My Outer Banks Home - Summer 2016

Fins Up! A day on the water with Outer Banks Center for Dolphin Research Starts on Page 18

Lifesaving Traditions

on the Outer Banks

Little Red Mailbox of hope

Outer Banks Piers

more than just fishing

Starry, Starry Nights beach stargazing

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From the Editor...

I

don’t know about you, but summer on the Outer Banks always makes me feel nostalgic. In part, that may be because I grew up here, and as the weather grows warmer I see even more familiar faces out and about — faces that I would recognize anywhere no matter how long it’s been, and others that can take me (often embarrassingly) a few full minutes to recollect. In either case, these connections are part of a larger, community-wide story that might not exist if it weren’t for the way these islands repeatedly bind us together.

I thought about that a lot while working on this issue of My Outer Banks Home. Not to be trite, but there are a number of ideas that contribute to the name of this magazine. In many ways it speaks to our feelings of ownership, investment, and pride in this area (my Outer Banks), along with the heartfelt reminder that this is, quite simply, a place that many of us call home — whether we do so for years on end or even just for one unforgettable weekend.

The incredibly talented writers and photographers who made this issue possible also thought long and hard about what makes this place so enduringly special, encouraging everyone to take some time out of their often hectic schedules to contemplate the vast night sky, mingle with some of our most well known aquatic residents, and fall in love at first sip with a bevy of creative concoctions inspired by a seasonal abundance of fresh, locally-sourced fruits.

Because, ultimately, nostalgia isn’t only about living in the past. Recent studies have shown that while the word may imply a sense of wistfulness, nostalgia is a powerful emotion that can allow us to create a feeling of continuity and community. The past bleeds into the present, which continues on to shape our future in ways we may not be able to imagine quite yet.

Welcome to another memorable summer on our Outer Banks home!

~Amelia Boldaji

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what’s inside CONTENTS

HOME MY OUTER BANKS

enjoying the coastal lifestyle

feature

4

PUBLISHER

Mary Ann Williams, Gene Williams

EDITOR

Amelia Boldaji

Starry, Starry Nights

In order to experience some of the darkest night skies in the country all you have to do is look up.

ART DIRECTOR Sue Colao

SALES ASSOCIATES

Katelin Kight, Marie Walker

CONTRIBUTORS

Abby Stewart, Amelia Boldaji, James Charlet, Meaghan Beasley, Rosie Hawthorne, Meg Puckett, Michelle Wagner

PHOTOGRAPHY

4 home 30

Ten Easy Outdoor Party Ideas

Start planning your summertime soirée with these creative ideas that take full advantage of the great outdoors.

30

a look back 22

40

DISTRIBUTION Jason Adams

PUBLISHED BY

Three Dog Ink Media, LLC 111 East Baltic Street • Nags Head, NC 27959 252.261.6490 • 252.261.5476 Fax

E-MAIL info@threedogink.com OUR WEBSITE

Lifesaving Traditions

The U.S. Coast Guard continues to uphold a centuries-old tradition of saving lives off these shores.

Steve Alterman, Arden Photography, Avalon Fishing Pier, Megan Beasley, bmharch.com, candiangardening.com, Todd Carlson, casatv.ca, Sue Colao, East Coast Aerials, Inc., elizabethrivermen.com, Fish Heads Bar & Grill, givemeastoria.com, Sue Goodrich, Edna Baum Harris Collection, hatteras.biz, Rosie Hawthorne, Tricia Ibelli, Jennifer King, Nate Knoth, Brian A. Krise, Terry Lorenzo, Ray Matthews, Milk Street Soap Co., Caden Myers Photography, National Park Service, nchistorytoday.com, Outer Banks Center for Dolphin Research, Outer Banks Drones, Outer Banks History Center, Party City, playroanoke.com, Jim Richardson, shutterstock.com, silentdisco.com, Abby Stewart, thegardenglove.com, theobxbeachbum.com, U.S. Coast Guard, uslife-savingservice.org, Marie Walker, Lanie Whitaker, Jay Wickens Photography, Mary Ann Williams

food 14

Celebrate the Bounty of the Banks

40

Love at First Sip

myouterbankshome.com

Celebrate the seasonal abundance of local seafood with two of Rosie’s favorite deep-sea dishes.

Get ready to fall headfirst for six libations inspired by both our locale and some of northeastern North Carolina’s freshest fruits.

Three Dog Ink welcomes comments and suggestions about errors that warrant correction. E-mail your corrections to editor@ threedogink.com.

Three Dog Ink, LLC cannot and does not guarantee the correctness of all information furnished them, nor the complete absence of errors or omissions, hence, no responsibility for the same can be nor is assumed. Three Dog Ink, LLC cannot and will not be held liable for the quality or performance of goods and services provided by the advertisers in this publication. Reproduction of any material from this publication is strictly forbidden without permission from the publisher.

what’s inside CONTENTS

wildlife 18 life

Fins Up!

Outer Banks Center for Dolphin Research and Nags Head Dolphin Watch bring science to on the Roanoke Sound.

26 18

education 42

Living History

Native islander and local icon, Bill Harris, puts a face to the ever-evolving narrative behind Kitty Hawk Village.

community 10

At the Edge of the Sea

26

The Thing with Feathers

a one

34

36 10

36 be

To fish or not to fish – that may be the question because Outer Banks piers aren’t just for anglers these days.

The Little Red Mailbox continues to spread

message of hope 365 days a year…and location at a time.

Milk Street Soap Company

Lather up with the story behind Ocracoke Island’s not-so-secret soap company.

Warning: It may be habit forming!

All the Pretty Horses

Reminisce over, and keep your eyes peeled for, the winged horse statues that can still found scattered around the area.

, y r r a t S

Starry Nights

The Outer Banks is known for a lot of things – famous lighthouses, the Wright brothers, wild horses, and beautiful beaches. But it has its secrets too. And one of those secrets is that if you walk outside at night and turn your eyes skyward, you will be looking at some of the darkest skies in the country...and definitely east of the Mississippi. n the night darkness above these barrier islands, the skies reveal their beauty and wonder with stunning views of the Milky Way, floating space stations, meteors, constellations, and shooting stars.

“I’ve been to many, many parks in this country, and what we have available here is amazing,” says Carolyn Campbell, a biological technician with the National Park Service’s Outer Banks Group. “And it’s not really appreciated by the public. We’ve reSTORY BY Michelle Wagner ally lost our connection to the night sky.”

But that may change on the Outer Banks if the Cape Hatteras National Seashore receives a “dark sky” designation from the International Dark Sky Association (IDA).

While park service officials originally hoped to earn the designation by the centennial this year, Campbell says it’s a long-range goal that is still very much on their radar. And officials and local communities are working to make it happen by educating the public on the night sky and light pollution.

Local photographer Jay Wickens spends many nights south of Bodie Island capturing the region’s night sky on camera, and he’s always in awe of what he can see and photograph. “The Outer Banks definitely has one of the darkest skies in the country, equal to that out West when we have nice, clear nights.”

Wickens says people from all over the country come to the Outer Banks to photograph the skies above these islands, where the Milky Way can regularly be spotted by the naked eye. “When it’s clear out, it’s pretty impressive, and the

I

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myouterbankshome.com | Winter 2015

Outer Banks isn’t recognized for this at all.”

Denise Deacon echoes Wickens comments. Deacon lives on the edge of the Kitty Hawk Woods Coastal Reserve and darkness can be felt all around her when day turns to night.

“There are brilliant Outer Banks nights when, rather than just tip my head backward, I lie on my deck in order to fully grasp the sky and stars with my eyes,” she says. “Nothing can beat a well-placed cloud, backlit brilliantly while it steals upon the face of a full moon, with a bazillion stars scattered over the dark night sky. While I am usually viewing it from the edge of the woods, my mind’s eye will sometimes imagine how the scene plays over the reflective canvas of the ocean just a short distance away.”

The Darkest Places Campbell says that with such little light pollution within its boundaries, the 70-mile-long seashore, which stretches from South Nags Head to Ocracoke Inlet, is a good candidate for a Dark Sky Park.

The IDA, based in Tucson, Arizona, launched its Dark Sky Places program in 2001, and a rigorous application process requires that applicants implement responsible lighting policies along with community outreach in order to receive the designation.

There are about 25 publicly- and privately-owned parks nationwide with the designation.

JAY WICKENS PHOTOGRAPHY

JAY WICKENS PHOTOGRAPHY

JAY WICKENS PHOTOGRAPHY

Spring 2016 | myouterbankshome.com

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JAY WICKENS PHOTOGRAPHY

night sky FEATURE

JAY WICKENS PHOTOGRAPHY

The Importance of Lighting ›

TODD CARLSON

JIM RICHARDSON

Above: Before and during the 2003 Northeast blackout, a massive power outage that affected 55 million people. Above Middle: These downtown streetlights have old-time character, but they spill light in all directions and up into the sky. With no shielding, the exposed globes cause glare, making it difficult to see. Below: In order to minimize light polution, it’s critical to have fully shielded outdoor lighting that directs light downwards, along with low-color-temperature bulbs.

JIM RICHARDSON

JIM RICHARDSON

CADEN MYERS PHOTOGRAPHY

A Dark Sky Park, according to the IDA, “is a land possessing an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and a nocturnal environment that is specifically protected for its scientific, natural, educational, cultural heritage, and/or public enjoyment.”

Campbell and others hope that the Cape Hatteras National Seashore will soon be on this list.

“We know we have to retrofit 67 percent of our lights in the seashore to even apply, so this is a multi-year process. Right now we’ve gotten all the lights assessed and have been told we have a great potential for becoming a Dark Sky Park.”

Campbell says an inventory of the lighting identified which of the 400 lights in Cape Hatteras National Seashore need to be retrofitted or removed. She added that grant funding is being sought to finance the project.

The National Park Service has also initiated outreach programs aimed at educating the public about the night sky. Early this past winter, a stargazing party was held at the Salvo Day Use area. The Hatteras Civic Association hosted a starry night weekend in February for the first time and has another one planned for September 2017, says the association’s Belinda Willis.

“I am a huge supporter of night skies and believe strongly in stopping light pollution on the island,” Willis says.

As part of Founder’s Day, the National Park Service will host a night of stargazing and interpretation at the Ocracoke Day Use area on August 25. The program will feature information on how to protect and enhance night sky viewing.

Campbell says she’s excited about the National Park Service’s continued efforts to increase awareness and appreciation of the night sky.

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myouterbankshome.com | Summer 2016

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night sky FEATURE

JAY WICKENS PHOTOGRAPHY

“It’s an important aspect of human health to have periods of darkness, and it’s a resource we need to preserve nationwide. We need to start looking at it as a resource, just like we do wildlife or anything else. It is something we can lose very easily if we are not paying attention.”

Campbell says the night sky, and being able to look up at the Big Dipper, is one of her favorite aspects of living on the Outer Banks. “And many people who are looking up at the Milky Way don’t even realize what they are seeing.

“The night sky puts everything in perspective. Being able to look up is an amazing thing we can do on a nightly basis.”

She says that everyone can help preserve the night sky and spread the word to neighbors. “We all can turn off lights when we don’t need them and shield lights or point them down.”

While she says that people often think more lights outside their home at night increases security, studies actually show that timers are the best home security.

An App Can Be a Map There are plenty of free apps that can be downloaded to help stargazers – both young and old, amateur and seasoned – find their way around the night sky.

Among the more popular ones is Star Chart, which uses a phone’s compass to locate stars and planets at your location. It also lets you change your location so that you can see what the night sky looks like from other places on Earth.

The NASA App provides the latest information on NASA missions and tracks satellites for users. Night Sky Lite helps users find nearby stargazing locations and also checks what the weather will be like for stargazing the following evening.

SkyView and Sky Map use your phone’s camera as a viewfinder. These

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myouterbankshome.com | Summer 2016

Mobile screenshots of Sky Map (left) and Star Chart (right). apps will also give you information on what you are seeing in the sky. The ISS Detector will let you know when and where the International Space Station (ISS) is in the sky. It will also alert you when the ISS is about to pass by and provides information on communications satellites. And GoSkyWatch Planetarium for iPads is another popular go-to for stargazers looking for information on stars and planets.

Whether you are using an app or just enjoying the view, one thing is certain: There is plenty to see, even in the dark. All you have to do is look up.  Michelle Wagner has been living and writing on the Outer Banks for more than 15 years.

JAY WICKENS PHOTOGRAPHY

J

ay Wickens is a freelance photographer who has called the Outer Banks home since 1979. He started photographing the night sky here on the islands about seven years ago after seeing a National Geographic article’s claim that images of the Milky Way could only be captured west of the Mississippi – and he’s been hooked ever since. According to Jay, his favorite local spots for nighttime photography are all south of Bodie Island, though he prefers to frame his images of the Milky Way with other iconic subjects such as the Frisco Pier or the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

For more information about Jay and the night sky photography workshops he teaches from May through October, visit him at Jay Wickens Photography on Facebook.

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STORY BY

Michelle Wagner RAY MATTHEWS

tepping out onto the pier, I feel the worn and weathered planks beneath my feet give just a little. The smell of salt air mixed with the briny scent of bait fill my senses and my eyes soak in a panoramic view of the Atlantic Ocean from up high.

I am standing on the Outer Banks Fishing Pier at milepost 18.5 in South Nags Head. But really, I could be standing on any one of the piers that dot our coastline from Kitty Hawk to Avon.

And yes, people are here to fish. But this pier, like the others, has become so much more than a just a place where people bait a hook and drop a line. From providing shade for beachgoers to being a place to go out to eat or celebrate your wedding, piers on the Outer Banks have become a lot more than just about catching the big one.

Seven of the 19 fishing piers remaining in North Carolina are on the Outer Banks. Once there were 33 piers along the state’s coastline, but that number has dwindled as piers have succumbed to financial pressures or storms. But for the most part, piers on these barrier islands continue to thrive as they manage to change with the times.

Whether you are on the Outer Banks Fishing Pier for live music at Fish Heads, at Jennette’s Pier for a summer program, enjoying a cocktail at Nags Head Fishing Pier’s Capt.

Andy’s, or tying the knot at the Kitty Hawk Pier House, people nowadays gather on fishing piers at the edge of the sea for all kinds of reasons.

People have always gone to Outer Banks’ fishing piers with a pole flung over a shoulder and a tackle box in tow, hoping to hook something on the end of their line while swapping fishing stories with fellow pier goers. But now, that’s not the only thing that has people venturing onto piers these days.

LANIE WHITAKER

You Can Fish…Or Not Fishing piers have always been an important part of the Outer Banks’ culture, likely due to the area’s proximity to the Gulf Stream and strong ties to the sea. The first pier to go up here was Jennette’s Pier, built in 1939. As more were built, connections to these piers became woven into family stories and the community’s history.

But in order to continue to thrive, many owners have changed their business model, looking for ways to draw people to their piers who may not even know a thing about lures, hooks, and reels.

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myouterbankshome.com | Summer 2016

FISH HEADS

Above and Middle: Outer Banks Fishing Pier. Below: Crowds enjoy the view at Fish Heads Bar and Grill, located on the Outer Banks Fishing Pier.

obx piers THE SEA LIFE

Above: Jennette’s Pier as it stands today. Middle: An early postcard of Jennette’s Pier. Bottom: Fishermen on old Jennette’s Pier.

NCHISTORYTODAY.COM

Garry Oliver, owner of Outer Banks Fishing Pier, is one of those owners.

“I never wanted fancy,” says Oliver, who opened up Fish Heads Bar and Grill on the pier in 2012 in order to stay afloat. “That’s why we still have the old wooden deck, and the atmosphere is very unique. It’s almost like a throwback when you come here.”

According to Oliver, he opened Fish Heads to compete with Jennette’s Pier when it reopened under the new ownership of the North Carolina Aquarium in 2011. And ever since, there’s a lot more fun going on at the pier than just fishing. Now people frequent Oliver’s pier in droves to enjoy food, drinks, and live music seven days a week during the summer.

While fishing is still a big part of his business, things have changed a lot over the years.

Oliver recalls how children used to spend the day at the pier fishing from morning until sunset.

“People just are not fishing like they once were. I used to say that we were the cheapest babysitting service in town.”

Nags Head Fishing Pier and Pier House Restaurant, owned by Andy and Lovie McCann, has also managed to hold on to that old-timey feel while offering more than just fishing.

The pier’s restaurant has been around since the 1970s, and before that, the pier had a lunch counter for patrons. Built in 1947, the McCanns purchased the pier 31 years ago and have made it their own over the years. They expanded their operation to include Capt. Andy’s Oceanfront Bar and Grill in the summer of 2014. It’s now a popular place to spend some time with family and friends with good food and spirits right next to the Atlantic Ocean.

“We’ve always considered ourselves a family pier,” says Andy, adding that it’s been an important image to maintain. “We wanted that kind of atmosphere so we worked to create it.”

McCann says his pier has become a regular meeting place for many locals and visitors in the mornings, a time when people come out with their fishing rods and cups of coffee to spend time talking with one another. “Our pier is a gathering point,” he says.

Nags Head Fishing Pier has weathered many storms, taking its worst beating during the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962. During the repair, it was lifted from 10 feet above the water to 20 feet. The McCanns have hosted the Town of Nags Head’s fireworks for a number of years and their pier is a fixture in Nags Head. “We hope we can continue for many more years,” Andy says.

These stories are just a few that the piers of the Outer Banks hold – from Kitty Hawk Pier south to Avalon, Nags Head, Jennette’s, Outer Banks, Rodanthe, and Avon. Regardless of hardships and circumstance, they have managed to weather storms and time by remaining an integral part of the communities that make up the Outer Banks.

SUE COLAO

MARIE WALKER

Of Tradition, Culture, and Connection Saltwater fishing and swapping stories will always be a part of the pier experience, and Oliver says one of the best things about this experience is that it draws people of all different ages and walks of life to one spot.

Oliver grew up vacationing on the Outer Banks and was a pier rat himself at the Nags Head Fishing Pier in the 1950s.

OUTER BANKS HISTORY CENTER

Summer 2016 | myouterbankshome.com

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obx piers THE SEA LIFE

SUE COLAO

Nags Head Fishing Pier

As a child, Michelle Wagner spent many family vacations on the Outer Banks and always loved going to the old Jennette’s Pier, leaning over the railing, and watching the waves roll in from high above.

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myouterbankshome.com | Summer 2016

NATE KNOTH

OUTER BANKS DRONE

Avon Fishing Pier

Above: Rodanthe Fishing Pier Below: Avalon Fishing Pier

AVALON FISHING PIER

“My parents would drop me off at the pier in the morning and pick me up in the afternoon,” he recalls. That early love of being on a pier, he found, would remain constant throughout his lifetime.

The Outer Banks Fishing Pier was originally built in 1958 by a West Virginian coal miner and washed away in 1962, but it was rebuilt before Oliver and his wife, Mary, moved to the Outer Banks and purchased the pier in 1970. “We were straight out of Texas,” Oliver says, adding that their first home here was the building that’s now the pier’s restroom facility.

“We’ve had patrons who have fished here who are doctors, marine biologists, and even a congressman,” says Oliver. U.S. Congressman Rob Wittman (Va.) grew up vacationing on the Outer Banks and fishing from Oliver’s pier. He still comes back to his old stomping grounds to cast a line. Oliver also remembers when local veterinarian Mark Grossman would drop his son off everyday on the way to work and pick him up on the way home.

Before Jennette’s Pier was purchased by the North Carolina Aquarium and transformed into a 1,000-foot educational ocean pier, it was very much like many of the wooden Outer Banks piers that jetted out from the coastline. Now Jennette’s Pier has everything from aquariums, science-based exhibits, summer camps, and educational programs. It also has a large event space for weddings and other occasions.

“I think about the pier the way it once was everyday,” says Mike Remige, manager of Jennette’s Pier. Remige worked at Jennette’s Pier before it reopened under the Aquarium. “People are always talking to us about their family experiences at the old pier. Ties run deep.”

People have always had a deep social and cultural connection to the fishing piers they frequent. “People want to identify as regular Jennette’s Pier patrons.

They share a connection to the pier over generations.” They also transcend social classes. On a fishing pier, as Remige points out, “you could be sitting next to someone who is worth millions of dollars, and you could be relatively poor, and it wouldn’t matter. It would never come up because you are talking about fishing.”

Regime says that back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, there were more fishing piers in the state of North Carolina than there were on the entire East Coast – from the tip of Maine to where Texas meets the Gulf of Mexico.

Perhaps it’s because the Outer Banks sits so close to the Gulf Stream or that the fisheries on these islands are so dynamic. Whatever the reason, these islands’ piers have become, and continue to be, places where people gather by the edge of the sea, whether to shoot the breeze, cast a line, or enjoy a drink.

And they will forever be woven into the community’s culture and into the stories of families who walk along their planks every year. 

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STORY & PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Rosie Hawthorne

I

grew up in the Piedmont area of southern Virginia where there was no seafood to speak of, unless you caught it yourself. Fast-forward to the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, when frozen foods came into vogue, and Mama Hawthorne started serving frozen flounder fillets packaged in rectangular boxes. When I met Mr. Hawthorne, I would entice him with a frozen solid box of flounder and place the fillets in an baking dish with some onion slices, a lot of lemon juice, a lot of butter, and some Lawry’s seasoned pepper. I’d stick them in the oven while they were still frozen and bake them until they were flakey. That frozen box of flounder fillets was the start of my fervent, burnin’ love of seafood. It wasn’t until I moved to the Outer Banks, in 1984, that I realized flounder wasn’t a rectangular block-shaped fish.

On the Outer Banks, a whole new world opened to me – a world with a myriad of seafood. Each season here brings a different catch, and a bountiful one at that. The fact that I can bait a crab pot, drop it off my pier, and eat a fresh meal within hours, is just another perk of living where we do. The circle of life is never broken. It just keeps rollin’, rollin’, and rollin’ from generation to generation.

My own boys continue that tradition as they bring home their own catches. This 18-and-a-half-inch flounder, caught by my son, made it from water to table in about an hour. Little did I know, those many years ago, that this was what was packed into those rectangular boxes.

A love that started with frozen flounder has bloomed into something much bigger – a continuity – a chain of love, food, and communion. As Mr. Hawthorne says, “Every meal is a celebration of life,” and we’ve celebrated so many lives over the years.

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myouterbankshome.com | Summer 2016

Coconut Fried Shrimp with Pineapple Salsa Both Mr. Hawthorne and I think the best flavor coaxed from shrimp comes from frying the little beasties. A lot of people are intimidated by frying, but one needn’t be. Purchase a laser thermometer to monitor the oil temperature, which is crucial in frying. This will take out all the guesswork, and you will be able to fry anything to perfection.

I make a light beer batter to coat my shrimp, then dredge them through coconut and panko. I’ll be serving the shrimp with a flavorful pineapple salsa that complements it perfectly.

› Pineapple Salsa ¼ cup orange marmalade ½ cup finely chopped pineapple (reserve juice) 2 TB roasted red pepper, minced 1 TB horseradish, drained Zest of ½ lime

Combine all ingredients. Add cilantro or parsley, chopped, to taste, and mix well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to develop.

If you’re lucky enough to grow your own cilantro, pick it when it’s starting to set seeds. The raw green coriander seeds of cilantro have a surprising burst of cilantro and citrus flavors. Use it in your salsa, and place flowers and seeds on your seafood to complement the flavors. Notice it in my picture of the coconut shrimp.

obx bounty RECIPES

› Beer Batter 2 cups flour 1 cup cornstarch ½ tsp kosher salt 1 tsp freshly ground pepper 1 tsp cayenne powder 12 oz. of beer, plus some reserved pineapple juice Combine the dry ingredients, then whisk in beer until you get a smooth batter. If your batter is too thick, add in a little pineapple juice or buttermilk to thin it out. You want the batter to have the consistency of a light pancake batter.

The next dish is one of our all-time favorites. For years, the Hawthornes have had the pleasure of attending the North Carolina Aquarium’s series of seafood cooking classes, where chefs from local restaurants come and present their dishes. The following scallop dish is from one of those classes, and it’s a winner.

› Coating Mixture

Combine equal parts sweetened coconut and panko breadcrumbs.

Seared Scallops Atop Risotto and Parmesan Crisps with Pesto and Caramelized Onions › Risotto › Preparing the Shrimp

Pull the heads and shells off the shrimp, leaving the tips of their tails on.

Remove their digestive tracts, which run along the back of the shrimp. Turn the shrimp over on their backs and butterfly the shrimp. I cut from tail to front, removing that gray nerve that runs along the middle. It helps to have the shrimp on a paper towel. The towel stabilizes the shrimp, making them easier to cut, and you can easily wipe off shrimp parts on the towel.

My heavy, deep pan is eight inches in diameter, and I had about two-anda-half inches of peanut oil in it. Heat to 350°.

Holding the shrimp by their tails, dip them into the beer batter, sliding them up the side of the bowl to remove excess batter. Next dredge the shrimp in the coating mixture, being sure to separate their “legs.” Press the coconut and panko coating mixture onto the shrimp.

Fry five to six shrimp at a time until golden brown, about 75 to 90 seconds apiece. Never crowd the pan. It lowers the temperature of the oil, and you’ll end up with greasy shrimp, not ones that are crisp and light. Always check the temperature of the oil before you put in the next batch. Drain on a wire rack.

2 TB unsalted butter 1 TB olive oil 1 small onion, chopped 1 cup Arborio rice 32 oz. chicken broth, heated 4 oz. fresh spinach chopped A handful of sundried tomatoes ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese ¼ cup cream 2-3 TB extra unsalted butter Place the tomatoes in a small bowl, pour in boiling water, cover, and set aside. Heat skillet over medium heat. Add oil and butter. When the butter melts, add the onion and cook, stirring, for one minute. Add the rice, stirring to coat, and cook for about two minutes, or until the rice takes on a pale gold color.

Stir in a ladle (quarter cup) of warm broth, and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding a ladle at a time, stirring until absorbed. Don’t rush this part. The gradual addition of the warm liquid is the key to getting the rice to release its starch, thus creating its own velvety sauce. You want just enough liquid to cook the rice. This will take maybe 25 to 30 minutes. When you run a spatula through the risotto it should slowly flow back to fill in the space.

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obx bounty RECIPES

Add in the spinach and tomatoes. When the spinach is wilted, pour in the cream and stir in the Parmesan cheese and some extra butter for enrichment.

› Parmesan Crisps

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Flatten two to three tablespoons of grated Parmesan into rounds. I’ve found that coarse-grated Parmesan works better than fine-grated. Bake at 425°, turning pan once, until the crisps are golden brown, which will take about five to six minutes. Remove from oven, wait about one to two minutes, then transfer the crisps to a cooling rack.

› Caramelized Onions 1 medium onion, sliced in rings 1 TB unsalted butter 1 TB olive oil 1 tsp sugar ¼ cup white wine

› Seared Scallops

I cannot discuss scallops without going into the dry vs. wet scallop dilemma. You do not want “wet” scallops. If you don’t know the difference, ask your fishmonger. Wet scallops have been injected with a solution of sodium tripolyphosphate (STP). STP plumps them up, sometimes up to 50% of their weight, allowing them to maintain their moisture and have a longer shelf life.

This extra weight artificially inflates the price. You’ll be paying more for an inferior product. Wet scallops will be soaking in a milky-like liquid; dry scallops in a clear liquid. STP affects the texture of the scallops (rubber comes to mind) and masks the sweetness and delicacy of their flavor. Unfortunately, you will never get a wet scallop to sear properly because of all the water in them. They’ll steam and overcook long before they caramelize.

Sauté the onion in butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. The butter is for flavor; the olive oil is to raise the smoke point of the butter. Sprinkle a little sugar over the onions to aid in caramelization. When the onions are lightly browned, add in the wine, and let it cook away, then cover and remove from heat.

› Presto, Pesto!

I always have frozen bags of pesto from my yearly “Hurricane Harvest.”

Whenever a hurricane is coming, I harvest all my basil and make pesto, which lasts me through the year. Here’s a reduced version of my Hurricane Harvest Pesto: Yield: 2 cups 1 quart basil 5 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese ¾ cup chopped pecans ¾ cup Bertolli Extra Light Olive Oil (I use this because it’s a neutral oil that won’t overpower the pesto)

Combine the basil, garlic, Parmesan, and pecans in a food processor.

Pulse a few times, and then slowly drizzle in the olive oil, processing until you get a smooth consistency. Season to taste with salt.

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To prepare your dry scallops, first remove the little side muscle where it attaches to the shell, rinse with cold water, and thoroughly pat dry.

In a hot iron skillet, melt two tablespoons of butter and one tablespoon of oil. When the temperature reaches 350°, add in the scallops. Do not crowd the pan, and please resist the urge to poke the protein. Leave the scallops alone.

You don’t want to tear the meat before it releases itself naturally. Sear them for about 60 to 90 seconds on each side, depending on the size of the scallops.

To plate, pour a base of risotto. Add a Parmesan crisp and a few scallops.

Top with some caramelized onions and pesto.

I have now given you my two favorite seafood recipes. You are most welcome!  Rosie Hawthorne is a blogger, gardener, wanderlust, and mother of three. She learned to cook by watching Julia Child every Saturday afternoon on her 11inch black-and-white TV with legal pad and pen in hand. For the Hawthornes, every meal is a celebration of life.

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Fins Up! A day on the water with Outer Banks Center for Dolphin Research

O

STORY BY

Meg Puckett

18 SHUTTERSTOCK

myouterbankshome.com | Summer 2016

n a sunny, breezy day toward the end of May, a pontoon boat bounces across the whitecaps on the Roanoke Sound, heading south from Whalebone Junction in search of some of the Outer Banks’ most charismatic residents: bottlenose dolphins. The boat is filled with people from all over the country (okay, today they’re mostly all from Ohio, but that’s still a long way from the Outer Banks!) eager to catch a glimpse of these storied marine mammals. There’s no guarantee that dolphins will be found during the tour, but that just serves as a reminder that these are wild animals, and seeing them in their natural habitat is a very special thing.

It’s hard to say how long bottlenose dolphins have been coming to the Roanoke Sound because until the late 1990s there was no longterm monitoring of bottlenose populations on the Outer Banks. That’s when a group of volunteers got together to form Nags Head Dolphin Watch and began identifying the dolphins that frequented the Roanoke Sound in the summer. They created an extensive photo-identification project that continues today, and started to track dolphin behavior and environmental conditions so that future researchers could compare changes. Then, in 2008, Jessica Taylor and her husband, Jay, incorporated the Outer Banks Center for Dolphin Research (OBXCDR), a volunteer-run, non-profit organization. The organization seeks “to learn more about the population ecology, movement patterns, and behavior of coastal bottlenose dolphins in the Outer Banks, and to expand public knowledge and concern for these marine mammals.” Biologists with OBXCDR work with other scientists and wildlife experts up and down the East Coast to maintain a thorough log of Atlantic bottlenose dolphin activity and trends.

While the dolphins may seem like the stars of this story – and they are, in their own right – there would be no story without people like Jessica. Originally from New Jersey, she graduated from Rutgers University with a B.S. in Marine Sciences and from Duke University with a M.E.M. (Master of Environmental Management) with a Coastal Management concentration. Her master’s research focused on studying foraging behaviors of bottlenose dolphins in Sarasota, Florida. Since finishing her master’s, Jessica has participated in research projects focusing on Stellar sea lion photo identification, bottlenose dolphin genetic sampling, and bottlenose dolphin stomach content analysis. She’s worked as a naturalist for Nags Head Dolphin Watch since 2007, was the OBXCDR’s scientific advisor from 2008 to 2012, and has been the president of OBXCDR since 2013. Her current research focuses on examining the population dynamics of bottlenose dolphins in the Roanoke Sound and their seasonal movements to other areas.

Out on the water, it’s clear that Jessica is passionate about her work. “We’re not getting paid,” she laughs. “The dolphins are the reason we do this.”

What makes these dolphins so special? Besides their gregarious nature that

dolphin watch

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JUST CAUSES

ed, which Jessic a Taylor then writes down on her research log. These tests are performed and recor water s alinity and wind spe ded each t im e the Nag ngers help measure e s s a p ner and Jessic a on the Nags Head Dolphin Watch boat. r e g K n n h u o J o n i Y a t : p t a f C s : t h Le g i R . r u o t a n o t u o s e o g h c t a W n i h p l o Head D endears them to so many, dolphins are particularly important to the environment because they’re known as an “indicator species.” Bottlenose dolphins are apex predators, meaning that they’re at the top of the food chain. If a group of unhealthy dolphins is observed, or if the dolphins are changing their behavior in a way that indicates some kind of upset in the environment, then this issue has probably already impacted other marine life and has become enough of a problem to warrant intense observation, if not intervention. Conversely, healthy dolphins that are thriving and reproducing signify an environment that is sustaining a diverse and healthy collection of marine life.

Bottlenose dolphins can live up to 50 years in the wild, and they develop lifelong breeding, feeding, and socialization habits that make them the perfect candidates for long-term studies and observation. Many of the dolphins that frequent the Roanoke Sound during the summertime have been coming to this

biggest of those isn’t just giving vacationers a thrill. The experience is filled with fun, hands-on learning, and everything centers on a message of conservation. Even if no dolphins are spotted, passengers are sure to leave the tour with a newfound respect for all marine life and the fragile ecology of the Outer Banks. From the moment the boat leaves the dock, Jessica, along with Captain John, narrates the trip, discussing everything from water quality to the history of commercial fishing in Wanchese. Passengers are exposed to a side of the Outer Banks that’s not often seen by anyone except locals, and there are many murmurs of “Wow, I had no idea” during the journey. Along the way, Jessica takes questions from the tour participants and sprinkles fun anecdotes about the dolphins into the science lesson. Learning that a female bottlenose named Fatlip

Bottlenose dolphins can live up to 50 years in the wild, and they develop lifelong breeding, feeding, and socialization habits that make them the perfect candidates for long-term studies and observation. area for decades, and are well known among OBXCDR volunteers. They are identified by their dorsal fins, and experienced researchers like Jessica can spot and name them the split second they surface for air. One male, Onion, has been a documented visitor on the Outer Banks every summer for the last 20 years, along with at least 100 other members of his extended dolphin family.

Female groups are dynamic, with members coming and going frequently, while male dolphins form bonded pairs who stick together until one of the pair dies (at which point the surviving dolphin will find another male to bond with). Nursery groups with calves are common sights in the protected waters of the sound too.

The trips with Nags Head Dolphin Watch serve several purposes, and the

SHUTTERSTOCK

Summer 2016 | myouterbankshome.com

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dolphin watch JUST CAUSES

SUE COLAO

Above: Passengers on the Nags Head Dolphin Watch boat scan the Roanoke Sound for dorsal fins. The dolphins are identified by their unique fins, and a photographic log is kept of each dolphin that’s spotted in the sound. likes to swim in circles (and how much more difficult that makes Captain John’s job) endears her to passengers before she’s even spotted. That personal connection makes Jessica’s job of driving home the conservation message easier, and it hopefully makes enough of an impact that passengers go home and tell their friends and family about Fatlip and this amazing place she calls home.

On the trip back to Whalebone Junction, science really comes to life. This is when Jessica invites several children to help her check the water temperature and salinity as well as the air temperature and wind speeds. She writes everything down in a research log that will eventually be shared with marine biologists along the East Coast. If dolphins were seen she writes that down too, including which individuals were present and what kinds of behavior they were displaying. All this information can be compared and contrasted with data from previous years and different locations to paint a big picture of dolphin life on the Eastern Seaboard. Jessica is sure to explain this to her assistants, and she takes the time to make sure they fully understand the significance of what they’re doing on the tour.

Jessica also talks animatedly about what OBXCDR does off the water to promote awareness and conservation. Since not everyone can visit for a dolphin tour, volunteers do outreach at local events and schools, and Jessica even Skypes into classrooms all over the country to talk about dolphins and protecting marine environments. Each fall the organization sponsors a shrimp cookoff, which raises most of their yearly operating funds. They also rely on donations, and people can “adopt” one of the Roanoke Sound dolphins, the proceeds of which go toward the costs of running the research project.

“What people love is what they’re going to conserve. One person does something, another person does something – it really does make a difference,” Jessica says.

It’s easy to see those lifelong connections being made. Children’s eyes light up when the dolphins are spotted. “It’s like Bubble Guppies!” one little girl, Sabrina, exclaims, relating her experience on the tour to her favorite cartoon. Getting to observe the dolphins in their natural habitat and then doing hands-on science with Jessica on the bow of the boat sparks an interest in the natural world that these kids will hopefully carry with them forever. And with the advocacy and the ongoing hard work of people like Jessica, dolphins will continue to call the Outer Banks their summer home for generations to come.

For more information about the Outer Banks Center for Dolphin Research, or if you’d like to make a donation or adopt a dolphin, visit their website at obxdolphins.org. Meg Puckett is a social media specialist and freelance writer who is passionate about conservation and promoting respect for the natural world.

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myouterbankshome.com | Summer 2016

Above Middle: Onion has been coming to the Roanoke Sound for at least two decades and is easily recognizable due to his unique dorsal fin. Top and Bottom: Dolphins frolic in the Roanoke Sound. Above photos courtesy Outer Banks Center for Dolphin Research.

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on the

USLIFE-SAVINGSERVICE.ORG

Lifesaving Traditions

STORY BY

James Charlet

Outer Banks

Patroling the beaches along the surf on foot, the early pioneers of the Lifesaving Service were referred to as “surfmen.”

Saving lives at sea has been a tradition on the Outer Banks since the first European settlers arrived here more than 400 years ago. Today, the primary responsibility for upholding that tradition goes to our United States Coast Guard.

Today’s Coast Guard Stations on the Outer Banks The origins of today’s Coast Guard stations can be very confusing. This is due to the fact that the same stations were renamed from time to time. Even worse, the name of one station could be transferred to an entirely different station. The two stations on either end of Hatteras Island are classic examples of stations that both changed their names and their locations over the years.

Time for a brief review of the history of each station. The U.S. Lifesaving Service Station Hatteras Inlet was located somewhat near the inlet on the southern end of Hatteras Island in 1878. But in 1883 that station was renamed the Durant

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myouterbankshome.com | Summer 2016

Above: The C-130 Hercules, a longrange surveillance and transport aircraft. Right: Sikorsky HNS-1 Hoverfly helicopter. Since 1944 helicopter mercy and rescue missions have become routine and have saved thousands of lives.

U.S. COAST GUARD

The original intention of the U.S. Lifesaving Service was to establish as many stations as close together as possible in order to cover the entire coast quickly. This is because everything was manual then, and lifesavers had to haul the boats and beach carts by manpower. They also had to patrol the beaches along the surf on foot, which is why they were referred to as “surfmen.” In 1915 the U.S. Lifesaving Service merged with the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service to form today’s U.S. Coast Guard. Other than an increased number of missions, hardly anything changed for the next 80 years, and it was still very effective.

But by the mid-1950s, things changed drastically. High-powered surfboats that were self-righting and self-bailing could be on scene much more quickly than before, and they didn’t have to be staged so close to harm’s way. Igor Sikorsky had invented an incredible flying machine that was perfect for maritime rescues: the helicopter. In 1954, Lockheed (now Lockheed-Martin) also invented the C-130 Hercules cargo plane, perfect for long-distance rescue support. With the completion of N.C. Highway 12 on the Outer Banks, transit speed also increased.

Consequently, fewer stations were needed, and they could be farther apart and farther inland. The older U.S. Lifesaving Stations were decommissioned.

Some were sold at auction and some razed on purpose, but sadly, most were just neglected and abandoned.

U.S. COAST GUARD

Changing with the Times

traditions A LOOK BACK

BMHARCH.COM

U.S. COAST GUARD

Left: The original Coast guard Station Oregon Inlet underwent major restorations, which were completed in 2011. Right: The current Oregon Inlet Station is located behind Oregon Inlet Fishing Center.

Lifesaving Station. It was abandoned in 1939 and later became part of a motel in Hatteras until Hurricane Irene washed it away completely in 2011. A second station was built there in 1917, but it was also washed away by storms in the 1950s.

Today’s Coast Guard Station Hatteras Inlet is located on the southern end of Hatteras Island adjacent to the Hatteras ferry docks.

The present station was built in 1962 on six acres of National Park Service land. The station is equipped with two 47-foot surfboats (the

HATTERAS.BIZ

Above: The Durant Lifesaving Station, built in 1878, was originally named “Hatteras.” but because of confusion with the station at Cape Hatteras, its name was changed to Durant in 1883. Below: The station as it appeared prior to Hurricane Isabel. At the time it was part of the “Durant Station” motel complex.

HATTERAS.BIZ

kind designed to sustain a roll-over in heavy seas, but testing that on purpose is officially frowned upon!) and other rescue facilities. Station Hatteras Inlet also covers Ocracoke during the summer.

As a multi-mission unit, Station Hatteras Inlet conducts search and rescue, boating safety, law enforcement, and marine environmental protection operations. There is a boat crew available 24 hours a day that responds to more than 150 calls for assistance annually. The station’s area of responsibility includes more than 2,350 square nautical miles of the Atlantic Ocean, one third of the Pamlico Sound, and half of Ocracoke Island. This area includes Diamond Shoals, which is also known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic.

The origins of Coast Guard Station Oregon Inlet are even more difficult to untangle.

A U.S. Lifesaving Service Station named Bodie Island Station was located on the south side of the inlet in 1874. In 1883, the station on the north side of the inlet named Tommy’s Hummock was renamed Bodie Island Station. At the same time, the original Bodie Island Station, still located on the south side, was renamed the Oregon Inlet Station. In 1888 this station was moved farther westward, but still remained on the south side of the inlet. Less than a decade later, it was totally destroyed by a storm. A new station was built there and became operational in 1898. This is the station you see now as you head south across the Oregon Inlet Bridge, and it’s the first building you’ll come to on Hatteras Island. It was abandoned in 1988, and the current station, now on the north side of the inlet, opened in 1990. It is located behind the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, and it’s easy to pass by without ever seeing it. As a multi-mission unit, Station Oregon Inlet has the same missions as Station Hatteras Inlet. They respond to about 200 search and rescue missions a year.

Here is one of the most interesting things about these two stations: The Coast Guard has hundreds of stations of all types along America’s coasts, including the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific, and the Great Lakes. Of all those stations, only 20 are classified as “surf stations.” These are defined as places where the surf is higher than eight feet for more than 10 percent of the year. Only five surf stations are located on the Atlantic Coast, and Hatteras Island has two of them, one on each end!

U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City is not located on the Outer Banks, but it has a very distinct presence here. According to a public affairs officer at Station Elizabeth City, “Our bread and butter is search and rescue. Our H-60s (helicopter crews) do a lot of their training flights in the area of the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, but our HC-130s (cargo and transport crews) do a significant number of training flights in the vicinity of Hatteras.

Most of these training flights are practice air drops for us, and it is not unusual for us to be as low as 200 feet over the Pamlico Sound near Hatteras.” Visitors to the Outer Banks will see these aircraft flying over, which they do frequently.

Probably one of the easiest things to overlook, or not even notice, is the myriad of navigational aids in the waters of the Outer Banks. There are literally hundreds of these buoys, channel markers, and lights that give vital information to mariners. Every one of those is placed, maintained, checked on, and repositioned as conditions change by the U.S. Coast Guard’s Aids to Navigation Team Wanchese.

Summer 2016 | myouterbankshome.com

23

traditions

Above: A surboat, like those used to rescue the Ephraim Williams’ crew, would be towed on a cart like this one, to a suitable launching spot, where it would be pushed into the water deep enough to float it off the cart. Right: Keeper Benjamin Daily

U.S. COAST GUARD

U.S. COAST GUARD

A LOOK BACK

The Beat Goes On The waters surrounding the Outer Banks have always been its major player. These waters have given life, and they have taken life. But the people living here established a long-standing tradition of saving lives. That tradition has taken many forms over the years, from the early settlers, organized volunteers, civilian lifeguards, and municipal as well as volunteer water rescue units to federal organizations, which included first the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, the U.S. Lifesaving Service, and finally, today’s U.S. Coast Guard.

That tradition has also changed focus over the years as situations have changed. For example, in earlier centuries, the waters off the Outer Banks were almost solely used for commercial shipping.

This meant that wooden sailing ships with crews rarely above a dozen hands hauled basic products such as lumber, coal, and sugar up and down the Eastern Seaboard. When wrecks occurred, these shipwrecked souls were almost always the victims of storms and other forces beyond their control.

The sole responder toward the end of this time period (from the late 1800s to the early 1900s) was the U.S. Lifesaving Service.

After the Lifesaving Service became the U.S. Coast Guard that focus changed dramatically, especially during World War II when German submarines were sinking a large number of Allied ships off the East Coast.

Following the war, and up to today, the Coast Guard’s rescue missions have become increasingly diverse and complex. There are still large commercial ships, but they are rarely in trouble in this area. Now, however, there are thousands of commercial fishing boats, charter fishing boats, and hundreds of thousands of pleasure boats. Even cruise ships have medical emergencies that sometimes require evacuations by Coast Guard boats and helicopters. The Coast Guard stays very, very busy!

Add to that a relatively new phenomenon to the Outer Banks: an increasingly large number of vacationing beach goers. Now we are dealing with millions of people each year who swim and play in the surf – and any mariner will tell you that the most dangerous part of the ocean is the surf.

This area is too shallow for Coast Guard boats, so professional and volunteer lifeguards and water rescue units with personal watercrafts now handle rescues close to the shore. These organizations work with, and through, the Coast Guard.

The men and women of this sacred tradition – from the beginning until now – are very special people. This is probably best expressed by a U.S. Lifesaving Service supervisor in his report on the wreck of the 491-ton barkentine, the Ephraim Williams. The ship wrecked on Cape Hatteras’

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myouterbankshome.com | Summer 2016

Diamond Shoals during a monster storm in December 1884. Still, the crew of the Cape Hatteras Lifesaving Station, led by Keeper Benjamin Daily, rescued the Ephraim Williams’ entire crew. After an investigation, the supervisor wrote a memo that became world-famous:

I do not believe that a greater act of heroism is recorded than that of Daily and his crew on this momentous occasion. These poor, plain men, dwellers upon the lonely sands of Hatteras, took their lives in their hands and, at the most imminent risk, crossed the most tumultuous sea that any boat within the memory of living men had ever attempted on that bleak coast, and all for what? That others might live to see home and friends.

That italicized phrase has become a motto for groups everywhere whose passion it is to save lives from the perils of the sea. Ultimately, they continue to uphold this honorable tradition so that others may live.

Editor’s note: A comprehensive overview of the U.S. Lifesaving Service’s early years appeared in the spring 2016 edition of My Outer Banks Home, which can be found online at myouterbankshome.com.  James Charlet’s entire professional career has involved education in front of the public: classroom teacher, Outer Banks historic interpreter, historic site manager, and now speaker and freelance writer.

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25

THING WITH

FEATHERS “Hope is the thing with feathers,”

STORY BY

Amelia Boldaji

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I

t’s a deceptively simple line that likely resonates strongly with the untold number of people who have visited the Little Red Mailbox at Kill Devil Hills’ Glenmere public beach access over the past two years – a site that was appropriately, and officially, renamed the “Hope Access at Glenmere Ave.” just last summer. A small sign with a reproduced painting of the mailbox by local artist Barbara Noel marks that change, encouraging visitors from all over to venture out on the access’ gazebo where they’ll find an unparalleled view of the Atlantic Ocean. There they can add to, or simply read through, the growing number of messages that collect there daily, which continue to speak volumes about some of our most basic human desires for connection, inspiration, and yes, a little more of that thing with feathers.

A Journey From Grief to Giving Back Located at approximately milepost 8 on Virginia Dare Trail, the original Little Red Mailbox was the brainchild of local resident, Sue Goodrich, after her mother passed away suddenly a few years ago. Though Sue still grows emotional as she describes how difficult the immediate aftermath of losing her mother was, at the time she found some solace in making regular early-morning visits to the Glenmere beach access. It had been a special place for her since 2004 when her husband, Eddie, donated the gazebo and helped make other improvements there for the town’s benefit. After Sue’s monumental loss it became the perfect spot for her to be alone with her thoughts as she worked through the initial stages of her grief.

Though Sue doesn’t remember exactly when the idea for a local mailbox first came to her, she recalls a story she once heard about a mother in Wilmington who put up a mailbox so that people could offer their thoughts and condo-

26

as poet Emily Dickinson famously wrote more than a century and a half ago.

myouterbankshome.com | Summer 2016

lences after she lost her son on a military tour of duty – which officials promptly made the woman take down. Sue says that she was similarly inspired by the Paris Bridge’s locks of love (which were also removed by city officials last summer, due, at least in part, to reported structural concerns over their growing weight), and the Kindred Spirit Mailbox that was placed on an isolated stretch of southern North Carolina’s Bird Island about 35 years ago.

According to Sue, something “clicked into place” when her friend and local photographer, Roy Edlund (who’s also known through his work as the OBX Beach Bum), shared a picture of the Glenmere access with her on social media. When she mentioned her idea to put a mailbox at the access, Roy encouraged her to contact the town and move forward with her vision – which she did…with some trepidation.

“I thought they were going to say ‘oh no, here comes another dreamer!’”

OBX COMMUNITY

notes of hope

OBX BEACH BUM

SUE GOODRICH

OBX BEACH BUM

says Sue with a laugh.

Instead, to her surprise, the KING town was incredibly supportive from the IFER JENN start, and it wasn’t long before Sue also teamed up with local artist, Vicki Horning, who painted the mailbox and included an inscription on its door encouraging people to “leave a note of hope.” Only a few short weeks later, on July 17, 2014, the Little Red Mailbox had a permanent home at Glenmere. In order to launch the project, Sue left a few pens and a journal inside the mailbox so that anyone who happened by could easily record their thoughts.

“It all happened a lot quicker than I ever imagined,” Sue says.

The Beginning of a Ripple Effect As surprised as Sue was by the Little Red Mailbox’s quick acceptance at Glenmere, there were other surprises in store – not least of which was how fast the idea caught on in the community. People rapidly began filling the journals Sue (and at least one other anonymous donor) provided with everything from short inspirational quotes to longer missives about issues they were either struggling through or life events they wanted to celebrate. Cards and notes also began to pile up, along with other objects such as flowers and inscribed shells urging people to have strength.

Sue began documenting the mailbox on social media over the course of that first year, which led to yet another chapter in its story when Tasha Adams in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, happened across a Pinterest page Sue had created for the mailbox. Tasha works for Alleghenies Unlimited Care Providers, a nonprofit organization that assists people of all ages who are dealing with a

Top Left: Sue Goodrich’s inaugural entry in the mailbox’s first journal. Top Right: Beachgoers write notes of hope at the Glenmere access. Above: Sue poses with the first Little Red Mailbox in Kill Devil Hills. variety of mental or physical disabilities. Part of her job includes working with more than 200 caregivers, and she constantly tries to research ways to make them feel more appreciated. Though Tasha’s never even visited the Outer Banks, as she read more about the impact the mailbox was having here she became increasingly intrigued.

“I knew it was a long shot, but I emailed Sue and explained that I wanted to bring her idea to Pennsylvania as a ‘sister mailbox’ so that we could spread her hope a little further,” Tasha says. “She actually called me a few days later, and I was shocked!”

Sue was so excited about the idea of a sister mailbox that she commissioned Vicki to paint another one labeled “Mailbox #2 Johnstown, PA” on the back. Tasha did all the legwork of getting permission to place the mailbox at Point Park where the Stonycreek and the Little Conemaugh rivers meet – the site of a historic flood that almost decimated Johnstown in 1889. On April 14, 2016, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held there that included representatives from 20 other local nonprofits who joined together to create their own unique messages of hope for their city’s future.

“I visit the mailbox often and am happy to see that there are always new entries,” Tasha says two months later. “It’s funny to me, and so fitting to the situation, because I was initially worried about people being respectful, but the same two pens I left there on that very first day are still inside. That alone, I think, shows the level of respect visitors have for this new beacon of hope in our city.”

Summer 2016 | myouterbankshome.com

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OBX COMMUNITY

BRIAN A. KRISE

Left: The first sister mailbox, located in Johnstown, PA. Right: Little Red Mailbox number four in Rodanthe, NC.

Moving Forward In a discussion with Sue it’s interesting to note that she often uses the words “happy” and “sad” interchangeably. “To know real joy, you can’t be happy all the time. You have to experience both joy and sadness; that’s the deal,” Sue explains. “It can be sad to read about people’s struggles, but it also makes me happy to see people writing back to each other and making those connections.

“There are so many facets to happiness,” Sue continues. “And my mom always said that if you’re feeling really sad, the best thing you can do is help someone else. She was right. This has brought me a lot of peace.”

To some degree, this is likely because the Little Red Mailboxes – and the ideas behind them – continue to catch on even more. At the time of this publication, there are now three sister mailboxes to the original one at Glenmere, including the second one in Johnstown; a third one in Mechanicsville, Virginia; and a fourth one that was placed in Rodanthe this past May. Through the original mailbox’s Facebook page, Sue now receives a growing number of requests for more Little Red Mailboxes from places as nearby as Ocracoke and as far away as Lake Erie, Ohio.

The Town of Kill Devil Hills is also still a strong supporter of the Little Red Mailbox project. Right now they’re in the process of scanning at least 11 of the journals and other assorted notes, which will eventually be accessible in a digital format on the town’s website. They’ve also established a physical address so that people who can’t visit the mailbox in person can send their notes of hope from all over the world 365 days a year. And, similar to the popular social media idea of “Throwback Thursdays,” they’ve started a “Mailbox Mondays” theme on their Facebook page where they post a select scanned image from the Little Red Mailbox’s ever-growing collection at the beginning of each week.

Town officials were even on hand this past March to greet Stacie Holzberger, an eighth grade English teacher with Virginia’s Rockingham County Public Schools. Stacie also learned about the mailbox through social media, and subsequently had her students write their own notes of hope in order to

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create a large journal of the children’s work. She presented this journal to Sue and Mayor Sheila Davies at Glenmere access, and the town plans to make a digital copy of the project available to the public soon.

“The town’s continued support has been unbelievable, especially because we’ve come to the point where we need to create a solid plan for the future,” says Sue. “The questions that a lot of us have started asking is now what? How do we further display and preserve these messages in a physical way? We’re still in the process of figuring these things out, and we’re open to suggestions from everyone in the community.”

Continuing to Hear the Song Although the first line of Emily Dickinson’s short verse about hope is by far the most well known, the poem includes a total of three stanzas that further describe the song that hope sings as it “perches in the soul,” where it can weather even the most difficult storms and other circumstances, and how that song’s message can be heard everywhere – perhaps, at least, if you’re willing to listen to it.

Sue echoes a similar sentiment about the Little Red Mailboxes and the tangible ways they can encourage people to hear, and also voice, their relationship with hope, especially during difficult times. “Sometimes when you’re at a low point your mind goes quiet, and you can have some beautiful thoughts,” she says. “One thing I’ve realized throughout this process is that people aren’t all that different. We all have challenges in our lives, but that physical aspect of putting things down on paper can be therapeutic. I just say write, write everything down – and don’t ever give up.”  Amelia Boldaji is a freelance writer and editor who grew up on the Outer Banks, and she loves that the idea behind the first Little Red Mailbox has truly found its wings.

TERRY LORENZO

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10 Easy Outdoor

CASATV.CA

T

he beaches are filling up, temperatures are rising, and the long lines at our favorite restaurants are starting to remind us just how lucky we are to live in a place where millions of people want to visit every year. That’s right...it’s summertime again on the Outer Banks! And now that we’ve all finally come out of what seemed to be the longest hibernation to date, it’s time to celebrate life on this beautiful island of ours.

While boating, fishing, and catching waves rank high among many of our favorite warm-weather pastimes, nothing says summer celebration quite like an Outer Banks outdoor party. So start making a list of your nearest and dearest, and get ready to take your parties outside for the summer.

While simply living on the Outer Banks is reason enough to celebrate, you might realize you’re in need of a few ways to entertain guests during your summertime soirée. Here are some easy ideas we came up with to suit an array of hosting styles that will get you out of the house and into your happiest summertime party yet!

Party Ideas

STORY BY

1 Boho-Style Backyard Party If you’re looking for a way to unwind in a peaceful atmosphere, turn your backyard into a boho lounge, complete with over-stuffed bean bags, hammocks, or even a repurposed trampoline lounge swing...anything that will provide you and your guests the opportunity to relax in a positive environment.

Be sure to find the right lights, provide ample cushions, candles, and even use eclectic dishes found at a thrift store or parts of sets you have around the house to create a more laid-back, relaxed, and creatively stylish feel to your boho soirée.

Skip the tablecloths and disposable products, and go for a natural feel with uncovered tables and cloth napkins instead paper ones. These details will double as durable, eco-friendly cleanup options that won’t fly away in the summer breeze.

Encourage laughter and good times by hanging old picture frames in a tree, or set up props in a well-lit, pretty area to keep quirky photo-ops an entertaining possibility throughout the party.

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2 Theme Parties

PARTY CITY

Abby Stewart

Theme parties aren’t just reserved for Halloween – they’re perfect for Outer Banks outdoor summertime parties too. If you’re looking for a fun way to shake off the work week and get your friends together to let loose a little, host a theme party in your backyard!

Call it a pirate party, serve up your favorite swashbuckling Kill Devil Rum cocktails in big coconut mugs, and be sure to make all your cocktails on a bar cart in case you need to wheel it into the kitchen to restock. Or, if it’s something more cultural you’re looking for, try hosting an Outer Banks fiesta. Decorate with succulents, ask your guests to attend in their best southwestern attire, serve tasty authentic Mexican food bites...and, of course, there must be a piñata!

backyard fun ENTERTAINING

3 Planting Party

Perfect for spring or early-summer parties, a planting party, focused around planting and growing vegetables, flowers, and herbs that thrive on the Outer Banks is an excellent idea...especially for your fellow gardening friends!

Succulent-planting stations, for example, provide the perfect backdrop for some fun and rewarding quality time, and they also produce great party favors for guests to take home when the planting is complete. Succulents require very little upkeep and can be beautiful additions to your summer outdoor gardens or patios, plus they’re cheerful indoor window plants year-round. Also, a sea oat planting partiy hosted by oceanfront homeowners can double as both a good time and a good cause.

ABBY STEWART

CANADIANGARDENING.COM

4 Seashell Hunt Put an Outer Banks spin on an old favorite. Step one: Take a relaxing walk on the beach, and find a good amount of shells. Step two: Hide them around your yard. Step three: Invite your friends over to see who can find the most shells before the timer runs out. Step four: Be creative. Your hiding spots, the time length, and even the prizes you have on hand for the winner can vary depending on your guests’ senses of humor. For decoration, fill colorful buckets with sand and wildflowers to complement the theme.

5 Celestial Gathering If you’re looking for a reason to host a party every month, consider a celestial gathering to celebrate the full moon. These gatherings will give you and your guests a reason to come together under the sky’s biggest night light for an evening of laughter and dancing.

Allow the fun to unfold throughout the night with plenty of additional lighting as well. Paper lanterns or small, twinkling rice lights draped on tree limbs with dark extension cords that blend in with the surroundings will provide an uplifting amount of ambience without trying to outdo her majesty, the moon.

Be sure to include a few citronella candles around the perimeter of the party, as we all know that the Outer Banks landscape we cherish can sometimes harbor uninvited insects. For a romantic twist, string up an old chandelier from a tree to create the ultimate gathering space for your celestial celebration.

6 Tournament Party

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Foster a fun, healthy sense of competition among your family and friends by hosting a tournament party! Invite the players, but don’t inform them of the game. When they show up, hand everyone a croquet mallet, for example, and let the games begin. Find out which of your loved ones is a master croquet player while serving freshsqueezed lemonade and finger foods such as tea sandwiches and scones. For those of your friends would not be amused, set up a more common tournament party, like cornhole or bocce ball, and may the best team win!

7 Silent Disco If you live in a populated area or a quiet neighborhood, but you want to enjoy an outdoor evening of loud music and dancing, invite your friends over for a silent disco. Mostly seen at music festivals and large outdoor events, a silent disco works like this: When the party wants to jump on the dance floor, everyone puts on headphones that are linked (usually by Bluetooth) to the same playlist so that everyone is dancing to the same song at the same time.

It’s a fun event for the dancers, a hilarious experience to watch while your friends look as though they’re dancing to nothing, and it’s safe to say you won’t get a noise complaint from the neighbors.

Summer 2016 | myouterbankshome.com

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backyard fun ENTERTAINING

SHUTTERSTOCK

There are two things that can thankfully be found in abundance here on the Outer Banks: spectacular sunsets and incomparable, delicious seafood. Put them both together and you don’t need anything else for your party but a cold drink and an appetite!

Host a sunset seafood feast for your

ARDEN PHOTOGRAPHY

9 Sunset Dinner Party

I’m sure some of you remember the good old days, when getting a blue ribbon in the three-legged race during your elementary school field day was the highlight of your week. Well, bring back a little of that nostalgia and childhood whimsy with your own version of a grown-up field day.

Invite your most adventurous, fun-loving friends and family over, and set up stations for your guests to circulate through, including outdoor Twister (where you mark Twister spots on the yard with spray paint), and other stations that feature challenges such as a life-sized Jenga set. The possibilities are endless!

When you’re ready for your team sports event, make your way over to the Slip n’ Slide Kickball field, where each base is a kiddie pool filled with water – though instead of running the bases you glide belly-first down a Slip n’ Slide. Now, we know it’s not fair to keep all of this fun to ourselves, so if you want to invite the kids to this one and make it an outdoor family party, we guess that’s okay too.

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8 Grown-Up Field Day

closest friends and family, and time it to begin an hour before the sun goes down, so that as you’re enjoying the last bites of your Carolina blue crabs or your local shrimp, you and your guests can witness one of the Outer Banks’ main attractions. Don’t forget to use brown craft paper as a tablecloth; it makes for easy cleanup and can be a fun way for guests to personalize their spot at the table.

After the sun goes down, remember that comfortable seating options will keep your guests socializing and enjoying the party even longer. Bring the indoors outside with a space that easily flows from your house to the great outdoors, allowing for more comfort, space, and ease. Thick, comfortable seat cushions and outdoor couches will encourage conversation well into the night!

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10 Outdoor Movie Night For a more relaxed, intimate affair, drape a sheet over a tree or pin one to a clothesline to create your own movie screen. Get a projector to show your favorite movie, and offer your guests clean, comfy blankets to snuggle with under the stars. Upon your guests’ arrival, display your blankets in a large basket with a chalkboard sign that reads, “Snuggle Up,” in case they need a little direction.

Fire pits and s’mores stations are perfect for outdoor movie nights too. Offer different types of chocolate, crackers, marshmallows, and assorted fruit accoutrements with a pretty and fun s’mores menu that suggests some creative choco-concoctions to liven things up a bit!

No matter what style of host you are, or how you choose to entertain your guests this summer season, keep an open appreciation of the beautiful place in which we live, and use the natural wonder of the Outer Banks itself to guide your celebrations for the remainder of the season.

Happy summer!  Abby Stewart is a writer from Currituck who loves the outdoors and celebrates the beauty of the Outer Banks every chance she gets.

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Summer 2016 | myouterbankshome.com

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Milk Street Soap Company

im and Roger Meacham weren’t looking to change the lives of their family, friends, and neighbors on Ocracoke – they were just looking for a way to help their son.

A Company Is Born Four years ago, the Meachams’ then two-year-old suffered from a serious case of eczema. Kim, a force of great energy and vivaciousness, went in search of a homemade remedy. “I picked up a humble library book on soap simply because it was a beautiful book,” Kim says. “In the middle, I found a recipe for what is now our Mocha Milk soap bar. We checked out piles of books each week, and this delicious, tiny little seed of curiosity bloomed in an entirely unexpected new direction in our lives.”

STORY BY

Meaghan Beasley ✹ PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Milk Street Soap Co. After gathering some ingredients she had on hand, plus a few items ordered from the local hardware store, Kim developed “the first, sloppiest, wonkiest rash-healing bar.

Within a bar, [our son’s] eczema issues nearly cleared. The next two years brought mommies wanting bars at play dates, and family and friends requesting them for Christmas.” From there, soap making took over the Meacham household. According to Kim, every surface was covered “with cookie sheets of hundreds of bars curing. In a grand act of romance, my husband gave me a flat of plywood for Christmas, and he subsequently created our Milk Street Soap bubbly factory under our house. The Meacham household returned to somewhat normal, and the company was born.

“We believe in long-lasting soap bars that bloom around you in your shower with a symphony of luscious, complex essential oil blends,” Kim continues. She describes their soap as being “preposterously bubbly, skin-nurturing, animal-friendly, organic, fairtrade, and [made with] sustainably-sourced ingredients.” Kim also takes pride in the fact that Milk Street Soap Company is locally produced and that they pamper everyone who uses their soap bars. “A good nurturing shower is no secret,” Kim explains. “Bathers tell their friends – and their local shop owners!”

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milk street soap SHOP LOCAL

Those local shop owners have been happy to jump on board too. Milk Street Soap Company can now be found in 38 retail locations throughout the Outer Banks, Raleigh, and other areas that extend all the way up to Maine. “Our business model is like a dandelion puff,” Kim says, “and our rocket growth has been almost all word of mouth. Our little bubbly factory cranks out about 75 pounds of soap each morning, starting at 4 a.m. The huge loaves get cut into bars before they’re put on racks that line the walls to cure for a month or more.

After that the bars are wrapped and sold through our wholesale Soap Stockists, online through our website, or on the road and in person at markets.

“If we can get you wet, we’ll have you hooked!” Kim teases, and the Milk Street labels even advise potential customers that their soap may be habit forming. But now that the local market has been conquered, Kim is looking forward to more online sales. “In an immensely talented team effort, Milk Street Soap will soon launch a super sexy new website with beautiful photos taken on gorgeous Ocracoke Island that feature lots of local friends and business owners modeling 1920s circus costumes. It will be a game changer for information about us and extremely easy shopping!”

Open Source Ocracoke Once Milk Street Soap Company became a success, both Kim and Roger wanted to help their fellow Ocracoke business owners find sustainable yearround growth. “The island’s economy depends almost solely on tourism or commercial fishing,” Kim explains. “That being said, the discussion at our dining table for years has been about how to live in such an awe-inspiring, natural place among the most wonderful people and thrive. Growth is typically very hard won, and it can simply slip away in an instant given that we’re 23 miles out in the ocean.”

The Meachams held a community potluck two years ago, and they invited all the local residents to come out and start a discussion based on “mutual caring, trust, hard work, non-competitive support, and better island economics.

The initial group created ‘Open Source Ocracoke,’ and this quickly took a life of its own. The name embodies open support, information sharing, and trust.”

Today, Open Source Ocracoke is an organic organization that supports the island’s business owners and other residents with regular meetings that are designed to enhance their knowledge. “We are barn raising, inspiring, hiring each other, breaking into teams to learn infrastructure, asking for help from wiser people than ourselves,” Kim says.

All the members of Open Source Ocracoke are already seeing broader rec-

ognition beyond their small community. “We have the support of our local Hyde County Economic Development officers and [officials at] the Beaufort County Community College Small Business Center,” Kim continues. “We are even being watched by the biggies in Raleigh, and Open Source Ocracoke has been called a successful incubator without walls.” Kim is incredibly proud of the work this organization does, and she encourages anyone who lives in a small community to check out Open Source Ocracoke on Facebook for more information.

It’s Not a Job — It’s a Calling “In a better-than-fiction twist of fate, we uncovered an old family journal of healing remedies from the 1900s while cleaning the garage,” Kim says. The journal belonged to Mary Elenora Tierney, Roger’s great-grandmother, and it’s full of 19th-century medicinal recipes. “She could pretty much cure anything from freckles to dysentery,” Kim explains. “She was a maven at tooth powders, shampoos, hair tonics, and wrinkle creams. Interestingly, along with warts and malaria, a tan must have been a terrible thing for a woman at the turn of the century. There are 15 different formulas to bleach skin and remove tans.” Surely the opposite of today’s sun-loving, beach-adoring Outer Bankers.

Kim sees the possibility of drawing on great-grandmother Tierney’s recipes for future product lines within Milk Street Soap Company. “Many of these ‘ancient family secrets’ have been used by our family for years,” she says. “We are in the process of testing and adjusting to expand our organic line into beauty products and green daily useful things inspired by the wisdom of this amazing woman’s journal.” But, perhaps not all of them. “We will not, however, be making cold cream with Spermaceti Oil, brow thickener from Sulpher of Ether, or tan remover that includes Sugar of Lead…modern common sense here!”

Starting a family business can be a daunting, labor-intensive, and stressful endeavor. But for the Meachams, it’s been a great ride so far. “Growing Milk Street Soap Company has been deeply satisfying for our family, and it’s created an opening for us to learn and thrive. This time in our lives feels like puzzle pieces that are unknown at first, but, with thought and support from all kinds of curious places, they click into place…from the kitchen to global commerce!”

When asked if Kim thinks she’s found her calling, she doesn’t hesitate. “I would say yes, I am coming up on my calling. Honestly, I really, really love it!”  Meaghan Beasley supports all local businesses and will, if given a chance, fill your ear with information about why shopping at a mom-and-pop store can save your town.

Summer 2016 | myouterbankshome.com

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1

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All the Pretty

STORY BY

3

More than 15 years after they originally flew onto these islands courtesy of Outer Banks Press, the majestic remnants of the iconic winged horses can still be found scattered along the Outer Banks today.

And the group that made it all happen is preparing to launch a similar project sometime this year with similar horses – just without the wings.

HORSES Michelle Wagner

All photos by Marie Walker unless otherwise noted.

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STEVE ALTERMAN/OUTER BANKS PRESS

inda Lauby, president of Outer Banks Press, says she initiated the public art installation called The Winged Horse Extravaganza back in 2002 to celebrate the 2003 Centennial of Flight. Soon after the project was announced, sponsors jumped on board, commissioning artists to decorate the horses. It wasn’t long before winged horses began popping up all along the Outer Banks, each one bringing its own character and charm.

Between May 2002 and October 2004, 99 lifesized fiberglass horses with aluminum aircraft wings were artistically decorated; some were auctioned off and many were displayed around the Outer Banks.

These winged creations were the talk of the town, written about and loved by both residents and visitors.

Even though the project officially ended in 2004, Outer Banks Press regularly receives a surprising number of inquiries about the winged horses. Still spotted here and there around town, there’s no documented list of exactly where they all ended up.

“I don’t have any idea where all the winged horses are right now, other than the ones I see when I’m driving around the island,” says Lauby. “Maybe we should ask the public to provide us with horse sightings. It might be a fun treasure hunt for them.”

Whatever happened to them, the much-loved horses – with names such as Chillin’ Out, Lacey, Hurricane, Sweet Inspiration, and Beach Bum – quickly became a part of the Outer Banks’ unique identity and culture.

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Can you name the locations? If so, go to myouterbankshome.com/horses for a chance to win a $50 gift card to JK’s Steak & Seafood in Kill Devil Hills, NC! 16

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MARY ANN WILLIAMS

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Lauby’s hoping the second chapter of the project, called Pony OBXpress, will be as much of a hit. “The most important element of Pony OBXpress is that we plan to showcase the work done by the Corolla Wild Horse Fund in protecting and managing our wild horses,” Lauby says.

Lauby also hopes that outdoor installations such as these will encourage people to rethink museum spaces. “A surprising number of people think of museums as boring places that are best suited for grade school field trips or old folks,” Lauby says. “We want to present museums – especially our Outer Banks outdoor museum – as places that are vibrant and fun.” ³

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Love

at First Sip

There’s nothing more refreshing on a hot summer afternoon than an icy cocktail to help you cool down and rejuvenate. Here are six classic cocktails for you, but with a twist. Rosie put her own Outer Banks spin on them to take advantage of northeastern North Carolina’s fresh fruits. Please enjoy these thirst-quenching libations.

Coquina Sunrise

Corolla Colada

STORY & PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Yield: 2 4 oz. rum 2 oz. cream of coconut 1 8-oz. can of crushed pineapple with juice 2 cups ice North Carolina peach slices, for garnish

Rosie Hawthorne

Kill Devilicious Daiquiri Yield: 2 ½ - ¾ cup white rum, depending on your tastes, preferably Kill Devil Silver Rum 2 cups fresh North Carolina strawberries, hulled and roughly chopped 2 limes, juiced 2 cups ice cubes Sprigs of mint, for garnish In a blender, combine rum, strawberries, lime juice, and ice. Pulse to blend. If you like your daiquiris a little more slushy, add more ice a half cup at a time and pulse to desired consistency. Pour into a chilled glasses and garnish with mint and an optional extra strawberry.

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Combine all ingredients in blender and mix well.

Garnish with peach slices and/or an optional slice of pineapple.

SUMMER LIBATIONS

love at first sip Manteo Margarita

Coquina Sunrise (image on previous pg)

Yield: 4 2 cups cubed North Carolina watermelon 1 TB sugar 2 limes, juiced 6 oz. tequila 3 oz. triple sec 2 cups ice 1 lime, cut into wedges for garnish Kosher salt, to rim the glass

Yield: 2 4 oz. tequila 1 ½ cups fresh orange juice Ice cubes 2 oz. grenadine syrup North Carolina cantaloupe, for garnish Orange slices, for garnish Maraschino cherries, for garnish

Moisten the rims of four margarita glasses with a lime wedge, then coat the rims in salt and chill the glasses. In a blender, purée the watermelon, sugar, lime juice, tequila, triple sec, and ice.

Garnish with a lime wedge and an optional watermelon ball.

Mix together tequila and orange juice. Fill chilled glasses with ice cubes and pour in orange juice mixture. Slowly pour an ounce of grenadine into each glass and wait for it to settle to the bottom. Garnish with a slice of cantaloupe, an orange slice, and maraschino cherries.

Monteray Mojito Yield: 2 1 cup blueberries 10 mint leaves 2 TB turbinado sugar 6 TB lime juice 4 oz. rum 4 oz. champagne

Now, just take your cocktails out on the deck, relax, and enjoy the view.

And if Cowboy Kayaker cruises through, by all means offer him a drink!

Divide blueberries, mint, sugar, and lime juice among 2 glasses and muddle the ingredients. Fill the glasses with crushed ice, then pour half the rum and half the champagne into each glass. Garnish with any extra mint and blueberries.

Nags Head Naked Navel Yield: 2 3 oz. vodka 2 oz. peach schnapps 1 cup orange juice North Carolina peach slices, for garnish Sprigs of mint, for garnish Mix vodka, schnapps, and orange juice.

Pour over crushed ice and garnish with peach slices and a sprig of mint.

Summer 2016 | myouterbankshome.com

41

Living History Local icon, Bill Harris, reflects on his collection of memories and other research that adds to a multigenerational story about Kitty Hawk Village – an overarching narrative that includes the way the area once was, and how it continues to evolve to this day.

MEGAN BEASLEY

I

n his home office, just off of Kitty Hawk’s Elijah Baum Road – In order to write his thesis, Bill conducted informal tape-reSTORY BY which, not incidentally, is named after his grandfather – Bill corded interviews with 17 people in the village, many of whom Harris keeps a large blue binder he’s affectionately entitled were born before the turn of the 19th century – including his Amelia Boldaji “The Book.” It may not be the whole of his life’s work, but grandfather, Elijah Baum, who was born in 1885 and was the first it represents several decades of research he’s amassed on a person to greet Wilbur Wright when he arrived on the Outer Banks topic he’s been passionate about for more than half his life: the history of Kitty in 1900. Bill filled 13 tapes worth of this invaluable material in record time.

Hawk Village.

In short, Bill’s senior thesis was an oral history project – well before that “I’m a walking encyclopedia of useless information,” Bill jokes as he scrolls term became an officially recognized discipline. “I wasn’t a very good notethrough thousands of old photos he’s digitized and meticulously organized, taker,” Bill recalls with a laugh. “While you might call it oral history, I called it and easily just as many genealogical entries he’s collected over the years – being lazy.” made even more impressive by the fact that Bill has a story (or several) to tell Though Bill may downplay his contributions to the local community in his about virtually every single one of them. easy-going and light-hearted way, there’s little doubt about how instrumental Born in Kitty Hawk Village in 1937, only seven years after the Wright Mehis achievements have been. After graduating from Guilford, Bill worked for morial Bridge was built, Bill spent all but his early school years in Elizabeth City the federal government for nearly 40 years, including more than a decade of where his father was stationed in the Coast Guard, but he regularly returned employment with the National Park Service’s (NPS) Cape Hatteras National to his grandparents’ house in Kitty Hawk over the summers. After graduating Seashore. Upon retirement, Bill didn’t stop there however; in fact, he went on to high school, he followed in his father’s footsteps with a two-year stint in the serve as mayor of Kitty Hawk from 2001 to 2004.

Coast Guard before enrolling at Guilford College to study history in 1958.

In between all these life changes, Bill never lost sight of his passion for When it came time to pick a subject for his senior thesis, Bill decided to fohistory either. In the ‘70s Bill re-interviewed many of his original subjects for cus on the history of Kitty Hawk Village. Though he might not have recognized “personal pleasure” (gathering almost twice as many tapes during that next it as such then, it was one of his turning points. go around), and he started collecting old pictures, many of which came from “Nobody had written much about the history of Kitty Hawk before then, and his mother’s personal collection (his mother, Edna Baum Harris, is reportedly even now there still isn’t a lot out there,” Bill explains about the initial inspiration one of the first Outer Banks’ residents to own a personal camera during the late behind his college thesis. “But I had a lot of friends and relatives in the village ‘20s). At one point after Bill’s retirement from the NPS, he even sat down and who remembered things, and I enjoy talking with people.” read all the Dare County and Elizabeth City newspapers he could get his hands

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myouterbankshome.com | Summer 2016

living history NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

A LOOK BACK

EDNA BAUM HARRIS COLLECTION

Captain Bill Tate and Elijah Baum at the site of the Wright brothers’ first flight. on that dated from 1925 to 1950, and he incidentally noticed that there was an increase in travel to the Outer Banks every year over that time period – even during war years.

“That was interesting to note, especially since you can only go back so far with other things,” says Bill, who also spent a lot of time digging through deeds and local government documents dating as far back as the 1700s. “Those papers can be spotty during the early days, but you can still pull some things together,” he adds. “For example, deeds can tell you who lived here, and even sometimes what they were doing – like the man who listed his occupation as a cobbler in 1790. It’s not a full picture, but it allows you to glean information of a social nature.”

Bill also believes strongly in the power of reading photographs with a critical eye. Between deeds, oral reports, and some later-dated aerial photography, Bill created a map of Kitty Hawk that depicts, and names, all the ridges (high-level dunes) and swails (low-lying areas that consist of swamps or marshlands) that made up the village in the 1900s – plus the old locations of the “up road” Baptist community and the neighboring “down road” Methodist community. Though Bill used a number of sources for this project, he still credits photographic technology as an instrumental piece of the puzzles he’s still trying to put together. “What photographs allow, or demand, is that you study all the small details you may have overlooked before,” Bill explains.

A longtime close friend of noted local historian, David Stick, the two would often banter about their research, and David even gave Bill unfettered access to his home research library when Bill began working on his college thesis.

“David once told me that you can collect 80 percent of what you need in the first six months…but then you can spend a lifetime adding to it,” laughs Bill. “I get that, but I still want things to be letter perfect every time.”

Bill’s comprehensive research has also made him a go-to person for other historians, such as Pulitzer-Prize winning author David McCullough, who sought Bill’s expertise on the Kitty Hawk area while he was writing his latest New York Times’ bestselling book, The Wright Brothers. “I’m a bit of a jack-leg

EAST COAST AERIALS, INC.

Above: A picture of the first consolidated Kitty Hawk Village School, circa 1929 or 1930. Below : An aerial view of Kitty Hawk.

historian, and I’ve got too much damn information to use,” Bill says. “That’s why I like to give it freely to others. At the end of the day, I just think people ought to tell the right stories.”

And for Bill, who’s been a defining character in “The Book” of Kitty Hawk in untold ways over the decades, the past and the future often have an uncanny way of overlapping.

“Most people come here and fall in love with the Outer Banks as it was the first day they saw it, and they don’t ever want it to change,” Bill says. “But that’s just what happens. We change things. What I’ve seen in my research – and in my lifetime – is the evolution of Kitty Hawk. In many ways that evolution is still ongoing.”  Amelia Boldaji learned more about her hometown from Bill Harris – including the origins of her alma mater (i.e., Kitty Hawk Elementary School) than she ever imagined possible.

Summer 2016 | myouterbankshome.com

43

through the lens A LAST LOOK

Wish you were here here...

Nags Head, NC | View from Blackman Street beach access with Nags Head Pier in the background. Photo by Sue Colao.

Think you have a great Outer Banks photo to share? Email it to art@threedogink.com along with your name and the town you live in for a chance to have it published on this page!

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myouterbankshome.com | Summer 2016

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