This sculpture of the "ECU Pirate" was a gift to the school from Irwin Belk. The scuplture is located between Dowdy-Flicklen Stadium, ECU's football stadium, and Minges, ECU's basketball coliseum.
Pee Dee was featured as a student profile on ECU's website, the profile can be found at this website
The following is from Pee Dee's profile interview, questions in bold:
What would you tell someone who is considering attending ECU?
For the life of me, I cannot fathom why someone would need to “consider” East Carolina. What’s to consider! No clearer choice could be laid before a young lad or lass. ECU is a treasure trove of opportunity. Why there's so much treasure here that we’re practically givin’ it away. Don’t believe me? Just visit our campus and give a shout of “Purple!” and see what you get in return.
Upon graduating, what will you miss most about ECU?
Avast me hearty! I don’t aim to be graduating just yet. I haven’t finished me education! ECU offers 108 degree programs and I’m only getting started. Plus, there’s always medical school to think about and with our new dental school, I may decide I want to become PeeDee the Pirate, D.D.S.
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I can’t help but notice that you look fabulous. What’s your secret?
Hey, it's no secret. I just happen to have the sort of natural athletic ability and rugged good looks that make lesser men tremble.
But let's face it, a few years back I started to let myself go. I was out of shape and off my game. The Pirate Nation deserved better and I intended to give it to them. Luckily for me, getting in shape was easy. Our dining halls on campus provide me with good, healthy grub (turns out salt pork and hardtack aren't so good for you) and the Student Recreation Center is a great place to work out. Now I feel great and look better than I ever have. ECU has been around for 100 years and now I’m ready for the next hundred!
What first brought you to ECU?
After the Golden Age of Piracy ended, there wasn’t much work for a pirate. After a few dead-end jobs and brief stint as a regional spokesman for a chain of seafood restaurants, I said to myself "PeeDee—you need to get a proper education if you want to become the pirate you were born to be." So I looked at all the great Pirates around the world and realized that they all have one thing in common—they got their start at ECU.
What's with the smile?
[Waymarker's note...Pee Dee received a makeover in 2008 that included a gigantic smile that he didn't previously have. ECU students and the community have mixed feelings about this "new" Pee Dee, the general consensus is that he looks too excited to be around young children if you know what I mean...]
What's not to smile about?! I guess if I had to spend my life as some kind of raggedy old dog or mutant goat, I might be depressed, but hey, I'm a Pirate! How cool is that? Look, if you were a Pirate, you'd be smiling too.
[Waymarker's note: that raggedy old dog and mutant goat both live in the central region of our fine state.
A geocache was placed nearby by a local cacher 1-12-09.