach The pier is the towns lifeblood. Folks fish here during the day. grab a hot dog at the snack bar for lunch and socialize at the popular Oarhousc lounge after the sun goes down. About the* biggest thing to hit Yaupon (literally) in years was Hurricane Hugo in September 1989, which struck the pier and caused $160,000 damage. The old pier was dismantled and a brand new pier was opened in 1993, The new one, This small beach town on Oak lias an Outer It’s a long wav from Rodanthc, Waves and Salvo, but when you're visiting Yaupon Beach there's no mistaking its distinct Outer Banks feel. Sandwiched on Brunswick County's Oak Island by upscale Caswell Beach and lainilv vacation-oriented long Beach. Yaupon is like most any Outer Banks Ix-ach town you'll find cruising along N.O. Highway 12. It's quiet, unassuming and peaceful, with a raw coastline whose beauty is unimpeded by high-rise devel¬ opment. And you get all ol this without the sometimes harsh weather of the Outer Banks. Island in Brunswick County Banks feel. which hovers 26 feet above sea level, is the tallest in the state. Crowds swell to around 3,000 people during Yaupon Beach sum¬ mers. which cater mostly to families looking for a quite vacation’ spot. “We gel either older couples or young fami¬ lies with kids." Yaupon busi¬ nessman Scott King says. Most ol the people who come here during the summer have one thing in common: they either own or know someone who owns one of the beach houses in Yaupon. . v . v . „ , . , Mark Arreona, former man- Lite in laupon Beach revolves around the pier. ager ol Yaupon s South Winds Still. Yaupon Beach seems to Im* search¬ ing for its place in a way. Ot maybe it has found its place and is more than happy that the rest of us don’t know what it is. Mayor May Moore says Yaupon is more like your typical eastern North Carolina town than a beach town. “What we have are full-time residents who want that .small-town atmosphere ol eastern North Carolina with the advan¬ tage of being at the beach." says Moore, who has lived in Yaupon since 1962 and will complete her sixth year as mayor in December. Yaupon Beach — the name was taken from a sjH-cies of holly loutul in the area that was once used by the Indians to make tea — is indeed more 12-month bedroom community than resort town, despite its location. Moore says Yaupon 's 800 residents are made up of retirees and business commuters to jobs in adja¬ cent towns such as Southport to the north or Wilmington to the south. Yaupon 's I reach houses are mostly full¬ time- residences with a few summer cot¬ tages scattered about. The town has but four motels and three restaurants, so it’s not exactly a magnet loi tourism — or crime. On a visit last November, a glance at the "Police Repott" in The Stale Port Pilot, the local weekly newspaper out of Southport, revealed six crimes in Long Beach, eight in nearby Boiling Spring Likes and this to say about Yaupon Beach: “Officer Sandra Bums reported no arrests were made this week and no reports were filed.” The people who choose to live here full-time do so because Yaupon Is the closest beach community to the Oak Island Bridge, which connects the island to the mainland. long Beach, at the south end of the island, is eight miles away. “Living in Yaupon, you’ve got the shortest trip off die island.” Moore says. More than anything else, Yaupon Beach is a quiet place. In the off-season, it's a place where you leave your beach house and go in search of people. Sometimes you don't find any Your best bet on finding them is at the Yaupon Beach Pier, where many of the town’s older men go each morning to «lip into the Atlantic Ocean for their next fish story or just to see how they’re biting and whether it's worth coming out them¬ selves. Motel, is the first to admit that “not much goes on here." I le says the biggest thing to happen around Yaupon that he's seen was last fall's run of spot at the pier, which left the deck of the South Winds lined with stocked coolers of the smallish saltwater fish. By all accounts, however, the fishing is not as good as it used to Ik- here. Blame it on overfishing of the coast or a myriad of environmental factors, but it's not fish¬ ing that Ls really the draw here anymore. There are no marinas or boat launches. "We cater to small-town pursuits,” Mayor Moore says. “Bicycling and walk¬ ing are the two biggest recreational hob¬ bies (at Yaupon Beach). We're just begin¬ ning to haw a downtown district where people can walk around." Yaupon will celebrate its 40th birthday in April. Moore says she can’t really fore¬ see the town changing that much in another 40 years. "We've worked hard to develop that small town Southern feeling.” she says, "and we want to keep it that way." fSZ Scott Smith is managing editor of The State. Ними In N.mi Vinib The Stalc/Ociobcr 1995 To