The political balance of North Carolina’s highest court hangs on the Nov. 8 ballot.
Two candidates are campaigning for one seat on the seven-member North Carolina Supreme Court.
Robert Edmunds
This race is the result of a court case overturning as unconstitutional a 2015 General Assembly law that permitted judges to be “retained” without competing for the seat.
The current judge now up for re-election, Senior Associate Robert Edmunds, did not take part in that decision.
The outcome of this race could shift the court from the current 4 to 3 conservative majority to a more liberal-leaning court. While most North Carolina Supreme Court decisions have been unanimous, recent decisions on legislative and Congressional redistricting and the taxpayer funding of private charter schools reflect the conservative majority on the court.
Judicial candidates in all levels are officially non-partisan, so candidates’ party affiliations are not shown on the ballot.
Edmunds was first elected to the court in 2000 and re-elected to a second eight-year term in 2008. His career includes serving as a U.S. attorney, in a private law practice and as a justice for two years on the North Carolina Court of Appeals.
Edmunds is a registered Republican endorsed by Gov. Pat McCrory and supported by the North Carolina Republican Party. Other endorsements include former chief justices, 95 of North Carolina’s 100 county sheriffs (including Hyde County Sheriff Guire Cahoon), the North Carolina Conservatives Political Action Committee and the pro-gun rights group Grassroots North Carolina.
Michael Morgan
In his North Carolina State Board of Elections candidate statement, Edmunds stresses his court experience, demonstrating “impartiality, respect for our state and Federal constitutions, and dedication to the rule of law.” His campaign website is at justiceedmunds.com.
Edmund’s challenger is Wake County Superior Court Judge Michael R. Morgan, a Democrat, who has held that seat since 2005. He previously served as a district court judge from 1994 to 2004. Prior experience includes having been an administrative law judge and staff attorney with the North Carolina Department of Justice. Morgan has been a faculty member at the National Judicial College for the last 24 years.
Morgan’s endorsements include the North Carolina AFL-CIO, the North Carolina Fraternal Order of Police, the Sierra Club of Western North Carolina, the North Carolina Association of Educators and the Triangle newspaper “Indy Week.”
Morgan’s candidate statement focuses on his 26 years as a trial judge:
“As a supreme court justice, I shall continue my judicial and personal commitment to promote and preserve fairness, impartiality and justice for all in North Carolina’s court system.” Morgan’s campaign website is at judgemichaelmorgan.com.
The pirate crews take a break from helping at Blackbeard’s Lodge for a photo. Top Row: Jeffrey Noel, Dallas Williams, Chip Stevens, Michelle Murillo, Ben Bunn and Joshua Byers. Second Row: Helena Stevens (standing), Mike Barnthouse (sitting), Laura Noel (sitting). Third Row: Kyle Gurney (standing), Jo Cannon (sitting), John Collamore (sitting). Bottom Row: James Byers (standing), Carl Cannon (sitting), JP Jordaans (Sitting). Photo courtesy of Michelle Murillo
When Laura Noel heard about the flood devastation on Ocracoke and that Blackbeard’s Pirate Jamboree was canceled, she and others in the pirate community came to Ocracoke on their own to lend a hand.
Noel, who is a master gunner, is part of the Colonial Seaport Foundation, a nonprofit in Deltaville, Va., interested in preserving colonial (17th- and 18th-century) maritime heritage through historically accurate living history demonstrations.
She and several other living history crews were scheduled to participate in Blackbeard’s Pirate Jamboree Oct. 28 to 30.
But when Hurricane Matthew on Oct. 9 brought a tide surge of 4 feet seven inches, the first floor of Blackbeard’s Lodge—pirate central–received this wave of water.
Since this lodge houses the majority of the pirate reenactors for the event, and with the uncertainty as to how the rest of eastern North Carolina and eastern Virginia fared (which is the area where most of the fest-goers and pirates live) from the resulting river floods, festival organizers decided to cancel the event.
The island reeled and almost every home and business had some kind of water damage. This was evident in the days following the storm as islanders began placing water-damaged items along the roads.
Pirate crews rebuild damaged walkways and railings at Blackbeards Lodge. Photo: C. Leinbach
About 70 pirate reenactors were scheduled to participate in the festival, and Noel and 14 other piratical living history reenactors descended on the island on their own Thursday to help Chip and Helena Stevens, Blackbeard’s Lodge owners, haul out damaged furniture and rebuild what they could—railings, walkways and picnic tables.
“We wanted to do what we could to help our friends,” said Jo Cannon of Beaufort, who with her husband Carl compose the Cannon Crew. “That’s why we’re here.”
Carl said he just didn’t like the idea of sitting at home doing nothing while the Stevens’s had so much to deal with.
“Chip didn’t ask us to come,” said Noel, who is known as “Madame Grace” in the pirate community. “We told him we were coming.”
Along with island businesses, the pirates were sorry that the festival as planned would not go on, but Noel said many in their community who live in eastern N.C. would not have been able to attend.
One of those was the man who was to play Blackbeard, Clay Rains, who lives in Kinston.
“His house was landlocked until a few days ago, and he got sick from the water,” Noel said. Michelle Murillo, of St. Augustine, Fla., said Matthew inundated her neighborhood, too.
Her partner, Lawrence, who is still in Florida, got sick from contact with floodwaters.
“A lot of the pirate groups got sick, too, so a lot of people still would not have been here,” she said. “We had pirate crews dealing with their own stuff.”
Noel said the crews were concerned about the soggy grounds on which the crews set up their encampment.
Damaged goods at Blackbeards Lodge on Back Road. Photo: C. Leinbach
“We’re talking mold and mildew,” she said, “and walking in sewagy soil in thousand-dollar costumes.”
The 15-member group of pirate helpers was organized by Ben Bunn of New Bern, who is captain of the historic skipjack the Ada Mae and which, during the Jamboree, participates in the three-ship Battle of Ocracoke between Blackbeard and Lt. Maynard.
“You all have provided us with a great place to play and if we could help Chip and Helena we wanted to do that,” he said. During the event, the pirate reenactors don’t get much time to bond with each other, but helping last weekend gave them that opportunity.
“A lot of us are experienced carpenters and electricians,” he said. “It was amazing how meaningful this experience was.”
J.P. Jordaans of Mechanicsville, Va., brought six of his “militia” crew, The King’s Rangers. He helms the Sea Scout Ship 530, a group under the Boy Scouts of America who learn maritime skills, and the Rangers play the part of the Royal Navy, who are the “pirate hunters” during the Jamboree.
The Motley Tones entertain patrons in the Ocracoke Bar & Grille Friday and Saturday night. Photo: Michelle Murillo
“Part of scouting is being helpful and we thought it was the right thing to come down and help,” Jordaans said. “The bonds of friendship were built last weekend.”
Taking a break from hammering and lifting, Noel recalled that during the Blackbeard festival in 2012 near the town of Hampton Va., a tornado struck their pirate encampment.
“But we were already there,” she said.
Hundreds of people came out of the woodwork and asked how they could help, she said.
That area has immediate resources at the ready. Shards of glass were all over the place; a nearby roof was torn off; someone brought a load of sand to fill in the encampment where the tornado had hit; the Red Cross, church groups and others showed up with food and first aid and to help repair what they could so that the show could go on albeit late and modified, she said.
“Here, you’re on an island,” she said. “You guys are remote.”
The effects from Hurricane Matthew continued to unfold after the storm passed.
“We didn’t know how many rental houses were affected by the storm, or how the ferry channels or roads were going to be,” Chip Stevens noted.
“Route 168 near the Dismal Swamp just opened up a week ago,” Noel said.
Since they were on the island, the pirates decided to do their march to Springer’s Point for the Blackbeard memorial. Photo: C. Leinbach
In the days following the decision to cancel the event, Sean Death, owner of the Ocracoke Bar and Grille (O Bar), on his own hired the Motley Tones to come to the island and play their Friday and Saturday night gigs of sea faring and bawdy songs.
After the day’s work helping at the Lodge, the pirate reenactors donned their authentic period costumes and attended both nights.
Concurrently, other members of the community rallied to have some events around the island both days, in local businesses and in Community Square. Saturday night was Halloween costume party nights at Howard’s Pub and Gaffer’s Sports Bar.
Molly Brooks and Sean Shean of Aspen, Colo., who were doing an Outer Banks tour, ventured to the island on Saturday specifically to attend the festival but were not disappointed to find pirate events only at the O Bar and a smaller version Sunday morning of the traditional memorial service for Blackbeard’s battle at Springer’s Point.
“We had a great time,” Sean said Sunday morning after the service. “We got to meet the people on center stage up close and personal. I don’t think we would’ve gotten to do that in the large encampment.”
The Sunday memorial at Springer’s Point at which the crews of Blackbeard and Lt. Maynard are remembered. Photo: C. Leinbach
Since the pirates were already here, they wanted to do the service, Noel said.
“We wanted to make sure Hurricane Matthew didn’t get away with everything,” she said. “We were out eating and drinking. We wanted to try to go on and give back to the community.”
Indeed, if one were keeping score, it would be Pirates 3, Hurricanes 3. The first two attempts at the Pirates Jamboree were canceled due to Hurricanes Irene and Sandy. Then there three consecutive events, though one, two years ago, had a forecast that was touch and go. Matthew has now made it a tie.
Living-history reenactors helping out last weekend were as follows: Carolina Coastal Classrooms’ Ada Mae Crew – Benn Bunn and Mark Barnthouse; Colonial Seaport Foundation – Laura Noel, John Collamore, Jeff Noel and Leanne Sheppard; Sea Scout Ship 530 “The King’s Rangers” – J.P. Jordaans, James Byers, Josh Byers, Kyle Gurney and James Persinger; Presenting the Past – Michelle Murillo; The Cannon Crew – Jo Cannon, Carl Cannon, Dallas Williams
From left, The Cannon Crew, Jo and Carl Cannon, with Sean Shean and Molly Brooks of Aspen, Colo., at the Sunday morning pirate memorial on Springer’s Point. Photo: C. LeinbachTrudy Austin and John Simpson sell photos and fig preserves along Irvin Garrish Highway. Photo: C. LeinbachThe Ocracoke School PTA sells chicken dinners in Community Square on Saturday to raise money for an off-island field trip. Photo: C. Leinbach
Early voting on Ocracoke for the general election begins today.
The polling place in the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department, 822 Irvin Garrish Highway, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today (Nov. 2) and tomorrow. This is the same location for the general election from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8.
Below are some articles the Observer has posted about the candidates and their offices:
Coming off a win in the March 15 primary as the Democratic nominee for Commissioner of Labor, Charles Meeker was soon seen spending a few days on Ocracoke.
“I came here after I won my election for mayor in 2001 and have made it a tradition to come here for a little rest and relaxation after a political battle,” he said with a smile, noting he has spent time on the island every year since 1960. “I got in a jog and swim on the beach this morning.”
Meeker, 66, who garnered 56 percent of the vote against Mazie Ferguson, an attorney, Baptist minister and civil rights activist from Greensboro, faces off against Republican Cherie Berry, who has served in that office since 2000. She had no opponents in the primary.
He is a son of long-time resident the late Leonard Meeker, who was a former ambassador to Romania and legal adviser in the State Department, and his first wife, Christine Halliday, also deceased. His step-mother Beverly Meeker lives on Ocracoke.
The commissioner leads the N.C. Department of Labor, which is charged by state law with promoting the “health, safety and general well-being” of more than 4 million North Carolina workers.
It oversees workplace safety, inspecting elevators, mines and amusement rides, and administers the state’s wage-and-hour law.
As for the managing the department’s approximately 350 employees and $33 million budget, Meeker said his priority would be getting the department working effectively and efficiently.
“We need to improve worker safety through education and inspection to reduce the dozens of serious accidents and fatalities in our State every year,” he said. “A lot of people are surprised that records gathered since 2014 show that 128 North Carolinians have been killed in workplace accidents and dozens and dozens more seriously injured. That needs to be a focus in terms of training and education for employers and workers using equipment.”
Meeker does not believe his opponent has done enough for wage-and-hour controls regulated by the department, saying she is too soft on employers who have failed to pay employees according to the law. Employers who incorrectly classify workers as independent contractors gain an unfair competitive advantage over businesses that follow the law, he said.
“When an employer fails to pay workers what they are owed, the Department of Labor needs to take decisive steps, whether through negotiations or court proceedings,” he said and does not believe the current commissioner is doing that.
A graduate of Yale University (1972) and Columbia University Law School (1975), he served as mayor of Raleigh for 10 years, winning his first two-year term in 2001. After five terms, he did not seek re-election. He previously served for eight years as a member of the Raleigh City Council.
The Commissioner of Labor is a member of the Council of State, consisting of 10 elected officials who advise the governor.
Meeker sees this advisory role as a way to help preserve the environment in Eastern Carolina and offer opinions on other important state issues including education.
Berry, 69, is running for a fifth term as labor commissioner.
Prior to that she served in the North Carolina House of Representatives (District 45) from 1993 to 2000, where she chaired the Commerce Committee. She also owned LGM Ltd, in Catawba County, a business which produced spark plug wires for the automobile industry.
Berry has one of the most recognizable faces in the state. Since 2005, her picture has been on the inspection certificates of approximately 25,000 state-wide elevators. She is known as “The Elevator Queen,” a title her website says she readily embraces.
Meeker responded: “My view on that is that space should be used to honor workers such as teachers, firefighters, truck drivers who are making the state a better place, and not just to promote a career politician,” he said. “So, should I get elected, I’ll make a change on that picture in the elevator.”
A self-identified conservative, Berry in 2012 said North Carolina should abolish the minimum wage. She is an advocate of sustainable economic growth and against the special interests seeking redundant, job-killing regulations.
Cherie Berry’s elevator campaign.
Berry believes that worker safety is her primary role and cites the decrease in cases of injury or illness for workers during every year of her tenure. The number now stands at 2.7 per 100 workers, the lowest in North Carolina’s history.
“I’m running for re-election because I want to continue that downward trend in injuries and illnesses of workers, both in the public sector and private sector,” said Berry.
In response to criticisms that the labor department is not doing enough, a charge leveled, among others, by the Raleigh News&Observer in a series of articles and editorials, she is unapologetic.
“I’ve been accused of being too business friendly, but that’s what it’s all about,” she recently told the North Star Journal. “I’d like to think we had a partnership with (businesses), and they saw us not so much as a regulatory agency that had an adversarial relationship with them, but more as their partners in trying to create safe and healthy work places.”
The state dredge Manteo in the Ocracoke basin near the South Dock. Photo: C. Leinbach
Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016. 4:01 p.m.
The N.C. Transportation Ferry Division has ceased evening runs between Hatteras and Ocracoke for the next few days so that the a section of the inlet near the Ocracoke basin can be dredged.
The Ferry Division on Monday ended night departures from Hatteras at 5 p.m. and the Ocracoke side at 6:30 p.m. However, an earlier press release had only said that the schedule would be disrupted.
According the the NCDOT Ferry Division’s Twitter feed, the following schedule is in effect.
Temporary schedule for Hatteras-Ocracoke while the dredge is working: 5 a.m., 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, noon, 1 p.m., 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6.
According to a story Monday (Oct. 31) on the OBX Voice, when dredging began, Ferry Division Deputy Director Jed Dixon said they plan to do the bulk of the work at night with the state’s new pipeline dredge Manteo over the first few days to avoid disrupting the schedule as much as possible.
“The night runs have been canceled because right now, there’s not enough room in the channel for ferries to safely get past the dredge in the dark,” Tim Hass, Ferry Division spokesman explained when contacted late today (Nov. 1). “We’re hoping that by tomorrow or Thursday, there will be enough room in the channel at South Dock (at the north end of Ocracoke) to allow us to use it while the dredge is working at night. At that point, we’ll go back to our regular schedule.”
Hass said all of the dredge work should be done in a week or so.
A press release issued Oct. 27 said the following:
Because of the work and the tides, passengers using the Hatteras-Ocracoke route may experience sporadic service interruptions over the next two weeks. As conditions in the channel continually change, the route schedule could be affected on a day-to-day basis.
Passengers are strongly urged to stay updated on the schedule prior to traveling by checking the Ferry Division twitter feed or by calling the Hatteras terminal at (252) 986-2353, or the Ocracoke terminal at (252) 928-1665.
Also, according to the Ferry Division’s website, due to road construction on U.S. 70/N.C. 12, passengers headed to the Cedar Island terminal might experience travel delays of up to 30 minutes. Please make your plans accordingly.
More information on the ferry service, including the regular schedule for each route, is available on the Department of Transportation’s Ferry website here.
Hyde County Commissioner candidates, left to right Thomas Midgette, Earl Pugh Jr and Tom Pahl. Photo by P. Vankevich
On Ocracoke, the dates for early voting are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 2 and 3 in the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department, 822 Irvin Garrish Highway. This is the same location for the general election from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8.
Although candidates for state offices were unable to attend the OCBA candidates’ night rescheduled because of the Hurricane Matthew evacuation, several local candidates attended.
House District 6 candidates Beverly Boswell (R) and Warren Judge (D) and Senate District 1 candidate Brownie Futrell (D) had a prior commitment for a similar forum that took place in Dare County at Waveriders in Nags Head. You can watch them discuss education, Medicaid, taxes and jobs by clicking here.
Islanders on Oct. 24 heard from three candidates for Hyde County commissioner and one for the Ocracoke Sanitary District Supervisor outline their views.
Tom Pahl-D, who defeated incumbent John Fletcher-D in the March primary and who is unopposed Nov. 8, began by thanking all those who are running for office and serving on boards on Ocracoke.
Tom Pahl
“I have great respect for those that get involved in the community,” he said. He added that whereas he did not agree on a lot of issues with incumbent John Fletcher, he thanked Fletcher for his service.
Pahl stressed the importance of working with the state and federal partners such as the NC Ferry Division, the National Park Service and NC Marine Fisheries, to name a few.
“Love or hate them, they are here to stay and I think it is an important role of the Ocracoke commissioner to establish a good working relationship with them,” he said, adding that all of these agencies are vital to the economy of the island.
Pahl stressed how Ocracoke is a unique place that is very different from the Nags Head area and this essence should be preserved.
The vitality of the economy is a very important responsibility of the commissioner representing Ocracoke, he said.
As he had said at a spring candidates’ night, he reiterated that he would like to form a citizens’ advisory committee to advise him on finding the right people to serve on the governmental boards for the island.
Earl Pugh Jr
Incumbent Earl Pugh Jr-R of Fairfield Township is the chair of the county commissioners.
First elected in 2012, one of the important issues to him is the ferry system, and he said the commissioners have a good working relation with the N.C. Ferry Division.
“The ferry system is the lifeline to Ocracoke, especially the Hatteras line,” he said. “If we did not have a ferry system we would not have an Ocracoke economy.
“I will always be against the ferry tolls. I am also opposed to having fee for a priority pass which could come back in the next [General Assembly] session and I will also oppose that.” He would like to see the short route between Ocracoke and Hatteras restored.
Pugh said the commissioners need to continue to work with and have an open relationship with the National Park Service.
“We have one of the most beautiful beaches in the world which is why people come to Ocracoke,” he said. “We need to provide access to the beach and to the sound.”
Since commercial fishing is a vital part of the economies of Ocracoke and the mainland, he said commercial fishermen should not have to deal with undue regulations.
Regarding the two evacuations on Ocracoke this fall, he noted that the commissioners relied on the input of islanders to help with a plan.
He stressed the importance of education, noting that for the last four years the commissioners have funded the school system as the Board of Education requested.
“We have also had the school board come back later looking for funds for teacher assistants, which I have supported,” he said.
He is pleased that Beaufort County Community College has established a satellite campus at the Davis Center in Engelhard so students in Hyde County can still live at home or not have to make long commutes, and that adults can also takes courses.
“On the mainland we have a lot of land under water and the mainland needs a better flood plan,” he said.
Pugh noted that Lake Mattamuskeet is a main tourist attraction and said he has put together a task force on restoring the lake to ecological health.
His opponent, Thomas Midgette-D, started by the saying he wasn’t running against Pugh, but was running for the same office. He said that the county needs another perspective on the board, which he could bring.
“We need an ear in every segment of the community and my voice and community isn’t heard,” he said. “We often hear about things after-the-fact. We need to know where the disconnect is.”
For Midgette, the main drivers of the local economy are farming, fishing and tourism.
Thomas Midgette
“We need to have them work together rather than seeing one group pitted against another,” he said. “Ocracoke will always sell itself as a tourism attraction but the mainland is not doing enough for tourism.”
Midgette worked for the school system for 29 years and now works with three- and four-year-olds in the Hyde Head Start Center. One of the education problems he noted was that students on the mainland were going to college but not graduating and he wants to work with the school system to find out why. Improving education and having a better workforce can help bring more jobs to the county he said.
He also spoke about the need to revive Lake Mattamuskeet to bring in more tourist revenue.
“The lake is sick and we need to know why so we can make it a healthy lake,” he said.
Both he and Pugh noted the drastic reduction in birds on the refuge and that many of the fish have disappeared.
Sccott Bradley
Scott Bradley, president of the Ocracoke Sanitary District board of supervisors which oversees the operations of the water plant, provided an overview of the responsibilities of the agency and the challenges it faces in the near future. The plant has six employees.
He and Regina O. Boor are on the ballot as Ocracoke Sanitary District supervisors. Voters may vote for two candidates or elect to write in a name. The water plant provides about 50 million gallons of water per year for the island serving 1,100 residential and 172 business customers.
Built in 1977, the plant has 40-year-old equipment, so they are seeking to get a grant to set up a plan to upgrade. Additionally, he said the water tower will have to be replaced in about eight years.
The supervisors are responsible for setting the rates and handling the finances.
Bradley said that they will work with the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department to increase fire hydrants in the village, which should lower homeowners’ insurance rates.
Debris from Hurricane Matthew on Ocracoke takes up one half of the lifeguard beach parking lot, which is the Temporary Debris Storage Site being used by the contractor. Residents may not take debris to this site or pick through it. Photo: C. Leinbach
Hyde County will again pick up debris from Hurricane Matthew starting Monday, Nov. 7, officials announced today.
Ocracoke residents need to have their storm debris staged by Friday, Nov. 4 for the second and final collection pass.
The first pass to collect Ocracoke storm debris was completed on Oct. 27.
The following debris removal information is from Hyde County
Residents are asked to adhere to the following when preparing storm debris for retrieval:
* Debris should be separated by type (vegetative, construction and demolition, white goods, etc.) Instructions detailing how to separate debris and place it in the NCDOT right-of-way to be retrieved is below.
* Household hazardous waste, white goods and electronics require specialized handling, so removal of these items may be delayed.
* Reconstruction debris (any debris produced after the initial tear out) is not eligible for retrieval. Contractors need to make their own arrangements to transport reconstruction debris to the appropriate disposal site.
* Businesses should consult with their insurance companies before placing storm debris out for collection as commercial debris removal and disposal is often covered by insurance policies.
Please do not transport your debris to the Temporary Debris Storage Site (TDSS) on Ocracoke.
We would like to thank the citizens of Hyde County for their adherence to the separation guidelines. Your compliance has been a model for communities across the state.
Please maintain awareness and monitor for further updates from Hyde County Public Information as new recovery programs and services are announced frequently.
While ‘Ocracoke in the Fifties’ has only one photo of herself, Dare took many self-portraits on the Ocracoke beach. Photo courtesy of Brook Ashley
By Connie Leinbach
Just as Ocracoke in the 1950s welcomed New Yorker Dare Wright, Wright herself welcomed islanders to the Big Apple.
A fashion model and photographer, Dare and her mother Edie, a renowned portrait painter, discovered Ocracoke in 1947 when a friend flew them to the remote island for a summer vacation, said Brook Ashley, who was Dare’s god-daughter and heir to her estate.
Another world to these city women–just as it is now to many vacationers–Dare and her mother fell in love with the island and its people.
The island became a refuge for the Wrights to relax and also for Dare to expand her growing photography skills.
Dare, whose first name was Alice and who was born in 1914 and died in 2001, is most famous for her series of children’s books featuring “The Lonely Doll (1957).” This was the first of 10 books featuring black-and-white photos of “Edith” and two teddy bears on various adventures.
“The Lonely Doll” was a best-seller back then.
“Dare developed a whole new genre of children’s literature,” Ashley said. “It was a perfect combination of all of her talents.”
While the first book takes place mostly indoors, it does feature several photos take on Ocracoke, but “Holiday for Edith & the Bears” (1958) was all shot on Ocracoke.
In 2006, Ashley published a book of Dare’s photos of Ocracoke (with assistance from Alton Ballance and Philip Howard) titled “Ocracoke in the Fifties,” available in stores throughout the island. Photos and narrative are all by Dare, who chronicles the history of the island, its people and its ways.
Even then–more than 60 years ago—she recognized that the arrival of more tourists spelled the end of old Ocracoke.
Over their many years of visits, staying at the Wahab Village Hotel (now Blackbeard’s Lodge), the Wrights got to know some of the islanders.
Those who remember the pair were youths when they met these glamourous women from the north.
“Dare was beautiful, and people stopped and stared,” Ashley said. “But Dare and her mother never patronized the locals. I have so many photos of Dare and Ocracoke. She listened. People opened up to her.”
Some islanders even ventured to New York City to visit her.
Dare Wright’s color photo of islander Sherry O’Neal, who died in June. A similar black-and-white photo of O’Neal is in ‘Ocracoke in the Fifties.’ Wright described O’Neal as ‘a woman with the face of an eighteenth-century sailing lad.’
Ballance reached out to Dare in the early 1980s when he went to New York to be with his father at Christmas.
“She welcomed me in on Christmas eve,” Ballance said noting that Dare was in her 70s at the time. “It was pretty interesting to be in her upper East Side apartment on Christmas Eve.”
Dare showed him all of the dolls and bears that she used in illustrating her series of children’s’ books.
“Then she showed me this thick scrapbook,” he said. “It was a mock-up of photos of Ocracoke and typewritten copy. It was just beautiful to see all these photos from the 50s.”
This scrapbook later became “Ocracoke in the Fifties.”
Another islander, Sherry O’Neal, whose photo is in the book and who died in June, also visited Dare in New York, Ashley said.
“Sherry was very close to Dare and her mother,” Ballance said.
Ashley said O’Neal was brave to also venture off the island to visit New York.
“Dare opened up the world to her,” Ashley said about O’Neal. “Dare encouraged her and told her she could do whatever she wanted.”
Brook Ashley, left, Dare Wright’s god-daughter and heir, meets with Sherry O’Neal in 2006 during a book signing at Books to Be Red.
When Ashley visited the island in 2006 to promote “Ocracoke in the Fifties,” O’Neal attended the book signing at Books To Be Red.
“She wanted me to know what Dare’s encouragement meant to her,” Ashley said. “Look at what Dare did. She was that inspirational.”
Ashley herself is working on a new, coffee-table biography of Dare and her photography for publication sometime soon.
In the meantime, Ashley said she has several Facebook pages including, “Dare Wright ~ a Tribute” and “Ocracoke in The Fifties” which anyone is welcome to join.
Ashley said she has posted old photos of Ocracoke folks on these Facebook pages and has gotten a number of them identified.
“Everyone’s having such fun figuring out who these people are,” she said. “I love Dare and want her legacy to be what it deserves.”
Dare Wright’s children’s book ‘Holiday for Edith and the Bears’ was shot on Ocracoke.Dare Wright on the Ocracoke Dunes. Photo courtesy of Brook AshleyDare Wright poses on Ocraocke with two local men. John Ivey identified the man on the right as Oscar Jackson. Photo courtesy of Brook Ashley
Left to right: Warren Judge, Browinie Futrell and Beverly Boswell
Ocracoke’s Meet the Candidates night Monday (Oct. 24) took place the same time that a similar forum took place in Dare County at Waveriders in Nags Head for a give-and-take on schools, the environment, Medicaid and other issues.
House District 6 candidates Beverly Boswell (R), Warren Judge (D) and Senate District 1 candidate Brownie Futrell (D) attended. Senate incumbent, Bill Cook, did not participate. This event was sponsored by The Outer Banks Voice and Milepost magazine.
Since these three candidates want to represent Ocraoke, we are providing access to the video of the event, courtesy of the Outer Banks Voice.
All Alone and Lonely: An Evening of Haunting Appalachian Folklore Written/Performed by Jennifer Starr
“I feel I’ve dreamt this once before. But it wasn’t you …”
Lady Margret is waiting at the Coyote Music Den this Halloween for her true love to return from a long sea voyage. Wait with her under the candlelight and listen as she passes the time by singing tales from beyond the grave in Appalachian folk tradition.
This single-act, musical play features stories of love lost, love found, restless spirits, deception, murder, and one incredibly roguish werefox, told and sung a capella by Ocracoke Island’s Jennifer Starr.
Sunday, Oct. 30, and Monday, Oct. 31, 8 to 9:15 p.m.
