North Beach Sun Fall 2019

Fall 2019 • Volume 130

p u , p y u a w a d n a s e t i k ky s t n e h t Gia o take t

Delectably strange southern dishes

FREE!

Visit the homes of the lightkeepers The mystery of the Nags Head Portrait NORTH BEACH SUN

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I scream, you scream – we ALL scream for Big Buck’s ice cream (and their chocolates and cakes, too)!

What makes Big Buck’s Homemade Ice Cream Shop so good? That’s easy… at Big Buck’s Homemade Ice Cream Shop everything – from the caramel-dipped pretzels to the peanut butter cups to each one of their 57 signature ice cream flavors – is made from scratch every single day!

Having a birthday? Let Big Buck’s Homemade Ice Cream Shop handle the cake! Choose your favorite ice cream and add crushed Oreos or chocolate chips, fresh whipped cream, Belgian chocolates, M&Ms, sprinkles, strawberries or cherries to customize your dream dessert.

Want to send friends and family a sweet treat they’re sure to love? Shop for their chocolates online – they ship ANYWHERE! Friends, clients, neighbors…everyone loves getting creamy, smooth and utterly delicious Belgian chocolate from Big Buck’s Homemade Ice Cream Shop!

Stop by today and see why Big Buck’s Homemade Ice Cream Shop has been known as the Outer Banks favorite sweet tooth station sensation for the past 25 years…and counting!

cream 25 years ago I dreamed of having an ice shop that made everything with the finesthere could ingredients that ice cream lovers everywwould have enjoy. 25 years later I never imagined I nks that I four locations on the beautiful Outer Ba e true. call home. It has truly been a dream com Thank you for your support!

– owner Belinda Pleva

Order ahead for fresh ice cream cakes!

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Waterfront Shops Manteo 252-423-3118

Buccaneer’s Walk MP 4.5, Kitty Hawk 252-715-0779

bigbucksicecream.com • distinctdelights.com FALL 2019

Timbuck II Corolla 252-453-3188

ORDER ONLINE!

106A Sir Walter Raleigh St. Manteo 252-423-3400

WINNER! best ICE CREAm SHOP best chocol

ate shop

Like us on Facebook for updates, store hours, specials and more.

Just Over the Bridge in Harbinger

Traditional Southern Fare HA

RBINGER, NC

(252) 491-8100 | 8627 CARATOKE HWY., HARBINGER | SIMPLYSOUTHERNKITCHEN.COM

Beer, Bourbon

Barbeque

NAGS HEAD: (252) 449-6465 | 3919 S. VIRGINIA DARE TRAIL, MP 12.5 COROLLA: (252) 453-4423 | 807 OCEAN TRAIL | SOOEYSBBQ.COM

LOCAL NEIGHBORHOOD TAVERN WITH

southern hospitality

(252) 261-2243 | 300 W. ECKNER ST., MP 2.5 | KITTY HAWK | SANDTRAPTAVERN.COM NORTH BEACH SUN

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Burrus House Inn

Go on an Island

Adventure!

Avenue Waterfront Grille

Local seafood, all natural proteins, specialty burgers and pizzas. Craft beers, wine and Outer Banks cocktails. Gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan selections. Outdoor waterfront patio.

1 207 Queen Elizabeth Avenue 252-473-4800 • avenuegrilleobx.com

The Lost Colony Brewery & Cafe

Largest growing local brewery on the Outer Banks. Award-winning craft beers and creative cuisine served for more than 20 years. Outdoor, pet-friendly dining available. Dinner reservations accepted.

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Big Buck’s Homemade Ice Cream

Beautiful, all-suite hotel on Roanoke Island in Manteo, boasting waterfront views of Shallowbag Bay from each of the twelve unique spaces.

57 homemade ice cream varieties, piping hot lattes and pastries, ice cream cakes, smoothies, shakes, sundaes, handmade Belgian chocolates, fresh fudge and an Italian espresso bar. Open late!

3 509 US Main Hwy 64/264 252-475-1636 • burrushouse.com

6 207 Queen Elizabeth Avenue 252-423-3118 • bigbucksicecream.com

Capt. Johnny’s Outer Banks Dolphin Tours

Sam & Winston

A southern family-owned shop with fine art, books, gourmet kitchen goods and high-design gifts for ladies, gentlemen, children and dogs.

The “see dolphin or ride again” boat since 1995. Open June through October for sightseeing and dolphin watching. Enjoy breathtaking views on your two-hour cruise. Ideal for all ages.

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4 400 Queen Elizabeth Avenue 252-473-1475 • outerbankscruises.com

105 Fernando Street 252-475-9764 • samandwinston.com

Downtown Books

Dare County Arts Council

The independent bookstore that puts the right books in the right hands. Large selection of Outer Banks titles, best-sellers, cookbooks and children’s books, greeting cards, gifts and more.

The cultural hub of downtown Manteo, DCAC offers art classes and events, performances and a gallery featuring more than 100 local artists in the historic Dare County courthouse.

8 105 Sir Walter Raleigh Street 252-473-1056 • duckscottage.com

5 300 Queen Elizabeth Avenue 252-473-5558 • darearts.org

Sisters Boutique & Gifts

208 Queen Elizabeth Street 252-473-6666 • lostcolonybrewery.com

Women’s clothing, sandals, home goods and more!

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207 Queen Elizabeth Avenue 252-305-8582 • @sistersofmanteo

DISCOVER

MANTEO Upcoming Events

FIRST FRIDAYS

First Friday of every month, 6 - 8 p.m.

Stroll the streets of Manteo enjoying food, live music, beer specials, book signings, local art and more.

FARMERS’ MARKET

Saturdays, 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Local vendors can be found at the George Washington Creef Park on the waterfront.

TRIVIA NIGHT AT THE LOST COLONY BREWERY & CAFE 4

FALL 2019

Mondays, 7:30 p.m.

Join Trivia Master Tim Hass for an evening of arcane minutia. Compete against other teams for prizes and mad geek creds.

LIVE MUSIC AT AVENUE WATERFRONT GRILLE

First Fridays, 6 - 9 p.m.

Enjoy live music while you sip cocktails and enjoy views of Shallowbag Bay.

FALL EVENTS AT JUMPMASTERS TRAMPOLINE PARK 9/10 9/10 9/11 9/13 10/3

Ninja Squad Tues.-Wed. 4-week sessions (4:30-5:30) Tumble Class Tues.-Wed. 4-week sessions (5:30-6:30) Toddler Time Wed./Fri. (10 a.m.-12 p.m.)

Sat (9 a.m.-10 a.m.)

Date Night every 2nd & 4th Friday Adult Dodgeball League Thursdays 6-week sessions

FALL EVENTS AT OBX AXE THROWING 8/1

8/8

9/23

Teacher & Military/ Veteran Appreciation 1st & 3rd Thursday Nurse & First Responders Appreciation 2nd & 4th Thursday Axe Club Monday nights 8-week sessions (6-8 p.m.)

TRISH MCEVOY MAKEUP EVENT September 6-7 Reserve your complimentary mini makeover session at Charlotte’s. To sign up, call 252-473-3078 or visit shopcharlottes.com.

Muzzie’s Estate & Fine Jewelry

White Doe Inn

600 US Main Hwy 64/264 13 252-473-2630 • lnlop.com

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nest

Jumpmasters Trampoline Park & OBX Axe Throwing

nest

107-A Budleigh Street 252-473-4505 • muzziesantiques@obx.com

My Secret Garden

Distinctive clothing by CP Shades and Wilt and many other niche brands. Sophisticated accessories, jewelry and fragrances for you and your home.

The oldest gift shop in Manteo specializes in treasures and happiness. Baby gifts, birdhouses, puzzles, pet gifts, fun socks, jewelry, gardens, Spartina, Mudpie, mermaids and more. 2017 Best of the Beach winner.

14 Magnolia Lane 252-473-5141

11 101 Sir Walter Raleigh Street 252-473-6880 facebook.com/MySecretGardenOBX

Charlotte’s

Trampoline park, Ninja Warrior, climbing wall, dodgeball and battle beams. Fun for the whole family. Axe throwing for ages 10+! Perfect for families, friends, groups and parties!

Sleeping In, Ltd.

Full-service ladies’ boutique specializing in fashions that are traditional with a contemporary flair.

Stop in and enjoy one of Manteo's most pleasurable shopping experiences. Fashion, gifts, jewelry, home textiles and more.

15 103A Fernando Street 252-473-3078 • shopcharlottes.com

From molasses to glasses, visit the first legal distillery on the Outer Banks. Offering Kill Devil Rum tastings, distillery tours (reservations required) and a retail area. Open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Tuesday - Saturday.

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510 Budleigh Street 252-423-3011 • outerbanksdistilling.com AN

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18 101B Fernando Street 252-475-1971 • Like us on Facebook

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OBX PRIDEFEST BOOK SIGNING

JOSEPH RIBKOFF TRUNK SHOW

OBX PRIDEFEST DRAG BRUNCH

SWING! DCAC ANNUAL FUNDRAISER

September 13 Visit the Downtown Books tent for a signing with authors Charles Oldham and Michele Young-Stone.

September 15, 11:30 a.m.

Come out to Avenue Waterfront Grille for a DJ and live performances. Admission to brunch/drag show will be your Pride Pass or $25 at the door.

SURFALORUS FILM FESTIVAL

September 19 - 21 Free, three day cinematic showings of all things aquatic.

319 Sir Walter Raleigh Street 252-473-9851 • whitedoeinn.com

17 728 US Main Hwy 64/264 252-423-3177 • jumpmastersobx.com

Outer Banks Distilling

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Known for its excellent service, warm hospitality and outstanding innovative cuisine. Stroll downtown Manteo, then enjoy a glass of wine or craft beer before dinner in the bistro.

The only craft store located on the Outer Banks also offers an open crafting atmosphere and a full coffee bar.

SEMI RETIREMENT SALE now going on at MUZZIES! All inventory is included. Jewelry, clothing, linens, and antiques. Many new items have been added. OPEN Wednesday Saturday 12:00-4:00.

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Love ‘N Life Arts & Crafts

October 4 View the hottest fall and holiday trends from Canadian designer Joseph Ribkoff.

October 26 Celebrate the golden age of big bands for our annual fundraiser event at Pirate’s Cove Pavilion

WOODEN BOAT SHOW

October 26 - 27 Visit the Maritime Museum on the Manteo waterfront for land and water displays of numerous small boats. Admission is free.

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MARSHES LIGHT

HAUNTED BOOKSTORE

October 31 Come to Downtown Books for a spooky good time, and check out the first annual painted pumpkin contest!

7TH ANNUAL OUTER BANKS VETERANS WEEK

November 1 - 11 Dare County Arts Council hosts numerous veteran celebrations from Corolla to Hatteras including a 2-day Veterans Writers workshop at UNC-CSI.

OUTER BANKS MARATHON & SOUTHERN FRIED HALF MARATHON

November 8 - 10 This three-day event over Veterans Day weekend includes a marathon, half-marathon, 8K, 5K and a family fun run. Enjoy finish line festivities downtown.

NORTH BEACH SUN

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FALL 2019 8

FROM THE DESK

11 BUT FIRST...

12 FALL EVENTS CALENDAR

LOOK BACK

REAL ESTATE 34 TOWN REPORT 36 BUSINESS BRIEFS 40 KEEPERS OF THE LIGHT

The colorful history of local lighthouses as homes 46 HOME SPOTLIGHT

The log cabin in the sand 50 MAKE N.C. COUNT

Keeping the 2020 census accurate 52 THE WATCHTOWER

The East Lake fire lookout stands sentry 54 D.I.WHY NOT?

Let your garden grow 56 MOOD BOARD

A room with a view 58 SUN SALUTATIONS

16 THE NAGS HEAD PORTRAIT

A mystery for the ages

60 FIVE FACTS

Marshes Light on Roanoke Island

COMMUNITY

FOOD & BEVERAGE

18 BETTER TOGETHER

Camp S.A.L.T. helps kids conquer life's obstacles

62 STRANGELY SOUTHERN

Three unique recipes born in the South

OUTDOORS

LIFESTYLE

22 SHORE SCIENCE

Protect yourself 24 UNDER THE SUN

Up, up, and away!

26 FIRST TO THE FINISH

The Worrell 1000 returns to the Outer Banks 30 TAKING FLIGHT

Purple martins create a sunset spectacle

68 FOUR IF BY SEA

Little fish, big pond, full moon 70 THE JEWELRY THAT GROWS ON TREES

Cork jewelry made by NautiGirl252

THE LOCAL LIFE 72 DAVE WATSON-WORTMAN

Nags Head Elementary School's Go Far coach

ABOUT THE COVERS: Cassie Godwin reaches for a giant panda hug at the Rogallo Kite Festival on Jockey's Ridge, by Cory Godwin. The Bodie Island Light Station at dusk, by Elizabeth Neal.

THIS PAGE: Photos by Candace Owens (top left), Cory Godwin (lower left), Ryan Moser (center) and Elizabeth Neal (right).

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FALL 2019

N LEAOW SING

Coastal Living

KILL DEVIL HILLS, NC

A TA S TE OF

ON THE BEACH

AT ITS FINEST

First Class Amenities: Clubhouse Pool & Hot Tub Fitness Room Game Room Theater

Impeccable Interiors: 1-3 Bedrooms Stainless Steel Appliances Quartz Countertops Hardwood Style LVT Flooring Washer & Dryers Included

From $1395 per month • PHASE 2 NOW OPEN!

RunHillApartments.com • 866.364.9534 • 1004 Run Hill Court, Kill Devil Hills Photos by Milepost Living • Professionally Managed by VR Real Estate Advisors, LLC

LUNCH • DINNER • TO-GO PARTY TRAYS Waterfront dining at the Wright Memorial Bridge 252-863-3001 • MasalaBayGrill.com

DINE, RELAX, REWIND...

Local Options, Open Daily to the Public

1461 Duck Road, Duck, NC 27949 l Phone 877.734.5792 l www.sanderling-resort.com NORTH BEACH SUN

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FROM THE DESK

Editor Amelia Boldaji (left) and Publisher Cathy Baldwin (right).

Photo by Lori Douglas.

STAFF PUBLISHERS

Adam & Cathy Baldwin EDITOR

Amelia Boldaji ART DIRECTOR

Dave Rollins GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

Adam Baldwin Dylan Bush WRITERS

We believe in the power of stories.

A MAGAZINE SIMPLY DOESN’T FEEL COMPLETE WITHOUT A PROPER INTRODUCTION,

and that’s why we sit down to write this letter like clockwork four times a year – although the alarm for that admittedly, and more often than not, goes off mere days before deadline.

Writers are known procrastinators (it’s practically part of our profession), but that’s not the only reason we tend to drag our feet when it’s time to put together this piece of the puzzle. The truth is that writing directly to our reading audience doesn’t necessarily come naturally to either of us – and it’s led to a few slightly surreal moments when someone we only know in passing strikes up a conversation in the aisles of a grocery store about how they, too, went to college at James Madison (Cathy) or how they also attempt to de-stress by periodically activating airplane mode on their phone (Amelia).

It’s a weirdly thrilling experience to realize that people know certain personal details about your life because you’ve shared those stories through the printed word. While it may temporarily throw us off sometimes, it’s also made us incredibly grateful – and very much aware of how we can both directly and indirectly wind up participating in larger community-wide conversations.

But one of things we love best about what we do and where we live is exactly that: being a part of this community.

And, honestly? The North Beach Sun wouldn’t have 32 years under its belt if it weren’t for the number of amazing people who call this place home. Because a little seed of doubt can quite frequently start to creep in, making us wonder if maybe, just maybe, we’ve finally told every interesting story there is to tell about the Outer Banks.

We recently found ourselves trying to explain that to our summer intern, Lizz. As a quarterly magazine that reaches a wide variety of readers over the course of several months per issue, we can’t rely on quick blurbs of breaking news or just cross our fingers and hope that today’s hot topic will still be relevant two months from now.

“But don’t you worry that you’ll run out of things to say?” she asked.

Sure, we told her, all the time! But deep down, we also know we don’t have to. And that’s primarily due to the wonderfully talented, thoughtful and generous community here – a community comprised of people who never fail to surprise us, make us laugh and teach us something new about this stretch of sand.

The bottom line is that we believe in the power of stories. In their ability to unite, transform, and ultimately, provide us with a fresh perspective on the present – while also ensuring that we preserve our connection with the past.

And if you’re reading this, we feel pretty certain that you believe in that power, too.

As always, we hope you enjoy this issue!

Cathy Baldwin • Amelia Boldaji Brian Boutin • Dawn Church Lizz Eberhardt • Steve Hanf Catherine Kozak Katrina Mae Leuzinger Fran Marler • Amanda McDanel Meg Puckett • Arabella Saunders Kelley Shinn • Abby Stewart Chloe Williams PHOTOGRAPHERS

Lori Douglas • Cory Godwin Ryan Moser • Elizabeth Neal Candace Owens Casey Robertson • Wes Snyder Outer Banks Visitors Bureau SALES MANAGER

Helen Furr ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Sue Goodrich Tori Peters INTERN

Lizz Eberhardt DISTRIBUTOR/SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR

Abby Stewart The North Beach Sun is published quarterly by Access Media Group. All works contained herein are the property of the North Beach Sun and/or its contributors. Opinions, responses, and inquiries are always welcome.

NORTH BEACH SUN

Editor

Publisher

115 West Meadowlark St. Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948 252.449.4444 editor@northbeachsun.com

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FALL 2019

Let’s do...

LUNCH & DINNER HAPPY HOUR LATE NIGHT FUN FRESH LOCAL SEAFOOD BEER & SIGNATURE COCKTAILS STEAM BAR UNTIL 2AM

Goombays Grille & Raw Bar | Milepost 7 on the Beach Road 1608 N. VIRGINIA DARE TRAIL | KILL DEVIL HILLS | 252.441.6001 | GOOMBAYS.COM

turng

OC TOBER 12-13, 2019

ANDREW SANCHEZ & HIS HIP SIX CAROLINE DAVIS SIDECAR SOCIAL CLUB BENNY GREEN TRIO LEROY JONES QUINTET TRIANGLE YOUTH JAZZ ENSEMBLE FIRST FLIGHT HIGH SCHOOL HONORS JAZZ BAND

For schedule details, visit duckjazz.com WHOLE NOTE SPONSORS

HALF NOTE SPONSORS

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19 QUARTER NOTE SPONSORS Costin Creations • Duck Community & Business Alliance Dominion Energy North Carolina • Ocean Atlantic Rentals Outer Banks Child • Outer Banks Forum for the Lively Arts Red Sky Cafe • Super Wings • The Blue Point • The Waterfront Shops Twiddy & Company • WHRO Public Media

NORTH BEACH SUN

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Eat•Drink•Shop

TRiO Wine Beer Cheese is now TRiO Restaurant & Market!

Serving lunch & dinner 7 days a week

Unique selection of local & imported gourmet goods

Casually inventive menu

The area’s largest selection of retail wine & beer

30+ wines by the glass 24 rotating craft beers on tap

Over 70 artisanal cheeses hand cut to order

obxtrio.com • MP 4.5 in Kitt y Hawk • 252.261.0277

ALL DAY DINING & DRINKS ON THE SOUND IN DUCK

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Elevated Casual Fare Seasonal Menu Imaginative Wines Craft Beer Hand Mixed Cocktails Live Music Sunsets Daily

villagetableandtavern.com • 1314 Duck Road, Duck • 252.715.1414

FALL 2019

Life is a Highway

BUT FIRST... birds of a feather WHILE SOME COMMON COLLECTIVE NOUNS CAN BE USED TO DESCRIBE ALL BIRD SPECIES (think flock, colony or fleet), most avid birders know that there’s a special lexicon of unusual (and often evocative) names for specific groups of birds – so spread your vocabulary wings next time you see one of these frequent Outer Banks residents!

Blue Jays band, party, scold, cast

Brown Pelicans squadron, pod, scoop

Common Loons asylum, cry, water dance

N.C. Highway 12, U.S. 64 and U.S. 158 all converge at Whalebone Junction in Nags Head – and from there, visitors driving farther south across Hatteras and Ocracoke islands on N.C. 12 are officially traveling on the Outer Banks National Scenic Byway. Earning this designation from the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2009 due to the area’s rich maritime culture, the byway might not exactly be the road less traveled – but it is worth slowing down to enjoy the views.

137.8

The byway stretches out over

miles

(and approximately 25 ferry-riding miles).

Travelers who make the entire trip will have seen Eastern Screech Owls parliament, wisdom, study, bazaar, glaring

Great Egrets siege, sedge, congregation

Mallards raft, team, paddling, badling, sord, flush

Mourning Doves bevy, cote, flight, dule

Ospreys cast, cauldron, kettle

Seagulls squabble, flotilla, scavenging, gullery

What’s in a Name?

THOUGH IT CAN SEEM CONFUSING to

some modern-day readers, spelling wasn’t fully standardized in the 16th century…and that even affected proper names. In fact, Sir Walter Ralegh, the man who was responsible for the first English settlers on Roanoke Island, was infamous for penning his surname in as many as 57 different ways over the course of his lifetime. Some of his more creative variations included Rawleyghe, Raleich, Raulaeus, Raylie, Ralego, Raule and Wrawley – but ironically enough, today’s standardized “Raleigh” is the one spelling he never used.

A statue of Sir Walter, whose last name was actually spelled Ralegh.

2 2 21 4

national seashores

national wildlife refuges

coastal villages

historic lighthouses

150

It is one of only

nationally designated byways in the country.

Info provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Outer Banks National Scenic Byway. Photo courtesy of the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau.

NORTH BEACH SUN

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OUTER BANKS KITE FESTIVAL

SURFALORUS FILM FESTIVAL

Learn to fly stunt and power kites, watch live demos and enjoy a kite show synchronized to music at Jockey’s Ridge in Nags Head. kittyhawk.com

This three-day celebration of coastal marine culture showcases the year’s hottest surf films and ocean documentaries. surfalorus.com

September 7 – 8

EVENTS 2019

OUTER BANKS FOOD TRUCK SHOWDOWN September 8

This event is guaranteed to be a tummy-tempting, toe-tapping good time as food trucks, breweries and local performers show off their stuff at The Soundside event site in Nags Head. soundsideevents.com DAY AT THE DOCKS September 13 – 14

Celebrate the heritage and living traditions of Hatteras watermen with seafood cooking demos, live music, contests, games and more in Hatteras Village. hatterasonmymind.com

ONGOING

OBX PRIDEFEST

ISLAND ART SHOW

FARMERS’ MARKET

More than 20 local artisans showcase their work along with live musical entertainment at the Rodanthe-Waves-Salvo Community Center on Hatteras Island. Admission is free.

(443) 243-5870

Stop by Dowdy Park in Nags Head for fresh fruits and veggies.

August 29, October 10

WHALEHEAD WEDNESDAYS Wednesdays through September 11

Sample local wines and listen to live music on the lawn of the Historic Corolla Park. visitcurrituck.com ACOUSTIC SUNSETS

Thursday evenings through September 26

Sip local wine and listen to great acoustic bands on the north lawn of The Cotton Gin in Jarvisburg. sanctuaryvineyards.com

September 12 & 26

FIRST FRIDAY

August 28 – September 1

Top surfers from all over the country are set to compete in this annual World Surf League QS1000 event at Jennette’s Pier. wrvobxpro.com

This three-day LGBTQ pride festival features a sunset cruise, concert, parties, a drag show and much more in this all-inclusive event. obxpridefest.com

September 6, October 4, November 1

2019 KAYAK FISHING TOURNAMENT

MANTEO FARMERS’ MARKET

Cast a line in this photo catch-and-release style tournament presented by Kitty Hawk Surf Co. kittyhawk.com

Downtown Manteo comes alive on the first Friday of each month from 6 to 8 p.m.

Saturdays through October

Buy fresh, local fruits and veggies at this farmers’ market every Saturday in downtown Manteo.

PICKIN’ ON THE PORCH CONCERT SERIES Select dates throughout the fall

Enjoy free bluegrass and acoustic bands throughout the summer in historic downtown Manteo. pickinontheporchobx.com

SEPTEMBER WRV OUTER BANKS PRO

September 13 – 15

OBX ARTS AND CRAFTS FESTIVAL September 4 – 5

Browse the works of 25 local artisans whose specialties include painting, pottery, jewelry, photography, textiles and more at the Hilton Garden Inn. Some of the proceeds go to local charities, NEST and Friends of Youth. facebook.com/obxartfestival

September 14

FULL MOON CLIMB

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FALL 2019

MAIL CHECKS TO:

NORTH BEACH SUN 115 W. MEADOWLARK ST. KILL DEVIL HILLS, NC 27948

NAME ADDRESS

STATE CC# EXP. DATE

This automotive showcase at The Soundside event site will feature a car show, music, raffles, vendors and food trucks. sumospeed.com CRABDADDY SEAFOOD & WINE FESTIVAL September 21

Enjoy all-you-can-eat steamed crabs while sipping local wine at this annual festival. sanctuaryvineyards.com THE LOST COLONY WINE & CULINARY FESTIVAL September 27 – 28

Enjoy a vintner’s dinner Friday night at 108 Budleigh in Manteo or sample wines from around the world on Saturday at the Grand Tasting held on the grounds of The Lost Colony’s historic Waterside Theatre. tlcwinefest.com JIM MULFORD RED DRUM TOURNAMENT September 28

This annual fishing tournament at Jennette’s Pier is fun for all ages. ncaquariums.com

OUTER BANKS TRIATHLON

Take a trip down memory lane with this tribute show to the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. outerbanksforum.org

September 14 – 15

This USAT-sanctioned event in Manteo features Olympic distance, half distance and sprint distance. obxse.com ESA EASTERNS SURFING CHAMPIONSHIPS

September 28

THROWDOWN SURF CLASSIC September 28

This annual “family-style” surf contest benefits a local person in need. This year’s recipients are Sonny Albarty and Ian Simmons. facebook.com/throwdownsurfclassic/

September 15 – 21

Surfers compete in the ESA’s “grand finale” at Jennette’s Pier. surfesa.org

OCTOBER ISLAND FARM’S PUMPKIN PATCH

INSHORE SLAM FISHING TOURNAMENT

Take a wagon hayride to the pumpkin patch to find your perfect pumpkin. Kids can play games, pet the farm animals, participate in scarecrow stuffing and more. theislandfarm.com

This family-friendly tournament hosted by the Manteo Rotary Club has participants competing for the largest fish in four categories: stripers, flounder, puppy drum and speckle trout. rockfishrodeo.org

October 4 – 5

OUTER BANKS BIKE FEST

OINK & OYSTER ROAST

Put your helmets on and ride during this annual fall event sponsored by Outer Banks Harley-Davidson. outerbanksbikeweek.com

First Flight Rotary sponsors this oyster roast at Longboard’s restaurant in Kitty Hawk. Proceeds benefit nonprofit organizations in Dare County. oinkandoyster.org

October 2 – 6

October 3 – 5 ZIP

September 21

LET’S HANG ON!

Climb to the top of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse by the light of the full moon. recreation.gov

HALLOWEEN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

CITY

SUMOSPEED BEACH BASH

September 14

Saturdays in October

FOLLOW THE SUN ALL YEAR

September 19 – 21

View scary films from all over the world and meet the filmmakers at R/C Theatres Movies 10 in Kill Devil Hills at this fourth annual event. obxentertainment.com

October 12

FALL RESTAURANT WEEK October 4 – 12

Enjoy three-course lunch or dinner menus at participating restaurants all over the beach during this foodie-friendly week. outerbanksrestaurantweek.com

Live Music Great Food & Drink Relaxing Spa Epic Views

MONDAY

unl imited top pings burger nig ht TUESDAY

tapas & hal f off win e nig ht

o ri te s fa l l fav at b e rn i e’s

252-261-1008 BAREFOOTBERNIES.COM AT THE SOUTH END OF THE DUCK BOARDWALK 1174 DUCK ROAD • AQUAOBX.COM • 252.261.9700

20+ TVs! ALL THE GAMES!

WEDNESDAY

go urm et tac o nig ht THURSDAY

sus hi wit h mil o & ram en b ow l nig ht

3730 N. CROATAN HWY KITTY HAWK, MILE POST 4 1/2

15 BEERS ON TAP

DRAFT BEER “TAP TAKEOVER” EVERY OTHER FRIDAY!

TEAM KEG FLYING COMPETITION

REGISTER NOW!

BENEFITTING THE ROGALLO FOUNDATION

O C T 2 6, 2 0 1 9 A C EL EBR ATI ON O F F L I G H T A N D B E E R PRESENTED BY:

OBXBREWTAG.COM NORTH BEACH SUN

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OUTER BANKS SEAFOOD FESTIVAL October 19

EVENTS 2019 PARADE OF HOMES

POP! GO THE CLASSICS!

Tour a select group of new, remodeled and green homes all along the Outer Banks. obhomebuilders.org

Pianist Mac Frampton and the ThreePenny Symphony presents classical music in a uniquely pop format. outerbanksforum.org

October 10 – 13

6TH ANNUAL CENTURY OBX RIDE FOR LIFE October 12

This bike race features full-century, metric, half-century and 30-mile rides through Dare and Currituck counties. Proceeds from the ride benefit autism research and provide bikes for children at Christmas. outerbankstrisports.com 4TH ANNUAL OYSTOBERFEST October 12

Enjoy North Carolina oysters, a cooking competition featuring local chefs, and beverages from a number of N.C. breweries at this event to benefit the N.C. Coastal Federation’s oyster reef restoration projects. coastalprovisionsobx.com

October 12

DUCK JAZZ FESTIVAL October 12 – 13

This free event features national, regional and local acts at the Duck Town Park. townofduck.com WINGS OVER WATER WILDLIFE FESTIVAL October 15 – 20

This several-day event features nearly 100 programs on subjects ranging from wildlife photography, natural history, kayaking and more. wingsoverwater.org

OBX BREWTAG October 26

Enjoy local seafood, cooking demos, live music and more at this family-friendly event at The Soundside event site in Nags Head. outerbanksseafoodfestival.org

Watch teams launch handcrafted, keg-driven flying machines from a flight deck while enjoying live music and sampling local and regional beers at The Soundside event site in Nags Head. obxbrewtag.com

MUSTANG ROCK & ROAST

HARVEST HAYDAY

Jam the weekend away listening to 13 live bands on two stages while enjoying an oyster roast and a barbeque cook-off at Mike Dianna’s Grill Room in Corolla’s Timbuck II Shopping Village. Proceeds benefit the Corolla Wild Horse Fund and the Mustang Outreach Program. mustangmusicfestival.com

Try the hay bale maze or take a hayride through The Elizabethan Gardens during this family-friendly, harvest-themed afternoon. elizabethangardens.org

October 19 – 20

36TH ANNUAL N.C. VIP FISHING TOURNAMENT October 21 – 23

This tournament, held at Jennette’s Pier and hosted by several local Lions Clubs, is the largest visually impaired fishing tournament in the world. ncvipfishing.org BLACKBEARD’S PIRATE JAMBOREE October 24 – 27

This four-day event celebrates Blackbeard’s historic final battle with pirate storytelling, sword fighting, historical demonstrations and a three-ship pirate battle on Silver Lake on Ocracoke Island. visitocracokenc.com ROANOKE ISLAND MARITIME MUSEUM’S ANNUAL WOODEN BOAT SHOW

October 26

SWING! FUNDRAISER October 26

This festive event at Pirate’s Cove Pavilion is hosted by the Dare County Arts Council with live big band-style music. darearts.org 6TH ANNUAL OUTER BANKS PARADE OF COSTUMES October 27

This family-friendly event features trick-or-treat stations, costume contest, great prizes and more. obxentertainment.com ROANOKE ISLAND MARITIME MUSEUM HAUNTED HOUSE October 31

Take a spooky tour of the maritime museum on Halloween night. townofmanteo.com

October 26-27

This boat show is open to all wooden boats, new or restored. townofmanteo.com

NOVEMBER OUTER BANKS VETERANS WEEK November 1 – 11

This annual event celebrates veterans through the arts and includes the Outer Banks Veterans’ Writing Project and free outdoor live music in downtown Manteo. darearts.org CURRITUCK HERITAGE FESTIVAL November 2

Celebrate Currituck heritage at the Currituck County Rural Center, complete with a barbeque competition and professional bull riding. visitcurrituck.com 10TH ANNUAL OUTER BANKS SHRIMP COOK-OFF November 3

Local restaurants compete for the best shrimp dish in this tasty cook-off at Ocean Boulevard to benefit the Outer Banks Center for Dolphin Research. obxdolphins.org TOWNEBANK OUTER BANKS MARATHON AND SOUTHERN FRIED HALF-MARATHON November 8 – 10

This three-day event over Veterans Day weekend includes a marathon, half-marathon, 8K, 5K and a family fun run. obxse.com

252.715.0089 • woocasakitchen.com LOCATED AT THE OUTER BANKS MALL • MP 14 14

FALL 2019

6TH ANNUAL BEACH FOOD PANTRY HOLIDAY CHEFS' CHALLENGE November 15

Vote for your favorite local chef at The Pavilion at Pirate’s Cove Marina in this fun event with live music, tasty appetizers, raffles and more to benefit the Beach Food Pantry. beachfoodpantry.org SAIL ON: THE BEACH BOYS TRIBUTE November 23

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the legendary Beach Boys in one of the most musical stories ever told. outerbanksforum.org THE BIG CURRI-SHUCK November 30

Feast on all-you-can-eat steamed oysters, crab and barbeque and sample local wine while jamming out to country music at Sanctuary Vineyards in Jarvisburg. sanctuaryvineyards.com WINTERLIGHTS PRESENTED BY SOUTHERN BANK November 30 – January 19 (select dates)

Stroll through an illuminated winter wonderland at The Elizabethan Gardens this holiday season.

Check the website for dates and times. elizabethangardens.org

BRANSON COUNTRY CHRISTMAS AND VETERANS SHOW

HANGIN' WITH SANTA & KITES WITH LIGHTS

Direct from Branson, the Ozark Jubilee features an all-star cast of Branson’s top entertainers performing “An All New Christmas Show” at Roanoke Island Festival Park. roanokeisland.com

Take the kids by Kitty Hawk Kites across from Jockey’s Ridge in Nags Head on Friday or Saturday to visit and take pictures with Saint Nick. While you’re there, watch the night sky light up as enormous kites with festive lights soar above the ridge. kittyhawk.com

November 11

November 29 – 30

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Wine, beer, food and fun

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12th ANNUAL OUTER BANKS BIKE FEST | OCT. 2ND-6TH, 2019

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For vendor or sponsorship info: events@outebankshd.com or call Sherry at 252-338-8866

OCT. 19, 2019 10:30AM - 6PM

SHOWDOWN

$5 Admission* Includes:

Live Entertainment • Arts & Crafts Cooking Demonstrations • Mullet Toss Boat & Tackle Show • Kids’ Activities Educational Programs

LIVE Entertainment Featuring

11:30am - 4:30pm

SoundSideEvents.com

*Children Under Age 12 FREE when accompanied with adult

Out n’ the Cold, Big John Hunter Blues Band featuring Betsy Robinson, Mojo Collins & Triple Vision, and Celeste Kellogg

OuterBanksSeafoodFestival.org

The Soundside Event Site • MP 16 • 6800 S. Croatan Hwy. • Nags Head, NC This project is funded in part by the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau.

NORTH BEACH SUN

15

LOOK BACK

The Mystery of

the Nags Head Portrait The famed daughter of the third U.S. vice president disappeared at sea in 1812 – and a curious painting discovered on our shores poses more questions than answers.

By Amelia Boldaji

O

n what may (or may not) have been a dark and stormy night in 1869, noted Elizabeth City physician William G. Poole was called to the sickbed of an elderly woman in Nags Head. Her house was little more than a shack, and Dr. Poole’s attention was quickly captured by an oil portrait of an enigmatic-looking young woman on the wall. It wasn’t signed or dated, but it clearly didn’t fit well with the otherwise greatly impoverished surroundings.

This is where the ending of that story diverges.

In one version, the old woman claimed that her husband happened across a shipwreck many years ago where he discovered several fine articles of women’s clothing, a sewing basket and the portrait in question. Lacking the means to pay Dr. Poole for his services, the woman gifted him with the intriguing painting.

In a much more colorful version of the story, the husband himself told Dr. Poole that a young woman was once found on the beach clutching the portrait at hand. With no recollection of who she was or where she was from, she was adopted by the local community and later married him. Upon announcing that he would give the good doctor the painting as payment, the old woman rose violently from her bed, snatched the portrait and dashed into the ocean with it. Although she was never seen again, the painting floated gently ashore the next morning.

The words she is reported to have shrieked on her way down into the watery depths included a declaration that the painting was hers alone, and that she was on her way to New York to gift her father with a picture of his “darling Theodosia.”

ALTHOUGH IT’S A NAME THAT WAS ONLY RECENTLY RE-POPULARIZED WITH

the debut of the Broadway hit Hamilton, the woman known as Theodosia Burr Alston was one of the country’s most public figures during her lifetime at the turn of the 19th century.

The dearly beloved daughter of Aaron Burr, Theodosia was 18 when her father was elected vice president of the United States under Thomas Jefferson in 1801. That same year, she married a wealthy South Carolinian landowner named Joseph Alston – an alliance that was rumored to have been more politically and financially strategic (for both parties) than it was romantic. Whether or not that was true, the marriage signaled an end to Theodosia’s New York-based childhood, and by virtually all reports she felt less at home as a newly transplanted plantation mistress in muggy South Carolina.

Only a year later, however, the couple had a son, who they named Aaron after Theodosia’s father. A difficult childbirth caused Theodosia’s health to deteriorate – a state of affairs 16

FALL 2019

that was further complicated when her father infamously shot his political rival, Alexander Hamilton, during a duel in 1804. Although he was never tried for murder, the event marked the end of Burr’s career, which greatly distressed Theodosia – particularly after he then hatched a plan to annex part of the western North American territories and install himself as their king (with Theodosia eventually succeeding him as queen).

Needless to say, things did not go quite as Burr planned, and he was later tried for treason. Although he was acquitted, he subsequently went into a self-imposed European exile from 1808 to 1812.

Throughout all the turmoil, Theodosia stood firmly by her father’s side. But the summer that should have been celebrated with her father’s homecoming soon turned tragic when her then 10-year-old son died after falling ill with malaria. Grief-stricken and frailer than ever, Theodosia made plans to travel to New York and visit with her father that winter.

Complications to her plan arose when the War of 1812 broke out between Britain and the U.S., and again when her husband was elected governor of South Carolina. Unable to accompany her on her journey due to his new position as head of the state’s militia, a family

Informally dubbed the "Nags Head Portrait," the oil painting by an unknown artist is believed to depict Theodosia Burr Alston prior to her disappearance in 1812. Photo courtesy of the Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University.

friend with some medical knowledge was selected to go in his stead, and Theodosia departed from Georgetown, South Carolina, on December 10, 1812, aboard a schooner known as the Patriot.

The ship and everyone on board were never seen or heard from again.

The disappearance of the Patriot sent shockwaves throughout the country, and speculation about its fate ranged from feasible to fantastic almost immediately. Theodosia, who was only 29 when she went missing, inevitably figured prominently in many of the more romanticized versions of stories that continued to circulate for decades.

Although the most probable explanation is that the Patriot was wrecked during a documented hurricane-force storm situated off Cape Hatteras during the late She is also said to evening hours of January haunt the beaches of 2nd, many of the most Nags Head, where popular narratives at the time involved pirates who many people over the overtook the ship either years have reported by force or by using a encountering a woman system of false lights to clad in a white dress. lure the ship aground.

Apparently lost, the Some even ended with figure fades into mist Theodosia running off with a pirate captain to when approached. exotic lands – and at least one placed the shipwreck on the Texas coast, where Theodosia died in the arms of a Native American chief while begging him to tell her story.

These various theories persisted well into the 1850s, and were often spurred by the so-called deathbed confessions of sailors and criminals who claimed to have been there when Theodosia met her watery end.

FOR HIS OWN PART, AFTER DR. POOLE ACQUIRED

what is now known as the Nags Head Portrait, he became firmly convinced that it depicted a young Theodosia. From 1869 on he contacted a number of her family members for corroboration – but at that point, the only one still alive who had actually known Theodosia was her sister-in-law, and no one could say for certain that it was her likeness.

Many did make note, however, of her beautiful, mysterious eyes, and the portrait currently hangs in the Lewis Walpole Library at Yale University where it continues to garner some attention. Gone, but not completely forgotten, Theodosia is said to haunt the painting, along with her late-husband’s South Carolina plantation, the Georgetown port where she was last publicly seen, an anonymous gravesite in Richmond, Virginia, and Bald Head Island near Wilmington, North Carolina.

She is also said to haunt the beaches of Nags Head, where many people over the years have reported encountering a woman clad in a white dress. Apparently lost, the figure fades into mist when approached.

Whether or not any of these tales are meant to be believed, the knowing, Mona Lisa-like smile on the lips of the young woman in the Nags Head Portrait seems to hint that stories are all we’ll ever have. The truth of Theodosia’s end will instead and almost certainly elude the history books forever – like her rumored ghost, it can only be glimpsed incompletely, and from a distance, before ultimately vanishing from sight.

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COMMUNITY

BE T TER

Together Camp S.A.L.T. teaches kids to conquer life's obstacles Photos by Ryan Moser Story by Arabella Saunders

W

hen you imagine a mix of teens and pre-teens getting together with a group of police officers, a description of the first scenario that pops into your mind might be the word “trouble.”

But one summer camp on the Outer Banks is proving that stereotype wrong.

Camp S.A.L.T. – which stands for Save a Life Together – was started in the summer of 2011 after Sheriff Doug Doughtie began his first term in office in 2010. Enlisting the help of his friend and former deputy colleague, George Bowman, the two set out to transform an old, dilapidated Alpine Tower that needed to be removed from the soccer field behind First Flight High School in Kill Devil Hills.

“It was a vision that we had when we got ready to run for office,” Doug says. “The Alpine Tower was set up in 1997, and we had a wilderness program there for a while, but it got shelled in 2001.”

“After Doug took office, we got things together in seven months,” adds George, who is now Camp S.A.L.T.’s director. “The town deeded two square miles of land behind the soccer field to the sheriff’s office for $1 for a 99-year lease, and we raised $38,000 in three days through community donations to clear the woods and refurbish and upgrade the tower.”

As difficult as that must have been, that’s when the real work started.

From that summer forward, Camp S.A.L.T. began offering programs for children ages eight through 14, with approximately 35 to 50 kids attending camps that first summer. These days, Camp S.A.L.T. runs three three-week sessions each summer that accommodate more than 100 children annually.

One of the things that distinguishes the camp is that it’s run almost entirely by Dare County sheriff’s department school resource officers – the same ones who work inside various county-wide schools during the academic year to enforce state laws and mentor the kids in their jurisdictions. A total of eight school resource officers volunteer their time to Camp S.A.L.T. each summer alongside up to 10 other volunteers and junior instructors – and all of them are extremely dedicated to encouraging the kids who participate to be the best versions of themselves.

18

FALL 2019

“We teach kids teamwork day in and day out, and we teach them out to build their own confidence,” George explains. “There’s usually about a handful of kids each camp that are afraid of heights, and we get them out of that fear. They are very thankful when they get up there on the tower, because the first time they’re shaking like a leaf, hearts beating out of control, and we tell them, ‘Just focus. Breathe. You’ll get it. Excellent job!’ We're here to mentor these kids in every way shape and form.”

The camp is based on the two square acres the sheriff’s department leases behind First Flight High, where three main 50-feet-tall structures make up the backbone of regular camp activities: the Alpine Tower, a climbing wall and a climbing pole. But other activities often extend far beyond that site, including everything from hiking in Nags Head Woods to fishing off Jennette’s Pier and taking tours of the Emergency Management Center in Manteo or taking classes at the Dare County Health Department.

Camp S.A.L.T. participants climb the 50-foot Alpine Tower behind First Flight High School while counselors and other volunteer instructors assist from the ground with a belay system (bottom far left).

“Our camp goes from 8:30 a.m. to about 4 p.m. five days a week, with a half "There’s usually about a day on Friday, and there's really no down handful of kids each camp time,” says Sargent Greg Padilla, the that are afraid of heights, camp’s assistant director. “One of the things we want the kids to get out of it is and we get them out of self-respect and respect for others. We that fear." want to teach them that there's more than just sitting at home and staring at an -George Bowman, Xbox.”

Camp S.A.L.T. Director With such a wide variety of activities offered, flexibility is key, and Camp S.A.L.T. is constantly evolving to best meet the needs of its participants.

“It’s not as though the words are written in a program, and you follow them line by line,” George says. “You take something and build on it, and that’s what I charge all my instructors with out here: Be yourself, use your common sense, and impart that on the kids.”

Another aspect of the camp that sets it apart from others is the price. Camp S.A.L.T. asks the children’s families to make a $10 donation per participant per week if they are able to, but payment isn’t a requirement.

“Even though a lot of money comes in during the summertime with tourism, winter is still hard on a lot of people who live here,” Doug says. “It’s nice when families don’t have to worry about money, and yet still have somewhere for their kids to go during the summer. It’s a great environment to be around, and you know your kids are taken care of here.”

And while all the officers agree that the camp is a great way to get kids of all socioeconomic backgrounds outside and active, their ultimate goal is to instill life lessons in the kids that they can then use at home, in school, and eventually, in their adult lives.

“We love working with these kids and pushing them out of their comfort zone,” George says. “They learn about teamwork, trust and leadership. And adult skills that are also life skills, like how to identify plants and treat wildlife or first aid and the importance of hydration – they’re out here living it every day.”

But it’s not just the kids who benefit from the camp. These summer programs have a lasting impact on the counselors as well.

“For me, working with these kids is my fountain of youth,” Greg says. “Kids never let you feel down – they just give you love like there isn’t a tomorrow.”

“It’s life fulfilling,” George agrees. “I’ve learned so much from these kids, and it’s made me a smarter adult, too. It’s like I tell them: Just because there’s a wave in your life, it doesn’t mean you can’t overcome it.”

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NORTH BEACH SUN

SHORE SCIENCE

Protect Yourself

THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE WATER. BUT KNOWING YOUR ADVERSARY IS AN EASY WAY TO STAY SAFE.

BY BRIAN BOUTIN, PH.D.

YOU MIGHT NOT BE OVERLY FAMILIAR WITH THE

vibriosis, but you’ve almost undoubtedly seen hints of it splashed in the news. Over the past several years, sensational headlines like “Texas man contracts flesheating bacteria in Corpus Christi waters” have begun trying to vie for our attention. (It’s called click-bait for a reason!)

But in order to keep things in perspective, you have to know what you’re dealing with. So, what exactly is vibriosis?

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), vibriosis is an illness caused by about a dozen species of comma-shaped bacteria of the genus Vibrio. These bacteria naturally occur in the salt and brackish waters of the southeastern United States, but have been documented as far north as Delaware Bay. The potential presence of Vibrio in coastal waters is not associated with pollution (as some might think), but instead becomes more naturally prevalent as seasonal temperatures rise – and Vibrio infections in humans most commonly occur through consumption of inappropriately handled raw or undercooked shellfish during the warmer summer months.

The bacteria can typically cause symptoms lasting up to three days, and are probably best characterized as being similar to classic food poisoning.

One species of Vibrio is a bit more troublesome than the others, however. Vibrio vulnificus is the culprit implicated in more severe infections (hence the lurid “flesh-eating” headline above), and in rare cases can even be fatal. With this species, infections can occur when an open wound is exposed to bacteria in the water or after mishandling some shellfish.

Sounds scary. But before everyone panics over the thought of accidentally cutting themselves while out chickennecking for crabs with the family next weekend, let’s talk about risk – because there’s not actually much of it in the big picture of things.

According to the CDC, vibriosis causes illness in barely 0.02% of the population. In fact, the most extreme cases of Vibrio vulnificus infections only average around 100 people yearly, and are mostly limited to those with already compromised immune systems. To put that even further into perspective, the CDC estimates that the flu infects about nine to 49 million Americans per year, and results in anywhere from 140,000 to 960,000 hospitalizations annually.

And avoiding vibriosis is really very easy. The CDC recommends cooking shellfish through, sterilizing any new wounds immediately, and using watertight bandages on wounds when in contact with brackish water. So, yes, you can definitely enjoy a day of crabbing or boil up a mess of shrimp without any stress.

Or if slurping down an ice-cold raw oyster on a hot summer day is more your thing, we’ve still got you covered.

Our North Carolina shellfish growers provide an abundant supply of perfectly safe, locally grown oysters during the summer months by using post-harvest temperature control and best harvest practices.

So get out on the water without the worry – and just remember to always wear sunscreen.

MEDICAL TERM

Brian Boutin is a coastal scientist who lives and works in Kill Devil Hills along with his wife, two kids and a 18-month-old Plott hound. He’s also an avid surfer and fisherman who enjoys all of the natural beauty found on the Outer Banks.

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FALL 2019

I’ve got a sixth sense.

It’s electric.

Humans have five senses: sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch.

But I have one more!

Stingrays have electroreceptors called the ampullae of Lorenzini.

These jelly-filled pores allow me to feel the vibrations of buried prey.

Like a metal detector – but for mollusks.

NORTH BEACH SUN

23

UNDER THE SUN

Flying a kite is a breeze.

Unless that kite is the size of a boat.

Kitty Hawk Kites' giant panda bear kite floats in the wind at the Rogallo Kite Festival on Jockey's Ridge.

Photos by Cory Godwin Story by Fran Marler

24

FALL 2019

IT DRIVES EVERYTHING AROUND US. The mighty mistral, the willywillies or the trades – wherever you’re from, and whatever you call it, at some point the wind is going to be a factor. For those of us lucky enough to call Eastern North Carolina home, it’s a powerful force that’s with us almost every day of the year.

Here on the Outer Banks, there are times when Jockey’s Ridge in Nags Head seems to create its own sandstorms, perpetually pushing mini dunes onto the bypass. And every so often, that’s also where a variety of fantastic creatures appear to dance across the sky. From oversized butterflies to alligators and panda bears, the brightly colored spectacle might be the first thing that catches your eye, but that’s because the wind is taking the lead.

“It’s like our own version of the Macy’s Day Parade,” says John Harris, flight enthusiast and founder of Kitty Hawk Kites. “The difference is that our events take place on sand dunes.”

Kitty Hawk Kites hosts several large kite celebrations each year, including the Rogallo Kite Festival in June and the Outer Banks Kite Festival

in September. But although their appearance might be similar to something you might see on Thanksgiving Day in New York City, forget Mickey Mouse balloons or Barbie and friends bouncing in the breeze. We’re talking beautifully crafted, artfully flown kites of every shape and size. These mega, larger-thanlife creations are truly awe-inspiring.

“It takes a minimum of two people to launch a kite this size,” John says. “But it’s pretty mind-blowing to see a 100-foot octopus take to the sky.”

It’s also no small feat. To start, mega kites have to be secured with sand anchors – which literally means that bags of sand are buried in triangle formations in the dunes to provide some stability. Once the lines have been laid out, the kites are then launched via a pulley system that can be managed by two to three people.

Kites of this magnitude have a smaller pilot kite attached to them as well.

Flown just above the larger kite, and also known as a “sky anchor,” the pilot provides lift and helps ensure that the larger kite stays within a It can be somewhat like contained area – which is crucial when the crowds start to gather. game fishing – but even “The biggest challenge is more complicated. Take, for when the wind picks up,” John example, the 1,200-pound says. “Kites like these can be very difficult to get down.” test line used to wrangle It can be somewhat like those giants into the sky. It’s game fishing – but even more a bit like monofilament, but complicated. Take, for example, the 1,200-pound test line used to it’s also more comparable in wrangle those giants into the sky. size to rope, and it’s very, very It’s a bit like monofilament, but it’s also more comparable in size to sharp. rope, and it’s very, very sharp.

But festivals are still the perfect opportunity for serious kiters to take the stage. That’s exactly why some people flock to the Outer Banks over and over again. Though it can take years of practice to master the art of large kite flying, folks of every age and background imaginable come from all over the country to share their passion on Jockey’s Ridge. High above, the kites become their pawns, dipping, soaring, stalling and racing at the flyers’ whims. All with one hundred percent control.

Most of the time.

“We can make some mistakes,” says Jim Cosca with a hearty laugh. As a kite competitor and also the chief judge of the Kitty Hawk Kites’ festivals for more than 20 years, Jim has a fair share of experience flying kites. He’s even flown them for the big screen, but being aware of his surroundings is one lesson he had to learn the hard way.

“Back in the ‘80s, I was flying a big, heavy sport kite with an eight-foot wing span on the monument grounds in Washington, D.C.,” he recalls. “There was a family directly behind me, and suddenly I found myself being pulled backwards.

I ran straight into the mom, and landed on my back with the wind knocked out of me!

“The whole thing ended up on the evening news,” he adds, chuckling.

“Needless to say, you have to be very careful – especially with the larger kites.”

There are definitely a ton of factors to take into consideration when you’re flying something that dwarfs you in sheer size. Aside from the razor-sharp lines, you also have to think about how high you want to fly, whether or not you’re working in tandem with a number of other flyers, and if you’ll be flying in sync with climactic music from well-known hits like the Star Wars theme song.

But the most important thing to be aware of? The wind forecast.

“The best wind is found at ground level with no obstructions,” Jim says. “It just flows like water.”

It’s a formula that makes Jockey’s Ridge the perfect spot to watch the kite experts work their magic, and simply being in such an open and dynamic space is an experience that can bring out the inner child in kiters and viewers alike.

“We live in a special place,” says John. “There’s truly nothing like seeing something take flight here.”

A variety of larger-thanlife kites take to the skies during special annual events on Jockey's Ridge in Nags Head.

A native of South Carolina, Fran Marler earned a B.A. in English from Coastal Carolina University. With a love of travel and all things water related, she and her husband have been residents of Kill Devil Hills for the past 12 years. Always keen for a good story, Fran is sure to be found wherever she is with a pen in hand, sharing her passion for writing.

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OUTDOORS

FIRST Once known as one of the most grueling

TO THE

FINISH

sailing competitons, the Worrell 1000 returned this year to challenge a new batch of sailors — and rekindle memories for some local veterans.

Photos by Ryan Moser / Story by Steve Hanf

IT CAN BE EASY TO IMAGINE THE ADRENALINE RUSH that comes with racing a 20-foot-long catamaran through every challenge the Atlantic Ocean has to offer during an approximately 1,000-mile, two-week run from south Florida to Virginia Beach.

So you can forgive sailor Todd Hart for starting to nod off when the wind died one day near Oregon Inlet, providing a rare calm moment.

“My head went down, and this dolphin came up right next to the boat and exhaled its sticky, fishy breath,” Todd recalls with a laugh. “It scared the crap out of me, and I was good to go then until we reached Kill Devil Hills. I think that dolphin had my best interest at heart. That breath, though – I still remember it.”

But memories of fish stories, salty sailors and superhuman feats in crashing waves were all that remained of the legendary Worrell 1000 until the Worrell 1000 Reunion Race hit some familiar beaches this past May. The race itself began humbly in the 1970s, when brothers Michael and Chris Worrell hatched the idea to sail the East Coast in a catamaran as part of a bar bet made with friends at their Virginia Beach restaurant. Though they thought it was probably impossible, Michael accomplished it with a fellow sailor over the course of 20 days (and by narrowly avoiding a pair of hurricanes) in 1974.

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Initially launched as an annual event in 1976, the Worrell had very few rules during its early years, and sailors could race nonstop both day and night if they were up for it. The winners didn't collect any prize money or trophies either, only bragging rights. Eventually earning an international reputation as one of the most challenging races in the world, the Worrell continued until 1989.

There were no races from 1990 to 1996, but Michael Worrell revived it in 1997 with a few small changes, including more press publicity opportunities by mandating overnight stops at various checkpoints, and declaring the winning team based on the shortest overall time. The Worrell went on to garner notoriety for six more years before the 2003 race was abruptly canceled a few weeks before its scheduled start due to financial mismanagement.

Believed by many to be truly dead at that point, a new management group finally brought the beloved race back after 17 long years. Along with stops in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, the 2019 Worrell wrapped things up with four stops along the North Carolina coast, including stays in Hatteras and Kill Devil Hills.

Folks on the Outer Banks who raced in the Worrell 1000 from 1999 to 2002 headed to the beach when the reunion teams – just three this year, while dozens

Competitors at this year's Worrell 1000 Reunion Race made their way from Florida to Virginia Beach with four stops along the North Carolina coast. Sailors prepared their boats on the beach in Kill Devil HIlls (below), before launching for the final leg of the race (left).

had raced in the past – landed in Kill Devil Hills for the last leg before heading to the finish line in Virginia Beach.

“At the awards ceremony and while being on the beach at the stops, it really felt like a reunion,” says Kill Devil Hills building codes inspector Charles Thuman, who personally sailed in two Worrells. “Everyone came out. I love that it happened because it was always frustrating to me that it fell apart.”

WHEN THE WORRELL COLLAPSED IN 2003, a few members of what was once known as Team Outer Banks – including Matthew Byrne, Robert “P-Nut” Johnson and Mike O’Brien – had mixed emotions. Matthew felt “deflated,” while P-Nut said he was sad to miss “a really neat race.”

It was perhaps a little different for Mike, though. “At one point, I think I was relieved,” he says, eliciting laughter from his old teammates. “When it came through this year, it was bittersweet. I almost didn’t go out to see it.”

But when he did, members of the Australian team recognized Mike and put him to work on a sail. And that was when it all came flying back – including memories of how Team Outer Banks, the first North Carolina-registered team to compete in the Worrell, came together.

It all started 1997 when Matthew and Mike headed to the beach with their wives to watch the Worrell come through. They wanted to buy a t-shirt to commemorate the event, but when they learned that the Worrell didn’t have official shirts, a plan was hatched: They would buy merchandising rights from Michael Worrell and sell shirts at every stop on the Florida, Georgia and Carolina coasts, plus at the finish line in Virginia Beach.

“Crazily enough,” Matthew says, “we convinced our wives that it was going to be a lot of fun – a two-week vacation, and we could make money doing it!”

They’re still waiting to break even from that endeavor. But the adventure did lead to meeting everyone involved with the event, including a Baltimore sailor named John McLaughlin. While chatting with him after the 1998 race, Matthew and Mike told him they were putting together Team Outer Banks and that they wanted him to be their skipper.

First, their mutual friend P-Nut got talked into sailing alongside John. Then, P-Nut got talked into buying the boat for it – although Mike eventually went in halfway on a catamaran that they still own 20 years later.

Cats like their Nacra 6.0 are essentially a pair of pontoons connected by a trampoline. And while some of the guys had sailed in buoy races and shorter

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Team Outer Banks displayed their local sail with pride during the 2001 Worrell 1000 while landing at Wrightsville Beach (top and bottom) and launching from South Beach, Florida (middle). Photos courtesy of Charles Thuman.

events along the Chesapeake Bay prior to participating in the Worrell, taking a catamaran out into the open ocean and bringing it ashore for a dozen overnight stops is a whole other matter.

“With cats, there’s no place to hide,” Charles explains. “The waves beat you up. Your feet get wiped out from underneath you, and there’s nothing you can do to brace yourself.”

“You’re basically a tetherball,” adds Todd, who sailed in the Worrell as part of Team Cat Fever. “You swing out a little bit, and then get banged right back into the boat.”

During the 1999 Worrell, P-Nut played the role of a tetherball during a storm and ended up with a fractured hand. He’d been sailing with John, but had to stop in Myrtle Beach and let Charles complete the last half of the competition. But from 1999 to 2002, Team Outer Banks finished all four of its races.

That’s no small feat.

Discounting the time and money involved – some three weeks total and thousands of dollars for the boats, spare parts and hotel rooms at the checkpoints – varying weather conditions made the Worrell a risky proposition for even the most experienced sailors.

Some teams who enjoyed world-class statuses in yachting races learned that their hopes in a small catamaran could quickly be dashed during a beach landing in 35-mph winds. Todd even recalls a moment during the 1998 Worrell when the wind was “blowing the dogs off their chains,” knocking out a third of the competitors coming around Cape Lookout.

Another year, huge surf in Ocracoke destroyed a number of boats and led Worrell Some teams who to cancel the leg to Kill Devil Hills. Todd and other ground crew friends helped a team enjoyed world-class that had lost a mast get a new one rigged up – a process that took almost five hours statuses in yachting – only to watch the big waves in Kill Devil Hills promptly flip the boat when they tried races learned that to launch. their hopes in a small “They made it about 35 feet, flipped the boat over and snapped the brand-new mast,” Todd remembers. “They only had about eight seconds of sailing time.” catamaran could Of course, the Graveyard of the Atlantic leg is supposed to be treacherous. quickly be dashed And the Florida portions are usually relatively easy runs that give the on-board during a beach landing two-person crews time to figure out their boats. But in 2001, the wind at Florida's in 35-mph winds.

Jensen Beach was so fierce that only five of 23 cats made it past the breakers.

Team Outer Banks was one of them.

“IT’S A RACE OF ATTRITION,” CHARLES SAYS. “It all comes down to who can keep their boat together and go the fastest.”

During the Worrell’s two-week journey, anything can happen as the cats zig-zag along the coast. And in the past, the people manning the boats were characters right out of a B-grade Hollywood movie, leading to a number of colorful stories.

Like the year Todd sailed with a dentist who ended up fixing somebody’s tooth in a hotel room in the middle of the race. Or the time when the Australian ground crew jury-rigged a blender in their van so they could make margaritas while driving from one launch spot to another.

Or when John and P-Nut once had to make an emergency stop on a beach in Florida that wound up having rockets on it – and security guards who came racing toward them. (Pro tip: Avoid unscheduled stops at Cape Canaveral three days before a rocket launch.)

Memories such as these were rekindled when a new ownership group rolled out the Worrell 1000 Reunion Race this year. The members of Team Outer Banks loved watching it come through, but still see a cloudy future leading to the newly scheduled 2021 Worrell. The number of feeder races are down, after all. And the costs of new boats are up.

Perhaps the next generation will still keep the tradition alive on the Outer Banks, though.

P-Nut’s son, Dylan, is a freshman at First Flight High School who’s interested in the Worrell.

Also a member of a local sailing club, Dylan posed for a photo in May with Rod Waterhouse – the Australian legend who won this year’s race – and Rod made it a point to tell Dylan that he could sail in the Worrell one day, too.

Why not? As long as sailors feel that need for speed, they’ll find a way to make those cats race through anything the Atlantic Ocean can throw at them.

And there are also plenty of unexpectedly beautiful moments mixed in with all the wild characters, danger and uncertainty when you talk to any of the men and women who have been involved with the Worrell over the years. Charles, in particular, will never forget a night of sailing that was filled with phosphorescence.

“The water was splashing all over the sails, all over the boat,” he says with a nostalgic smile.

“It was so bright, it just looked like everything was on fire.”

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FALL 2019

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OUTDOORS

istock.com/BrianEKushner

TAKING

Flight

BY LI Z Z E BE R HAR DT

ON LATE SUMMER EVENINGS, crowds gather at the ends of the William B. Umstead Bridge to watch the sunset and the spectacle that comes with it: thousands of purple martins returning to roost under the bridge for the night. The martins have been roosting at the bridge that spans the Croatan Sound between Manns Harbor and Roanoke Island for decades, demonstrating the species’ loyalty to certain locales along their annual migratory path.

“They are almost exclusively reliant on humans for nesting sites,” says Scott Anderson, a bird conservation biologist with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. “It’s a pretty unique story: a species that has shifted from a natural nesting habitat to a human-made one and benefited from that.”

While western martins still primarily nest in woodpecker holes, their eastern counterparts have adapted to enjoy the comforts of specially made bird houses – many of which look like miniature condominiums. Here on the Outer Banks, a number of people construct these houses in their backyards, and the birds arrive to take advantage of those

lodgings in the springtime, somewhere between April and May. Once they finish nesting and raising their young, it’s off to the bridge to roost, which typically happens here in the greatest numbers through late July and early August. They sleep under the bridge at night and hunt for food throughout the day, gorging themselves on an insect-exclusive diet. At nightfall, they once again flock to the bridge in dense gatherings.

“Coalescing together and migrating in large flocks is common to purple martins everywhere,” Scott explains, mentioning that the birds had been observed roosting at the bridge in numbers sometimes exceeding 40,000 martins – a phenomenon that can easily be seen mid-flight on weather radars.

The Umstead Bridge is the most widely known hot spot for roosting martins in North Carolina, and once they depart, the birds wing their way to South America for the winter – covering approximately 250 miles a day during their epic journey south.

“They come here because it’s part of their historical range,” Scott says. “And birds are truly a gateway species for appreciating nature.”

Illuminated by the spotlight aboard the Crystal Dawn headboat, purple martins line the underside of the William B. Umstead Bridge. The Crystal Dawn works with the Coastal Carolina Purple Martin Society to provide sunset tours in July and August so passengers can enjoy watching the birds in their annual roosting spot. Photo by Wes Snyder.

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FALL 2019

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REAL ESTATE

town report

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN YOUR TOWN? HERE’S A REPORT FROM ALL OVER THE OUTER BANKS.

COM PI LED BY CATH ERI N E KOZ AK

Currituck County For the first time, a North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles license plate agency will be located in Currituck County, saving residents a drive to neighboring Pasquotank or Dare counties in order to register their vehicles, do title transactions or obtain specialty license plates. According to the agency’s announcement, the new service will be managed by a private contractor and is scheduled to open in late September. It is not yet known if the popular OBX plate will be offered there. The office will be located at 257 Caratoke Highway, near the Virginia-North Carolina state line.

Duck The issue of public beach access was ignited in late May when a local home and business owner was arrested while attempting to use a beach access located in a subdivision that only allows access to members of the private homeowner association. Although the town is just one of a few in this state without an official public access to the ocean beaches, Town Manager Chris Layton said that Duck has rarely had any conflict over beach accesses.

The issue is complicated, he said, because by the time the town was incorporated in 2002, oceanfront accesses were already owned by homeowners’ associations.

According to Layton, the town will be holding discussions in upcoming months with community members, business owners and town officials about available options and the legal and financial issues relevant to providing official public beach accesses.

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Southern Shores After months of debate about preventing construction of what some are calling “mini-hotels” in the community, the Southern Shores Town Council voted in May to limit the size and occupancy of new homes to no more than 14 overnight visitors, with septic capacities not to exceed 14 occupants.

In the interest of improving cell phone coverage in the town, the council also agreed in June to allow Verizon Wireless and American Towers to increase the height of their wireless tower on Ocean Boulevard from 140 feet to 150 feet. The additional height and equipment are expected to help remedy problems with service interruptions, network connections and dropped calls.

Kitty Hawk Plans for a major renovation of the Kitty Hawk Bathhouse off N.C. 12 are moving forward, with the Kitty Hawk Town Council earmarking a budget of $100,000 for the facility upgrade. Architectural firm Cahoon + Kasten designed and developed the proposed construction plans that were approved by the council in April.

During its July meeting, the council also voted to condemn an unsightly and unsafe property located at 4240 North Virginia Dare Trail. The town had received several complaints about the condition of the buildings, and the fire inspector deemed them to be a fire hazard. Three of the five structures on the property are now subject to condemnation and demolition by the town.

Kill Devil Hills A new group has been created by the Kill Devil Hills Board of Commissioners to review more than 20 existing recreational sites that are located west of U.S. 158. The West-Side Recreation Group, approved unanimously in July by the board, will be responsible for submitting recommendations to the board on issues related to the sites. The nine-member panel will develop strategies for the best use of the sites by visitors and residents, and they will consider alternative management, promotion and marketing approaches to highlight any recreational opportunities.

A review of the sites will include identifying infrastructure needs as well as any potential partnerships, expansions and improvements to the amenities.

Manteo

The town also opened a new dog park called Paws Park in June. Located at Aviation Park across from First Flight High School, the park has designated areas for large, small, senior and special needs dogs.

Town commissioners have appointed 21 residents to work on an update for Manteo’s 20-year plan. The original plan was completed in 1982, and members of the new working group represent businesses and residents from different areas of the town in order to help determine the town’s needs and wishes in the coming two decades. Past plans and updates have included public meetings, surveys and reviews, and have incorporated the assistance of an outside consultant. The newly completed 20-year plan will guide town officials in creating policies and regulations, and will help them reach future goals.

Nags Head

Dare County

Eight years after its first beach nourishment project, the town of Nags Head started a $43 million nourishment project this past spring, pumping 4.6 million cubic yards of sand onto approximately 10 coastal miles. The town paid about $17 million of the project cost, Dare County paid about $10 million and the Federal Emergency Management Agency paid $16 million. Contractor Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is scheduled to complete the project in October.

A $19.8 million beach nourishment project in Buxton was approved in June by the Dare County Board of Commissioners. Nearly three miles of eroded shoreline in Buxton was nourished in 2017, but the beach lost more than 300,000 cubic yards of sand the following year during Hurricane Florence, according to a presentation by consultants with Coastal Science & Engineering at a June 3 board meeting.

In June, the Nags Head Board of Commissioners also directed the planning department to study changes in the way it restricts the size of new construction.

Rather than relying on lot restrictions of 16,000 feet, the board suggested it would be more effective to use septic and setback requirements to limit the size of vacation rental houses. In 2015, the N.C. General Assembly banned municipalities from putting limits on the number of bedrooms in its zoning regulations.

In addition to sand replenishment, the consultants also recommended surveys to evaluate the possible restoration of groins near the old site of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. The groins were originally built in the 1970s to capture sand as it moves down the coast, but their age has since caused them to deteriorate. About $14 million of the project costs will likely be provided by Dare County. The remainder will be covered by $4.3 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds and $1.5 million in state funds. The project is expected to be completed in 2022.

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REAL ESTATE

business briefs COM PI LED BY CATH ERI N E KOZ AK Another Ferry Serves Ocracoke Island A new passenger ferry service began between Hatteras and Ocracoke islands on May 20. The Ocracoke Express now carries visitors on the 70-minute route for $2 each way, and bicycles can also be brought onboard at no extra charge.

A New Place to Stay

With a delay in construction of the state’s own high-speed catamaran-style passenger ferry, the North Carolina Ferry Division contracted a similar ferry from New Jersey to provide the service for the summer 2019 season, which is scheduled to run through September 5. Passengers board the vessel at the Hatteras ferry dock and are dropped off at Ocracoke’s Silver Lake dock, where they can then hop on a free tram. More information and seasonal online reservations are available at ncferry.org.

For the first time in 30 years, a new hotel has opened in Kill Devil Hills. TownePlace Suites Outer Banks, a beachside Marriott hotel, features 151 home-like suites focused on extended stays, with amenities such as pull-out sofas, fully-equipped kitchens and ergonomic workstations. The facility also boasts an indoor pool and a fitness center. Nightly stays are available, and pets are welcomed.

Online News Outlet Sold to Local Media Companies

New Director for Building and Real Estate Panels Porter Graham, most recently a policy advisor in Washington, D.C. for U.S. Representative Bob Latta (OH-05), has been hired to serve as the new shared government affairs director for the Outer Banks Association of Realtors and the Outer Banks Home Builders’ Association. Originally from Minneapolis, Graham graduated from George Washington University. His new job includes monitoring and interpreting legislation that affects the associations’ members and working with each associations’ legislative committees.

Graham succeeds Willo Kelly, who served for more than 12 years in the position before she was hired last June as the chief executive officer of the Outer Banks Association of Realtors.

The Outer Banks Voice, an online news outlet founded in 2010 by journalist Rob Morris and banker Russ Lay, both of Nags Head, has been sold in an agreement between two locally owned media companies. Rick Loesch, owner of East Carolina Radio, and Mark Jurkowitz, owner of the Outer Banks Sentinel, announced in July that they had purchased the Voice and intend to build its reach in the community.

Loesch founded East Carolina Radio in 1990 in Edenton, and the company’s group of six local stations include Dixie 105.7 and Pirate 95.3. Jurkowitz bought the Sentinel in 2014, though he closed the newspaper in July to focus on the Voice. Prior to moving to the Outer Banks, Jurkowitz worked for The Boston Globe and served as the associate director of the Pew Research Center’s Journalism Project in Washington, D.C.

REAL ESTATE

market snapshot Real estate on the Outer Banks is holding course in the positive column, but according to the Outer Banks Association of Realtors’ June MLS Director Report, there is some concern about mediocre land sales and contract activity.

Inventory is up 12 percent overall in comparison with June 2018, with 2,464 properties listed in 2019 versus 2,253 in 2018. Of that, residential inventory is up seven percent, and lot inventory is up 22 percent. Although sales in general were

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FALL 2019

only up a modest one percent in June 2019 over 2018, residential sales during the same period were somewhat better, with a four percent increase indicating steady growth.

Despite increased inventory, sales of lots and land have dropped 12 percent, and overall under-contract listings are down four percent from 2018 to 2019. But on the bright side of things, commercial sales in June 2019 were up a striking 50 percent from the previous year.

Chairman Named for N.C. Real Estate Commission Jeffery J. Malarney, general counsel for Twiddy & Co. and principal attorney at the Law Offices of Jeff Malarney, has been appointed chairman of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission, the regulatory body that oversees more than 100,000 real estate agents and firms in this state.

Malarney is also a licensed real estate broker and property insurance agent, and he formerly served as a commissioner on the panel. A graduate of Wake Forest University’s School of Law, Malarney is a retired commander of the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate Corps, a former special assistant U.S. attorney, and a past president of the North Carolina Vacation Rental Manager’s Association.

Advocating for the Local National Park Service Outer Banks Forever was launched this past spring to promote visitor opportunities at the Outer Banks’ three national parks. As the executive director of the nonprofit organization, Jessica Green will seek partnerships and working relationships in the community to support the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site on Roanoke Island and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore on Hatteras and Ocracoke islands.

In addition to fundraising for family-friendly programs, activities and events at the parks, the organization will also focus on engaging and educating the public in order to preserve the history and environment of the parks.

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REAL ESTATE

Cape Hatteras Light Station

BY CATHE RINE KOZA K

Like many things on the Outer Banks, the four iconic lighthouses that dot our easternmost coastline have evolved over the centuries.

Though they are now less frequently used for essential navigation, the history of the men, women and children who called these sentinels home from the 1800s onward tells a larger story that ties us firmly to this area’s deep maritime roots – and shines a bright light into our future.

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I

t was a lovely late winter day in 1999 when the white principal keeper's quarters at the Cape Hatteras Light Station was lifted, porches and chimneys intact, onto a truck and moved a half mile from the beach. In a few months, the much more complex and arduous relocation of the iconic Cape Hatteras Lighthouse would begin. Until then, the black-and-white striped tower stood alone at the station for the first time, absent the homes that had sheltered generations of keepers’ families.

Rany Jennette, then 78, was there that day, watching quietly from the sidelines as his childhood home was wheeled to its new location. Son of Unaka Jennette, who was the last keeper of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Rany understood that the lighthouse was at risk of falling into the ocean, and he appreciated that the principal keeper's quarters and the double keepers’ quarters would be safe at the new site. But like most people who grew up at the light station, or who played and socialized there, he wanted the lighthouse to stay where it was.

“It was hard to even think that it had to happen,” recalls Terry Ann Jennette Ponton, Rany’s daughter.

Terry, now 65, says that her father lived at the station from 1922 until 1933, and that he often took her out to the lighthouse when she was young.

The double keepers’ house (left) was built in 1854, and the principal keeper’s house (right) was built in 1871 at the Cape Hatteras Light Station, which was moved from its original location in 1999. Photo courtesy of the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau.

“It was just the place where everyone went,” she explains. Families would gather on the grounds for picnics and games. Children would run up and down the lighthouse steps. Teenagers would drive out there at night with dates to go parking.

And when the lighthouse was in service, she adds, it was the heart of the community.

Terry’s grandfather, Unaka B. Jennette, was born in 1882, and he began his career at age 22 as a deckhand on the Diamond Shoals lightship, according to Lighthouse Families

by Cheryl Shelton-Roberts and Bruce Roberts. Captain ‘Naka, as he was fondly known, earned the prized principal keeper’s post at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in 1919, and served there for 20 years with his wife, Sudie Scarborough Jennette, and their seven children: Almy, Vivian, Myrtle, Rany, Olive, Dorcas and Ramona.

“Granddaddy was a Christian man, and he was a gentleman,” Terry says. “He was softspoken, and everyone respected him.”

The Jennettes’ life was family centered, work dominated and community oriented.

Unaka’s daily duties included filling a brass can with kerosene every morning and carrying it up the 268 steps to the lantern room, where he would fill the reservoir tank and light the lamp inside the first-order Fresnel lens. He would then climb those same steps again at sunrise to extinguish the lamp.

Known to be a meticulous keeper, Unaka also took great care to note details in his logbook, and he polished the brass and green prisms of the lens to a perfect shine. The family even had a big garden and some livestock, and once a month they’d go to Buxton

to shop at the general store. All the children had to help with chores, and their priority was to keep everything at the station sparkling clean. But they also had a lot of freedom and plenty of playmates among the assistant light keepers’ families.

Two successive storms flooded the station in 1933 and terrified Terry’s grandmother, however. The family eventually had to leave the station and moved to the village. The lighthouse was abandoned in 1936 by the U.S. Coast Guard because of severe erosion and was not returned to service until 1950. In 1939, Unaka was transferred to the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse, where he worked for four years before finally retiring. At that point, he had served a total of 38 years in the U.S. Lighthouse Service.

According to Terry, her grandfather possessed charm, character and humor – and above all, he was kind. She was 11 when he died in 1965, and she remembers so many people attending his funeral that a long line snaked out of the church and down the street.

She also remembers just how deep the Jennette family roots run in the history of the lighthouse service. As many as 60 Jennettes lived in Buxton when she was young, and it was her Jennette family ancestors who sold four acres of their land to the U.S. government in 1797 for $50 so that the original Cape Hatteras Lighthouse could be built in 1802. And after the second Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was constructed in 1870, at least six different Jennette families served as keepers or assistant keepers there.

“It was the family business,” she says. “That’s what you did.”

NORTH BEACH SUN

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T

he Currituck Beach Lighthouse was the last large brick lighthouse constructed on the North Carolina coast – and when it was finished on December 1, 1875, it lit the dark stretch of water between Cape Henry and Bodie Island. And for nearly 60 years before full automation, the lighthouse wasn’t just a beacon for mariners; it was also home to the keepers and their families who kept the light shining.

The tower and the first-order Fresnel lens are the most eye-catching components of the Currituck Beach light station grounds, but the Carpenter Gothic-style duplex house that sits next to it is just as important. Completed in 1875, the structure provided a home for three keepers (a principal and two assistants) and their families, cramped as it must have been. In 1880 there were 24 people living in the dwelling. Since the 19th century, more than two dozen families have lived on the lighthouse grounds, each leaving a mark on the storied red brick tower.

There are those who are well-known in the village of Corolla, like Nathanial Burris, the keeper who housed and fed more than 70 survivors of the Metropolis wreck in 1878. Or lesser-known ones such as William Shinault, who was Currituck’s principal keeper from 1881 to 1882 before being stationed on Long Point Island where he lived in a single-family dwelling – a building that was eventually relocated to Currituck Beach in 1920 to serve as a second keeper’s residence.

The Currituck Beach Lighthouse was converted to electricity in 1933 and fully automated in 1937, effectively eliminating the need for an on-site keeper. The property was used by the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, but then fell into disrepair in the following decades. During that time, the buildings were damaged by weather, as well as vandals and the occasional bored teenager.

Currituck Beach Light Station

BY M E G P UCK ETT

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In the 1980s, a nonprofit group called the Outer Banks Conservationists began renovations on the houses and outbuildings. By the 1990s, much of the grounds had been restored, and the site was opened to the public.

These days, Currituck Beach is the only Outer Banks lighthouse with staff members who live on the grounds – though not in either of the original keepers’ quarters that are now on the National Register of Historic Places. While there are certainly more conveniences available to the present-day keepers, many aspects of their responsibilities are not far removed from those held by Nathanial Burris and William Shinault. After all, as long as the light is operational, there will still be lenses to polish, equipment to be maintained, and grounds to be monitored.

But today’s lighthouse residents play another critical role, one that their predecessors probably never would have imagined. They are now the keepers of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse’s stories. They are interpreters and conservationists, working to preserve both the physical buildings on the light station grounds, as well as the letters and other ephemera that relate to the site and the people who lived and worked there over the decades.

“Living here allows me to see what work needs to be done,” says Meghan Agresto, who is one of two current fulltime keepers at Currituck Beach alongside her partner, Luis Garcia.

“It’s given us time to create relationships with the descendants who bring their stories to us.”

So many of those stories were previously lost, buried in dusty attics or never recorded at all because those early keepers were simply doing their jobs – and it’s often difficult to recognize the exact moment that history is being made. But as the narrative of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse and the people who have kept it alive over the years is being reconstructed by modern-day keepers, thousands of annual visitors are now being given the unprecedented opportunity to learn more about the rich cultural and maritime past of the Currituck Outer Banks.

As author Jenny Edwards wrote in her book about the history of the light, To Illuminate the Dark Space, “If the lighthouse is the brick and mortar of Currituck, then...people are its blood and bones.”

The double keepers’ house was built the same year as the lighthouse at Currituck Beach in 1875.

An unpictured smaller single-family dwelling dating back to 1874 was moved by barge to the Currituck Beach Light Station from the nearby Long Point Depot in 1920. Photo by Cory Godwin.

Bodie Island Light Station

A double keepers’ house was constructed alongside the third version of the Bodie Island Lighthouse in 1872. Photo by Elizabeth Neal.

BY K AT RI NA MAE L EUZING ER

A

lthough two other versions of the Bodie Island Lighthouse existed between 1847 and 1861, the current incarnation was built in 1872 – and, for the first time in slightly more than a decade, its first-order Fresnel lens once again bridged the unlit 19-nautical-mile gap between Hatteras and Currituck. The double keepers’ cottage, which now serves as a visitors’ center and gift shop, was built at the same time, and, until 1940, the tireless keepers, keepers’ assistants, and sometimes their families, called the little white brick building home.

But it was a lonely existence there at the start. The oil light required a team of three men to maintain, which included a principal keeper and a first and second assistant keeper.

During the early years of operation, those keepers sent request after request to the U.S. Lighthouse Service asking for an expansion of the living quarters so that their families could live in the cottage as well, but they were all denied.

In the early 1920s, however, a new kind of thermostat became available. With the ability to monitor the heat off the lamp and set off a warning bell in the keepers’ cottage if the light went out, there was no longer a need for someone to sit up in the cold watch room all night long. Now a two-man job rather than three, there was a little more room for wives and children to stay at the light station from time to time.

Lloyd Vernon Gaskill was the principal keeper at Bodie Island from 1919 to 1939, and his four children had fond memories of staying at the lighthouse every summer and some Christmases after making the journey from their home in Wanchese. At the peak of the Great Depression, Lloyd’s $140 monthly salary, minus $20 a month rent on the keepers’ cottage, was good money for the Gaskills. But before the completion of a bridge between Roanoke Island and Nags Head in 1928, getting his family to the lighthouse meant carrying

everything they needed to the docks, taking a power boat across the sound and as far as they could go up the creeks, and then loading everything onto a skiff the rest of the way to the lighthouse.

To say that they were isolated out there in the largely uninhabited marshlands would be an understatement. But the Gaskill children had each other and the assistant keeper’s children to play with, and they kept busy fishing for their dinner and helping their dad work.

At the age of 12, Lloyd’s second-eldest, John, woke up just before sunrise when he was visiting the lighthouse in order to help his father extinguish the lamp. When John was 18, he even helped repaint the lighthouse’s horizontal black-and-white stripes, a feat which he later recalled with enormous pride – while also vowing never to do anything like it again.

In 1932, electric lights run by oil-fueled generators were installed, and manning the lighthouse became a one-man operation. Not long after that, Lloyd’s wife, Bertha, and their youngest child, Erline, moved into the keepers' cottage full time. With a little more infrastructure to connect them to other parts of the Outer Banks by that time, Erline went to school in Manteo, and she sometimes gave tours of the lighthouse to visitors with hopes of earning a 25-cent tip – which was the cost of a movie and popcorn over at Manteo’s Pioneer Theatre.

Bodie Island Lighthouse was manned until 1940, when it became fully automated. Now under the care of the National Park Service, the lighthouse and the cottage where the keepers lived and worked for 68 years remain open seasonally to visitors. Once there, you can still climb all 214 steps to the top of the light, where the dauntless Gaskill children used to dare each other to climb on the balcony railing and hang breathlessly over the edge – a vantage point that was as close as they could come to flying.

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Ocracoke Island Light Station

BY K E L L E Y S HINN

B

uilt in 1823, the Ocracoke Lighthouse is the oldest operating lighthouse in the state of North Carolina, and it’s been a beacon for mariners for almost 200 years. Thousands come every year to view the 75-foot-tall, whitewashed lighthouse in its idyllic marsh setting, and they go home with nostalgic mementos of the small, stout structure. Locals adore the lighthouse as well, and they sell handmade replicas and paintings to visitors, while an old hymn called The Lighthouse is sung at nearly every funeral on the island.

The lighthouse has all the allure and charm of a Nicholas Sparks’ novel, but if you could step back in time and into the building next door to the lighthouse – the lighthouse keeper’s quarters – you might be told a more pragmatic story than any image on a magnet or a t-shirt can convey. Because living under the light of the lighthouse wasn’t always light.

Joseph Merrit Burrus, or “Captain Joe” of Hatteras Island, was the last lighthouse keeper on Ocracoke from 1929 to 1946 before the lighthouse was automated. His great-grandson, Ocracoke native John Simpson, is now the keeper of the lighthouse memories. Though he didn’t grow up in the keeper’s house, his father, Larry, did.

“When dad’s mind was still sharp, he’d tell us the same stories over and over, as I guess that’s what fathers do. [One he] used to tell me about was being in charge of the burial of birds that would fly into the lighthouse when they were blinded by the light or attracted by the glass,” John says. “Grandpa Joe would hand him mason jars for the smaller birds, but the geese he’d bury whole. A few years ago, we walked over to the lighthouse together, and he pointed to this spot or the other – he could still remember where he buried those birds.”

Young Larry was also in charge of whitewashing the lighthouse – or, at least, the lower portion where he could reach. Captain Joe would take care of the parts that required a 44

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Dating back to 1823, the Ocracoke Lighthouse and its keeper’s cottage make up the oldest operating light station in North Carolina. Photo by Casey Robertson.

ladder, but Larry even whitewashed the nearby tree bases, which kept them free from invasive pests.

Still, there was no whitewashing certain things. In those early days there were only two phones on the island. One was in the village at the lighthouse keeper’s house and the other was at the U.S. Coast Guard Station, which was then located 13 miles away on the north end of the island. In an isolated area where many young men were watermen or servicemen, or were simply transient workers, no one necessarily wanted to receive a phone call that typically meant something had gone wrong. But when those sad phone calls did come in, they came to the lighthouse, and it was the keeper who shared the often devastating news with the families.

The lighthouse keeper’s house also served as the library on Ocracoke until an official library was built in 1976. The U.S. Lighthouse Service circulated cases of books to their keepers every six months, who in turn shared them with villagers, giving people on the island access to a wealth of new and modern information.

“But none of those books could have prepared them for real history,” John recalls. He still has a photograph of his father standing in front of the lighthouse at around five or six years old. In the picture, Larry’s wearing a helmet and a bomber jacket, and he’s holding a toy replica of a B-52 bomber, the exact plane he later went on to pilot in the U.S. Air Force.

“World War II was about to happen on the other side of this photo,” John explains. “A lot of folks don’t know that there were German submarines positioned all along the North Carolina coast then. During the war, my father said there were strict light curfews on the island…and everyone was afraid of the conflict outside their windows progressing from water to land.

“Only the lighthouse was allowed on, to help the ships navigate – but it became a doubleedged sword because it lit up the ships, too, and some of them became successful targets for German torpedoes.”

Light is a powerful, neutral force. It doesn’t take sides. Whether good or bad, it can be a beacon for homecoming or a beacon toward the other side. Perhaps no one knows this better than a lighthouse keeper.

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HOME SPOTLIGHT

The Cabin in the Sand PHOTOS BY ELIZABETH NEAL • STORY BY ARABELLA SAUNDERS

Claudia Sanderlin’s Log Cabin Inn is now home to Dawn Wynn Trivette and her family – and the house looks a bit different today than it did in 1932.

IT ISN’T YOUR TYPICAL BEACH BOX.

On the west side of Virginia Dare Trail near milepost 3.5, there’s a house that doesn’t immediately seem that much different from its neighbors – except, perhaps, for its tall natural brick chimney. But if you look at pictures of it from as recently as 10 years ago, you can begin to get a sense of its history.

Claudia Sanderlin, a Kitty Hawk native and former schoolteacher, originally styled the house as a rustic log cabin that might have been more at home hidden deep in the woods. Enlisting the help of her brothers, Thomas and Oscar, they built the cabin in 1932 after floating a number of cypress logs across the sound.

Once the logs had been transported by truck to the east side of the island, the brothers measured, chopped and stacked the wood. They then reinforced the structure with steel rods and metal pins that still poke out every 18 inches or so along the interior walls. Later that same year, Claudia dubbed it the Log Cabin Inn and opened it as a tearoom and three-bedroom lodging house.

The inn hosted diners and guests for a few years before being hit by the Great Depression. It didn’t help that Kitty Hawk was only accessible by a single blacktop

road flanked by mounds of shifting sands at the time, and the cabin soon fell vacant.

Claudia relocated to Washington, D.C., in search of a government job, and her brothers headed north as well.

Fortunes were beginning to change by the mid-1940s, however. Oscar and his family moved back to Kitty Hawk, and they lived in the cabin while he constructed another home behind the inn. Claudia chose to remain in D.C., but when her brother’s house was finished, she once again began to rent out the Log Cabin Inn. She advertised the house in The Washington Post and managed things from her home in the capital.

Claudia eventually moved back to the Outer Banks, but continued to rent out the Log Cabin Inn until the early 1970s. It was during this time that a young Dawn Wynn Trivette saw a “For Sale” sign in front of a white house with a pinkish-red roof and matching shutters. Declaring it a “Barbie Dreamhouse,” Dawn begged her parents to pull over.

Dawn and her family were from Chesterfield County, Virginia, and after many years of vacationing on the Outer Banks, they had decided to purchase a beach continued on page 48

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Top to bottom: Salvaged from the garage, the original Log Cabin Inn sign now hangs in the house’s living room; A picture of the cabin, circa the late 1930s (photo courtesy of the Sanderlin family); A variety of newer renovations have transformed some aspects of the cabin, such as the enclosed front porch and the cozy south-side sunroom.

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house. From the outside, the cabin was nothing like what Dawn’s parents, Robert and Marion Wynn, had in mind, but they decided to entertain their young daughter’s fantasies nonetheless.

“Miss Claudia opened the door, and we could see the logs and a ton of antiques,” Dawn says. “We just fell in love with it right then.”

Shortly thereafter, on July 10, 1972, the Wynn family closed on the house.

“We met Miss Claudia and her sister, Ms. Maddie, over in Elizabeth City at the attorney’s office. They drove this super old car and wore white gloves, and they were so sweet,” Dawn remembers. “It felt special, because the day we closed was also my dad’s 51st birthday.”

Dawn, her parents and her siblings, Raymond, Candace and Sandra, enjoyed the Log Cabin Inn for years. Over that time, the house became a point of curiosity for both locals and visitors alike. Some even came timidly to the doorstep to ask if they could take a peek inside the only log cabin on the beach.

Others came for Robert Wynn himself, whose full title was Sergeant Robert “Popeye” Wynn of “Easy” Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. A paratrooper wounded on D-Day, Robert and his fellow soldiers would go on to be the subjects of Stephen E. Ambrose's 1992 nonfiction book Band of Brothers, which was eventually made into a HBO miniseries produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.

“A number of the guys who were in the Band of Brothers came here and vacationed with my dad,” Dawn says. “That was just normal. Like Shifty Powers – he came and fished with my dad a lot. People who follow that series often want to come here because of my dad.”

Curious fans and history buffs weren’t the only visitors the family entertained, however. Soon after they purchased the inn, the Wynns realized there might be something else afoot. Although its identity remains a mystery to this day, a friendly ghost can reportedly be heard roaming The cabin had survived through the house both day and night. dozens of hurricanes, “One time, my daughter was sitting standing water and downstairs when she heard creaking upstairs like someone was walking around. waves breaking into the She thought it was me, so she started foyer over the years, talking, but I wasn't responding,” Dawn but a boost was still recalls. “Suddenly, she realized I was outside necessary to ensure watering the flowers, and she came out yelling, ‘Mom, this place is so creepy!’ that the house would “When I hear things like that, I always try continue to stand for to tell myself it’s someone outside,” Dawn many years to come. adds with a laugh. “But that’s probably unlikely when the wind’s blowing 40 miles an hour, and it’s pouring down rain!”

Today, although the friendly ghost remains, the house looks a little different than it did in 1932. The exterior logs have been covered in cedar shake, which was one of Claudia’s stipulations when she sold the cabin. The vibrant shutters are gone.

Additions have been completed, including an outdoor shower and a mud kitchen for kids. And an old screened-in porch has even been covered and transformed into a bright, modern sunroom.

Robert and Marion Wynn passed the home down to Dawn in 2000, and the biggest change came about during the summer of 2010 when Dawn hired Bray’s House Movers to raise the house and the garage up on stilts. The cabin had survived dozens of hurricanes, standing water and waves breaking into the foyer over the years, but a boost was still necessary to ensure that the house would continue to stand for many years to come.

“While it was still on the ground, my dad always wanted to build a landing between the house and the garage so we could see the ocean,” Dawn says. “So after the cabin was lifted, we built a deck up there and named it Popeye’s Perch.”

Although the house has undergone numerous practical changes, its charmingly rustic feel lingers on. The original “Log Cabin Inn” sign hangs in the living room, along with a teakwood door and a cupola that were both salvaged from the old Carolinian hotel. And the master bedroom is even modeled after a room in the historic Corolla Schoolhouse. According to Dawn, she prefers to avoid decorating the cabin with typical beach décor and instead describes the house as “eclectic.”

Today, Dawn and her husband, George, also have homes in Greenville, South Carolina, and New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Greenville is home to their children and grandchildren, while New Smyrna boasts the couple’s ideal weather. But for Dawn, the Log Cabin Inn will always hold a special place in her heart.

“It’s the thing I’ve been attached to the longest, and it holds so many family memories,” Dawn explains. “For me, this house means home.”

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REAL ESTATE

ARTICLE ONE, SECTION TWO OF THE UNITED

mandates a country-wide head count every 10 years. The Census Bureau has been doing it since 1790, and they’ve gotten pretty good at it in the last few centuries. Some people do still fall through the cracks every year though, so the Census Bureau has started establishing Complete Count Committees (CCC) in each state to look at who’s being missed and why – and what we can do make our counts more accurate.

Duck resident James Cofield is one of 32 commissioners appointed to serve on the North Carolina CCC by Governor Roy Cooper for the decennial census in 2020, and he’s working with counties in eastern North Carolina like Dare, Currituck and Hyde to make sure we get our numbers right. To that end, James has been giving presentations to county commissioners and constituent organizations such as the League of Women Voters and the NAACP, and he’s been encouraging each county to establish their own CCC. “The point I make is that it’s in our best interest to have everyone counted,” James says. “People use county services, and you want the money for every person using them.”

With billions of federal funding dollars at stake, more accurate census numbers could mean more money for important programs such as Medicaid, nutrition assistance, public housing, highway construction, special education grants and school programs like Head Start – while also determining the correct number of congressional districts and state representatives.

And counting every person in the state does more than ensure we have adequate representation and access to government funds. Census data is also routinely used for business projections and planning purposes.

“Even Walmart will look at census numbers before putting in a new store,” James explains.

By definition, a North Carolina resident is someone who has lived in this state for at least 12 months, has established a permanent residence and who intends to make this state their home. In Dare County, this is complicated by the fact that there is a large seasonal population, including international students and other

STATES

Make N.C. Count Local committees could be the key to getting truly accurate numbers in the upcoming census B Y KATR I N A M A E LE U Z I N GE R

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CONSTITUTION

summer workers who don’t qualify for the state’s residency requirements.

Other groups who do qualify, but are difficult to count, include anyone who has recently moved, non-native English speakers, those with low literacy rates, people living in poverty and children younger than five years old – especially if those children also fall into one of the other categories.

“After a presentation in Hyde County, a man asked me, ‘How do we convince people to participate in the census?’” James says. “And there are no easy answers.”

The most effective way to do that, though, is to work with people in hard-to-count communities and make sure they understand that by federal law the information they give on the census can only be used to produce statistics, but that it’s otherwise kept confidential.

“We have to make people feel comfortable,” says James. “One way to do that is to have people they trust participating in those communities.”

Dare County has already started that process.

“We’ll be reaching out to the schools, towns and community organizations. We’re putting together a group and doing everything we can to inform and encourage everyone to participate,” says Dare County’s public information officer, Dorothy Hester. “This is important. It brings federal funds to our community, and we want everyone to be counted so that we can have those resources available to use.”

With Census Day fast approaching on April 1, participants will be able to complete their questionnaire in more than 13 languages whether online, by mail or by telephone. Once those surveys are accounted for, the process of finding everyone who might have been missed begins in earnest by making phone calls, knocking on doors and checking in with community leaders – but the best way to get a complete count is to make sure all those surveys get filled out in the first place. Because the better our participation rate, the more we stand to gain.

“North Carolina is the third-fastest growing state. We added a congressperson after the 2010 census, and we’re expected to pick up another after the 2020 census,” James says. “It’s our voice.”

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REAL ESTATE

THOUGH FIRE LOOKOUT TOWERS PREDATE THE ESTABLISHMENT of the United States Forest Service, which was founded in 1905, it was the Great Fire of 1910 that secured their popularity across the country. Still considered the largest wildfire in U.S. history, more than three million acres burned over one summer weekend in the Northwest, spurring a flurry of political interest in stronger fire prevention policies.

Many of the early lookout towers created in the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1910 were run by private groups who had a stake in the land around them – such as timber companies and hunting clubs – and they used telephones, heliographs and sometimes carrier pigeons to report fires and other hazardous conditions.

A shift occurred, however, in 1933, when President Roosevelt formed the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in order to put young men back to work during the Great Depression. To the delight of the U.S. Forest Service, the CCC workforce was charged with building a number of fire towers and access roads leading to them – which kicked off a massive country-wide lookout construction program that lasted well into the 1940s.

The fire lookout tower in East Lake, just over the Lindsay C. Warren Bridge from Roanoke Island, was one of the towers created by a locally stationed group of CCC members. Completed in February of 1938, the 120-foot steel tower is flanked by Alligator River and the Croatan Sound, and is now surrounded by the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.

One fire in particular that was visible from the East Lake tower was the Lake Phelps wildfire of 1955. The largest fire in recent North Carolina history, it burned an estimated 203,000 acres in nearby Tyrrell, Hyde and Washington counties, and it took the combined forces of the forestry service, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Army and the Marine Corps to contain it over the course of 10 days.

Eventually decommissioned in the early 1990s as new technology rendered fire towers virtually obsolete, the East Lake lookout is no longer accessible to the public due to a structural instability that makes it unsafe to climb. But the now-empty cab of the East Lake tower still overlooks some of the most pristine, forested views of mainland Dare County – and continues to represent an important piece of American history.

the Watchtower A relic from simpler times, the East Lake fire lookout still stands sentry over Highway 64.

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D.I.WHY NOT?

let your garden

fall is the season to make a plan for bringing the outside in.

MACRAMÉ HOLDERS

by amanda mcdanel

The ‘70s are back in full force with the return of macramé. Whether you buy a new piece or use a vintage one, macramé holders are perfect for displaying plants when you’re short on space. From small succulents to large African violets, it’s a way to give plants of all sizes some big attention.

AS MUCH AS SOCIETY BUCKS AGAINST AGING, I think getting older does a lot for people. Yes, PLANT BY NUMBERS you may have a few more wrinkles, but let us call them the badges of life experiences. And as you get older, Whatever you do, don’t just plop a plastic terracotta-colored pot into your you often care less about other people’s opinions of you. You’ve traveled more places. You can bake a house and expect it to look like it belongs – at the very least, give your pots a great chocolate chip cookie and tell a good joke. And you don’t kill plants. coat of spray paint that coordinates with your existing décor. And if you have Think about it. Do you know a grandmother with a bunch of dead plants? More likely, you know a the budget for it, find some large woven baskets that are larger than your number of older figures in your life who have green thumbs. In many cases, graceful aging seems to pots, and nestle the plants inside them. It’ll make your space feel much more decorative…and less like the aisle of a home-improvement store nursery. coincide with the ability to grow new life – in a green form.

I have fond memories of my grandfather coming in from his garden smelling like tomato leaves, and it was my grandmother who taught me how to identify a radish when it was plump and ready to pick. SPECIAL SHELVING My mother-in-law also starts all sorts of tomatoes and peppers from seed, and keeps them safe in her Try incorporating larger plants into existing bookcases or shelves – or greenhouse before surrendering them to me. Most recently, my mom bought me a small rose plant from consider building a wall just for them. Incorporating natural greenery with Walmart on Valentine’s Day. Once the bloom fell off, I tossed it (ladybug pot and all) into the trash, though I other architectural features and everyday objects will give your walls visual later learned she had rescued and repotted it. It’s now on its fourth round of blooms on my outdoor patio. interest and texture, and add a sense of height and space to any room.

Gardening is an acquired skill, and over time I’ve even been able to nurture a few green children of my own, including a large red hibiscus and a lemon tree that both have a few years under their belts.

They have to be stored inside during the Dried flowers from your summertime garden can also be visually pleasing and make bright additions to any room simply colder months, however, so I’ve found myself in the precarious position of trying by pressing them into clear glass picture frames or placing them in glass jars. Lavender is a particularly hearty flowering to display them in my home come fall.

It’s required a little ingenuity, but it’s also plant that grows well in this area during the spring and summer helped me come up with a number of ways months, but doesn’t tend to thrive when the temperatures to showcase my budding beauties…both start to drop. Their buds are still fragrant when dried, though, outside and in.

BEFORE TILLING UP YOUR GARDEN, consider bringing and the best way to preserve their color is to dry them upside in some running vines and other assorted greenery to keep down in a dark room for two to four weeks immediately after that outdoorsy feeling going indoors for at least another harvesting them. month or two this fall. From eucalyptus sprouting from vases Bringing in pumpkins or gourds from the garden is another to branches of ivy draped around candles or across your nice touch for the fall season – and you don’t even have to mantle, a bit of foliage can accent your existing home décor carve them! For a bold, modern look, paint them in a variety of long before it's time to unpack the holiday wreaths. metallic colors, or choose some hues that complement your

pick your plant

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FALL 2019

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Dedicating a table as a plant display elevates your greenery off the floor and makes a visual statement in your home. Consider looking through thrift stores for wrought iron or wooden pieces you can repurpose in this way – though a large galvanized tub on legs or a wooden ladder can also be great options.

CREATIVE CONTAINERS

For plants that don’t need soil (a.k.a. air plants), the sky’s the limit when it comes to finding them a place to live. Whether you use a conch shell you brought back from on the beach, a piece of washed-up driftwood or a shallow concrete vase, these displays are sure to be conversation pieces in their own right.

A LIVING CURTAIN

If you have hanging potted plants and a window that you’d like to cover for some privacy, mount a heavy-duty rod to the wall above the window and hang several different plants at varying heights along it. They’ll continue to benefit from the natural light, and you’ll have one of the prettiest curtains on the block.

existing décor if you prefer a more blended aesthetic. You can even leave them au naturel if a woodsy, rustic feel is more up your alley.

And when it comes to thinking beyond décor, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (yes, NASA) conducted a study in the late ‘80s to determine the best indoor air purifying plants. Though their research was intended to help them clean up space stations, there’s no reason we all can’t benefit from their findings at home. A short list of NASA-approved indoor plants includes English ivies, snake plants, bamboo palms, peace lilies, Chinese evergreens, pot mums and gerbera daisies. Some of these plants can be harmful to pets, however, so if your house is pet-friendly, double-check before bringing them inside.

by abby stewart

Banks, NC Outer

obxsales.com

You’re Invited! Join us Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings at 9:30AM for our informal and educational Homebuyers Chat.

Sales Office · 1197 Duck Road · Duck, NC NORTH BEACH SUN

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FOR NICOLE ELSHOLZ OF BEACON ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN, breathing life into a beachside home is all about reinterpreting the classic elements of coastal decorating.

“I focus on blurring the lines between architectural finishes and soft furnishings,” she explains. “And I personally find that a slightly minimalist approach allows my mind to relax more readily.”

To that end, Nicole’s concept for a cozy oceanside reading room includes wide-plank, lime-washed engineered wood flooring (1) with a cream Belgian loop wool and sisal rug (2), both of which are warm, timeless and durable.

In another updated nod to the classics, she opted for four-lite fiberglass French doors (3) – which provide more unobstructed views than the traditional six- or eight-lite entryways – and paired them with some modern rectangular hardware in a flat black finish (4).

This complements the room’s other hardware features, such as simple sculptural floor lamps (5), bronze bookcase picture lights (6) and steel, rubber-coated crate benches (7), which can function both as indoor or outdoor coffee tables – and even provide extra seating in a pinch.

On the softer side of things, Nicole selected plush white upholstered chairs (8) in a performance fabric with a linen-like texture and fringed Turkish cotton throw blankets edged in navy (9), with neutral chunky rope baskets (10) for easy storage options.

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And for the finishing pieces, she chose some mounted black-and-white beach photography prints (11) and a fiddleleaf fig tree (12) in order to add an organic touch to the space.

“My goal for a room like this is make the architecture a backdrop,” Nicole says. “The subtle textures and patterns let the scenic views become the star of the room – especially as the natural light changes with the seasons and refracts off the surfaces in different ways.”

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Salutations Beach Realty & Construction Beach Realty & Construction welcomes Mike Meola to the Corolla sales office. Mike was previously in law enforcement and real estate in New Jersey. He is a strong negotiator and is dedicated to helping buyers and sellers achieve their goals. Mike can be reached at (908) 307-2939 or at corollamikebeachbroker@gmail.com.

Brindley Beach Vacations and Sales Brindley Beach Vacations and Sales Congratulates Top 2019 Sales Agents, Year-to-Date: Melanie Day, Edith Rowe and Catherine Strachan Prior to Melanie Day’s real estate career, she operated a group of retail stores that spanned the length of the Outer Banks from Corolla to Avon, so she knows the Outer Banks real estate market from top to bottom. Real estate was a natural choice for Melanie, and in 2002 she transitioned from retail into new home sales and lot/construction packages, and in 2009, Melanie joined the Brindley Beach team.

Melanie can be reached at (252) 207-6138, toll free at (877) 642-3224 or by email at melanie@melanieday.com.

Edith Rowe earned the 2018 Top Sales Agent Award. This award is based on closed sales volume. Edith holds a broker’s license and has been in sales on the Outer Banks since 2000. In addition to a thorough knowledge of real estate and construction, Edith possesses an extensive and unique understanding of everything about the Outer Banks. She brings to the table a degree of local sales acumen and familiarity with the area found in few agents. Edith can be reached at (252) 202-6165 (cell), toll free at (877) 642-3224 or by email at edithroweobx@gmail.com.

An Outer Banks resident since 1988, Catherine Strachan remembers when Duck was just a small village and Corolla was a little-known destination spot. Since 2006, she has worked on both the listing and selling side of several foreclosures and short-sale transactions – a valuable skill in today’s volatile market. Catherine is a designated short-sale and foreclosure resource specialist, as well as a resort and second home property specialist, and she also has thorough knowledge of the vacation home market. Catherine can be reached at (252) 489-9540, toll free at (877) 642-3224 or by email at obxproperty@gmail.com.

Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty VanderMyde Group Earns Top Producer Award for Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty is pleased to announce the VanderMyde Group as the 2019 Mid-Year Top Producing Team. Heather VanderMyde, along with team members Kiirsten Farr, Will Gregg and Kasey Rabar, rank number one in the firm in sales volume, units sold and new listings. “Heather and her team are excellent! I would highly recommend working with them,” said a recent five-star review. Team leader, Heather VanderMyde, can be reached at (252) 202-2375 or hvandermyde@gmail.com.

Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty Names the Brad Beacham Group the Top Producing Team of the Kitty Hawk Location The Brad Beacham Group is the firm’s Top Producing Team for the Kitty Hawk location. Brad Beacham, along with team member Cameron Mast Griggs, led the way in sales volume for the first half of 2019. “Our priority is to consistently provide quality service and results to our buyer and seller clients,” says Brad. Brad can be reached at (252) 202-6920 or brad@bradbeacham.com.

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Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty Names John Leatherwood the Top Producing Agent Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty congratulates John Leatherwood on earning the firm’s Top Producing Agent of the firm award. This award is based on his individual closed sales volume for the period of January 1, 2019 through June 30, 2019. “Outstanding, prompt, courteous and a great communicator,” is how one of his five-star reviews describes John “The Sandman” Leatherwood. John can be reached at (252) 202-3834 or john@sandmanteamobx.com.

Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty Welcomes Veda Peters to the Firm Veda Peters has joined the Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty sales team at the Kitty Hawk location. Licensed for more than 10 years and the owner of the Cypress House Inn B&B on Virginia Dare Trail in Kill Devil Hills, Veda has a background in property management and is looking forward to focusing on sales. Veda can be reached at (252) 441-6127 or veda@cbseaside.com.

Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty Welcomes Stephanie Rawls to the Firm Stephanie Rawls has joined the Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty sales team at the Kitty Hawk location. She is a native of Martin County with more than 20 years in the healthcare field as a radiologic and computed tomography technologist. Stephanie recently completed the Coldwell Banker Smart Home Technology Course, and she can be reached at (252) 799-8800 or stephanie@cbseaside.com.

Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty Announces New Location in Elizabeth City Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty recently celebrated a ribbon cutting at a new location in Elizabeth City at 314 S. Hughes Boulevard. “Our new location has much more visibility and will allow us to grow our office and our presence in the Elizabeth City market,” says Pamela Smith, vice president of sales. The office can be reached at (252) 384-0566.

Howard Hanna Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, Inc. welcomes Scott Johnson to the Outer Banks team. Scott, a seasoned real estate professional, has worked in a variety of real estate markets all over the country and has consulted for a large resort developer. He has practiced real estate in the coastal Carolinas for more than 15 years, and his experience and work ethic are a testament to his dedication to his clients. Scott can be reached at (252) 305-1941 or scottjohnson@howardhanna.com.

Sun Realty Sun Realty Announces Agents of the Month for the Second Quarter of 2019 The M&M Team of Madonna and Michael VanCuren earned top honors for April. The M&M Team specializes in old-fashioned service and commitment to their clients. This team works out of the Kill Devil Hills office and has earned Sun Realty’s Agent of the Year award 13 times. For great service and hard-working agents, contact the M&M Team at (252) 202-6702.

The May Agent of the Month for Sun Realty was Carol Perry. Carol works out of the Sun Realty Duck office and has more than 13 years of experience as a real estate broker. She specializes in waterfront properties. If you’re interested in buying or selling on the water, call Carol at (252) 261-4183.

The Sun Realty Agent of the Month for June was Paul Sabadash.

Working out of the Corolla Sun Realty office, Paul has made the Outer Banks his home since 1988. He specializes in beach community lifestyles and investments. If you’re looking to invest in the Outer Banks, call Paul at (252) 453-8811.

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FIVE FACTS

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F

rom cornbread to collard greens, there are a number of typical Southern dishes that even those in the farthest northern climes have enjoyed. But with a variety of influences that can vary widely by region, Southern cuisine is also multifaceted and dynamic…so chances are that at least a few traditional staples haven’t made everyone’s gastronomical list quite yet.

Whether these recipes seem slightly funny or familiar, they’re worth a taste – or 10. After all, comfort cooking is what the South is all about.

Photos by Candace Owens Compiled by Amelia Boldaji Food styled by Chef Dan Lewis

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FOOD & BEVERAGE

Pickles and watermelon are both super Southern foods separately. Together, they’re a powerhouse.

1 5-pound watermelon, yielding approximately 2 lbs of rind

2 cups water

1 cup sugar

bowl or jar, and pour the pickling liquid over the rinds until

½ cup kosher salt

4-5 slices ginger root

2 cups rice vinegar

1 jalapeno, sliced

will keep for up to a month if properly refrigerated.

2 tablespoons pickling spice 3 pieces star anise, whole

Cut and scoop out the melon, leaving a sliver of red flesh on the rind. Peel the outer skin off with a vegetable peeler, and cut the rind into 3-inch by ½-inch wedges like pickles.

Bring all other ingredients to a boil. Place the rinds in a glass covered. Refrigerate overnight before serving. Pickled rinds

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Salty and savory, these crackers

1 sleeve saltine or club crackers

Preheat oven to 250 degrees, and lay the crackers out on a

are the ultimate Southern finger

1 lb thin-sliced bacon

sugar, and on the other half, place a pinch (or more) of

foods – the only problem might

½ cup brown sugar

Parmesan cheese. Carefully wrap each cracker with a slice of

½ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

bacon, placing the ends of each bacon strip on the bottom

be keeping your hands off them.

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baking sheet. On half the crackers, place a pinch of brown

side of the cracker. Bake at 250 degrees for two hours.

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2 ½ cups pretzels, crushed

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a food processor, pulse pretzels to grind

Not actually a salad – but

3 tablespoons brown sugar

into coarse crumbs, then add sugar and melted butter. Press the mixture

¾ cup butter, melted

into a lightly coated 9x13-inch pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes, then let cool

not necessarily meant to

1 6-oz box instant strawberry Jell-O

be saved for dessert either – this classic Southern potluck dish instantly brightens up any table.

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1 10-oz package frozen strawberries, sliced 1 8-oz package cream cheese ½ cup sugar

completely.

Prepare the Jell-O according to package directions, and mix in the frozen strawberries. Let refrigerate for about an hour until it’s beginning to set.

Beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla extract until light and creamy, then fold in the Cool Whip. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the pretzel

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

crust and spread evenly all the way to the edges of the pan. Top with Jell-O,

1 8-oz container of Cool Whip

and refrigerate for at least three hours or until completely set.

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FOUR IF BY SEA

Little Fish. Big Pond. Full Moon.

B Y A MA N DA M C DA N E L

A

s we enter into every parent’s favorite time of year, I like to reflect back on the excitement of the first day of school. Between moving three times as a young child, to attending college and then graduate school several years later, I’ve had many interesting first day of school moments – but one in particular will forever be the most memorable.

Virginia Tech was only about an hour and a half away from my hometown, but moving into a rundown dorm room made me feel oceans apart. I had become a grown-up. I could eat pizza for every meal. I could stay up way too late watching movies and drinking Mountain Dew. I had my own mini-fridge, damn it!

For all these reasons and many more, I opted out of the orientation tour. I didn’t want to be grouped in with a bunch of clueless young adults who were accompanying their parents around campus just to learn the library’s hours of operation and where the traditional Hokie Stone originated. With even more of a puffed-up chest, I rebelled against the idea of accompanying my fellow dormmates to locate the appropriate buildings for our classes the following day, much less do a practice walk through of said buildings. How hard could it really be?

The following day, I woke up early for my 10 a.m. class, ate breakfast, showered in the communal hall and carefully went about selecting my first day of college outfit. It was August, and Blacksburg, Va., is located in a valley with very little breeze, so I decided on a short black polka-dotted dress with a cute floral print. With its collar and short sleeves, I deemed it adult, yet appropriate – even if it was slightly on the shorter side. I then loaded my backpack with assorted notebooks and textbook tomes, adjusted the two straps across my shoulders, and went off to conquer adulthood.

As I started out on my journey about 30 minutes before the start of class – with what should have been plenty of time to scope out the building and arrive in time – I passed by a few fellow students. I gave them a shy smile and continued on, while making a mental note that wooden clogs were probably not the best choice of footwear for a 2,600-acre campus.

Once I reached the general area where I thought my class building was located (based on a map I had briefly glanced at the night before), I noticed even more people turning their heads in my direction as I somewhat blindly made my way to Derring Hall. Feeling a swell of pride, I thought about how seamlessly I fit in with my more seasoned classmates instead 68

FALL 2019

of stumbling along looking at a map with a flashing sign over my head that read “Freshman!” I was even catching the eyes of my handsome older classmates! It was going to be a very good year.

About 20 minutes later, though, I was properly confused. I thought I was in the general area of Derring Hall, but I couldn’t find a single sign indicating I was in the right place. I wandered in and out of several buildings, rubbing elbows with throngs of people who were talking, laughing, catcalling and rushing into their respective classes – many of whom paused to look my way.

Nervous and starting to panic, I finally pulled out my map in the dark hallway of a building, because I knew class was starting in the next five minutes and I had no idea where I was.

I heard laughter echoing down the halls, and it only reminded me that I was now easily identifiable as a newbie on the scene. In desperation, I wandered outside once again and found an older student in a Led Zeppelin cap leaning against a railing as he finished a cigarette before class.

“Excuse me!” I called out. “Do you know where Derring Hall is?”

He chuckled and pointed toward the building I had just exited. I quickly turned around, embarrassed to have asked, when I heard him tentatively say, “Um, miss? Uh, um...your dress…uh….”

I looked back as his eyes darted to the ground, and I reached my hand out to feel the damp sweat of my fully exposed right butt cheek. Apparently, walking half a mile in a short dress with an overweight backpack can cause a significant amount of fabric to inch up in an undignified way. Turning heads indeed.

With tears of embarrassment, I tugged my dress down, and ran as quickly as I could back into the building. Thoroughly furious with myself for not listening to my dormmates’ advice, I slid into a desk just as the professor walked in. As I pulled out my notebook and pen, grateful for another fresh start, I glanced to my right to find a familiar set of eyes on me as one of my new classmates took off his Led Zeppelin cap and gave me a wide, knowing grin.

Maybe it wasn’t the best start. But, hey. At least I had made an impression.

Amanda McDanel has lived on the Outer Banks for more than 15 years, is married, has two beautiful daughters and a dog that walks backwards. A collector of the unique and different, she has an MS in Child and Family Development, has taught cooking classes and is a successful entrepreneur.

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69

LIFESTYLE

Photos by Lori Douglas / Story by Chloe Williams

L

ike clockwork, a large taped and stamped yellow envelope regularly arrives at artist and jewelry maker Dawn Vinson’s doorstep in Kitty Hawk. Noticeably crumpled from its two-week-long journey between Portugal and the Outer Banks, the envelope’s contents are the heart of Dawn’s small business…but it’s also a material that’s not necessarily or immediately associated with jewelry.

Wine, maybe. But earrings?

“Typically, when I say I work with cork, people automatically think of wine,” Dawn says with a laugh. “But, no, I don’t make jewelry out of bottle stoppers!’”

Cork oak trees, or Quercus subers, are generally between 25 to 30 years old before they produce a bark quality that’s ready for harvest. In cork oak forests – primarily found in Portugal, Spain, southern France, Italy and North Africa – workers carefully remove the bark from mature trees every nine years in order to make everything from industrial products like insulation and flooring to bulletin boards and buoys.

And in Dawn’s case, cork’s versatility is exactly what makes working with it seem slightly magical.

With sandy-blonde hair and sun-kissed skin, Dawn has a sense of effortless energy as she moves around her home office above her garage. Dozens of bracelets, necklaces and earrings in various stages of production sit on shelves and litter tables and other boxes alongside wedding photos and plush dog toys. A rainbow of cork cords hang from the wall, and thin sheets of cork with a texture reminiscent of suede are draped over a folding laundry hanger in the corner.

“I’ll sometimes have as many as 20 projects going,” Dawn says cheerfully. “But I always know I’ll get it all done.”

Highly creative since childhood, and with an inclination toward design and accessorizing (she spent many years as a teenager beading), Dawn moved to the Outer Banks in 2015 and decided then that it was time to rekindle her hobbies. At her mother’s request, she began making leather bracelets, but the experience reminded her that her day jobs – from medical assistant to receptionist to nanny – just weren’t cutting it.

Finding time to make her jewelry wasn’t easy, but one day Dawn stumbled across sheets of cork while she was shopping for materials online – and what started out as an impulse buy quickly became a passion.

“It’s a sustainable, water-resistant and durable alternative to leather,” Dawn explains, while stressing that the bark harvesting procedure doesn’t only leave the trees

The

that Grows on Trees unharmed, but it can actually help them thrive in the long run. “I started researching it, and I realized I didn’t just want to create with it; I also wanted to educate people and show them what an amazing commodity cork really is.”

A year into making bracelets, Dawn added necklaces and earrings to her inventory as part of a business she calls NautiGirl252. But although sheets of cork can be cut and sewn like fabric, cork also has a chemical makeup similar to honeycomb, which can sometimes make the material prone to ripping – especially with more intricate patterns.

“Two years after starting my business – and at least 1,000 hand-cut earrings later – I finally invested in a laser cutter,” Dawn says. “It was a big, scary purchase, but it lets me upload my designs, and it reseals the chemical bonds as it cuts, giving things a really smooth, strong edge that you can’t get otherwise.”

After sifting through an array of cork, from which she selects a rich purple sheet, Dawn places the material inside the laser cutter. After selecting one of her unique designs that she keeps saved on her computer, she transfers the file with a few taps on the keyboard, and the laser cuts a perfect whale tale in one precise motion.

With ever-increasing sales both locally and as far away as Jerusalem, Dawn’s art is now her fulltime job. And for those familiar with her work, her distinctive metallic hookclasp bracelets and organic-looking earrings – some featuring waves, fish scales and mermaids – aren’t hard to pick out of a crowd. She’s even recently added a men’s selection and a logoed clothing collection – and hopes to eventually expand her business into purses and other accessories.

“I’m easily inspired just by entering a room. It’s the smells, the lighting, the colors,” Dawn says about her highly sensory process. “When I create jewelry, it’s that sense of feeling I’m trying to recreate. It’s simply something I have inside of me.”

Jewelry maker Dawn Vinson displays a few of her distinctively unique designs (top). Sheets of Portuguese cork in a variety of colors and patterns (bottom left). Dawn works on her NautiGirl252 creations out of her home-based office in Kitty Hawk (bottom right).

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NORTH BEACH SUN

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THE LOCAL LIFE

Dave Watson-Wortman

Photo by Cory Godwin Story by Amelia Boldaji

Nags Head Elementary School's OBX Go Far Head Coach IT’S DARE DAY IN DOWNTOWN MANTEO, and hundreds of children, parents,

coaches and other well-wishers are gathering around the start line by the waterfront.

There’s laughter and music as everyone gets ready for the annual OBX Go Far 5K and Fun Run, which celebrates the culmination of another school year – and raises money to support the local nonprofit organization’s mission to prevent childhood obesity through awareness and training.

Even in a crowd like this, it isn’t hard to spot Coach Dave – though getting him to slow down is another matter.

“Be right back,” he calls out as he jogs past on a warm-up run with a group of kids. When they return, he enlists a number of other children to do a couple sets of jumping jacks, and wraps things up with plenty of smiles and shared high-fives.

“You have to be able to see beyond yourself – to go that extra mile, so to speak,” he says later of the program that’s become a driving motivational force in his life over the past several years. “I try to help anywhere I can.”

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Have you always been into running?

I was a runner all through high school, and I was skinny as a rail when I met my wife, Carrie, in 2002. [Laughs] Restaurants were what got me – I was a fry cook for a while in Asheville, and even after we moved here and I got a job at Ace Hardware, there was always food in my pockets. I was bored out of my mind, so I just ate! I got up to 285-290 [pounds], and I fit every bit of that XL – plus some. That next year I started running a little again to get in shape for our wedding, and after we got married, we moved to Manteo. I said to myself, ‘It’s April, it’s springtime, let’s start something new.’ I decided to run for six months, every single morning. It felt good, and at the end of that six months my weight was down to 187.

Did you know you wanted to be a coach with Go Far?

One of my drives was to be a coach, but I had to work on myself first. I was aware of Go Far because our kids were young when we moved here, and it gave our son something to do and a way to meet friends. Carrie started helping out, and

coaching when she could, and in 2012 I ran the Turkey Trot 5K with her [in Duck].

That was my first Go Far race, but my real debut was in 2013 with the Buccaneer 5K. It was an eye-opener, and that’s when I full-on started coaching for Go Far and training for my first marathon. I’ve been the head coach for the Nags Head Elementary School Go Far program since 2014, but it was my son who got me into it, hands down. He’s 18 now, and he’s ran half-marathons with me – he’s even beaten me!

What’s the structure of Go Far?

Go Far deals with trying to fight against childhood obesity, and it’s offered in the elementary and middle schools here [in Dare County]. At Nags Head we have about an hour after school twice a week where we’ll talk about nutrition, do some warm-ups and stretches and then go out for a run or a walk. It starts in September and goes through November, and then starts back up in April until the end of the school year. I had 50 kids this past year, and we’ve had up to 80 at one school.

During practices I can run three to four miles because I’ll weave in between them

– it’s what I call ‘stirring the pot.’ It’s my way to see all the kids, and encourage and motivate them. The most important thing I can do is be there.

How often do you run, and what do you like best about it?

I run a 5K every day with my dog, Boba Fett. On Saturdays I try to take a longer run. I might run too much, but I’m training – and hamsters run every day!

[Laughs] Last year I found out I have osteoarthritis in both my big toes. It hurt, and at first, I got mad. But I ran through the pain, because I just want to be with everyone. I do it for the kids, and it’s so simple because all you’re doing is running with them, talking to them and finding out about their lives. They’re some of the most amazing children, and they watch us. The kinder we are, the kinder they are.

They’re our future.

And sometimes you even run in a kilt?

It’s freeing, and I’m part Scotch-Irish, so it’s in my blood to wear a kilt. [Laughs] Plus, I’m a Libra. I like turning heads.

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NORTH BEACH SUN

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PHOTO BY PIVOT VISUALS

Visit Duck’s favorite spot

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THE

STORE

Sunset Ice Cream

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NORTH BEACH SUN

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FALL 2019