It’s a beautiful fall day on the Oak Island Pier. The sun is shining, the temperature is perfect, and the fish are biting. Well, sometimes they are, anyway.
Joe Meno of Fayetteville has caught about 15 fish over the past five days. His daughter, Patsy Brewer, also of Fayetteville has accompanied Meno on the trip and explains the fish aren’t much to write home about size-wise.
“Some are like nuggets, but we put them in the freezer anyway,” she said with a smile. “They can be an appetizer.”
Meno and Brewer are visiting Oak Island to participate in the Oak Island Peer Fishin’ Festival, hosted by Operation North State, a nonprofit organization that provides recreational outings for wounded warriors and disabled veterans.
Meno served as a paratrooper in the U.S. Army for 30 years and has participated in the event for the past four years. The 87-year-old explained for him, it isn’t all about fishing.
“It’s relaxing and takes my mind off things,” he said. “It’s great therapy.”
That’s exactly what Operation North State founder Terry Snyder had in mind when he started the organization in December 2010. Snyder, who lives in the Winston-Salem area, wanted to do something to help disabled veterans.