"Ocreecoke, sir; we've arrived at Ocreecoke!"

I can still hear Danny Garrish reciting that line in the original production of A Tale of Blackbeard, a musical written by Julia Howard in the 1970s, and performed for a number of summers on the island (in the old school recreation hall [now the Topless Oyster Restaurant], and on the porch of the Community Store). Danny portrayed the cook aboard Blackbeard's ship, and stole the show when he sang "Ocracoke Cutie."

It is not unusual to hear native islanders talk about "Ocreecoke" (the accent is always on the first syllable, a long "O," of course). I've never heard our beloved island called "Ahcracoke," but that's how it's pronounced on the following web site (the page may not load properly in Firefox, but it will in IE):

http://www.pronouncehow.com/english/ocracoke_pronunciation

As Captain Rob said (tongue in cheek, of course), "Did you realize we've all been mispronouncing 'Ocracoke'????"

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of the unique "Ocracoke Greeting." You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news022113.htm. 

A reader recently asked me to post some of my favorite books, so here goes:

Alton Ballance's Ocracokers continues to be one of the best introductions to Ocracoke. Written by a native islander with a degree in journalism, this book includes history, stories, personal anecdotes, and reflections about island life.

Ann Ehringhaus's Ocracoke Portrait is a wonderful compilation of Ann's photographs and quotations from residents and visitors that capture the spirit of the island.

To Ocracoke! by Fred Mallison is a delightfully written, entertaining, and engaging account of visiting Ocracoke in the 1930s. It is currently out of print, but I understand the Ocracoke Preservation Society is negotiating to have it reprinted.

I recommend three books on the United States Life Saving Service: Ship Ashore!, The U.S. Lifesavers of Coastal North Carolina; The U.S. Life Saving Service, Heroes, Rescues and Architecture of the Early Coast Guard; and Fire on the Beach, Recovering the Lost Story of Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers.

For the history of Blackbeard you can't go wrong with Robert E. Lee's Blackbeard the Pirate, a Reappraisal of His Life and Times, and Kevin Duffus's The Last Days of Black Beard the Pirate.

Jack Dudley's coffee table book, Ocracoke Album, has an excellent collection of vintage photographs and accompanying text.

My own book, Digging up Uncle Evans, is a compilation of "History, Ghost Tales, & Stories from Ocracoke Island"

There are, of course, many other excellent books about Ocracoke and the Outer Banks. Some concentrate on history, some on stories, others on wildlife and the environment.

The reader also asked about my personal reading choices. I generally prefer to read non-fiction. Subjects often include science (e.g. The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene, The Cooperative Gene, by Mark Ridley, The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins, How the Mind Works by Stephen Pinker, Hallucinations by Oliver Sachs, A First-Rate Madness by Nassir Ghaemi, and Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond), religion (e.g. Why I Am Not a Muslim by Ibn Warraq and Did Jesus Exist by Bart Ehrman), history (e.g. The Great Hunger, Ireland 1845-1849 by Cecil Woodham-Smith and The Big Oyster by Mark Kurlansky) and some biography (e.g. The Secret Life of Houdini by William Kalush and Larry Sloman).

I have also recently read (or re-read) several classics: Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, The Trial, Metamorphosis, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Treasure Island, Moby Dick, and War and Peace.

Maybe some of our readers would like to share their favorite books. Please leave a comment if you would.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of the unique"Ocracoke Greeting." You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news022113.htm.

Emmet Temple has lived on Ocracoke all of his life. He is now a high school senior in Winston-Salem at the North Carolina School of the Arts studying acting. I recently learned that Emmet has a starring role in a short video on YouTube. I thought our readers would enjoy seeing this video featuring one of Ocracoke Island's promising young adults. Emmet plays Phil. You will see him first at 34 seconds, hugging the young lady.



Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of the unique "Ocracoke Greeting." You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news022113.htm. 

During a recent pleasant afternoon conversation with cousin Blanche our conversation turned to dentists. Like so many other people, Blanche dreads going to the dentist. She told me she grips the arms of the chair so tightly that her dentist has been known to ask her if he is hurting her.

I was curious. "When did you first visit a dentist?" I asked her. She told me she was about fifteen years old.

"I suppose you went to Little Washington. Is that right?"

"No," Blanche said. "A dentist came to Ocracoke, and set up his equipment in his rental cottage. He was young. I think he had just recently graduated from dental school."

"What kind of a drill did he use," I asked.

"Oh, he had a foot powered, treadle drill," she answered.

"Of course, there was no Novocaine," I commented, knowing full well that was the case.

It wasn't difficult to understand Blanche's fear of dentists.

Blanche then proceeded to tell me that her mother, Elizabeth Ballance Howard (1885 - 1970) had two gold teeth. She, too, had her dental work performed on the island by a Dr. Gallagher, who came to the island each summer for several years around the turn of the twentieth century. He, too, brought all of his equipment with him, and treated islanders as he was able.

Sometimes I get nostalgic thinking about "the way Ocracoke used to be," but then I think how fortunate I am to have access to modern dental care!

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of the unique "Ocracoke Greeting." You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news022113.htm. 

When nineteenth century life savers arrived at the scene of a wreck one of their first jobs was to fire a projectile attached to a "shot line" to the stricken vessel. Once the shot line was retrieved by the sailors on board, it was hauled to the ship. On shore the keeper of the life saving station would have attached the "whip line," the "tail block," and a "tally board" to the shot line. The tally board instructed the shipwrecked crew how to secure the block and whip line to the ship. Next, the life savers rigged the sand anchor, the hawser, and the breeches buoy and proceeded with the rescue of the vessel's crew.

This link will take you to a photo of a USLSS tally board:

http://www.lighthouselens.com/items/images/263/pic1.jpg

The tally board had instruction in French on one side, and instructions in English on the other side:

"(L'autre cote.) Make the tail of this block fast to the lower mast well up. If masts are gone then to the best place you can find. Cast off shot line, see that the rope in the block runs free & show signal to the shore.

"(Other Side) Fouettez la poulie le plus haut possible sur le bas mat, ou a l'enndroit le plus favorable si les bas mats sont perdus. Detachez le ligne, voyez que la corde coure facilment dans la poulie, et faites signal au rivage."

The following web site has excellent photos of the life saving apparatus along with explanations of how it was used: 

 http://beachbum.homestead.com/life-savingstations/equipment/breechesbuoyrescue.html#anchor_162

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of the unique "Ocracoke Greeting." You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news022113.htm. 

I was visiting Blanche several days ago, and the conversation turned to popular songs of the late nineteenth century, many of which were very sad. She remembered her father, Stacey Howard (1885-1968) singing one of his favorites, I'll Take you Home Again, Kathleen, written in 1875 by Thomas P. Westendorf. Although Westendorf was an American songwriter, the song quickly became thought of as a beloved Irish ballad.

Without any prompting Blanche recited the words for me:

I'll take you home again, Kathleen
Across the ocean wild and wide
To where your heart has ever been
Since you were first my bonnie bride.
The roses all have left your cheek.
I've watched them fade away and die
Your voice is sad when e'er you speak
And tears bedim your loving eyes.
Oh! I will take you back, Kathleen
To where your heart will feel no pain
And when the fields are fresh and green
I'll take you to your home again!

I know you love me, Kathleen, dear
Your heart was ever fond and true.
I always feel when you are near
That life holds nothing, dear, but you.
The smiles that once you gave to me
I scarcely ever see them now
Though many, many times I see
A dark'ning shadow on your brow.

To that dear home beyond the sea
My Kathleen shall again return.
And when thy old friends welcome thee
Thy loving heart will cease to yearn.
Where laughs the little silver stream
Beside your mother's humble cot
And brightest rays of sunshine gleam
There all your grief will be forgot.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of the unique "Ocracoke Greeting." You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news022113.htm. 

About a mile and a half north of the Pony Pen there is an old dune structure called Scrag Cedar Hills. In years past a distinctive stand of scrawny, wind-and-weather twisted cedars grew there.

"Scrag" is a word dating from the mid-sixteenth century meaning the lean end of a neck of mutton or veal. It also came to mean a rawboned or scrawny person or animal. Outer Bankers used the word to describe trees that were gnarled and twisted because of their constant assault by wind and salt spray. 



  











Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of the unique"Ocracoke Greeting." You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news022113.htm.

You may have read about the species of French catfish that lurks at the edge of the river and captures pigeons. If not, here is a YouTube video about this amazing adaptation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZwPG_x6QEk.

A couple of years ago I was walking on the Hammock Hills Nature Trail (across the highway from the NPS campground). On the boardwalk over Island Creek I noticed a blue heron feeding along the shoreline. Then I noticed a nutria (Ocracokers call this critter a Russian Rat), an invasive, herbivorous, semi-aquatic rodent, creeping up behind the heron. While I watched, the nutria jumped up, lunged at the heron, and almost grabbed it by the leg!

Photo by Peleg 












Nutria are herbivores (they feed on grass and other plants). What was it doing attacking a heron? I will probably never know. Will wonders never cease?

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of the unique"Ocracoke Greeting." You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news022113.htm.

Although I have lived on Ocracoke for more than 40 years and my father was born here, as a child I only spent summers on the island. My father, like so many islanders, had moved up north to work on dredges and tug boats on the Delaware River. Several days ago, in a conversation with neighbors, I was reminded of the following story.

Every morning two friends and I would walk two miles to our high school. In the fall of the year we would stroll through the showroom of a new car dealership to inspect the latest models. In 1960 we were amazed to see a record player installed under the dashboard of a Plymouth Fury (that's the year with the huge tail fins!).

After school I was excited to tell my father and twenty-six year old brother about this fantastic accessory. They both explained to me that I had to be mistaken. A record player would never work in a car. The needle arm would bounce around and slide across the record with every tiny bump in the road. Even though I had seen the record player with my own eyes, I accepted their word of authority.

Next morning, on the way to school I told my friends that there could not possibly be a record player in the Plymouth, and I explained why. We must have been mistaken, I insisted, but they protested. So we walked through the showroom again. This is what we saw:


So that's when I learned to trust evidence, and not blind authority, not even my own father and older brother...although they were definitely smarter than the automotive engineers! Record players in cars really were not such a great idea.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of the unique "Ocracoke Greeting." You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news022113.htm. 

Hatteras Inlet ferries are again operating, now using an alternate route until dredging of the primary channel is completed. To read a recent NCDOT news release, including present schedule, click on the following link:

https://apps.ncdot.gov/newsreleases/details.aspx?r=7787

Below is the Ferry Division's home page:

http://www.ncdot.gov/ferry/

Two years ago in January we had a sizable snowstorm and Dave Frum came by the house on his cross country skis. A couple of weeks later Lachlan decided he wanted skis, so he made a pair from scrap lumber in my shed.

Lachlan on Homemade Skis, 2011

















Last weekend Amy & David took Lachlan snow skiing in Canada. Lachlan called very excited. He progressed from the Bunny Slope to Blue Square slopes in just one day. He was proud of his achievements.

Lachlan Snow Skiing, 2013

















What are we going to do now? No hills; no snow. I guess surfing will be next.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of the unique "Ocracoke Greeting." You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news022113.htm.

Half a century ago Ocracoke men often greeted each other in a manner that would seem quite peculiar today, although it was nothing more than an old tradition with historic, even ancient, roots. You can read about it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news022113.htm.

The schooner Lillie F. Schmidt stranded on Ocracoke beach at 6 a.m., March 9, 1893, about 10 miles from the Life Saving Station at Hatteras Inlet. According to the official report, "The  ship was reported to the keeper at 11 a.m. by two citizens of Ocracoke. The weather was smoky with strong winds, flood tide, sea very high."

Excerpts from Keeper James W. Howard's report:

"...keeper called out crew and also employed [Wheeler Howard and Mathias Ballance, the two citizens who had reported the wreck] to help as the distance was so long and laborious."

"...left station fifteen minutes to eleven with mules, two sets of gear [weighing more than 1000 pounds, in a two-wheeled cart] and arrived to schooner 2:30 p.m."

"...got the gear in working order bringing them all [seven sailors] ashore in buoy [the "breeches buoy" was a pair of canvas pants attached to a life ring that was conveyed to the ship by pulleys and ropes shot to the stranded vessel from a brass cannon] by 4 trips the men of wrecked schr [schooner] were so worn out could not get them to station -- sent them up to the settlement and had them cared for the distance was so great that they could not travel."

"...left wreck at 5:30 p.m. arriving at station 8:30 p.m."

"...no patrol that night up til 12 [midnight] men was so tired and worn out after walking over twenty miles I thought theys ought to rest."

P.C. Vaneilder, Captain of the Lillie F. Schmidt, wrote to "Mr. Kimble, Supr. of LSS":  "I desire to express my thanks to Capt. J.W. Howard and crew for their prompt service in landing myself and crew safely from vessel and attending our needs."

It was all in a day's work for the members of the United States Life Saving Service!

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of windmills on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news012113.htm.

Chapter III of Earl O'Neal's book, Wild Ponies of Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, is devoted to an account of the island's mid-1950s Mounted Boy Scout Troop 290.

The troop was the vision of Marvin Howard, the boys' first scoutmaster. The former scouts are now in their 60s, but they all remember Marvin fondly for his commitment to the youth of Ocracoke, and his untiring dedication to his scouts.

Ocracoke Mounted Boy Scout Troop 290













(Photo courtesy of the Outer Banks History Center. Marvin Howard is second from left.)

Earl retells the following story from Rudy Austin, one of the original scouts:

"[Rudy] and a couple of the other scouts went by Scout Master Marvin Howard's home on Howard Street. Marvin always went in the shed and took off his dirty clothes and shoes before he went into his home, which apparently he had done. When the boys showed up, in a typical Ocracoke style, his wife Leevella came to the door and said, 'Marvin can't come out and play; he's gonna have his supper.'"

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of windmills on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news012113.htm.

Waters surrounding Ocracoke are alive with creatures great & small, and common and exotic. The seahorse is one of those fish both small and exotic.

Photo by Jonathan Zander
For more info click here


















 Yes, the seahorse is a true fish, a close relative of pipefish, though it swims upright, and exhibits other peculiarities. Seahorses spend much of their lives clinging to seaweed and eel grass with their tails, and the female deposits her eggs (one thousand or more) in a male's brood pouch, where they are inseminated. The fertilized eggs develop in the pouch, then hatch in about a month.

I have seen seahorses swimming languidly in the shallow waters of Silver Lake harbor, near the Community Square. And beachcombers occasionally find them washed up with the tide on the ocean beach.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of windmills on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news012113.htm.

Sailors have enjoyed rum for centuries. Pirates mixed it with water and sugar, and sometimes with nutmeg. In 1740 Vice Admiral Edward Vernon of the British Royal Navy introduced a mixture of rum, water, weak beer, and lemon or lime juice to his recruits. Two servings were issued each day. Adding rum helped make the ship's stagnant water more palatable, and diluting the rum was intended to reduce intoxication.

Admiral Vernon was accustomed to wearing a coat made of grogram (a coarse fabric of silk and wool), and sailors nicknamed him Old Grog. His drink soon acquired the name as well. Today, "grog" refers to a variety of alcoholic beverages, not all of which contain rum. 

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of windmills on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news012113.htm.

Daniel Tolson was a prosperous antebellum Ocracoke merchant. In 1855 Tolson, just shy of 40 years old, was appointed postmaster. He served until 1866, at a weekly salary of $9.17. In 1857 he was half owner of the the five year old, 55' long schooner, Patron. Daniel Tolson purchased a relatively large tract of land on Ocracoke, and at one time owned 22 slaves.

Daniel Tolson's grave is located in one of more than eighty small cemeteries on the island. His may be the most difficult to get to. I learned of his grave site many years ago, and decided to walk to it again several days ago.

I parked my car, and walked ten minutes through a small section of woodland. At the edge of a clearing I stepped into the underbrush. Pushing my way past a stand of live oaks, yaupons, and myrtles, I stood on the outer rim of a wet bog. I sloshed through and up a small incline to a ridge.

Brambles, briars, and low branches conspired with dead trees, downed branches, and thorns to obstruct my path. After five minutes of struggle and effort I spied the marble headstone.

A Glimpse of Daniel Tolson's Marker




















 I stepped into the clearing. There it stood:

Sacred to the Memory ofDaniel TolsonBorn Dec. 23, 1816Departed this LifeApr. 21, 1879I Know That My Redeemer Liveth
Daniel Tolson (1816 - 1879)













I snapped a few more photos before I turned back to walk home.

A View of the Surrounding Woods

















The Nearby WetlandsI've promised several people that I would not reveal the location of Daniel Tolson's grave site in order to protect the surrounding property and environment. So please don't ask. But I hope you can enjoy the photos and the mystery.
Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of windmills on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news012113.htm.

I really shouldn't share this photo. But I will. The party invitation said, "Wear something fun & funky, pretty & pink, or red & racy." This is what I came up with (I actually rode my bike to the party!):


















It definitely wasn't pretty & pink. But you be the judge -- would you call it "fun & funky" or "red & racy"?

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of windmills on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news012113.htm.

They say "Virginia is for Lovers." But I think Ocracoke is for lovers.

Lovers of beauty
Lovers of community
Lovers of nature
Lovers of family, friends, & sweethearts
Lovers of life

Happy Valentine's Day to all of our readers!

If you spend more than a few days on Ocracoke you will soon discover there are more than 80 cemeteries on the island, most of them individual family plots. This number does not count the graves of Indians, pirates, shipwrecked sailors...and others buried in the dunes, in unmarked graves scattered around the village, and on shoreside land that has washed away over the years.

Cemetery on Howard Street













 It is not unusual for visitors to inquire about the many small children who died in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. The photo above shows the graves of two thirds of my great-grandparents' children. Although there are only four headstones, closer examination of the cemetery reveals that there is a different inscription on each side of the markers. Eight children are buried here. Notice the two footstones for each headstone.

These eight of my great-grandparents' twelve children died between 1865 and 1884. The youngest was one month old; the oldest was six years old. How tragic it must have been to loose so many children!

I am researching and preparing an Ocracoke Newsletter article about Ocracoke mortality for publication sometime later this year. As grim a subject as this is, it is part of the history of this tiny isolated community where residents sometimes endured unspeakable hardship and tragedy...and yet managed to endure and prevail.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of windmills on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news012113.htm.