Ocracoke has two churches, the Life Saving Church on Lighthouse Road and the Ocracoke United Methodist Church on School Road. These are Protestant churches. Although there has never been a Roman Catholic church on the island, masses have been held at various times over the years. That will soon change as the Diocese of Raleigh […]
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If one were to produce an event that would be pure Ocracoke, an attraction for both islanders and visitors, one might say, how about figs? Eight years ago, people did and the Ocracoke Fig Festival has become a major summer attraction. The recent event Aug. 4 to 6 drew about 300 attendees and another round […]
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It may surprise some that Ocracoke does not have a pharmacy. The Ocracoke Health Center has relied on next-day prescription deliveries from Beach Pharmacy located in Hatteras village. Islanders then go to the health center to retrieve their medicines. But it is not possible to get them on weekends since the health center operates Monday […]
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Even though he says his first attempt at decoy carving yielded “the ugliest bird you ever saw,” the folk-art form grabbed John Simpson back in 1975. Simpson, who is the featured carver at this year’s Ocracoke Waterfowl Festival from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 23, at the Berkley Barn, is also the president of the […]
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With the newly redrawn voting maps, Hyde County will be in three new voting districts next year unless a court orders them to be redrawn. Throughout the country, every state is redrawing political maps based on new data from the 2020 census. North Carolina ratified new districts on Nov. 4. The new districts for Hyde […]
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Although the North Carolina Shell Club has not held its annual spring meeting on Ocracoke for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have not forgotten the island. From a special live auction at their September meeting in Cedar Point, the club raised $1,400 for Ocracoke and donated it to the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire […]
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While much of Ocracoke has returned to a new “normal” in these challenging times, Ocracoke School still has a way to go. With a great deal of initial reluctance, Ocracoke School eventually joined about 35 other buildings in Ocracoke village that were torn down due to historic flooding caused by Hurricane Dorian on Sept. 6, […]
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Update: Tram service to the lighthouse will begin as soon as the National Park Service installs signage, the Observer learned today (Monday, June 21). The original version of this story said tram service to the lighthouse would begin Monday, as was announced in a public meeting June 17. Sometime after Monday, when passenger ferry service is scheduled […]
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Note: If you search for this owl, keep a distance so as not to spook it causing it to fly away. These photos were taken with a long lens. Ocracoke went on alert to the possibility that a Snowy Owl would return here when one was seen Dec. 29 on Pea Island. According to OBX Today, […]
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Conducting outdoor bird censuses at the end of December can be a challenge, normally due to the specter of horrible weather. The Portsmouth and Ocracoke island Christmas Bird Counts (CBC) that took place on their end-of-the year dates, Dec. 30 and 31 got done, though Ocracoke’s weather was not ideal. The counts, like hundreds of […]
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