“We always waited for the mailboat to come in. That was something that we enjoyed, going and seeing the people who were on it, because it carried some passengers and also some freight for the island people and for the stores. We enjoyed doing it just to get away from home and see what we […]
Ocracoke Island Features | Full Article
Ocracoke author Pat Garber’s newest book, “Paws and Tales,” is a story told by a dog and a cat, which doesn’t seem at all strange to anyone who knows the writer — an animal lover whose two most popular books feature the island’s wildlife. The new book features mystery, adventure, and romance all rolled into […]
Island Features | Full Article
Carmie Prete and Mickey Baker made Ocracoke and Hyde County history when they were married on Tuesday, Dec.2, in their home on Ocracoke Island by Hyde County Magistrate Gene Ballance. They are the first gay couple to be legally married on the island and in the county. Marriage equality became legal in North Carolina on […]
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“What a story, if only the live oaks could talk.” That is the caption Ocracoker Earl O’Neal wrote to go with a photograph of the Outer Banks, as portrayed in his latest, almost completed book, “A Historical Almanac of the Outer Banks; A Long Voyage Over the Last 488 Years.” The book, co-written with Hatteras […]
Island Features | Full Article
Located on the harbor in Ocracoke village, the Community Square has long been the hub of this island community. Made up of the Community Store, docks, and several other businesses, this significant portion of Ocracoke’s Historic District has recently been the focus of a project to rejuvenate the square and preserve the island’s history and […]
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Riding in a horse-drawn cart across the beach to see a shipwreck, dining on “so good” sea turtle hash, going out in her Daddy’s fishing boat, the “Blanche,” named for her; and eating “the most delicious sweet potato pie,” made by her mother—these are some of the things Blanche Howard Joliff, 94 years old, recalls […]
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Reaching into the dumpster, I lift out a half-full can of mauve paint, just the right color for my bedroom door. Next I find a set of exercise weights, still in the box with instructions. While I don’t want them myself, I am sure I can find someone who does, so I chuck them into […]
Island Features | Full Article
Fish kills, decreases in shellfish, murky brown water, and loss of underwater grasses — these are things no one wants to see in their coastal community waters. But these are the effects of a brown algae that is becoming more and more common in the estuaries of the eastern United States. Brown algae blooms, also […]
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By PAT GARBER By PAT GARBER Island old-timers believe that when an Ocracoker was going to die, the island’s roosters would crow repeatedly in mournful tones. On Sunday morning, March 9, the roosters along O’Neal Drive crowed non-stop, even as the news arrived that Wayne Teeter, a man who was “as Ocracoke as you could […]
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A year and a half ago, in the fall of 2010, a handful of Ocracoke volunteers joined a professional staff from North Carolina State University (NCSU) to study the water quality of Silver Lake Harbor. The Ocracokers were concerned about a number of potential sources of pollution that may exist in the harbor. There are […]
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