A Decision That Changed the Community

By Maggie McNinch

The day Walter and Barbara Holton traveled to our infamous isolated strip of barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina with the potential of moving here, they were welcomed with open arms by an Outer Banks staple: a nor’easter.

The 1970s Outer Banks community hadn’t had a physician for two years and desperately wanted to persuade newly trained family doctor, Walter, to move here and set up a practice. The community’s plans to wine and dine the young family — including taking them on a fishing trip and to see the Lost Colony — went awry as the heavy winds and rain blew in.

To add to the already rocky trip, their two-year-old daughter, Susan, came down with pneumonia and had to be treated at the closest hospital — in Elizabeth City — an hour and a half away.

While there, Barbara was given a sales pitch about why they should move to Elizabeth City instead, since it was only 30 minutes from Virginia and had more cultural activities. They returned to the Outer Banks and had only one day of sun the whole week of their visit.

“So, we’re driving back to Pennsylvania and all the way back I said to Walter, ‘Why do you want to go to that god-forsaken place?’” Barbara recalled with a laugh.

Despite their disastrous first impression — with a nor’easter-ridden welcoming, the limited hospital resources and the lack of a nursery school at the time — the Holtons decided to make the move, and the Outer Banks community was forever changed.

A true Outer Banks icon, Walter can hardly go to the grocery store without getting stopped by former patients and community members, but those people likely don’t appreciate the gravity of the Holtons’ decision and how it changed the trajectory of health care on the Outer Banks.

“So, well, where do we start?” Barbara said.

From Navy Ships to Medical Books
Originally from Edenton, Walter served in the Navy during the Vietnam war and spent two years on an aircraft carrier going into Vietnam and helping find and pull out downed pilots, a risky and dangerous job.

He wrote a letter to his first cousin, a Captain of the commissioning crew on the first John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier and was able to leave Vietnam and get stationed on the Kennedy.

Although his cousin tried to talk him into staying in the Navy, Walter was determined to go to medical school. He applied to Duke University, alongside 12,000 other applicants, and was one of 90 to be accepted into a unique three-year program.

From Pennsylvania herself, Barbara encouraged him to then apply to Hershey Medical Center’s first family practitioner program, hoping to convince him to move to Pennsylvania. Walter was accepted and completed his residency, passing his board exam with flying colors.

While on vacation to the Outer Banks during Walter’s residency, Walter ran into a friend from Edenton who explained that the community hadn’t had a physician for two years, and who continuously called to persuade the family to make the move for months afterwards.

“The day that we got a phone call, I was in the delivery room and had just delivered my second child,” Barbara said. “It was Keith [Walter’s friend] making sure that he was ready to come on down.”

Dr. Walter Holton and Ann C. Sumner, MD who worked together at Outer Banks Family Medicine in Manteo, on Roanoke Island. Photo courtesy: Outer Banks Health

Life in the Early Outer Banks Days
When the family moved in 1974, the Outer Banks had a year-round population of 3,000 people, which increased with tourists in the summer.
Barbara described it as a “ghost town” compared to the 30,000 year-round residents today and the 300,000 vacationers heading to their beach houses on any given weekend in the summertime.

“We were on the Hershey campus [before] and Susan had playmates and I had mothers that we could swap off kids with, so to come here when there was nothing, not even a nursery school — it was a culture shock to me,” Barbara said.

Walter worked for 16 years as the only provider on the Outer Banks, functioning as a family doctor in every aspect, from responding to emergencies to setting fractures and taking X-Rays, as well as serving as a medical examiner.

“It was an hour and a half to get to any hospital,” Walter said. “There was no ambulance here so you had to deliver their babies — you couldn’t put them in the backseat of a car and say, ‘y’all just head on out for the next two hours.’”

Being the only doctor, he was constantly on call. It was commonplace to hear the doorbell ring late at night with someone looking for Walter, and an average office visit cost between $4-6.

“Oftentimes, people couldn’t even pay that, so we would get clams and shrimp and crabs and fish — all kinds of things, and he would always accept that as payment,” Barbara said.

Dr. Holton and his PA, John McElligott, published a first aid guide for our visitors, back in the 80s. Tourists and locals alike benefitted from tips provided, including remedies for sunburn, fishhooks accidents, sea sickness and more.

“At that point in time, we got to know everybody in the county,” Walter added.

This comes as no surprise by the sheer necessity of Walter’s presence. And for the population that Walter didn’t know as well — the summertime visitors — he had something for them too.

“He and his PA wrote this great little book for the tourists,” Barbara said. “It was what to do about sunburn, how to take fish hooks out, all the various things that can happen on vacation.”

Titled The Outer Banks Vacationers First Aid Guide and equipped with drawings alongside each set of instructions, the two detailed how to treat ailments ranging from seasickness to nosebleeds and many more.

Barbara kept busy herself, starting the first preschool at Mount Olivet with a few other mothers.

There was certainly never a dull moment in their early days on the Outer Banks. “It was just a great opportunity to be able to do everything, and to have people just so happy because they hadn’t had a physician here in a couple of years,” Walter said. “You just don’t get that kind of opportunity, and I just viewed it as great.”

Holton’s Lasting Impact on the Outer Banks
“He’s brilliant, but he’s just an unassuming, wonderful doctor who cares for his community beyond measure,” said Lynne Miles, Regional Administrator for Outer Banks Health Medical Group.

Included in his numerous accolades is when he became a recipient of The Order of the Long Leaf Pine Society in 2018, the highest award for 30 or more years of state service.

Dr. Walter Holton and Ann C. Sumner, MD who worked together at Outer Banks Family Medicine in Manteo, on Roanoke Island. Photo courtesy: Outer Banks Health

“When I first met him, actually I was interviewing for my current position, and his practice manager at the time went and got us all ice cream sundaes from McDonald’s,” Miles said. “We sat in his office, and he interviewed me for the role as we ate our ice cream, and that is the epitome of who he is — he is so down to earth, caring and just wants to know all about the people in his care.”

Holton was also instrumental in spearheading the groundwork with the commissioners to start the construction of a hospital on the Outer Banks.

“He built that practice with the anticipation of the future of health care for Dare County residents, which I always thought was so thoughtful and progressive,” Miles said. “We really are now going to be building out his vision — it’ll be tweaked just a little bit from what initially was built 40 years ago — but we’re excited that we are going to be able to make his dream a reality.”

Although not every community member knows the full extent of the work Walter has done, they know enough about him from first-hand interactions to fully appreciate all that he is.

“During his retirement in the spring of 2018 — while that was so sad for us — it was incredibly touching to see how many people showed up to thank him,” Miles said. “He just stood there and was really able to take in the impact that he has had through a lot of the stories that were told, and you could see how proud he was of the work that he was able to do and accomplish here for our community.”

Now approaching 50 years of living on the Outer Banks, the Holtons have seen many changes take place, as the little island they call home has been transformed into a renowned tourist destination.

They’ve also had their fair share of nor’easters, yet none quite as memorable as their very first.

“It all turned out right; there could have been a reason where we’d have gone somewhere else, but I don’t regret it and I don’t think Barbara does,” Walter said, turning to look at Barbara.

“No,” she said firmly. He laughed.

“It just all worked out,” Walter said.

Maggie McNinch grew up on the Outer Banks but calls Chapel Hill home for most of the year as she is a UNC student double-majoring in Media and Journalism and English. She pursues her passion for editing as a Copy Assistant Editor at The Daily Tar Heel and her love for Carolina as an Orientation Leader through New Student and Family Programs.

Author: CoastalLife