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Remembering dedicated island vet Jane Rowley

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Jane Rowley Vet

 

Dec. 2014
By Pat Garber

Jane Rowley, 69, a vet­erinarian who had served Ocracoke for years, died peacefully in her sleep Oct. 31 in the home where she had re­tired in Culebra, Puerto Rico, in 2006

Jane was known to many Ocracokers, who took their pets to the old trailer on Brit­ish Cemetery Road that served as her veterinary clinic. Jane, who loved animals, nature and chess, had a practice and home in Avon, and came to Ocracoke three days a week, regardless of the weather, said her friend Frances Miller, who worked part time for Jane.

“Jane came across in small Coast Guard boats, bucking the wind and waves, determined to keep her clinic open,” Fran­ces said of Jane’s tenacity one time after a hurricane when the roads were closed and there were no ferries running.

Jane, who was a wildlife re­habilitator, also was devoted to serving Ocracats, the island’s feral cat neutering program, of­fering her services at nominal fees and caring for sick or in­jured feral cats for free.

Brigetta Cromwell, a cat lov­er and friend of Jane’s who used to live here, remembers one time when Jane arrived on the island to learn that Brigetta had trapped 28 feral cats for neuter­ing. “There were 20 males and eight females,” Brigetta says. “I thought she would be mad, but she worked non-stop and did them all in two days.”

Island artist Barbara Adams worked for Jane in exchange for veterinary care for Barb’s dogs.

“It was a special time” she reminisces, laughing about how she and Jane loved the old Dr. Who television series.

Jane’s sister, Judy Wilburn, of Bluffton, SC, says that there will be a memorial service in Culebra on Dec. 27.

Donations in Jane’s name can be made to the Humane Society of the U.S, or to Ocracats, P.O Box 993, Ocracoke, NC 27960.

TV show ‘American Ride’ features Ocracoke

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TV show American Ride unloads and heads to Springer’s Point in May for filming. Photos by C. Leinbach
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Historian Kevin Duffus relates the Blackbeard story he’s uncovered to Stan Ellsworth, host of the show.
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Filming the segment.
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Former history teacher Stan Ellsworth of the BYU-TV show “American Ride” at Springer’s Point.

Editor’s Note: BYU-TV show “American Ride” was on Ocracoke in May filming Kevin Duffus, N.C. historian of the year, relating the “real” story of Blackbeard the pirate. The Observer accompanied Stan Ellsworth, host of the show, and got a story and photos. The show, titled “Legends and Legacy: American Pirates,” also features Capt. Horatio Sinbad, who also participated in the recent Blackbeard’s Pirate Jamboree Oct. 31 to Nov. 2.

The show promo blurb: “Discover the reality of the American pirate. Were they profiteers, privateers, or patriots? Learn the truth about the notorious Blackbeard, and meet a man who lives the modern day legacy, Captain Horatio Sinbad.”

It was recently broadcast nationally and is now available for viewing online at:

http://www.byutv.org/watch/a972c62f-d1b3-4794-b863-c5a61ccebcca/american-ride-legends-and-legacy-american-pirates

By Connie Leinbach

An unlikely ambassador of scholarship, Stan Ellsworth is a biker on a Harley Davidson dispensing American history lessons on his television show “American Ride.”

Ellsworth, whose show is on the BYU television network, was on Ocracoke May 7 to film a segment about Blackbeard and his connection to Ocracoke.

“A lot of folks don’t know what the stories are and the truth about history,” he said between takes at Springer’s Point with historian-author Kevin Duffus. “We need to remember the stories that bind and unite us. We are forgetting them.”

The show’s slogan is “rediscover American history,” and his shows look at unusual segments of American history, such as Duffus’s new theories on Blackbeard, or the U-boat brigade off of the Outer Banks in 1942 that’s not usually covered in high school history.

Attired in typical biker fashion—a black bandana covering long blond locks, black gloves, a black shirt under a blue jean jacket adorned with Harley pins–Ellsworth is warm and convivial.

“He’s a larger-than-life personality,” said production manager Brooke Redmon, of Vineyard Productions, the company hired to produce the shows.

Ellsworth and his crew traveled from Salt Lake City, Utah, to the East where Ocracoke was one of several stops this summer.   The show airs Mondays at 9 p.m., and they can be viewed online at http://www.byutv.org/American ride.

In the current season, season six, the show is focusing on how the clouds of war gathered to lead America into WWII.  Duffus, who is based in Raleigh, is featured in the current segment about the war activities off the Outer Banks.

“The network just aired an episode that featured me talking about WWII and U-boats that was filmed exactly a year ago on Hatteras Island,” said Duffus, who is the author, among other books, of “War Zone: World War II off the North Carolina Coast.”

That segment is titled “Wolf Pack: the Shadow of War.”  In it, Ellsworth talks about the cadre of German U-boats off the coast, German spies on American soil and more.  His delivery is lively, and the production mixes footage of him on his bike visiting the Outer Banks and the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.

But now, the group is filming segments for season seven which will air next year. The day before, the group was in Beaufort for that part of the Blackbeard story.

A former high school history teacher and college football coach, Ellsworth said he got into the entertainment business when a friend coaxed him into appearing in a movie.

“My friend needed someone to play a mean coach,” Ellsworth said.  “I quickly decided I wasn’t competing with Brad Pitt.”

Although Ellsworth now lives in Utah, he grew up in Manassas, Va.

“I’m related to every Lee that ever walked in Virginia,” he said.  No stranger to the Outer Banks, he said he spent summers here.

“The last time I was in Ocracoke was in ’78,” he said. “A lot has changed since then.”

The group has covered history in most all of the United States.  After Ocracoke, the group is headed to Pennsylvania to Pennsylvania Dutch country, Philadelphia and Boston.

Ellsworth has been riding Harleys since he was 12, and rides a top-of-the-line vehicle–a 2014 custom Road King, supplied by Harley Davidson, his sponsor.

Before the ferry left to take them back to Beaufort, the crew filmed Ellsworth riding through the village.

“I live everywhere I go,” he said.

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Ellsworth on his Harley before his scud around the island.

Another unattended boat unmoors in Silver Lake Harbor

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The sailboat in high winds. Photo by P. Vankevich.

By Peter Vankevich and Connie Leinbach

Another unattended, anchored sail boat in Silver Lake Harbor has become unmoored and is getting close to being aground near Silver Lake and Sarah Ellen Drive following the latest wind storm Wednesday (Dec 8) that had gusts up to 50 mph. This is the third unattended boat to get loose since a storm Nov. 1.
“If we get another high tide and wind out of the north and east, it will end up in the marsh,” said Byron Miller, who along with his father, Norman, secured one of the loose boats of Nov. 1. “It will take a west wind to blow it back out.”
Bill Gilbert, owner of the Anchorage Inn & Marina, is also concerned and concurs with others that loose boats have caused damage to property and other boats.
With the previous two loose boats, the owners were contacted and they are now tethered to a dock owned by Jackie Wilson.
The Ocracoke Observer reported on the Nov. 1 incident and wrote an editorial in its December print issue.
Both County Commissioner John Fletcher and County Manager Bill Rich have gone on record that Hyde County should address this problem after Norman Miller’s testimony at the county commissioners meeting on  Nov. 3.
“I think we should look at the legislation dealing with this issue that Dare and Brunswick Counties got passed by the North  Carolina General Assembly and see if Hyde County should try for something like it,” Fletcher yesterday. “It’s a problem that’s existed for many years.”
In the meantime, officials from different agencies are scratching their heads about how to deal with unattended or abandoned boats that good-Samaritan residents are left to handle, both in terms of time and cost.
Ed Fuller, Ocracoke district ranger supervisor for the National Park Service, also agreed that unattended boats have been a longstanding problem that no one seems to want to tackle.
He said earlier this year the park service disposed of a loose sail boat that was damaging the NPS public dock.  They tried to track down the owner, but it had changed hands a few times and they could not determine an owner, he said.
“We hauled it out of there with our front-end loader, took it to our maintenance area, crushed it and put it in our dumpster,” Fuller said.
Robert Anthony, Hyde County enforcement officer for NC Fish and Wildlife, said today he would try to find the owner through official channels.

 

‘Historical and hysterical’

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Carmie Prete, left, and Mickey Baker, right, after their marriage ceremony Tuesday, Dec. 2, conducted by Magistrate Gene Ballance. Photo courtesy of Mickey Baker.

Carmie Prete and Mickey Baker made Ocracoke and Hyde County history when they were married on Tuesday, Dec.2, in their home on Ocracoke Island by Hyde County Magistrate Gene Ballance.
They are the first gay couple to be legally married on the island and in the county. Marriage equality became legal in North Carolina on Oct. 10.
“We decided after the mid-term elections to just do it,” Mickey said.
They are 30-year residents and business owners on Ocracoke and have been together for 45 years.
“We have Edie Windsor to thank for the privilege of a legal marriage,” Mickey said.
Windsor’s lawsuit against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which banned same-sex marriage, went all the way to the Supreme Court where she argued her case March 27, 2013. The Supreme Court decided in her favor on June 26, 2013.
Please visit www.ediewindsor.com to learn more about the woman, her relationship with Thea Spyer and her Supreme Court fight.
Witnesses to Mickey and Carmie’s ceremony were close friends Cynthia Mitchell and Pat Garber.  
Following the afternoon ceremony, many well-wishers stopped by or called as word spread. Cynthia and Pat had prepared a splendid dinner in which the main course was the famous spinach lasagna from the Cafe Atlantic Cookbook, which over the years was the women’s favorite dish.
The festivities continued the following day.
“We would like to thank, along with Cynthia and Pat, our friends Scott Bradley, Kelley Shinn, Jude Wheeler and Silas Trethewey, who ceremoniously took it upon themselves to lovingly and riotously decorate our beach car, drive us through town in a celebratory parade only to end up on the beach for a champagne sunset!” said Mickey and Carmie.

A dinner was then prepared by Kelley at her home, also attended by Connie Leinbach.
“The wedding events were both historical and hysterical……and enjoyed by all,” Mickey said. “We would like to also thank this community of Ocracoke for all the love and warm wishes we have received.”

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photo 1 Beach celebration. Photos courtesy of Mickey Baker.

Unattended and abandoned boats in Silver Lake need attention

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Abandoned or unattended boats left anchored in Silver Lake for extended periods of times can be a serious safety issue. Sometimes these boats–left to avoid paying docking fees–are derelict and have neither a current registration nor mast lights. Should these boats unmoor in a storm they could cause serious damage to other boats, docks and people.

The problem surfaced again when on the weekend of Blackbeard’s Pi­rate Jamboree (Nov. 1), a nor’easter caused two boats to break their moorings. At the height of that nighttime storm in 50 mph winds, dock own­ers had to secure other peoples’ boats–also a dangerous activity.

Part of the problem on Ocracoke is that no enforcement agency seems to want to tackle the problem of stationary boats that may be in violation of boating regulations. The coastal town of Beaufort has enacted an ordinance for such boats and Brunswick and Dare Coun­ties used their political clout to get legislation especially for them. If word gets out that Ocracoke has derelict/abandoned boats in its harbor, it may discourage legitimate boats owners from mooring here. This, in turn, could harm the island’s economy.

We know that sometimes our local officials eschew enacting more rules, but of greater concern is safety. Who does one call in the middle of the night when a loose boat is banging against someone’s prop­erty?

Byron and Norman Miller, from experience, anticipated a problem and luckily were able to secure someone else’s loose boat. Fortu­nately, neither man was injured this time, though Byron told us he once fell in trying to secure a loose boat.

We urge the Ocracoke Advisory Planning Board and the county commissioners to take a look at what others are doing and take the necessary steps to ensure the safety of Silver Lake

Basketball: Lady Dolphins continue win streak, middle school season has begun

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Sydney Austin shoots for a score against Perquimans High  against Perquimans High Saturday, Dec. 6, in the Ocracoke School gym. The Lady Dolphins won 63-45.
Sydney Austin shoots for a score against Perquimans High Saturday, Dec. 6, in the Ocracoke School gym. The Lady Dolphins won 63-45.

The Lady Dolphins have a four-game winning streak with two victories over the weekend. On Friday evening, they won away beating the Columbia Wildcats 53-31. On Saturday, they won at home against the Perquimans Pirates by a score of 63-45. They are now 3-0 in their conference.
The boys’ teams lost both games, 67-62 against Columbia and 55-51 to Perquimans and are now 1-2 in conference play.
The next games will be this coming weekend as the Dolphins host the Ocracoke Holiday Tournament. On Friday (Dec. 12), The girls (4-2) will play First Flight at 5:00 p.m. and the boys (1-5) will take on Gateway Christian at 7 p.m. Saturday’s schedule will be determined based on the outcome of Friday’s games. These are nonconference games.
The middle school season kicked off on Thursday (Dec 4) with away games at the Manteo. The girls fell to the Redskins 34-16 and the boys lost 47-24. The will be on the road again, Monday (Dec 8) at Mattamuskeet.
If coverage can be provided, the middle school games will be broadcast on WOVV (90.1 FM on the island and online wovv.org).

Islanders confront Advisory Planning Board over enforcement action

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Friday, Dec. 5. 6:51 p.m.
By Connie Leinbach
At a raucous meeting last night, islanders asked the Ocracoke Planning Advisory Board about recent actions they took to enforce the Ocracoke Development Ordinance.

About 20 residents attended the meeting in the Ocracoke Community Center where Daphne Bennink and Tom Pahl took issue with letters they received recently from Hyde County Building Inspector Jerry Hardison.
“There’s a lot of noncompliance all over the island, yet this board is concerned about two properties,” Bennink said Thursday night. “This reeks of something other than enforcing the ordinance. This is personal vendetta.”
Pahl, who spoke at length, said because he and B.J. Oelschlegel were on the Planning Board when it enacted the controversial travel trailer ordinance, they are being singled out.
“The message is: ‘don’t cross us,’” he said, adding that he’s willing to go to court over the citation.
The letters said that Pahl, who co-owns Ocracoke Restoration Company with his wife, Carol, and B.J. Oelschlegel, who co-owns Ocracoke Lightship Realty with Bennink, are in violation of a section of the ordinance dealing with residential properties as home businesses.
The Planning Board is in the process of reviewing the entire ODO, which addresses population density on the island.  At its Nov. 6 meeting, the board got to the section dealing with home-based businesses.
According to the group’s Nov. 6 minutes, section 36-183 (g), Board Member Jerry Midgett said the rule that “business owners must occupy commercial businesses of 400 sq. ft. or less in residential buildings” is not being enforced.
The board then passed Midgett’s motion that this be enforced. The minutes further say: “Corky (Pentz, board chair) thinks Inspector Hardison should contact the county attorney first.”
Hardison sent letters to Pahl (dated Nov. 17) and Oelschlegel saying they were in violation of this section by not living in these businesses.
Hardison also said Thursday night that he sent a third letter to someone else about a set-back violation but did not identify that person.
At its October meeting, the Planning Board meeting, the group unanimously agreed to eliminate the travel trailer ordinance saying the Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) rules adequately govern the use of travel trailers as residences.
Moreover, the Planning Board was adamant that the ODO’s rule limiting one travel trailer per 5,000 square-foot lot was unfair since property owners can erect a duplex on that size lot.  Thus, the entire ordinance should be revoked.
At the Nov. 3 Hyde County Commissioners’ meeting, Pahl advised against eliminating the travel trailer ordinance but the commissioners approved the Planning Board’s recommendation.
“I spoke at the (November commissioners’ meeting) and a week later I get a letter from Jerry Hardison,” Pahl said. “I think he was ordered to do this. It’s selective enforcement to two people who used to be on the (Planning) board.”
Midgett responded: “You knew it was a residential lot when you bought it.”
Midgett also wondered if the board was “ever going to enforce any of (the ODO).”  He suggested there be a list of what is being enforced and what isn’t and take out what’s not being enforced.
Pentz said Ocracoke needs an  enforcement officer, and that it is too much for Hardison to do both building inspections and enforce the ODO.
Pahl also said the board has “a high purpose of looking ahead 10 to 20 years for Ocracoke.”
Hyde County Manager Bill Rich, who attended last night’s meeting, said a lot of the ODO wording is unclear.  He had been chair of the Planning Board when the travel trailer ordinance was enacted.
Rich said even County Attorney Fred Holscher is not sure what the wording means and that he, Hardison and Holscher will review it before further action on the letters sent to Pahl and Oelschlegel.
“Is it just the owner or can anyone else live in the house?” Rich noted, adding that the original intent of the rule must be determined.  “If our attorney can’t figure out (the wording) we need to change it. We need to change it to what’s best for Ocracoke—to accommodate everyone on Ocracoke.”
Rich also said he will ask for a part-time enforcement officer next year.
Interested persons can read the disputed sections of the ODO online at the Hyde County website here:
Sec. 36-183. – Home occupations.
(a) Single-family and two-family residences may contain up to 400 square feet of floor area for business and or commercial use. This provision is intended to allow the limited production of saleable goods such as jewelry, pottery and art, sales of goods and limited professional services to the public from the main residence.

(f) Any and all aspects of the commercial activity shall be contained in the 400 square feet.
(g)   Any commercial entity that claims the 400 square-foot residential exemption shall be inhabited by the business owner.
Section 36-176 that deals with outdoor signs will be reviewed at a future meeting.
After the review of the entire ODO is made and changes recommended, it will be sent to the North Carolina School of Government for crafting into a final document. The entire community will then be able to review it and make comments before the county commissioners approve it, Pentz said.

Leonard Meeker, 1916 – 2014: an extraordinary life

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Leonard Meeker Photo from the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library

Para leer en español, haga clic aquí
Pour lire en français, cliquez ici.

December 4, 2014
By Peter Vankevich

Leonard Carpenter Meeker, after a long period of declining health, died peacefully on Saturday, Nov. 29, in his home on Ocracoke Island, attended by his wife Beverly and son James.  He was 98. There will be no funeral.  A celebration of his life will be held next spring on what would have been his 99th birthday.

Leonard had a long, distinguished career in public service, diplomacy and social justice law. He served as the Legal Adviser to the U.S. State Department under President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1965 to 1969 and as Ambassador to Romania 1969 to 1973. 

After leaving government service, for many years he was both a lawyer and the director of the International Project at the Center for Law and Social Policy in Washington, D.C. In his work there, he traveled to countries in Africa and Latin America to assist local lawyers in promoting and protecting human rights. He also served as a board member of the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit science advocacy organization.

His love of Ocracoke began in 1952, when he and his childhood friend, Charles Runyon, who also worked at the State Department, first visited. Their passion for the island was due in large part to its outstanding opportunities for swimming and sailing and its unspoiled natural beauty. Both of them ended up buying property and on the island. 

In 2002, Leonard moved full-time to living here on Windmill Point, in the last house that is seen as one leaves Silver Lake harbor by ferry.  He was active in the community, including having chaired the Ocracoke Planning Advisory Board for many years.

A disciplined man, Leonard believed in physical fitness and as long as his health allowed, Leonard swam in the ocean every day he could. 

“Sometimes three times a day,” Beverly says. “He would jog to the beach.”  He would surprise onlookers and lifeguards alike by swimming laps for a half hour or more outside the breakers, she says.  He got to know the lifeguards at the public beach through the years and became and remained close friends with many of them.

Born in 1916, he grew up in Montclair, New Jersey.  Leonard was a graduate of Deerfield Academy (1933), Amherst College (1937) and Harvard School of Law (1940). He began his legal career in the General Counsel’s Office of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and in the Office of the Solicitor General, which handles the federal government’s litigation at the Supreme Court.

In 1942 he entered the U.S. Army as a private, and was discharged as a first lieutenant in 1946.  During his period in the Army, Leonard was selected for service in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the wartime intelligence agency. One of his assignments was traveling throughout China to assess the impact should the communists assume power. After the Army, he joined the State Department’s Office of the Legal Adviser. He was named assistant legal adviser for United Nations Affairs in 1951, deputy legal adviser in 1961, and legal adviser of the State Department in 1965.

One of the highlights of his career includes his involvement in the Cuban Missile Crisis, a 13-day confrontation in October 1962 between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba.  Leonard drafted a top secret memo (now declassified) titled “On Legal Aspects of Declaring a Blockade of Cuba.” He presented his views in what he characterized as a “tense meeting” on Oct. 19, 1962, attended by the Kennedy administration’s top officials — including Dean Rusk, Robert McNamara, Robert Kennedy, McGeorge Bundy, C. Douglas Dillon, Paul Nitze, Theodore Sorensen and Dean Acheson.  

In his analysis, Leonard was not convinced of the legality of a blockade and was certain that the United Nations Security Council would not approve it. He held hope that the Organization of American States (OAS) could bring forth a chance of legitimacy, but in his view, it would be very difficult to get the requisite two-thirds vote to pass such a resolution.  Instead, Leonard suggested the United States describe its actions blocking the shipment of missiles to Cuba as a “quarantine.”  Whereas a “blockade” would have been perceived as an act of war, a “quarantine” was not.  This helped defuse one of the most serious international crises of the modern era.

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 2012, Leonard gave a standing-room only presentation titled “President Kennedy and Cuba” at the Ocracoke School and Public Library.  By way of introduction, it was pointed out that the nation could watch a special that evening on the Cuban Missile Crisis broadcast on PBS, or go to the home page of the Kennedy School of Government website to see it as the lead topic. Instead, many Ocracokers that evening heard a first-hand account of what went on in one of the most important meetings in American history.  The lecture can be heard here.

While Leonard was fond of telling amusing anecdotes about his career as the ambassador to a communist country “behind the Iron Curtain,”—especially his interactions with its head of state, Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife, Elena–he did not consider this tenure as an ambassador as the most significant work of his long and distinguished career. 

The historical importance of his legal/political analyses has been sustained. As recently as October, he was cited in an article written by Armin Rosen and published by Business Insider on how the United States reacted to China’s first nuclear test 50 years ago. 

An interview with Leonard Meeker is included in the United Nations Oral History collections of the Dag Hammarskjöld Library and can be heard here

Leonard’s wide interests also involved art of which the French Impressionists were a favorite genre. An accomplished painter, a collection of his oil paintings is hung in his house in Ocracoke and scattered among family members and friends.  His radio was always tuned to classical music, Beverly says, and among his favorite classical genres were Baroque and 20th-century music, especially Charles Ives.

In 2007, Leonard published a reflective, in-depth, three-volume set of his views on life, “Philosophy and Politics,” “Experiences” and “Stories.” 

A man of great personal skills, Leonard loved to receive visitors and was both an entertaining conversationalist and skillful listener. He enjoyed answering the many questions posed by the curious. Eschewing the formalities of title, he was simply called “Leonard” or “Len” by his many friends on Ocracoke Island.

In 1947, he married Christine Halliday, who died in 1958. In 1969 he married Beverly Joan Meeker. In addition to Beverly, he is survived by his six children. From his first wife, Christine, they are Richard Halliday Meeker, of Portland, Oregon; Charles Carpenter Meeker, of Raleigh, North Carolina; and Sarah Louise Meeker Jensen, of Los Angeles, California. His three children with Beverly are Eliza Ann Hunt Meeker, of Paris, France; Dr. James Edward Weeks Meeker, of Portland, Oregon; and Benjamin Chester Gilman Meeker, of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Portrait of Leonard Meeker. 2005. Photo by Oliver White.
Portrait of Leonard Meeker. 2005. Photo by Oliver White.

Leonard’s final years on Ocracoke were made more enjoyable by the loving care and attention provided him by his wife, Beverly. During this time, he continued to enjoy cocktail hour, entertaining his many friends on an upstairs screened in porch, where there were splendid views of Silver Lake harbor, the Ocracoke Light, Pamlico Sound and the daily show of an Ocracoke sunset. 

This year, his life was enhanced by an incredible cast of helpers. Amanda Cochran and Megan Aldridge provided remarkable nursing care pretty much around the clock. They were joined by Janet Anthony during Leonard’s last weeks. Calvin Hanrahan provided “range of motion” physical therapy three times each week. Under the care of hospice, Dr. Erin Baker was his guiding physician; Carrie Jones, RN, his nurse; and Linda Fulford and Deborah Williams, his aides. Ann Ehringhaus greatly helped his comfort with Reiki. In short, Ocracokers contributed mightily to Leonard’s final months.

“One of the great surprises of my life,” says Leonard’s oldest son, Richard, “was arriving on Ocracoke on a Sunday afternoon to find my father, well into his 90s, Skyping with my sister Sarah — in French! He was tremendously supportive — and proud — of all of us children. He especially appreciated Charles’ nearly three decades of elected public service in Raleigh, the last decade as mayor.”

The family suggests donations in Leonard Meeker’s memory be made to the Ocracoke Preservation Society.

 

New sheriff visits Ocracoke

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Deputy Sergeant Jason Daniels and newly elected Hyde Ccounty Sheriff Guire Cahoon. Photo by C. Leinbach

 

By Connie Leinbach
Newly elected Hyde County Sheriff Guire Cahoon visited Ocracoke on Thursday in one of many visits he said he will make to the island during his tenure.
Cahoon won the election Nov. 4 with 1,394 votes over Tim Weston, who received 342 votes.
“I appreciate the support y’all gave me here on the island,” Cahoon said during a brief interview accompanied by Deputy Sergeant Jason Daniels.
Cahoon will be back on the island the weekend of Dec. 12 and 13 during the Holiday Basketball Tournament.  He will help at the Cub Scouts Pancake Breakfast Saturday morning in the United Methodist Women’s rec hall, beside the church on School Road.
In addition to making the rounds, Cahoon is conferring with Daniels and the other deputies about ongoing cases.
One of them is the so-called “peeping Tom” that began recently.
Earlier in the week, Deputy Rob King said that the deputies received a call Nov. 24 about an intruder on a roof near First Avenue and Cemetery Road.
“We made an active search of the area,” Daniels said, and though they have not made an arrest, they are still investigating. 
Since then, several others island residents have made reports of earlier instances “of a similar nature,” Daniels said. 
Anyone with any information or who has had similar instances are asked to contact the sheriff’s office.
Also, any time anyone notices anything suspicious or out of the ordinary should not hesitate to call the office 252 928-7301, no matter what time of the day or night, Daniels said.
“We will come by,” he said.  “Even if it’s a (seemingly) little thing, call.”

 

Pat Garber to sign new book PAWS AND TALES at Books to be Red Saturday Afternoon (Dec. 6)

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Tales and Paws illustration2Pat Garber will be autographing copies of her newest book PAWS AND TALES at Books to be Red this Saturday (Dec 6) from 12:30 to 3 p.m. There will be light refreshments during the book signing.
Her presence is part of Take Your Child to a Bookstore day. There will be activities at the store for children starting at 9:30 a.m. 34 School Rd.