The Little Shell Shop
By William Alex Winner
In the late ’90s I began to notice little miniature items on shelves in the shell craft room of my mom, Betty Peak. She and her mother, Lola McDonald, started collecting shells in the early ’50s when her dad built a vacation cabin on the Texas coast. Mom passed on to the big beach in 2003, and I have her and my grandmother’s collections now. I don’t know what my mom’s plan was for the miniature shells, but I hoped she was going to ask me to make a room for her tiny treasures. I finally finished it after a few months working on and off when free time at work allowed. All the shells and ocean items are real.
Betty in St. Jo in 1966. Betty, Bill, and Susan at the beach. Betty taking a coffee break in Padre Island, Texas, in 1967.
Lucky me to have had a grandfather who fell in love with the coast while fishing with a pal in 1948, the very year I was born. By 1953, he had built a small vacation cabin in Fulton, Texas, for us all to share and enjoy. It’s a 10-hour drive from Lubbock to Fulton, but the excitement and anticipation of the fun ahead made it go by fairly quickly, while singing rounds such as “Row Your Boat” and “You Take the High Road.”
Feeding gulls on the beach. Crafting shelves with bottles filled with sea shells. Lola on the Mamalola.
There began the six decades of beachcombing and shell collecting. Mom took me and my sisters down almost every two years. Lots of sunburns! Granddad took everyone fishing in his Higgins boat for years, but finally realized that a smaller flat-bottom boat was much better for the shallows of that region.
Betty in Padre Island, Texas, in 1967.
My mom and grandmother got serious about dragging all sorts of things back to the cabin from their outings on Padre Island. As they began to learn more about seashells, they started traveling to popular shelling spots like Sanibel and Captiva, Florida. That compelled them to go to some very cool places and distant islands. Mom’s sister, Conny, came along on many trips, and being the artist she was, made small journals of the trips complete with the cutest illustrations. Like I said, “lucky me!”
Views of the miniature shell shop.
My mom was a real world traveler, collecting shells throughout the world. She traveled to Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Mahe Island, Mexico, Yucatan, Cozumel, Caracas, Venezuela, Curaçao, Martinique, St. Thomas, Hawaii, Tahiti, Bora Bora, Fiji, Belize, Roatan, Brazil, the Palau Islands, Pohnpei Island, and Majuro Island. During these travels, she collected and cataloged more than 4,000 seashells. She was a charter member of The Shell Museum and Educational Foundation (now the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum) and was a member of shell clubs in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas.
Betty’s seashell catalogue. Betty’s shell display at her retirement home’s shell show. Betty in the early 2000s.
Mother and her dear sister Conny were very artistic and crafty, so I plan to carry the torch—hopefully with a little help from my sisters. Mom’s side of the family are all artsy crafty fun folks, so I was extremely blessed to be have the support, encouragement, and instruction I received throughout life.
Bill crafting with Betty’s seashell flower collection.
All photos courtesy of Bill Winner.
Learn more about seashells
Learn more about identifying shells, the history of seashell collecting, great shelling beaches, and the lives of the animals who make the shells we find on the beach. Articles ›
No live shelling: Be sure shells are empty and sand dollars, sea stars, and sea urchins are no longer alive before you bring them home.
This article appeared in Beachcombing Volume 36: May/June 2023.
