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REAL ESTATE
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FALL / HOLIDAY 2020 8
FROM THE DESK
11 BUT FIRST...
20 PLANTING THE SEEDS Helping those in need with the Peace Garden Project
12 BEACH BRIEFS What's happening all over the beach
22 OUT OF THE WOODS The craftsmanship of Woods Road Furniture
14 NO STOPPING THIS PARADE Winners from the 2020 Parade of Homes
29 AT HOME WITH THE SUN How we shelter in place
16 ICONIC OUTER BANKS Learn more about three OBX mainstays
32 SUN SALUTATIONS 34 FIVE FACTS The Christmas Shop
ABOUT THE COVER: Matt Steed of Woods Road Furniture with a massive custom dining table in his Kitty Hawk shop (photo by Elizabeth Neal). THIS PAGE: Photos courtesy of Elizabeth Neal (top), Cory Godwin (lower right) and Edward Greene (lower left).
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HOMES FOR A LIFETIME
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N O RT H B E ACH SU N | 7
F R O M T H E DE S K
staff PUBLISHERS Adam & Cathy Baldwin EDITOR Amelia Boldaji
Tiny new beginnings: This past August, North Beach Sun editor Amelia Boldaji and her partner, Dan Lewis, welcomed the birth of their son, Oliver David Boldaji Lewis. Photo by Elizabeth Neal.
It’s all in the little things. WRITING THIS LETTER IS ONE OF THE LAST (AND OFTEN HARDEST) THINGS WE
– and the task has felt even more difficult recently as our normal rhythms have been disrupted and our collective schedules have been thrown into some disarray. But here’s the funny thing. When we really think about it, this letter is also one of the smallest pieces we have to string together in the larger, complex business of making a magazine come to life. It’s a way to say hello, introduce the pages in your hands, and perhaps reflect somewhat on how this particular process has differed from others – all in maybe a few hundred words. And there’s the rub. Writing this letter is vastly more lifelike than any of the other assignments we can come up with. It’s often challengingly personal, and heartfelt, and it always holds the possibility of spinning off in a million directions. It’s complicated, and it’s messy. And while you’re likely reading this as the introduction it’s intended to be, to us, it’s more of a postscript. So how exactly do you sum up the complete whole of any project, especially when that project hits so close to home? Over the past few months we’ve worked with dozens of writers, photographers and other contributors to assemble the pages in your hands right now – but, like many, we haven’t necessarily done so by clocking in and out of a certain work space at a specific time. Instead, we’ve stolen hours – and sometimes minutes – in order to cobble together the enormous space it takes to generate a magazine that hopefully reflects the interesting, thoughtful and overwhelmingly passionate community we live in. And we’ve also spent more time than usual in our yards and living rooms, coaching our children through online school assignments, and even welcoming the birth of a new member of the Sun family this past August. In short, we’ve embraced a lot of change, even when it’s felt a bit chaotic. We’ve learned to look forward without getting too far ahead of ourselves. And we’ve spent as much time as possible celebrating some pretty shining moments of peace and togetherness – all while recognizing the fact that it’s the little things which often add up to make the biggest difference. As always, we hope you enjoy this issue…and that your holiday season (and beyond) is full of light! DO WHEN WE’RE PRODUCING A NEW ISSUE
ART DIRECTOR Dave Rollins GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Adam Baldwin Dylan Bush WRITERS Cathy Baldwin Amelia Boldaji Steve Hanf Catherine Kozak Katrina Mae Leuzinger Arabella Saunders PHOTOGRAPHERS Cory Godwin Ryan Moser Elizabeth Neal SALES MANAGER Helen Furr ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Faith Turek DISTRIBUTOR Aaron Caswell
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 115 West Meadowlark St. Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948
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8 | FA L L/H O L I DAY 2020
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celebrating over YEARS
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A NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft inspects the eyewall of Hurricane Katrina. Photo courtesy of NOAA.
but first... What’s in a name? GUESSING THE TRAJECTORY
during the annual Atlantic hurricane season isn’t easy, but the meteorological task isn’t anything new – and neither are the names of the storms bantered about on national news from June through November. OF A STORM
For hundreds of years most people only bothered naming cyclones that were particularly destructive, and they often bore a moniker related to their geographic location or a certain time period. That began to change around World War II when United States Navy and Air Force meteorologists started an informal convention of naming hurricanes after their wives or other female love interests. By 1953 both the National Weather Service and the World
Meteorological Organization formally adopted the gendered naming convention as well, and that labeling system stuck until 1979 when male names were added to the lineup. Today, the National Hurricane Center uses six consecutive lists that are repeated every six years – with individual names only being retired if a storm causes excessive damage (think Hurricane Katrina in 2005 or Sandy in 2012). Though it’s only happened twice in the NHC’s history, the Greek alphabet is also used as backup in the event that a prescribed list is exhausted during a single season – as evidenced by the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, which famously reported the most named storms in recorded history.
The thrill of the hunt
researchers haven’t just tracked the formation of tropical cyclones at sea – they’ve flown straight into them. Known more commonly as Hurricane Hunters, the two organizations responsible for these manned flights are the United States Air Force Reserve’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron in Biloxi, Mississippi, and pilots based at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Aircraft Operations Center in Florida.
FOR MORE THAN 70 YEARS,
But even as these missions have become impressively sophisticated over the years, the very first manned flight into the eye of a hurricane was actually done on a dare. In July of 1943, Colonel Joseph Duckworth flew a trainer aircraft directly through a hurricane churning off the Texas coast in order to prove that it could be done – an impromptu experiment that paved the way for decades worth of invaluable meteorological data gathering.
Ophelia 2005
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
A few of the notable hurricanes that have impacted the Outer Banks since 1985
Gloria
Emily
1985
1993
Max Wind: 144 mph Landfall: Hatteras Category 2 at landfall with a 6–8 ft storm surge and 104 mph winds
Max Wind: 115 mph Never made landfall Reached category 3 off of coast, estimated $12 million in damages
Kate 1985
Max Wind: 123 mph Landfall: Florida Tropical storm when arrived in NC with 52 mph winds
Bob 1991
Max Wind: 115 mph Landfall: Rhode Island Reached category 3 off of NC coast
Bonnie 1998
Max Wind: 115 mph Landfall: Cape Fear Category 3 at landfall 6-8 ft storm surge
Bertha
Earl
1996
1998
Max Wind: 115 mph Landfall: Topsail Beach Category 2 at landfall with 104 mph winds and a 5-ft storm surge
Max Wind: 98 mph Landfall: Florida Tropical storm when reached NC
Fran 1996
Max wind: 121 mph Landfall: Cape Fear Category 3 at landfall with 115 mph winds and an 8-12 ft storm surge
Dennis 1999
Max Wind: 104 mph Landfall: Dare County Tropical storm at landfall 69 mph winds, estimated $10 million in damages
Floyd 1999
Max Wind: 155 mph Landfall: Topsail Island Category 2 at landfall with 109 mph winds
Isabel 2003
Max Wind: 160 mph Landfall: Drum Inlet Category 2 at landfall, 6–10 ft storm surge, created breech in island between Frisco and Hatteras Village, estimated $400 million in damages
Alex 2004
Max Wind: 120 mph Western portion of the category 2 eyewall passed over the Outer Banks Caused flooding damage to cars and homes, estimated $2.4 million in damages
Max Wind: 85 mph Landfall: Nova Scotia Passed NC coast as a tropical storm
Earl 2010
Max Wind: 145 mph Landfall: Nova Scotia Passed 100 miles off of the NC coast, estimated $500,000 in damages
Irene 2011
Max Wind: 120 mph Landfall: Just south of the Outer Banks Significant flooding, estimated $54 million in damages
Sandy 2012
Max Wind: 70 mph Landfall: Cuba & New Jersey Significant road damage to NC 12, estimated $13 million in damages
Florence
Arthur
2018
2014
Max Wind: 101 mph Landfall: between Cape Lookout and Beaufort Category 2 at landfall
Hermine 2016
Max Wind: 73 mph Landfall: Florida Category 1 with tropical sustained winds, estimated $5.4 million in damages
Matthew
Max Wind: 150 mph Landfall: Wrightsville Beach Category 1 at landfall, estimated $17+ billion in statewide damages
Michael 2018
Max Wind: 160 mph Landfall: Florida Tropical storm that moved over inland NC
Dorian 2019
Max Wind: 94 mph Landfall: South Carolina Category 1 at Outer Banks, estimated $1.5 billion in statewide damages
Max Wind: 185 mph Landfall: Hatteras Category 1 at landfall with 101 mph winds, 4-7 feet of storm surge, $14.8 million in damages
Maria
Isaias
2017
2020
Max Wind: 75 mph Landfall: Puerto Rico Category 1 as it passed offshore NC
Max Wind: 85 mph Landfall: Ocean Isle Beach Category 1 at landfall
2016
N O RT H B E ACH SU N | 11
R E A L E STAT E
beach briefs What’s happening in your town? Here’s a report from all over the Outer Banks. . Real Estate Through the Roof
Numbers on the Rise
One unanticipated outcome of the Covid-19 impacts on the Outer Banks has been the stunning spike in demand for real estate. The boom is consistent with a national trend of people seeking a haven from the virus, whether temporarily or year-round, that is perceived as safe and less crowded.
During a time when getting outdoors has become an increased priority, visitation at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore has been record breaking. In July alone, there were 451,849 recreational visits, according to the National Park Service – an increase of three percent over last year, and the highest number since July 2003. In addition to this, camping was so popular that park service campgrounds at Ocracoke and Oregon Inlet plan to remain open through the winter season.
According to the August 2020 MLS Statistical Report from the Outer Banks Association of Realtors, sales records were broken this summer, and inventory was “shockingly low.” Residential sales were up 23 percent over the previous year, inventory was down 52 percent and properties under contract were up 127 percent in August, according to the report. “We haven’t seen this level of activity since the MLS started tracking this data in 2005,” the report stated. In other eye-popping numbers, the median sale price for residential homes shot up 32 percent over August 2019, and the number of land/lot sales jumped from 39 last year to 76 this August, a 95 percent increase. Year-to-date, the number of building permits increased from 112 last August, to 145 in August 2020. Planning for 2021 Even as Governor Cooper loosened state safety restrictions in October, including social distancing restraints, mask-wearing requirements and occupation limits indoors, a return to business-as-usual is still in the works. A number of local fall events have been postponed until 2021, and others may also be canceled at the last moment, so checking directly with event organizers ahead of time is recommended. September through November 2020: The 2020 Duck Jazz Festival, the Day at the Docks in Hatteras Village, the OBX Jeep Jam, the Outer Banks Seafood Festival, OBX Brewtag, the Mustang Rock & Roast music festival, the Wings Over Water festival, Blackbeard’s Pirate Jamboree, Festival Latino de Ocracoke and the Outer Banks Food Truck Showdown were canceled as of press time. Forthcoming details about the return of these events in 2021 can be found on their respective websites. 12 | FA L L/H O L I DAY 2020
Occupancy taxes were also up 37 percent in July, according to the Outer Banks Visitors’ Bureau. Meal taxes were down 21 percent with restaurants limited to take-out or curb-side pickup and limited indoor occupancy, but losses were not as severe as people had initially anticipated – and when new numbers are released, they’re expected to be impressive. With many people still working and going to school virtually, most businesses on the Outer Banks are anticipating plenty of visitors throughout November and maybe even well into December. Saving the High Seas The White House announced in September that the North Carolina coast would be included in a 10-year moratorium on offshore oil drilling and exploration, and later agreed to add seismic testing to that moratorium. Seismic testing, which can be harmful to marine life, especially whales, is done prior to oil projects in order to determine the location and extent of fossil fuel deposits in the ocean. The president had earlier put the moratorium on the Atlantic Coast from South Carolina to Florida, before consenting to add the Virginia and North Carolina coasts. Looking Forward to the Future Demolition of the old College of The Albemarle building on Roanoke Island – which was also once the old Manteo High School and Manteo Middle School building – began this past September. The modern updated building is expected to be completed by February 2022 as a two-story facility that will offer programs in a number of fields, including the sciences, public safety, hospitality, mechanics and early childhood education, among others.
COMPILED BY C ATH ERI N E KOZ AK
Our Virtual World In the wake of a slew of cancellations of numerous beloved 2020 spring and summer events, including The Lost Colony play, the Mustang Spring Jam and the Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival, local event planners have also had to adjust their schedules for the fall and beyond. In response, a number of events were moved online to be enjoyed virtually. Theatre of Dare plans to launch its 30th season with a livestream reading done by local actors of Mercury Radio Theatre’s Dracula for three performances from October 29-31, plus a reinterpretation of the classic tale called Draculescu on Halloween night. A Christmas variety show is also planned for the holiday season, with more details to come on their Facebook page. The 37th Nags Head Woods 5K will be a virtual race, with runners invited to participate through December 31, 2020. The race is usually held on Mother’s Day weekend, but organizers with the North Banks Rotary Club opted for an online event that allows racers to run the 5K from their location anywhere in the world – including the actual course in Nags Head Woods – and post their time on the race results page at nagsheadwood5krun.org. Proceeds from the race will benefit the Interfaith Community Outreach, a local charitable nonprofit organization. Organizers with the Outer Banks Sporting Events have decided to hold the annual Outer Banks Marathon weekend in November virtually. The Veteran’s Day weekend events include the marathon, a 5 and 8K, the Southern Fried Half Marathon, and the Southern Six and Fun Run. Updates and details on all the weekend races will be provided online at obxse.com.
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R E A L E STAT E
No Stopping This
Parade THIS PAST OCTOBER, the Outer Banks Homebuilders’ Association premiered the 28th annual Parade of Homes – a much-anticipated event that went virtual for the first time ever. Featuring 20 new and renovated homes from Corolla to Hatteras Island and mainland Currituck, each entry includes an interactive floorplan and 3D views of the property that is available to view on the Homebuilders’ Association’s website for the next year.
In keeping with the association’s commitment to our local community, tickets aren’t necessary this year, but a donation to a local food bank is requested – and we’d like to extend huge congratulations to all of the 2020 contestants for their innovative work!
2020 People’s Choice Award Winners Coastal Cottage Contracting, LLC Compass Edge Construction, Inc. Griggs & Co. Homes, Inc. SAGA Realty & Construction Sandmark Custom Homes, Inc.
2020 Judges’ Award of Excellence Winners Belvin Built Griggs & Co. Homes, Inc. Mancuso Development Neal Contracting Reliant Construction, LLC SAGA Realty & Construction Sandmark Custom Homes, Inc.
2020 Parade of Homes entrants by SAGA Realty & Construction with interior design done by Coastal Accents & Design (top & middle) and Mancuso Development with interior design by Amy Hilliker Klebitz (bottom). Photos courtesy of Elizabeth Neal.
14 | FA L L/H O L I DAY 2020
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ICONIC OUTER BANKS SEEING IS BELIEVING,
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that it just starts to feel like second nature – and that’s when it’s time for a fresh perspective. From shifting sands to bygone beacons and modern marvels, here are three legendary landmarks like you’ve never seen them before…
F E AT U R E
THE CAPE HATTERAS LIGHTHOUSE
CROWDED HOUSE
Although the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse didn’t receive its famed black-and-white daymark pattern until three years after it was completed a second time in 1870, it’s a monument that’s launched a thousand postcards – and its numbers add up to make it more than just a pretty face.
NO LIGHT WEIGHT
SPEED DEMON When its famous move was completed in July 1999, the lighthouse had travelled 2,900 feet over the course of 23 days. That’s good for an average speed of 0.001 mph.
FT 0 290
FAMOUS FRIENDS At an official height of 198.49 feet, the lighthouse nearly passes some other well-known international landmarks in terms of height.
185FT
HIT THE BRICKS It is unknown exactly how many bricks make up the structure, which is the tallest brick lighthouse in the country. However, 1,250,000 bricks were ordered for its construction, and manufactured on the James River in Virginia.
189FT
198FT
160FT
ARC DE TRIOMPHE
Paris, France
In 2019, the lighthouse welcomed nearly 99,000 climbers. That’s roughly equivalent to a full crowd at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
LEANING TOWER OF PISA Pisa, Italy
There are 269 steps up to the lens room. These are broken up into nine flights of steps. Each flight weighs about 5,000 pounds, as much as a large black rhinoceros.
LIGHTING UP THE PACIFIC The original lighthouse was deactivated in 1870 before being replaced by the current structure. In 1871, the first order Fresnel lens from the original was shipped across the country and installed in the lighthouse at Pigeon Point, California, south of San Francisco.
CINDERELLA’S CAPE HATTERAS CASTLE LIGHTHOUSE Orlando, FL
Buxton, NC
N O RT H B E ACH SU N | 17
OREGON INLET FISHING CENTER
THE MARC BASNIGHT BRIDGE
CHOO CHOO!
It was a race to the finish, but the Marc Basnight Bridge opened to traffic only three years after ground was broken on the project in 2016. As a replacement for the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge, which opened in 1963, it became the second Oregon Inlet bridge named after a former state legislator – and its engineering prowess is just as impressive as its illustrious namesake.
$
$$
A GOOD DEAL
With a cost of $252,000,000, the bridge is certainly pricey, but it was actually built for over 25 million dollars less than the NCDOT’s initial cost estimate.
UNOBSTRUCTED VIEWS
JOCKEY’S RIDGE STATE PARK
At a height of more than 60 feet, Jockey’s Ridge is about as tall as a six-story building. Once at the top, you’ll always be looking out over rooftops, as the building code in the town of Nags Head doesn’t allow for buildings taller than 42 feet.
The sands of time have been good to the Atlantic coast’s tallest living sand dune. Though it was once part of a back-barrier dune system that stretched to False Cape, Virginia, Jockey’s Ridge is still a National Natural Landmark that covers a majestic 426 acres – and it’s got plenty of stats to prove its might.
DRY SAND
WET SAND
WATER TABLE 18 | FA L L/H O L I DAY 2020
While the bridge’s 2.8-mile length is impressive, long-haul freight trains in the U.S. and Canada have begun operating at that length (and longer). Imagine being stuck at a crossing waiting for a train the length of the Basnight Bridge to slowly pass.
UP AND AWAY On a good day, a hang glider at Jockey’s Ridge will travel a couple of hundred feet. In 2012 in Zapata, Texas, the current world record for distance travelled by hang glider was set at 475 miles!
STAYING IN SHAPE What keeps the dunes from just blowing away? The sands at Jockey’s Ridge act like a massive sponge, pulling water up from the water table. Only about the top six inches dry out, allowing the wet sand beneath to hold its shape for longer.
LONG LIFE The old Bonner Bridge outlived its planned 30-year lifespan by more than 20 years. The Basnight Bridge is the first bridge in the state designed to last 100 years.
BOOMING POPULATION More than 2 million people cross Oregon Inlet annually. If those travelers represented a city, it would be the 5th largest in the country (somewhere between Houston and Phoenix).
DON’T GET ANY IDEAS
FE B
25 2119
The signature elements of the bridge are its nine 350-foot wide spans, constructed from hollow concrete box girders. With a wingspan of 225 feet, a 747 would be able to pass beneath a span with room to spare.
OREGON INLET
PEA ISLAND N AT I O N A L W I L D L I F E REFUGE
NOT GOING ANYWHERE Erosion is a constant problem at Oregon Inlet, where shifiting sands were a problem for the Bonner Bridge due to its single channel and shorter pilings. The Basnight Bridge was designed and engineered using erosion simulations based on 100,000 storms dating back 160 years. Its pilings can handle erosion to a depth of 84 feet.
THE OLDEST LOCAL
The dunes are estimated to have formed between 3,000-4,000 years ago. That means sand would have started collecting when woolly mammoths roamed the Earth, and the finishing touches were being put on Stonehenge.
STANDING UP FOR THE DUNES There might not be a Jockey’s Ridge State Park if not for the efforts of Carolista Baum, who famously stood in the way of a developer’s bulldozer to halt construction on the site in 1973.
WORD OF THE DAY
The three peaks at the park are known as médanos, which are collections of shifting sand that lack vegetation.
SHIFTING SANDS
On average, Jockey’s Ridge moves about six feet per year. After a couple years of increased movement towards Soundside Road along the park’s southern boundary, crews recently relocated about 200,000 tons of sand to the northern end of the park. N O RT H B E ACH SU N | 19
FOLKS
See Planting the
2 0 | FA L L/H O L I DAY 2020
After successfully creating a program to deliver fresh local produce to New Yorkers in need, one Manteo native is bringing her project home to Roanoke Island. PHOTO BY CORY GODWIN / STORY BY ARABELLA SAUNDERS
On
an early autumn afternoon in 2013, Only a year later, Michelle and her team had tripled the Michelle Lewis walked into a Social amount of beds in the garden. Services office near New Haven, And the story didn’t end there. In 2018, Michelle moved Connecticut. Michelle – 31 at the time back home to Manteo to help take care of her mother. She and a graduate student at Yale University – was having a hard still maintained her role as executive director of the Peace time putting food on the table. Garden Project as well, and helped the organization grow from “I was the proverbial broke grad student and someone a distance. She also began scoping out places to establish the asked, ‘Why don’t you try to get public assistance?’” Michelle project on the Outer Banks. says. “I wasn’t thrilled about it, but I was like, okay, I’ll go.” After a bit of time, that search proved fruitful – and this past But Michelle left the office that day feeling confused, April, the Peace Garden Project officially opened on Roanoke frustrated and a little shocked. An employee informed her Island. The organization currently maintains three gardens that her monthly earnings were $50 too much to qualify for in Manteo, with the largest one on Fannin Mill Road. There, assistance. Their suggestions? Work fewer hours – or have a Michelle and a team of community volunteers grow pole beans, baby. sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, watermelon, okra, basil and more. Michelle took neither option. With help from her family, she From the beginning, Michelle set up harvest days where was able to feed herself and graduate with a master’s degree volunteers picked and packaged food from the gardens for later that year. community members to pick up free of charge. This past Seven years later, Michelle stands in a greenhouse in her summer, in addition to harvest days, the organization teamed up hometown of Manteo, watering a spider plant and musing with Farmers to Families – a program sponsored by the United about how that experience never left her mind – and how it States Department of Agriculture – to give away additional inspired her to found the Peace Garden Project. boxes of fresh produce. The Peace Garden Project is now a All told, the Peace Garden Project has 501c3 nonprofit with a mission to promote distributed more than 37,000 pounds of community understanding and combat fresh food to the Outer Banks community All told, the Peace Garden food insecurity by providing spaces for over the past two and a half months. people to grow and receive fresh, free “We don’t make people prove their Project has distributed more produce. Unlike traditional community poverty,” Michelle says about the way the than 37,000 pounds of fresh gardens where each plot is maintained by a program works. “People don’t have to fill food to the Outer Banks specific individual or family, with the Peace out paperwork, and they don’t have to community over the past two Garden Project, everyone works the land justify to us why they’re there – because together at locations in New York and on you never know an individual’s situation or and a half months. Roanoke Island. circumstance.” But getting to that point with the The organization also hosts a Youth project wasn’t exactly a straight line. Following her graduation Leadership Institute for K-12 students that helps the kids get from Yale, Michelle initially moved to the Catskills to pastor at a involved in combating local food insecurity while also learning church. Upon arrival, she learned that the church owned dozens valuable skills both in and outside of the gardens. This past of acres of land that was lying fallow and racking up expensive summer 12 students participated in a seven-week camp led landscaping fees. She suggested building a garden, but was by Michelle and two interns from Duke Divinity School. The unsuccessful after members of the congregation expressed institute met six to nine hours a week, and participants received concerns about the produce potentially being stolen. $600 to $800 stipends and new Chromebooks thanks to a Michelle gracefully accepted defeat, but like the afternoon grant from The Conservation Fund. at the social services office, the experience stuck with her. Looking ahead, Michelle’s long-term goal for the Peace Shortly thereafter, she applied and was accepted to the Harvard Garden Project is to expand it across the East Coast, with Kennedy School for Executive Education with plans to develop self-sustaining chapters that are able to meet the specific needs a project that combatted food insecurity. of the communities they’re serving. “The program focused on organizing people around a In the short term, Michelle would like to expand the Roanoke common theme and learning to tell your story – so that when Island Peace Garden Project by adding new gardens in Manteo. you tell that story people understand what your vision is,” She’s also in the process of developing a buy-a-box, give-a-box Michelle explains. program, and she hopes to run more youth programs going By 2016, Michelle had moved to New Rochelle, New York. forward. Once there, she discovered a long-forgotten garden across “There’s all these ways that we try to put people in groups the street from the church she worked. This time, her plans or boxes, but at the end of the day we all have the same basic for a community garden fell into place. Months later, the Peace needs and desires,” Michelle says. “That’s one of the main points Garden Project was founded with only six raised garden beds we try to drive home with the Peace Garden Project – and that’s and a handful of volunteers. why all people are welcome in our spaces.”
eeds
As founder of the Peace Garden Project, Manteo resident Michelle Lewis recently teamed up with Farmers to Families in order to distribute fresh, free boxes of produce to those in need. N O RT H B E ACH SU N | 21
Matt Steed with a luxury custom dining room chair in his Woods Road Furniture shop. Photo by Elizabeth Neal.
FOLKS
Precision crafting with Kitty Hawk’s Woods Road Furniture
BY STEVE HANF
As
OUT OF THE
2 2 | FA L L/H O L I DAY 2020
the action unfolds on the television screen, Matt Steed’s eyes are drawn to a shapely leg – or, seconds later, an alluring chest. Captivated by the beauty before him, Matt presses pause on the remote. “My wife will be like, ‘You just saw a piece of furniture in the background, didn’t you?’” Matt says with a laugh. “And I’ll say, ‘Oh, yeah. Hold on, I’ve gotta go back and take a picture of it.’” You can almost picture Leah rolling her eyes as she waits for their movie to resume, but Matt can’t help himself. Making furniture, and channeling the artistry behind it, is in his blood. “I’ll get all these ideas, and I keep a catalog of things that I want to make,” he says. “Then, when someone comes in, I’ll start pitching ideas, and if something sticks, that’s cool – next, we’ll try to make it our own.” Matt runs Woods Road Furniture out of the same shop where his dad, Glenn, turned Harmony Cabinets into a household name during decades of building on the Outer Banks from the mid-‘80s until 2015. A photo in Matt’s office shows him with his father outside the shop just off the bypass in Kitty Hawk. Now 40, Matt fondly recalls those early days in the family business as a five-year-old. “The first thing I did was check the trash cans to see if there was enough of any one material to make anything, because my dad didn’t want me to use fresh stuff,” Matt says. “I’d just start screwing little pieces of wood together,
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From tables to chairs and everything in between, Matt’s custom works of art can be found in homes and businesses all over the beach. Photos courtesy of Leah and Matt Steed.
2 4 | FA L L/H O L I DAY 2020
trying to make a side table or something. I wish I’d saved some of that!” He also remembers his dad letting him know when he was doing something wrong – but mostly, Matt just kept watching and learning. Between his father and Skip Haynes, a longtime Harmony employee, the two men were instrumental in teaching Matt how to use the tools of the trade. Eventually, Matt worked his way up to building things such as skateboard ramps and smaller pieces of furniture for personal use. And at hundreds of job sites up and down the beach, he watched his father install cabinet after cabinet. “I never really thought I was going to do anything other than cabinets,” Matt says about his early career path. But there was just one small problem. “I hated building cabinets,” he admits with a laugh. “To me, it felt like making a box over and over again.” Instead, Matt dabbled in furniture-making as a hobby in his 20s. He also gave wood flooring a shot for a year, before realizing he disliked that even more than building cabinets. Then, after they got married, Leah encouraged him to build some furniture for their own house, and Matt gradually found himself designing tables.
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Matt works inside his Kitty Hawk Woods Road shop – the same space his father ran Harmony Cabinets for decades while Matt was growing up (left, photo by Elizabeth Neal). Other examples of Matt’s unique take on furniture that’s unmistakably artistic (above, photos courtesy of Leah and Matt Steed).
Fast-forward to today, and chances are you’ve sat at one of his works of art. In addition to providing massive dining room tables to accommodate huge beach houses, he’s also done custom pieces for restaurants such as Steamers, Mako’s and the Outer Banks Brewing Station. So how cool is it to sit at one of his own tables when he goes out to eat? Meh, maybe more like “stressful.” “I tend to sit there and pick them apart; I’m never really satisfied,” Matt explains. “I can have a lot of anxiety about making furniture – and I need to make them just right so I don’t get that anxiety.” That goal of expert craftsmanship came from his dad. And Matt developed his artistic eye thanks to his mom, Alta, an artist and former art teacher. “I always appreciated how she pulled creativity out of her students when she taught art lessons,” Matt says. “Her approach was to say, ‘Sometimes this needs to be practical, but it can also be very beautiful.’ There’s a lot of 2 6 | FA L L/H O L I DAY 2020
stuff in furniture that’s creative – but a casual person walking by might not see that right away.” That happens to be the case when it comes to one of Matt’s most recent projects: designing and hand crafting dining room chairs for a client who liked what he built for her beach house so much that she commissioned him to do some pieces for her Chicago home. To the untrained eye, they might simply be considered attractive chairs. But the craftsmanship involved in getting the curve of the legs and the back support just right can take hundreds of hours. In some pieces, though, the artistry is impossible to miss. Over the past couple of years, Matt’s enjoyed working with epoxy in order to make tables and other functional items with brilliant splashes of color. It can be challenging and time consuming, but seeing a dining room table crafted with a couple slabs of sycamore and a river of jet-black epoxy makes for a great conversation starter over dinner.
Raw materials litter his shop as well, including everything from giant tree rings to walnut – his favorite wood to use – plus odds and ends he stumbles across online or that people have gifted him. His current dining room table is made from wood he found in East Lake. Other examples of his work showcase materials such as red oak and poplars from the Raleigh area. For Matt, the variety only adds another dimension of depth and character to each and every piece. And as much fun as it is getting a giant table to the third floor of a beach house, Matt and his crew have also pivoted toward making smaller pieces in recent years – things such as side tables, bunk beds and even a bookcase for a pilot that is an unmistakable nod to the original 1903 Wright Flyer. “I’m still trying to develop my own style,” Matt explains. “Whenever someone comes in and they don’t know what they want exactly, usually it’s just blind faith that we’re going to make them something nice – and it’s fun because I’ve been doing this long enough now that people just trust me.”
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amelia boldaji editor
AT HOME WITH THE
SUN Home is where we eat, play, study, work and dream…and for the first time ever, we invite you
Between writing, revising and reading, Amelia and her partner, Dan Lewis, also welcomed a newborn son this past August. Though it’s led to some sleepless nights, Oliver David Boldaji Lewis reigns supreme everywhere from the nursery to the living room – making Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree the most important book on their shelves.
helen furr sales manager With views like this, there’s virtually no need for a getaway. From helping her twin middle school-aged girls study to juggling a packed planner, there’s not much Helen can’t do on her back porch in Colington Harbour. Making appointments while watching the sunset? Check, and check. And transitioning from coffee to cocktails? You got it.
into the places where we carved out our own personal mini-sanctuaries while putting this issue together over the past few months. Because home may be where the heart is, but these days, it’s also so much more than that.
photos by ryan moser
N O RT H B E ACH SU N | 2 9
cathy baldwin publisher There’s always a lot going on in the Baldwin household, and as mom, publisher and a recently inspired gardener/baker (thanks to the newfound at-home time), Cathy’s often at the epicenter of it all. So if you’re wondering where to find her catching a quiet moment of reflection, just check the alcove in her master bath. It might not seem like much, but it’s the perfect spot for daydreaming about future travels – and taking the odd phone call in peace.
dave rollins art director A little downtime isn’t always that much different from being on the clock, and, for Dave, that means it’s all about putting the pieces together. Which isn’t to imply that jigsaw puzzles don’t help him unplug and relax – it’s just that finding the space for his classic, stuck-at-home hobby requires sharing the dining room table with family-time meals…and his kids’ school-issued Chromebooks. 3 0 | FA L L/H O L I DAY 2020
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R E A L E STAT E
sun salutations Beach Realty & Construction
SAGA Realty & Construction
Beach Realty Recognizes Top Agents
SAGA Realty & Construction Welcomes Rita Rogerson as Contract Administrator and Closing Coordinator
Beach Realty & Construction is pleased to announce the top three producing sales agents year-to-date. Congratulations to Joanne Kepler (Corolla office), Ilona Matteson (Duck office) and Jackson Dixon (Kitty Hawk office). All three agents are consistent top producers and have earned agent of the year honors at Beach Realty. Sales Manager Beth Urch says, “Although these three agents have different styles, they do have a few things in common. All three possess incredible negotiating skills, over the top customer service, and a thorough knowledge of the Outer Banks real estate market.” Beach Realty & Construction is a full-service real estate company offering real estate sales, vacation rentals and new construction and remodeling. For more information, contact salesteam@beachrealtync.com.
Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty Kent Copeland Earns Coldwell Banker International Diamond Society Award Kent Copeland, a sales associate with Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty, has earned membership in the company’s International Diamond Society, a level achieved by only the top 15 percent of all Coldwell Banker sales associates worldwide. Copeland can be reached at (252) 202-2815 or kent@cbseaside.com. Jeff Kluger Earns Coldwell Banker International Diamond Society Award Jeff Kluger, a sales associate with Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty, has earned membership in the company’s International Diamond Society, a level achieved by only the top 15 percent of all Coldwell Banker sales associates worldwide. The award was presented earlier this year at the company’s annual awards ceremony held at the Duck Woods Country Club. Kluger can be reached at (252) 903-1738 or jkluger@cbseaside.com. Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty Welcomes Michael & Heather Huling to the Kill Devil Hills Location Michael and Heather Huling have joined Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty as the Huling Homes OBX Team. Luxury Property Certified and Coldwell Banker Global Luxury agents, they specialize in luxury sales, custom homes and corporate relocation. Michael is the number one Coldwell Banker agent in Virginia and the greater Washington D.C. area and has been with Coldwell Banker since 2007. Having owned a home in Pirate’s Cove for the past 16 years, they are delighted to bring their marketing expertise, negotiation experience and concierge-level service to assist clients on the Outer Banks. Team leader Heather Huling can be reached at (703) 901-7471 or heather@hulinghomes.com. 32 | FA L L/H O L I DAY 2020
SAGA Realty & Construction welcomes Rita Rogerson to the sales team. Rita has more than 18 years of experience in the real estate and construction industry on the Outer Banks and looks forward to using her industry knowledge to support the rapidly growing SAGA sales team. “Providing stellar customer service and direct assistance to the leaders of the SAGA sales department are very important to me,” Rita explains. “I am excited to be at such a forward-thinking company at a time like this.”
Sun Realty Sun Realty Announces Agents of the Month Sun Realty is pleased to congratulate the following Agents of the Month during a busy summer. Becky Rockis took top honors for the month of June. As a fulltime broker with more than seven years of experience, Becky looks forward to guiding clients through the home buying or selling process. Whether you are in the market for a primary residence, second home or investment property, or would like to see what your home may be worth, you can reach Becky at (252) 453-8811. The Willey Real Estate Group, Hugh (Scooter) and Gerri Willey, took the top sales spot for the month of July. A combination of market knowledge and cutting-edge technology, combined with old-fashioned customer service, has put the Willey Real Estate Group ahead of the curve. They are a top-producing real estate sales group on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Contact Hugh or Gerri at (252) 489-8491. The Sun Realty Agent of the Month for August was Michael Davenport. With 32 years of experience in Outer Banks real estate at Sun Realty, Michael Davenport can quickly navigate through the sea of listings, and based on your budget and priorities, find you the best value. Not only can he assist you in your home needs, he has lived his entire life on the Outer Banks gathering a vast knowledge of the area. You can reach Michael at (252) 441-8011.
Twiddy & Company Twiddy Welcomes New Agents Twiddy welcomes Crystal Swain and Kaleigh DiPietro to the Twiddy Premier Sales Family. Crystal works out of the Duck office and can be reached at cswain@twiddy.com or (252) 573-1646. Kaleigh works out of the Corolla office and can be reached at kdipietro@twiddy.com or (781) 720-9595.
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The Chrstmas Shop F I V E FACT S
The Christmas Shop on Roanoke Island, circa 1967. Photo courtesy of Edward Greene.
While a white Christmas might not always be in the cards on the Outer Banks, there’s at least one spot that still celebrates the wintery holiday year-round – and it’s been doing so for more than a half-decade now. Known to most as The Christmas Shop, the sprawling store located right off Highway 64 isn’t just another shopping establishment, it’s an experience, and many vacationers claim their trip wouldn’t be complete without a stop at the relatively unassuming-looking red building in Manteo. But beyond the bright (holiday) lights, there are at least a few things you might not know about one of the Outer Banks’ most iconic retail fixtures. BY KATRINA MAE LEUZINGER
1
Lights, Camera, Christmas
New York transplant Edward Greene fell in love with the Outer Banks when he was here dancing in The Lost Colony alongside actor Andy Griffith in 1953. Back then, the fledgling tourism industry was just getting started, and lacking the aptitude for farming or fishing, Greene wasn’t quite sure how to make a year-round living here. One thing he did know a lot about though was Christmas decorations – a skillset he picked up in the city where he once worked as a decorator in between dancing gigs. Armed with the idea, Greene invested in a lot with a small wooden building for about $10,000 in 1964 and never looked back.
3 4 | FA L L/H O L I DAY 2020
3
2
Not So Humble Beginnings
Few locals and visitors alike are unfamiliar with the name Edward Greene…and for good reason. The man who inspired The Christmas Shop wasn’t content with establishing just one business, so he branched out in a number of directions – including starting two local newspapers, The Outer Banks Current and The Outer Banks Sentinel. Along with his fellow Lost Colony alum Andy Griffith, architect and artist David Stick, and famed local businessman George Crocker, Greene was also a founder of the Outer Banks Community Foundation – a nonprofit dedicated to fostering charitable giving that still exists to this day.
Eleven Times a Charm
Although The Christmas Shop might have started out small, that didn’t last long. In 1967, Greene and his business partner Richard Lacerre purchased a second building that was once an old World War II mess hall and had it hauled over to their lot from Airport Road on the north end of Roanoke Island. And they didn’t stop there. Over the years, Greene and Lacerre purchased nine other buildings that they connected a bit like Lego pieces – until The Christmas Shop eventually evolved into the 25,000-square-foot interconnected maze of holiday-themed rooms it is today.
4
It’s the Inside that Counts
With an eye for the aesthetic, Greene and Lacerre also painstakingly crafted each room in The Christmas Shop to heighten the shopper’s experience. Brightly colored paint adorned the walls in some rooms, while others sported quilts, tin siding, shingles and fabric, or – in true Outer Banks fashion – lumber that had washed up on the beach. Traditional merchandise display racks were also passed over in favor of antique furniture, including a baker’s table from the 1840s. And when the old Manns Harbor general store and movie theater was slated for destruction, the partners sought to preserve it by moving the whole front façade to its new home inside The Christmas Shop.
5
Hard to Say Goodbye
A “Closed Forever” sign was first posted on the front door of The Christmas Shop in 2006, prompting a flood of heartbroken letters, phone calls and emails from loyal customers who couldn’t bear to see the store go. Only two years later they got their wish – lacking a buyer during that time, Greene and Lacerre reopened the doors and started buying new antique displays to replenish the ones they had auctioned off. A decade later the shop briefly closed again and reopened under new management in 2016 – allowing Greene to retire at the age of 90 with a list of 90 things he planned to do in retirement, including “start a new dance craze” and “enjoy being a sex symbol.”
N O RT H B E ACH SU N | 35
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