Billy Hicks

October 31, 2006

This is an addendum to the interview I had with Billy and his brother Carter Hicks on June 13, 2006.  I met again with Billy to obtain information on the history of oyster businesses in the Eclipse, Crittenden and Hobson areas. by Les Ward

ADAMS OYSTER COMPANY:

Captain Charles Adams was the first person to operate an oyster business in this area.  Billy believes it was in the 1940s, but isn’t sure of the exact date.  This business, called the Adams Oyster Company was located on Moore’s Point at the end of Moore’s Point Road in Hobson.  Billy did not know much about this business or how many employees worked there.

NANSEMOND FISH AND OYSTER COMPANY:

During the 1940s, Charles Bagnell and Selby (Boosey) Madre operated the Nansemond Fish and Oyster Company near the mouth of Bleakhorn Creek.  Their brand of oysters was called Bleakhorn Oysters.  Billy said his father Shelton Hicks worked for this company.  Charles later went to work for the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) in the early 1960s in shellfish management.   Boosey continued to operate the Nansemond Fish and Oyster Company for a while on Bleakhorn Creek, then he and Carl Bagnell moved this oyster business to  Chuckatuck Creek, next to the Adams Oyster Company, owned by Charles Gray Adams. 

ADAMS OYSTER COMPANY…NANSEMOND-ADAMS OYSTER COMPANY

Charles Gray Adams and Carl Bagnell operated the Adams Oyster Company during the 1960s, but he did not know when this business started.  When Boosey Madre and Carl Bagnell moved the Nansemond Fish and Oyster Company to Chuckatuck Creek, the two oyster businesses soon merged forming a combined new business known as the Nansemond-Adams Oyster Company.  Billy told me that he worked for this company during the mid-1960s as a teenager.  Carl Bagnell died in the late 1950s, leaving operation of the Nansemond-Adams Oyster Company to Charles Gray Adams and Boosey Madre.  This oyster business operated until the mid to late 1970s when the land was sold to a Mr. Ralph Blythe who opened a marine railway business repairing government boats and landing craft.  Charles Gray Adams and Boosey Madre retired and after the business was sold.  Boosey died in the late 1970s.

MARTIN SEAFOOD AND OYSTER COMPANY:

Captain Bud Martin (G.B. Martin’s father) operated a seafood and oyster business on Bleakhorn Creek at the end of Martin Road.  Billy’s granddaddy worked for Captain Bud Martin in the early 1940s.  Billy believes this business was in operation until the late 1940s.  He added that G.B. Martin never worked for this business.

DIXON OYSTER COMPANY:

The Dixon Oyster Company was owned and operated by John R. Dixon Sr. from the 1920s until __________.  The old oyster house remained on the property until _______, when Thomas Hazelwood (current owner) torn it down and built a more modern building.  In addition to the main dock and piers, the property now houses Robbie Johnson’s crab business.  Also, many local fishermen launch their craft from the oyster shell ramp on the property.