NEWBURYPORT — The Moulton family at Surfland Bait & Tackle on Plum Island was honored on May 30 with the 2024 Strong by Nature award at Merrohawke’s annual fundraising benefit Auction at Alnoba in Kensington, N.H.
The award is a Merrohawke tradition to shine a bright light on individuals who, by their nature, are making our community a special place to live, work, and play. Award recipients are people who exemplify the earth-minded values, empathy, resilience, and grit that Merrohawke seeks to cultivate in children who attend its outdoor education programs. Merrohawke believes that by their nature, our community is made stronger.
Surfland Bait & Tackle has been a Plum Island institution since it was founded in 1960 by Ray and Kay Moulton. Their bait shop is still in business today, 64 years later, in the same building same location, same phone number and the same family behind the counter.
Today, no angler worth their salt drops a line in the water off Plum Island without stopping into Surfland to buy fresh bait, a brand new lure, pick up a repair, or to ask advice as to what’s been happening on the river, according to Merrohawke officials.
While Ray and Kay Moulton have since passed away, their legacy of kind and sound customer service lives on in the work of their family. Daughters Martha and Liz keep the shop running by offering trusted customer service to support a whole community, spanning multiple generations, who wish to get out on the waters by and around Plum Island.
“The compassionate work ethic, and customer service culture, that Kay inspired among her daughters and their staff endures. They are always welcoming, helpful and never push a hard sell. While they are always busy, they are never too busy to stop what they are doing to have a conversation and offer solutions to their customers,” said Kate Yeomans, executive director of Merrohawke. “Sound, honest, wise advice is good customer service, and good customer service is good business. Good business is good for our whole community.”
Surfland has inspired a whole community of outdoor enthusiasts–of all generations and backgrounds–who are connected to, and passionate about, the waters around Plum Island.
“For their commitment to keeping the living history and maritime traditions of Plum Island going strong,” Yeomans said, “we are truly grateful.”
Since 2017, Merrohawke has honored members of our community with the Strong by Nature Award. Awardees include Elizabeth Marcus, Jacalyn Bennett, Mark and Teresa Richey, David Hall and Jerry Klima. The award is a custom-designed slate by local artist Michael Updike each year.
Merrohawke Nature School was founded in Newburyport in 2007 by Kate and Rob Yeomans as Boat Camp and later grew to become Merrohawke. Through robust summer programs on land and sea and a schoolyear program that serves homeschool and preschool students, Merrohawke guides learning in nature to inspire empathy, resilience, grit, and a deep connection to the earth among 600+ youth annually.