Complete 30 Year Homeowner Stories

My 30 Wonderful Years with the Twiddys by The Dikeman Family in Virginia

During the 60’s my family often rented a beach “cottage” which meant a week of sand, sun, mildew, playing cards, simple meals on the screened porch, and whatever we could find in the cooler while on the beach all day! As kids we loved it!

In 1978 I was fortunate to be able to spend 3 weeks in Southern Shores with my closest friends. As teachers, we had the opportunity to extend the customary “week at the beach” to almost a month. We explored the entire Outer Banks, enjoying the enthusiasm of my friends’ young sons, and I had a chance to recover from losing my husband to cancer a year earlier. Our cottage was the typical salt box- no AC, phone, or washing machine, just beer in the fridge, and rafts for the ocean! As adults we still loved it!!

I was actively looking to fill a dream of owning a house at the beach, and checked in with several realtors in Nags Head, the most popular part of the Outer Banks. Put off by higher than expected prices, I put my dream on the back burner and continued to enjoy our wonderful vacation. As luck would have it, a close family friend had requested that I drive north and say hello to her dear friend who ran an “antique” shop in the distant town of Duck where she had retired. I had never heard of this small village, but it was indeed picturesque and charming! After visiting with her and her crusty boyfriend of many years, she insisted that I stop by the “trailer up the road on the right” to look into new beach property just opening up. The operation was being run by the Twiddy boys, Doug and Brian!!

Sure enough, we drove to the trailer just past the camp grounds and soon had Doug driving us around the newly opened Ocean Dunes development in his Jeep (no paved roads yet), pointing out the beautiful views and many lots for sale! It seems that Doug and Brian were taking the insurance business of their dad, George, into the new age and it included real estate!! And, sure enough, the prices were exactly what I thought I could manage!!

Later in the week, Jim Smith stopped by our rental and took Maryann and I on a great sight-seeing trip around Duck, looking at property and culminating in a beautiful sunset on a dune overlooking the ocean, topped off with a couple of six-packs! I was sold, especially after Doug arrived and was “waxing poetic” about this part of the Outer Banks! A cold beer and a sunset was my idea of a business deal!! I was ready to own land in the quaint village of Duck, who could resist?

I signed the contract for lot # 21 in Ocean Dunes, off Christopher Drive in August of 1978, for a whopping $15,000.

In 1979, my significant other (later to be husband) Carroll Dikeman, and I bought a second lot and contracted for a cute “beach cottage” to be built. We named it “Main Deck.” We loved our simple house with yard sale furnishings, no phone, AC or washer, but it did have base board heat, fireplace, AND an outdoor shower, considered an “amenity” back then!!

It turned out that Doug and Sharon Twiddy lived just across from us, and we enjoyed watching their children, Clark, Hadley and Ross, play on the swing set and enjoy the beach whenever we were able to drive down from Northern Virginia, our home. We soon got to know other neighbors who either lived there year round or, like ourselves, couldn’t resist visiting as often as possible. We would all occasionally get together around a beach fire and a case of beer, exchanging stories about our newly found Paradise. The folks at the camp ground always seemed to be having so much fun as well, but we wondered how long the place would stay open during the escalating building boom.

Luckily, the Twiddy brothers, now Twiddy & Co. Realtors, were ready to manage the houses which were starting to pop up all around Duck. I have such fond memories of walking to their newly constructed office (trailer long gone!) Dad George was usually on the porch enjoying the rockers, and inside we would find Doug, Brian, Patty doing insurance, and plenty of locals and their dogs coming and going. We could keep track of our rentals by checking the big table with the interesting chart system!! Joe Brown did all the “fixing” anyone needed. Someone in the family had an artistic flair, as the rental book consisted of beautiful hand drawn renderings of our houses, mailed out as a “collection” of cards!! The first time Doug threw the Pig-Picking party, we knew we were part of the family. Thus began the special quality of the Twiddy family and organization that has kept owners and renters so loyal over the decades!

Long before elevators, linen service, granite counters, and entertainment rooms, the Twiddy community had fun together!! We would meet on the beach to throw out nets for fish, and then share the work and the fish by pulling them in! The beach, drinking cold beer, walking and biking were the main events at that time. Anyone needing to call home had to bike up to the pay phone at Wee Winks, and if you didn’t bring all your groceries, it was a long trip south to Kill Devil Hills! No DVDs, no video, actually, no televisions! Talking, fixing big meals, reading, bonfires, playing games, concocting great blender drinks filled our days and nights. Main Deck was always rented throughout the summer, but we loved coming down during the Spring and Autumn, the BEST time to be on the Outer Banks! And as you can imagine, we always brought plenty of friends to have a great time together.

As the years flew by, our daughter Lindsay was born, and that year of 1985 I remember making a comment to Doug about the increasing traffic and crowds. Our isolated paradise was becoming popular and growing like mad! The new style of beach house was everywhere - great room on a second level, more bedrooms, and most even had AC and phones!! What had happened to the “simple life”?? Doug listened with sympathetic ears, then told me to “drive north”, just as I had been told 7 years earlier! So, I jumped in the car, drove “forever”, through a guard gate and into unbelievably untouched beauty: dunes, birds, ocean, lifesaving station... to a little known village called Corolla, still pristine and deserted, but not for long!

Doug, I love you!!! It’s been a great ride, looking forward to the next 30!

Epilogue:
Following Doug’s advice, Sue bought lot #47 in Ocean Hill, Corolla in June of ‘83.
Main Deck was sold and Don Pokelawaldt (Ocean Dunes neighbor!) would build their cottage, Sea Watch, in Corolla, now 22 years old.
Doug suggested “North” yet again, resulting in lots in Corova Beach.
Sue is currently single, retired from teaching, enjoying extended trips to Corolla.
Baby Lindsay is 22, and has made wonderful memories of beach trips with family and friends. She plans on many, many more!
Sue still stops by the Twiddy office, just as in years past, but now sees Ross more often than Doug! She appreciates all the TLC she gets from everyone, especially Jodie and the Gang in Maintenance!!
Nothing will ever beat a cold beer on a dune at sunset!

The Colehamer Family - Virginia

I certainly am aware Twiddy has been around about 30 years. My cottage is going into its 28th rental season in 2008, so I was one of the first. I bought my lot from Doug Twiddy himself, and Twiddy Realty has handled my rentals for 28 years. I remember the original office where reservations were made by hand on marker boards on the walls. I remember sitting in rocking chairs eating oysters with Doug and his brother Brian and their father George on the front porch of the office. When I came to see Doug from my home in Virginia Beach, I would sometimes bring Doug some Chesapeake Bay oysters because he thought they were the best.

In the early days, Doug and Sharon and their kids (Ross included!) lived across the street from my cottage. I remember in the evenings helping Doug and others put out fish nets in front of our cottage, and in the mornings helping him pull them in. We had many good fish fries back then.

The Akl Family - Florida

Thank you for all the years of helping us with our home, Song of the Sea. It will be sold tomorrow and another chapter in my life will close. I will miss talking to you, sharing my dilemmas, and just your friendship. I have no idea if I will ever travel that way again but I pray your health holds steady and life will be good for you! Take care of yourself and if you are ever in Miami do look us up.

The Cope Family - Virginia

We have been with Twiddy for 24 years. We even had two houses with Twiddy for a couple of years. Twiddy sold the house in Corolla in just a week. Crystal, Helen, Terri and all our dear friends at Twiddy; Doug, and Brian, all have been very special. I have always had great service. When I ask (and I don’t too often) for a favor – they are “Johnny on the spot.” I do hope our feelings are mutual. This is good business.

The Williams Family - New Jersey

Our introduction to Twiddy occurred in 1986, the year of our fifth summer vacation in Ocean Sands. We had been renting in Ocean Sands from another agent since 1982, and switched to Twiddy after meeting Doug. We were interested in purchasing property and Doug had shown us numerous propertie. He especially liked the larger lots at the end of the road in Corolla…"you don’t want to be so close, that if you sneeze, the person next door says, 'God bless you'"…we finally purchased two (smaller) lots in Ocean Sands, sold one and built on the other in 1989. Twiddy has been managing our place since the beginning, and we couldn’t be happier.

Back then, cottages were just that…small houses, now considered “traditional”, meant for one or two families. The trend now is to supersize, with many of the smaller cottages making way for “sand castles”.

When we first started to rent in Ocean Sands, the road from the Currituck line north was private and gated. A guard house, with an armed guard, no less, monitored traffic headed north; you could not get past the guard unless you were a resident, a renter, or a registered guest. In fact, when we were first looking at this area to rent, we were allowed to drive north, but were escorted back when we deviated from the main road into one of the sections without permission. It was then that we decided that this was the area we wanted to “settle”. Some time later, I’m not sure of the year, North Carolina extended HWY 12 into Corolla; the guard house came down, and the rest is history.

It’s hard to imagine that in those early days, you had very few choices for shopping, especially for the basics. There was a “Wee Winks” in Corolla, another in Duck, and a grocery store in Kitty Hawk. As I recall, the only state liquor store was located in Kill Devil Hills. You had to plan all your needs way in advance. There was essentially no shopping north of Duck.

Where Pine Island now sits, was once part of a bird sanctuary. Title transferred, the road was relocated, and the big houses sprouted overnight.

Horses used to roam all over what is now Pine Island, Ocean Sands, Monteray Shores and Corolla Light. They used to “visit” while we sat on the beach and even grazed in our yard.

I’ve included some photos, taken in Section D during the 80's and of Dolphin's Watch during construction. Note the beach...there was more of it in 1989…things have certainly changed!

The Kerfoot Family - New Jersey

We have had a rental partnership with Twiddy and Co. since 1994. Gratefully, we have never missed an in-season rent in all those years. Ross Twiddy was invaluable to us when we built a new home 4 years ago. But everyone at Twiddy is pleasant and always professional. We applaud everyone there and extend best wishes and congrats. Happy anniversary and many more.

The Miller Family - Virginia

Construction on our home in Four Seasons in Duck was completed in August of 2000. As construction drew to completion, we began interviewing management companies in Duck to rent our house during the summer vacation months. We were very impressed with the organized and realistic approach that Twiddy’s Jon S. presented and so we decided to enter our house in Twiddy’s rental program. Over the next seven rental seasons, Twiddy fully booked our home, assisted in its maintenance and upkeep, and visited the house in the off-season. At the end of the 2007 rental season, my wife and I decided to stop renting our home so we could spend more time in Duck. It was a hard decision since we’ve gotten to know and like the staff at Twiddy and Company. We have been very pleased with the services and support that Twiddy and their accommodating and professional staff have provided over the years and would highly recommend them.

The Underwood Family - Maryland

The Underwood’s and O’Brien’s have been coming to the Outer Banks for their vacations since 1979. Finally in 1994 we purchased a vacation home in Osprey (U-Duck) in the Town of Duck. The O’Brien’s had purchased a vacation home (O’Duck) in Osprey several years earlier. We both joined the Twiddy homeowner team in 2001 when we met Jon and Terri of the Twiddy team. Terri was assigned as our personal representative and was most helpful with our rental issues and challenges. We knew Terri from her previous employment and she was always helpful in resolving problems and making good recommendations after her inspections. We consider Terri not just a business partner but a friend.

This past year we had an unfortunate incident at our rental house during rental season and Lorrie from Twiddy was most helpful in resolving the issue. Thanks to Terri and Lorrie and all the Twiddy team from Housekeeping to Maintenance in handling the many challenges of renting out our vacation home. Happy 30th anniversary.