The smell of the holidays from newly arrived Christmas trees is prevalent on the Variety Store porch.
Lots happening on the island this week:
TODAY (Wednesday, Nov. 25):
UMW Annual Thanksgiving Bake Sale: At 1 p.m. at the Variety Store The bake sale starts at 1 p.m. Proceeds benefit the United Methodist Women.
Down Creek Gallery opening reception from 5 to 8 p.m. for Melinda Fodrie Sutton showing new works in Down Creek Gallery. Refreshments and live music by Raygun Ruby.
Ocracoke Oyster Co.: Martin and friends 6:30 p.m.
Ocracoke Bar & Grille: Kate McNally 7:30 to 9:50 p.m.
Thanksgiving Day:
The Ocracoke Assembly of God Church will host their annual Friends and Family Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner at 5 p.m. The church will provide turkey and meats; please bring a side dish or dessert. All are welcome. If you can, please RSVP to Pastor Ivey Belch (921-0021, or worship@ocracokeislandag.org).
Ocracoke Oyster Company (252-928-0020) is serving a Thanksgiving buffet from noon to 4 p.m. The full menu will also be available.
Gaffer’s Sports Pubs (252-928-3456) also is serving a full Thanksgiving dinner from noon to 6 p.m.
Jason’s will be closed Thanksgiving Day.
Ocracoke Bar & Grille: Authentic Latin Music 7:30 to 9:50 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 27
Roxy’s Antiques, 585 Irvin Garrish Hwy. (Spencer’s Mkt) 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Open House on both Friday and Saturday. Join us for some good cheer, music, fine libations, delicious hors-d’oeuvres and free gift wrapping for small stuff.
Books to be Red will host an “Adult Coloring Party” from 6 to p.m. The bookshop provides the pages to be colored with crayons or pencils and refreshments.
Ocracoke Alive Thanksgiving Fundraising Concert, 7:30 p.m. in the Ocracoke Community Center. Performers include Donald Davis, Gary & Fiddler Dave of Molasses Creek, Capt. Rob Temple, Sundae Horn, Jef the Mime, Scott Paulson & Barb Smith and more. Proceeds go to support Ocracoke Alive’s programming in the community. The Magic Bean will provide drinks and goodies. Some pre-sale tickets are available online at www.ocracokealive.org and some will be available at the door. Tickets are $15 adults; $7 kids.
Ocracoke Oyster Co.: Martin and friends 6:30 p.m.
Ocracoke Bar & Grille: Rando Musicians 7:30 to 9:50 p.m.
Gaffer’s: The Chit Nasty Band 9 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 28
Roxy’s Antiques, 585 Irvin Garrish Hwy. (Spencer’s Mkt) will host an Open House on both Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Good cheer, music, fine libations, delicious hors d’oeuvres and free gift wrapping for small stuff.
Holiday Open House at Books to Be Red. Sales and refreshments. 1 to 4 p.m.
Zillie’s Annual Holiday Open House, Noon to 6 p.m. Complimentary spiced apple cider, hot mulled wine, holiday treats and secret surprise savings await during this festive afternoon.
Ocracoke Oyster Co.: Martin and friends 6:30 p.m.
Ocracoke Bar & Grille: Authentic Latin Music 7:30 to 9:50 p.m.
Gaffer’s: The Chit Nasty Band 9 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 30
Ocracoke Bar & Grille: Kate McNally 7:30 to 9:50 p.m.
“Cloud Front South Point’ will be among the works by Melinda Sutton on view at a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Nov. 25
Melinda Fodrie Sutton’s photography will close the “Expose Yourself to Art” openings from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday (Nov. 25) in Down Creek Gallery, 260 Irvin Garrish Hwy.
For the last two years, Sutton has been capturing Ocracoke’s scenic beauty almost daily. She is interested in landscape, nature and architectural design.
“I love walking and taking pictures,” she said about her work. “I see the world differently.”
What began as a therapeutic “walk-about” period, 10,000 steps a day with her iPhone camera at the ready, soon evolved into her getting more and better cameras.
Photo sharing on Facebook led to lots of support and enthusiastic feedback from friends “liking” this new direction.
Encouraged to pursue photography more seriously, she enrolled in a four-week class in landscape photography at the University of South Carolina in Charleston.
Her compositions, vivid color, clarity and story-telling within the photos are eye-catching and compelling.
The reception is open to the public. Musical guests will be Raygun Ruby playing 1980s music.
Raygun Ruby will perform at Melinda Sutton’s art opening Wednesday evening.
Ocracoke Alive is reviving its Thanksgiving Fundraising Concert with an event on Friday (Nov. 27) at 7:30 p.m. in the Ocracoke Community Center.
The concert features performances by storyteller Donald Davis, Gary and Fiddler Dave of Molasses Creek, storyteller Capt. Rob Temple, singer Sundae Horn, Jef the Mime, Scott Paulson & Barb Smith and more.
Proceeds go to support Ocracoke Alive’s programming in the community.
The Magic Bean will be on hand to provide drinks and goodies. It’s a great way to spend the day after turkey day!
Some pre-sale tickets are available online at www.ocracokealive.org, and some will be available at the door.
To see more profiles in the Birds of Ocracoke series, click here
Phalacrocorax auritus
Text and photos by Peter Vankevich
Perhaps the signature seabird of Ocracoke during the fall and winter, these birds are present in the thousands. All throughout the day, one may see lines of them flying just above the water numbering in the hundreds. When flying higher in the air, they will use a V-formation.
These cormorants float low in the water and in flight, are easily identified by a long neck and body with black or dark-brown plumage with orange-yellow
Carol Pahl estimating the great number of Double-crested Cormorants on Ocracoke on a Christmas Bird Count.
skin of the face and throat. Breeding plumage will have a dull greenish or bronze gloss that fades out over time. The underparts of a juvenile are lighter than the back with a pale throat and breast that darkens towards the belly.
The “double crest” is a poor field mark; apparent for only a brief time during courtship.
Cormorants dive from the surface to forage on schooling fish, bottom-dwelling fish and invertebrates. They may be seen perched with their wings spread to dry.
Generally silent on Ocracoke, though the sound of their wings can be delightful.
Listen
(audio provided courtesy of OhioLINK Digital Resource Commons)
When to see: Possible year around, a few nonbreeders in summer. Abundant by mid-fall till early spring.
Where: Both Ocracoke and Hatteras inlets. In flight over ocean, island and sound. Look for long straight lines of flocks. Dawn arisings from roosts can be spectacular.
Click herefor the Birds of the Outer Banks checklist
Notes:
The Double-crested Cormorant is the most numerous and most widely distributed species of the 6 North American cormorants and is the only cormorant to occur in large numbers in the interior as well as on the coasts. Their wintering grounds in North Carolina have increased substantially throughout the state to include many lakes, reservoirs and rivers.
There are just a couple of known breeding sites in North Carolina.
There have been extensive studies on the levels and effects of contaminants on this species. Cormorants acquire contaminants from the fish they eat and high levels can signify environmental problems.
A similar species is the Great Cormorant which may be seen on occasion on and around the island. It is somewhat larger and thicker overall; breeding adults have prominent white flank patches and a less-obvious white patch around the bill. Juvenile Great Cormorants have a white belly. Great Cormorants tend to perch on pilings.
Perceived as a threat to fish populations, both recreational and commercial aquaculture facilities (primarily catfish), permits have been issued to control their numbers. This is a controversial measure with some questioning its effectiveness.
Double-crested Cormorants and Northern Gannets off breakers of Ocracoke beach.
Marketing expert Linda Rozelle of Greensboro conducts a workshop on “Marketing for the Craftsperson & Artist” Thursday and Friday in the Ocracoke Community Center.
Text and photos by Connie Leinbach
Courtney Contreras had recently lost some enthusiasm for her new-found art avocation, but a marketing workshop on Ocracoke Thursday and Friday with marketing expert Linda Rozelle inspired her.
“This completely reignited my passion,” Contreras said Friday morning in the Ocracoke Community Center after Rozelle had taken nearly 40 local artists, small business owners, and budding entrepreneurs through some ABCs of marketing, pricing, presentation, the world of craft shows and more.
A commercial artist, Rozelle has designed hundreds of corporate identity programs nationwide and has been nationally recognized for excellence in advertising
Following one’s passion was one of Rozelle’s refrains.
“You’ll always be happy with things you are passionate about,” she said.
Contreras creates hand-made signs from wooden pallet pieces, combined with roses made from old book pages, maps or song lyrics.
For each piece, Contreras painstakingly makes roses from the old paper, prepares the wood and creates the lettering.
Linda Rozelle talks to Courtney Contreras about marketing her art.
She told Rozelle that she mostly has given these pieces away, a practice Rozelle didn’t encourage.
“I was blown away by the talent,” Contreras said about the workshop. “I was at the point of giving up and not pursuing (these projects), but now I’m inspired and encouraged and humbled.”
Contreras is certain the seeds planted by the workshop will bloom in the months to come.
Rozelle, of Greensboro, was smitten with Contreras’s work, as she was with a number of the attendees’ art, and encouraged them to charge a high enough price. She likened charging too little with working for minimum wage.
“Your talent is worth something,” she told the group on Thursday. “Stop making it (your art) so everyone can afford it. Don’t sell yourself short. The buying public wants the higher-priced item.”
Artists have to be artists and business people, she said.
“You need a great marketing plan first,” Rozelle said. “Your art is all about the story,” she said and peppered her talk with many stories of clever marketing ploys. “Give us a story. We’re all looking for a story.”
Rozelle, who was giving her final marketing class on Ocracoke before she retires, explained how correctly designed business cards (or flyers) are crucial to sales since they are marketing pieces.
“Your business image is their conception of who you are,” she said. “If you do a good job with your marketing, you’ll make money.”
Linda Rozelle, left, with Melinda Sutton, right, encourages Sutton’s idea to put her artwork on souvenir license plates. She also encourages artists to sell their art to the corporate world. Also pictured are Gisette Suarez of Beaufort, far left, Katie Mitchell, center, of the Magic Bean, Leslie Lanier with Books To Be Red, Judith Saunders, basket artist, and Roger Meacham of Milk Street Soap.
She encouraged the group to be aggressive.
“You need ego strength,” she said. “Don’t underestimate how good you are.”
Spearheaded by Kim Meacham, the workshop was a collaboration between her Open Source Ocracoke group, Hyde County Economic Development Office and Beaufort County Community College where Rozelle had taught a marketing class.
“I took her class in the spring and I begged her to come to Ocracoke,” Meacham said after Friday’s morning session. She talked to Lentz Stowe, the BCCC small business center director, who helped get it rolling. Sarah Johnson, outgoing Hyde County public information officer, helped coordinate the seminar.
“This was a big success,” Stowe said about the workshop. “It’s all about grass-roots economic development and it creates jobs.”
Rozelle is a subject-matter expert, he said.
“She’s a known commodity across the state,” he said.
“There so much talent here,” Rozelle said after she finished talking to each artisan or business owner. “This was a fun group. Ocracoke is blessed.”
Like Contreras, attendees were energized by the seminar and the networking opportunities with other artists.
Linda Rozelle counsels Casey Winslow of Stillwater Day Spa, seated. Will Winslow and baby Rowan are at right. Sue Dayton of Roxys Antiques is at left.
“Even being a beginner or an established business, this gave you direction on where you want to go or how to change,” noted Casey Winslow, owner of Stillwater Day Spa.
Mike Woodward, who owns Carolina Wilderness Adventures in Kitty Hawk, came especially for the workshop.
“I learned so much,” he said. “What she’s teaching and presenting is invaluable beyond the intended audience (of artisans).”
“I feel like I want to go home and go crazy and expand my business,” said April Williamson of Kill Devil Hills and who creates decorated head bands and gloves out of felted wool.
As a result of Rozelle’s talk, she will devise a better name for her business.
“She said my name and card wasn’t classy enough,” Williamson said.
April Trueblood, a musician with Raygun Ruby as well as the new owner of Indiantown Gallery in Frisco, consigned some of the attendees work in her gallery.
“I also got an idea I never had before, and I hope it will benefit our whole artist community in Hatteras,” she said cryptically.
Meacham said the workshop exceeded her expectations.
Sarah Johnson, Hyde County public information officer, helped facilitate the workshop spearheaded by Kim Meacham, owner of Milk Street Soap. They are with W. Lentz Stowe, right, director of the small business center at Beaufort County Community College, who brought the program to the island.
“I can’t wait to see what these seeds bring forth,” she said. “This town was just thirsty for this program.”
Hyde County is also working with BCCC to establish a learning center at the Hyde Davis Business Center in Engelhard.
For related story on Open Source Ocracoke, click here.
See also their Facebook page at Open Source Ocracoke.
James Joyce of Mount Airy enjoys fishing on Ocracoke in late fall.
Text and photos by Connie Leinbach
James Joyce of Mount Airy, Surry County, has been coming to Ocracoke every October for the last 30 years to surf fish.
While he has gone out charter fishing at times, it’s sitting on the beach he prefers.
“I just like fishing on this little island,” he said recently while waiting for blues, drum or flounder to bite after having landed a large sting ray.
He particularly likes to fish at the north end of the island near the inlet.
“I’ve hooked some big fish here,” he said.
Judy and Skip Simon, of Bernville, Pa., vacation on Ocracoke every year for two weeks in October because of the good fishing.
“The fish are all coming out of the sound as the water gets colder and the other fish are starting to move,” Judy said as she prepped a line on the beach at Ramp 67.
The sting ray caught by James Joyce.
She said they like to use circle hooks because fish hook themselves on the lips (for easier removal) and get snagged in their bodies.
Every day they fished during their two weeks they caught at least one fish, but for the Simons, the solitude of the island.
“It’s zen,” Judy said and the relaxation fishing provides. “It doesn’t matter if I catch them or not.”
Alan Sutton, owner of Trade Winds Tackle, said that some of the biggest drum of the year can be caught during the first two weeks of November.
Skip and Judy Simon of Bernville, Pa., visit Ocracoke every year for two weeks in October when the fishing is good.
The world record drum (94 pounds) was caught of Hatteras Nov. 7, 1984, he said.
Drum can be caught in the surf during the colder months, he said. Sometime around mid-November, they leave the Sound and venture into the ocean.
When the water temperature gets below 57 degrees (December and January), the drum won’t eat bait but can be caught on lures.
Other fish around in November are small bluefish, speckled trout, sea mullet, jumping mullets, king fish and menhaden.
While many charter boats are not as active in the colder months, they can be hired to fish offshore for wahoo and other bottom fish.
Lauren Strohl, owner of Graceful Bakery, with her mentee, Stacey ONeal. Photo by P. Vankevich
By Peter Vankevich Island business owners are teaching their trades to the younger generation under Ocracoke School’s work-study program. Stacey O’Neal, a junior, is working at the Graceful Bakery making fresh-baked cakes. An honor roll student, Stacey first learned the retail side last summer. She and Lauren Strohl, bakery owner, got along so well that Stacey branched into baking cakes this summer, dubbing her venture “Cakes by Stacey.” “I’ve always liked baking,” she said about why she chose to intern for about seven hours a week at Graceful Bakery, a food truck along Back Road. Learning to bake will help prepare her for future studies since she would like to study culinary arts after she graduates from high school. She t also is learning the fine art of decorating, including lettering. She had an opportunity to show her skills when she prepared a cake for
Writer Jaki Shelton Green with a cake prepared by Stacey O’Neal for SistaWrite, Green’s women’s writers group. Photo by P. Vankevich
SistaWrite, a writer’s group brought to the island by acclaimed North Carolina writer Jaki Shelton Green. At a dinner hosted by the Ocracoke Observer, the group was touched by the special cake Stacey had prepared for them.
The work-study program is modeled under guidelines established by the North Carolina Department of Public
Instruction where students participate in the daily operations of a work site under the direct supervision of a business mentor. Their website states that students should learn about a particular industry or occupation and apply knowledge and skills they learn in the classroom. The work experience should contribute to the student’s career pathway helping the student to narrow their career choices. Mary McKnight, the school’s guidance counselor, said the program started in 2012 and has since grown. “It’s usually only available to 11th and 12th-graders,” she said, “but we currently have a 10th-grader who is participating. The mentors do provide some sort of compensation for the students’ work and the students receive a credit here at the school.” Stacey said her favorite class is math, and applying fractions to the precise measurements for ingredients has really helped her. “I am thrilled to have Stacey at the bakery,” Strohl said. “She is a talented baker, and a dedicated employee. I am honored that she chose to do her Work Study program with the bakery, and am excited about the opportunities this experience will create for her.” Strohl said Stacey is helping this month as Graceful Bakery is open and will take special orders for breads, cakes and other baked goods for Thanksgiving. McKnight also thinks highly of this opportunity for students to learn about a business and not be just an employee. “It’s very beneficial to our students and our community,” she said. “First of all, it connects the school with the community and that is always important. Second, these students are trying to figure out what careers might be good for them.” McKnight is grateful to all the businesses that have agreed to be part of this program and be mentors in the students’ lives. “It truly expands the walls of this school to the whole community,” she added. Other students participating in the work-study program include Evin Caswell at Jason’s Restaurant,; Brandon O’Neal at the Ocracoke Bar & Grille and the Gas Station; Kevin Perez at Jimmy’s Auto Garage; Aldo Serrano with Jason Daniel’s at Daniels’sign studio; Caroline Temple at the Fish House; Karen Perez at La Brisa and Iris Trejo at Halo Hair Studio.
Evening ride on the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry. Photo by C. Leinbach
Nov. 18; 12:23 p.m.
Annual Coast Guard inspection of M/V Ocracoke to take place Thursday
Hatteras – Due to a U.S. Coast Guard inspection of the M/V Ocracoke, the North Carolina Ferry System’s Hatteras-Ocracoke route will be on an amended schedule for Thursday, Nov. 19.
The schedule for Nov. 19 will be as follows:
Departures from Hatteras: 5 a.m., 6, 8, 9, 11, Noon, 2 p.m., 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, and midnight.
Departures from Ocracoke: 4:30 a.m., 6:30, 7:30, 9:30, 10:30, 12:30 p.m., 1:30, 3:30, 4:30, 6:30,7:30, 9:30, 10:30, and 12:30 a.m.
The route will resume its regular winter schedule on Friday, Nov. 20.
The Dare County Commissioners last night decided not to rescind their recent vote to support tolling the free car ferry route from Hatteras to Ocracoke.
Hyde County Manager Bill Rich was on the agenda at last night’s meeting, which is available for viewing on the Dare County Commissioners’ website http://www.darenc.com/BOC/. He also filed written comments that can be viewed by clickinghere.
He asked the commissioners to rescind their vote taken Oct. 16 to support tolling the Hatteras Ferry after a presentation by the Ferry Division.
After comments from five of the seven commissioners, Warren Judge made a motion to rescind their prior vote, but the motion failed 5 to 2. Only he and Allen Burrus, the commissioner who represents the southern end of Dare County, voted to rescind the prior vote. The vote also was split by partisan lines. Those supporting the tolling measure were all Republican, Judge and Burrus, Democrats.
Neither Beverly Boswell nor Margarette Umphlett spoke but voted with the others.
This does not mean the Hatteras Ferry is now tolled; it means that Dare supports a toll should that possibility arise.
Before calling for the vote on Judge’s motion, Wally Overman, vice-chair of the board, said that their action is a moot point because right now the RPO has not voted on this issue.
“But we need to keep our options open,” he said. “If the General Assembly can’t (get funding for ferries out of the RPO) then we got to do something given the dire situation given to us by Ferry Division on ferry replacement.”
The Albemarle Regional Planning Organization (ARPO or RPO), in a new transportation funding system set up by the state, is tasked with funding all transportation needs in its 10-county area (including Dare and Hyde) with a yearly allotment of $32 million.
In his comments, Rich stressed that State Reps. Paul Tine (U) and John Torbett (R), co-chairs of the House Appropriations Committee Transportation, have said to hold off on this issue until sometime after April when Legislators convene. The two have promised to work on getting the funds for replacement ferries out of local control.
Ferry replacement funds is at the heart of the wrangling over ferry tolling.
Ed Goodwin, ferry division chief, has stressed in meetings on Ocracoke that the fleet of 22 ferries is aging, with the average age at about 25 years old and two over 52.
“We’re a little brother to you guys (Dare County),” Rich said. “Everything we suffer through you suffer through. I ask that we work together on this and you rescind your vote and allow the General Assembly to work on it in the spring.”
Judge, in his comments about rescinding the prior vote, agreed, saying this vote was not to be construed as a slant against the NCDOT or Ferry Division, but that the two counties need to stand together.
Warren Judge, a Dare County Commissioner, speaks against tolling the Hatteras Ferry.
“Decades ago, the state decided to put in ferries to get people to jobs and visitors here,” he said. “No one’s yet been able to explain to me why we’re making a difference between ferries and any road or bridge in this state.”
Commissioner Jack Shea said at the last meeting the RPO group had a consensus that it would not vote yay or nay on ferry tolling.
“It’s the Legislature’s responsibility (to fund ferry replacement),” he said. “It’s wrong to push down the financial responsibility for ferries on this RPO. Funding ferries takes away from funding bridges and roads.”
Allen Burrus, Dare County commissioner for southern Dare.
Allen Burrus, who represents southern Dare County, likened a toll on the Hatteras ferry to another tax on people who use it for work and supporting tolls will hurt the economy of southern Hatteras island.
“Put a toll on it and it’s the last trip we’ll make,” he said. “When you start tolls where does it stop? Bridges? It was a poor decision by ferry division 18 months ago when they went to the long haul. It’s a lot of money. They could have spent that money on dredging. This is wrong.”
“We stand with the people of southern Dare County,” Overman said disagreeing with the assessment by Burrus. “The question we need to consider is have we heard anything appreciatively different from what we heard two weeks ago? Everywhere passenger ferries have come in have been an economic boon wherever they’ve gone. It’s not a slam against anyone.”
Since Gov. Pat McCrory’s election, the state has revamped how it doles out transportation money and put decisions to enact tolls into the hands of local folks.
A complicated funding procedure McCrory devised and called the Strategic Transportation Investments (STI) divides the state into 10 regions. Some of the regions overlap, further complicating the funding process.
Prior to STI, ferry replacements were done by an appropriation from the Legislature. Rich has stressed that the money raised from collecting tolls on the Hatteras ferry would not come close to covering the costs of replacing three new car ferries.
Since a new car ferry costs $12 to $15 million—which would be half of the RPO allotment—that would take away from other much needed projects. Even taking out $5 million a year to build up a ferry replacement fund is at question.
At a meeting on Ocracoke Monday with Tim Hass, Ferry Division spokesman, and Rich, Hass said that current law allows for two ways to fund new ferries: from the RPO funds or tolling. Advertising also is an option, but the ferry division has yet to receive any advertising dollars.
Hass said the Ferry Division is not the one deciding to seek a toll on the Hatteras Ferry, but Rich had another view.
“This new effort to toll Hatteras came from within the Department of Transportation,” he said. “That’s what created the crisis.”
