Topsail author David Stallman leaves legacy of local history

It was sad to learn of the passing Nov. 1 of David A. Stallman, one of the Cape Fear area's most prolific writers. The 85-year-old Ohio native served in the Army in Germany from 1953 to 1955, followed by 33 years with IBM. He had lived in the Wilmington area for the past 16 years and written extensively on local history.

Stallman was among the co-founders of the Missiles and More Museum at Topsail Beach, and much of his work focused on the Topsail area, including "Operation Bumblebee," about the Navy's missile testing on the island in the years after World War II, and "Echoes of Topsail," a history of the community. Originally published in 1996, "Echoes" had a second, expanded edition in 2004.

Stallman's "Women in the Wild Blue" (2006) looked at the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots), who flew P-47 fighters out of Camp Davis (near modern-day Holly Ridge) during World War II, towing aerial targets for the camp's anti-aircraft trainees.

In 2016, Stallman published "The Cotton Exchange," a history of the complex's renovation as a downtown shopping center in the 1970s.

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Wilmington poet Mark Cox has received a Woodrow Hall Top Shelf Award for his 2018 collection "Readiness," published by Press 53 of Winston-Salem. The award was presented by Woodrow Hall Editions, the publishing wing of "Poetry Jumps Off the Shelf," a Wisconsin-based group that works to bring poetry out of the classrooms to reach the general public.

Cox is a professor of poetry at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, a former N.C. Arts Council fellow in literature and a Pushcart Prize winner. His previous collections include "Barbells of the Gods," "Thirty-Seven Years from the Stone," "Natural Causes" and "Sorrow Bread."

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Luleen S. Anderson of Wilmington has had another brief essay published in The Upper Room, the daily devotional guide loosely affiliated with The United Methodist Church.

Anderson's essay, "The God Box," dated for Nov. 12, dealt with her late brother, a woodworker and cabinet maker. One of his favorite projects, which he frequently gave away as gifts, was a small cherrywood "God Box." Those who received them were urged to put all their worries and cares in The God Box" and leave them there.

A retired psychologist with more than 40 years of clinical practice, Anderson has written extensively on therapy and psychological issues. Her books include "Fill Me Up to Empty," "Sunday Came Early This Week," "The Knack of a Happy Life" and "Under the Covers: Discovering the Crazy Quilt of Life."

Ben Steelman can be reached at 910-343-2208 or peacebsteelman@gmail.com.