The Curse Of Oak Island: Carmen Legge Drives Himself To The Island For 2 Reasons
The longer the series remains on the air, the more some fans are getting fed up with "The Curse of Oak Island." This is perhaps an inevitability based on the fact a TV show that revolves around unearthing a single treasure deposit becomes increasingly harder to maintain the longer that treasure is unfound. One way the show manages to stay fresh nevertheless is through its sizable cast of quirky treasure-hunting aficionados, including Carmen Legge, a blacksmith who debuts in Season 6.
Around the time "The Curse of Oak Island" Season 9 was first airing, YouTuber JFree906 interviewed Legge at length about his experience as a reality TV star. Partway through their discussion, JFree906 recounted a time when Legge shows up for work on-air in a car with the license plate "OX MAN," clearly referring to the blacksmith's personal interest in ox rearing. JFree906 then asked Legge why he started driving himself to Oak Island rather than remaining as an outside consultant of sorts.
"It was much easier for me to go to the island because of COVID restrictions," Legge replies. "All I had to do was go to the island and have the rapid test done, wait 15 minutes, and then I could go on the island and they allowed me to go wherever I want, which is kind of cool." When the "Oak Island" crew visited him, they required tests beforehand and afterward, so one major reason he started driving himself to work was to ease filming.
Carmen Legge has a vested interest in seeing artifacts in their natural habitats
In response to JFree906's question about his decision to start driving himself to work, Carmen Legge shared a second major reason for this development. "I had requested earlier that I'd like to see some of these items before they were dug out of the ground so I could see how they were oriented or whether they were upside down, you know?" he said. "Like if you see a shoe, an ox shoe with a wagon part and maybe a chain or even a log dog, you're gonna say, 'Okay, oxen were there with a wagon hauling logs.' So, it allows me to put a picture together more so of a particular area on the island."
This tracks with another interview Legge had, this time with a blog called The Oak Island Compendium. "I would prefer to see artifacts in-situ," he said, explaining that there are plenty of details about a buried artifact's location that adds to its value.
With that in mind, Legge is not just a paid consultant on "The Curse of Oak Island," but someone with a genuine interest in uncovering the island's secrets — which he states explicitly in his Oak Island Compendium interview. Driving himself to work, then, reflects this personal investment in solving Oak Island's mysteries, allowing him to do his job as best he can.