Miss PCHS Retires From Teaching Commercial Fishing Students
By: Todd Long
Submitted: 2011-06-14 05:36:04 | Word Count: 713
After carrying and instructing high school students for over 30 years, the fishing trawler known as the Miss PCHS is now retired, completing her groundbreaking voyage into the annals of commercial fishing education.
North Carolina's first floating classroom for high school students studying commercial fishing was recently retired and sold at auction. The Miss PCHS (Miss Pamlico County High School), a 38-foot trawler built in 1971 and once sunk by a hurricane, will be restored by the auction winner and will retain her name. The sturdy boat has led a charmed life, bringing success and fulfillment to the many people whose lives she touched through the years.
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George Brinson, now 73, was Superintendent of Pamlico County Schools in 1971. Many students of his rural coastal county were dropping out of school before graduation to work full time on commercial fishing trawlers. Recognizing the problem, Brinson came up with a plan to develop a commercial fishing curriculum to keep these students in school until they graduated. His vision and the implementation of it created an unprecedented success by creating a "job-specific" vocational education program.
J.D. Corbett was a doctoral student at North Carolina State University and employee of Wilson County Schools in 1971. When he learned of Brinson's plan, he joined with Brinson to write the Marine Occupations curriculum for Pamlico County Schools. Students who had been potential dropouts spent three hours of each school day on Miss PCHS. In addition to earning the state's required credits for a high school diploma, they earned money from the boat's catches, which was vital to them and their families, and the school also earned money to help keep the program operating.
"I grew up on the water, I've always loved working on the water, and I loved being able to teach others to work on the water," says Sherrill Styron, the first instructor on board the Miss PCHS. While North Carolina's first hands-on high school commercial fishing curriculum created success for his students, it also created success for Styron. After leaving the Miss PCHS, he joined Garland Fulcher Seafood Company in Oriental, one of the largest seafood fleets and processing companies in North Carolina, and he now owns the company.
When Styron departed to continue his commercial career, the helm of Miss PCHS was taken over by Owen Lupton. For 25 years Lupton not only captained the vessel, but steered the future paths of many students. "We operated in one of the most hazardous occupations for 25 years with no injuries," says Lupton. "Our program got students through high school and right to work. These students went on to become full time fishermen and many were either owners or captains of large fishing vessels. We also had students become charter captains, tug boat operators, boat builders, or marine mechanics. Miss PCHS was a success story."
Not only did the Miss PCHS bring success to the students enrolled in the commercial fishing program, the trawler also brought success to her builder. Lynwood Parker built Miss PCHS in his back yard on Harker's Island in Carteret County. He lovingly used the finest juniper planks to fashion the distinctive style of her hull, and when it was complete, he was paid $16,000 for the vessel. Parker invested the money into a growing industry-fiberglass molds for outboard boats-and his business and reputation began to grow. Parker Boats in Carteret County is now one of the state's largest boat manufacturers, building a wide range of vessel styles for the sport fishermen as well as the commercial waterman, and Parker's customers also include marine law enforcement agencies.
When the legendary trawler was put up for auction earlier this year, Ray Everest saw more than just a good deal at a boat auction. After winning the auction, he began making plans to preserve and restore the boat's hull, while preserving the name of Miss PCHS, the trawler he affectionately calls "Miss Peaches." Everest appreciates the legacy of this vessel and yearns to connect with her past. "She has far too much history to end now. It's only my role to put a new dress on her, smooth out a few wrinkles, and just see where she takes us," says the new captain at the helm of Miss PCHS
