RAMS CLUB

Contents

Story
Decoys
Credits

🟡 LIMITED RESEARCH VOLUME

OWNERS

Homer Fulcher
Norvie and Dennis Pittman

1955-1970
1945-1955

OTHER ASSOCIATIONS

Graham Paul

Alva Braxton

?Carlie Willis

“#3”–label by NPS survey


LOCATION

South Core Banks, near Fortin Island

Story

do you know more? contact me.

Rams Club

Homer Fulcher, Graham Paul and Alva Braxton used this camp along Gull Island Slough.  The pier faced the pier of J.T. Lewis  (built by Elmer Salter) and Monroe Nelson camps.  The area was also known as “Shit House Creek” to locals.  Rams Club was “off the beach” and across the slough.

The simple 16 by 24  was “down from” Clinton Piner’s and Elmer Willis’ camps.  There were 4 or 5 bunks, windows, stove and dock.  Uninsulated, it did have wallpaper.  The exterior was either un-painted or worn-free of paint  Depending on the season, it was used for duck hunting or crabbing.  To Keith Fulcher’s memory, it had never flooded.  The land underneath was not owned—as true of many of the Banks camps.  Homer /fulcher had built thee camp some time after WWII.  The camp was burned by the Park Service prior to 1978—it was gonee by the time keith returned from the Coast Guard.

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Doily Fulcher remembers: (12-5-21)

The camp I knew the most about was called by Mike Fulcher the Ram Club.  The camp was located on north mouth of Great Island Creek on the west side. Mike said the camp was built by Norvie Pittman and brother Denise Pittman probably in the late 1940’s or early 1950’s. The camp was on the marsh up on post to keep it from flooding except for hurricane high tides. It was one room probably 16ft by 16 ft. It was close enough to the water so that a porch on the front went over the water. They tied their boats to the porch. They built it to stay in during the spring time peeler crabbing season from March 20 to first of May. They sold it to Homer Fulcher and Earl Gaskill probably in late 1950’s. Homer and Earl use it to hunt ducks in the winter and Earl Gaskill used it to peeler crab in the spring. In the spring of 1970, Michael Fulcher said he and Billy Pittman, and Barry Fulcher stayed in the camp while they used their boats to pull a crab trawl in the muddy creeks on the banks for peeler crabs. Earl Gaskill stayed with them and he dip- netted for crabs at night. They pull the trawls during the day. Michael Fulcher, Barry Fulcher, Lloyd Hill and Norman Robinson stayed sometimes in the camp while they duck hunted in the winter. This occurred in the 1960’s. All these men are from Stacy. 

“The Ram’s Club” (1970-1977)

Homer Fulcher’s Crab Camp (1955-1970)

Norvie and Dennis Pittman’s Crab Camp (1945-1955)

            The Rams Club, AKA the Homer Fulcher’s Crab Camp, AKA the Pittman’s  Crab Camp,  was located on South Core Banks, 4 miles across Core Sound from the Oyster Creek in Davis. The camp was actually built on Great Island, 250 yards across Great Island Creek from Elmer Salter’s and Monroe Nelson’s Camps at the head of the Horse Island. Today, the camp would be described as being located at NPS’s mile 28.3, which is 0.7 mile north of the NPS’s North Dock, AKA Carlie’s Dock, 0.3 mile south of the back road ramp at mile maker 28 where the camps of Braxton Piner, Wesley and Peck Salter, Clinton and Charles Piner and Elmer Dewey Willis were located. I remember the camp well as it was just across the creek from our camp.

            Per my conversation with Michael B. Fulcher (Stacy) on 1-25-2024. It was Michael’s understanding that brothers Norvie and Dennis Pittman (Stacy) built the camp in the late 1940’s. It was built very rustic, just to use as a peeler crab camp. Dennis enlisted in the Coast Guard in the early 50’s. Norvie didn’t crab much after Dennis left, so Homer Fulcher (Stacy) made a deal with Norvie to take over the crab camp and he and Earl Gaskill (Stacy) started using it while catching and shedding peeler crabs. Norvie and family still used the camp at times. Homer and Earl fixed up the camp a little. Michael stayed at the camp in 1958 to help Homer and Earl catch and shed out peeler crabs. They had peeler crab floats all up and down the shore side by the camp. They would catch peeler crabs all night and sleep most of the day. They would take the soft crabs back to the Stacy where they would sell them to Dan Hamilton who ran Guy Nelson’s fish house for Clayton Fulcher located right beside Monroe Nelson’s net house at the head of Willis Creek, right down the landing road beside the Stacy FWB Church. They also sold crabs to T. A. Taylor’s Seafood in Sea Level at times.

            Michael describes the camp as follows: The camp had a small dock on Great Island Creek to tie the boats up to. It was only a few steps up the dock to the camp which was built only 3 feet above the marsh. The tide would ebb and flow under the camp on flood tides. Entering the camp there was a small kerosene cook stove on the right side used for both heating and cooking. A table and 4 chairs were on the left and two bunk beds were on each side of the back wall. There was one windows on each side of the camp. The camp wasn’t very big, maybe 10 x14 with a small porch on the creek side (southeast side). The camp was used primarily for peeler crabbing up until the late 60’s when peeler crabbing slowed down.  Michael said they had a 18″ cast-iron fry pan that they used for cooking and that he has seen that pan slam full of soft crabs being cooked for breakfast. They always ate so good at the banks.

            Around 1969 or 1970, the young crowd started staying at the camp. Michael had a 20′ air cooled skiff that he used to take friends and family over to the camp. The community of Stacy had a baseball team called the “Rams”. That was where the name “The Ram’s Club” came from. The young crowd named it that. Lloyd Hill Jr, Billy Pittman, Bertie Pittman, Norman Robinson and Michael Fulcher, all friends and baseball players from Stacy, would use the camp for hunting in the winter and fishing in the summer and fall. Maybe even for partying on occasions, if you can believe that! One time they run out of food and water and only had a few bottled drinks left. Searching the cabinets, they found a bag of grits, probably several years old, but they were hungry. Not having any fresh water, Lloyd Hill got some saltwater from the creek and boiled the grits, but they were so salty they couldn’t eat them. Everyone packed up and went home hungry and thirsty. They learned a very valuable lesson that weekend and always packed additional food and water after that. Once Michael took a newlywed couple to the banks to stay in the camp for a week on their honeymoon. When he picked them up a week later, they had been eaten slam up by mosquitoes and didn’t look very happy. He didn’t think the honeymoon went very well.

            Michael said that Ivey Willis and Alfred and Elbert Gaskill each had crab camps located on the Horse Island. Coming into Great Island Creek from the mainland, their camps would have been on the north side of the creek. One was built on the third point passed Horse Island Point and another built on the fourth point, one camp on each side of Mott’s Gut. He thought they were destroyed or badly damaged by the hurricanes and storms in 1954 and were never rebuilt and eventually rotted down. I remember seeing old dock post and part of a rundown cabin in that general location in my early years, but never new who’s camps they were until my meeting with Michael.

            Michael said he also fished a few times in Grass Lump Creek by Eldon Willis’ camp. There was a deep hole in Grass Lump Creek called “George’s Hole” where they swiped for fish. It was always a good place to catch big roe mullets in the fall.

Ricky Nelson

2024

Credits

  1. NPS files and archives
  2. Ricky Nelson–Stacy-special thanks for his research and documentation
  3. Keith Fulcher
  4. Doily Fulcher–Stacy and Virginia
  5. Other references within text