Monday, June 15, 2026
Home Blog Page 5

Chronicler of the Ocracoke brogue, Walt Wolfram, to retire

2
Walt Wolfram, front, dines with his students and islanders at Howard’s Pub. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer

By Peter Vankevich

For 33 years, Professor Walt Wolfram brought his graduate students to Ocracoke during their spring break to spend a week teaching middle schoolers about the languages and dialects of North Carolina.

The visits are part of the North Carolina Language and Life Project, the nonprofit he founded and directs at NC State University to document and celebrate language diversity through public outreach.

March marked his final official visit to Ocracoke School, as he retires from his role as William C. Friday Distinguished University Professor at NC State.

“This is the longest-running program in any public school in the nation,” he said on March 13 on WOVV’s “What’s Happening on Ocracoke,” where he appeared with longtime collaborator and fellow faculty member Jeffrey Reaser, Ph.D.

For Wolfram, the program is more than a language lesson; it’s a celebration of the way people speak and a source of pride for the community.

Wolfram’s influence on the island is profound. He is credited for bringing global attention to the Ocracoke brogue.

Professors Walt Wolfram center and Jeff Reasor, right rear. pose with this year’s NC State grad students and Ocracoke middle schoolers. Photo by Rebecca Gallaher/ Emma Schoenecker,

The story began in 1992, when Wolfram—already well known for his pioneering work on social and ethnic American dialects—joined the NC State faculty.

New to the state, he began exploring North Carolina’s regions, convinced they held rich linguistic diversity.

He kept hearing that he had to visit Ocracoke Island because “the people speak Elizabethan English.”

When he finally did, a series of fortunate encounters led him to David and Jen Esham and inspired him to begin fieldwork on the island.

The next year, he returned with five graduate students over spring break to interview “O’cockers,” island residents whose families have lived here for generations.

Those interviews and subsequent research produced the 1997 book “Hoi Toide on the Outer Banks: The Story of the Ocracoke Brogue” (UNC Press).

Wolfram then established the spring-break tradition that continues and which Reaser will carry on.

Walt Wolfram and Jeff Reaser were guests on WOVV’s “What’s Happening on Ocracoke.” Photo: P. Vankevich/Ocraooke Observer

Most recently, Wolfram, Reaser and islander Candy Gaskill co-wrote “Language and Life on Ocracoke: The Living History of the Brogue” (UNC Press), which continues to explore the island’s unique dialect and culture.

It includes 102 interviews, many accessible through QR codes that allow readers to listen to or watch recordings on their devices.

Along with his many books and scholarly articles, Wolfram has produced several documentaries, including the Emmy Award–winning “First Language: The Race to Save Cherokee,” which follows the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ efforts to revitalize their endangered language.

His latest documentary, focusing on Ocracoke’s long tradition of decoy and wildlife carvers, premiered at the 8th Annual Ocracoke Island Waterfowl Festival on April 21.

Few “off islanders” are as well-known on Ocracoke as Wolfram.

Generations of students have learned from him, and hundreds of residents have shared their stories through his interviews and oral history recordings.

“Walt Wolfram has given our students such a meaningful gift over the years,” said Ocracoke School Principal Jeanie Owens. “Not just lessons in language, but a deep sense of pride in who they are and where they come from.

“Through his work, he has helped our students see their voices and traditions as something to celebrate and preserve. His visits have become a treasured part of our school year, and his impact will be felt for generations. We are incredibly grateful for the time, passion and care he has poured into our school and our community.”

Wolfram also has a longstanding relationship with the Ocracoke Preservation Society.

One of his videos, featuring islanders Rex O’Neal, James Barrie Gaskill and others, is shown at the society’s museum.

Wolfram has been a regular presenter at the society’s summer Porch Talks.

“I’m 85 years old,” he said in the WOVV interview. “I’ve been doing this since the 1960s. I love what I do, and I have enough energy to do it, but it’s also kind of time to step aside. But I’ll also have a small office and help out as needed.”

He shared encouraging news about the future of the program—an endowment set up in his name.

“So, Jeff will appropriately be the first Wolfram Distinguished Professor in the program, and he’ll have some resources from that to continue to bring students to Ocracoke for spring break,” he said.  “He’s been coming here for 25 years, so he knows the ropes better than I do.”

His final thoughts?

“I’ve never worked with a community more open, more friendly and more fun than Ocracoke.”

Ocracoke teachers join statewide protest

0
Ocracoke teachers march on May 1 seeking a budget from the N.C. General Assembly. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer

Teacher Appreciation Week 2026 runs from Monday, May 4, to Friday, May 8, with National Teacher Appreciation Day celebrated on Tuesday, May 5.

By Connie Leinbach

Ocracoke teachers joined the statewide “Kids Over Corporations” march on May 1 to demand that the General Assembly pass the budget and include more funding for schools and teachers’ salaries.

About 35 teachers and community members walked from the school building on School Road to the NCCAT building and back.

North Carolina entered 2026 without a finalized 2025–2027 comprehensive budget, which remains stalled as lawmakers in the republican-controlled House and Senate of the General Assembly continue to disagree on key issues, including tax rates, spending priorities, and teacher pay.

Unlike at least 22 school districts across the state that closed because so many employees asked for the day off, Ocracoke School did not close.

On Fridays, Ocracoke School lets out at 11 a.m., which is when the teachers did their march.

After that, many of them went off to their second jobs.

“It’s actually embarrassing that North Carolina is 46th in the nation in teacher pay,” said Mary-Jo Gellenbeck, the school’s Exceptional Children (EC) teacher. “The challenge is recruiting and retention of quality, skilled staff.”

North Carolina’s new teachers often leave after a few years for better pay, she said, adding that the state legislature has been reducing teachers’ salaries over the years.

Calculating for inflation, she said the average teacher salary across the nation is $73,000 this year.

“We’re at $53,000,” she said.

Mary-Jo Gellenbeck. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer

First grade teacher Alice Burruss spoke to the gathering before the walk and noted that the protest was for something simple: respect for the work teachers do and the passage of a state budget that truly supports education.

She said the teachers and staff love the Hyde County School District.

“We feel supported by our community, and we are proud of the work we do every single day,” she said. “But loving our school also means being honest about what’s not working. Our state education system is falling short—it is underfunded, overstretched and asks too much of too many with too little in return.”

The North Carolina Association of Educators organized the protest in Raleigh that drew educators from all over the state. Burruss said the reason Ocracoke had a “satellite” walk is due to the amount of money it would have cost to get everyone there.

“Plus, a lot of people work a second job because they can’t afford not to,” she said.

Earlier in the week, Dr. Melanie Shaver, superintendent of Hyde County Schools, presented the school board what the teachers wanted to do.

“They were fully supportive,” Burruss said of the school board. “This was a march for all North Carolina public schools.”

Debbie Leonard was among a few other retired teachers who joined the walk and noted that North Carolina is becoming less attractive to young teachers.

“When I began teaching teachers received longevity pay,” she said. “They also received a higher salary if they had an advanced degree such as master’s degree, and when they retired, they received their health insurance for free.

“Now they get none of that, yet we have millions of dollars to give to people to send their children to private schools, which have no oversight, don’t have to hire certified teachers, don’t have any standards that they have to meet regarding curriculum, don’t have to teach every child.”

Most of the private schools are religious, she said, and the legislature loosened the regulations so that now anyone can get money.

“If our schools are failing perhaps it is because the legislature has caused them to fail,” she said.

According to the website, www.ednc.org, the average starting teacher pay is $44,952, per the National Education Association data, or 38th in the country. This ranking has improved in recent years, as the General Assembly has given higher raises to beginning teachers. 

In March, the state’s nonpartisan Consensus Forecasting Group (CFG) released a revised consensus General Fund Revenue forecast for the 2025-27 biennium, showing that North Carolina has a projected surplus of $370 million in state revenues through Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, a 1.1% increase from the certified budget. For FY 2026-27, there is an estimated $951 million surplus, which is a 2.8% increase from the forecast.

As of May 2026, North Carolina public schools received $12.75 billion in state funding for the 2025-26 school year, a moderate increase from $12.60 billion in 2024-25.

Gov. Josh Stein proposed a 2026-27 budget (building on the 2025 biennium) targeting $2.3 billion in new education investment, including a 10.6% average teacher raise, restored master’s pay, and raising starting teacher salaries to the highest in the Southeast.

Teachers and others pose at the ferry docks before their return walk back. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer

Ocracoke to remember WWII fallen on May 8

1
The British Cemetery along British Cemetery Road. C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer

Correction: The headline for this story was corrected from an earlier version. Please note that this year’s British Cemetery Ceremony will be at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 8. We regret that the headline is wrong in the print version of the May issue.

While World War II was far away for many Americans, danger lurked right offshore as German U-boats parked along the coast to torpedo passing Allied ships.

Islanders were prohibited from going out to the beach for a good part of the war because the government thought that Germans might try to land.

And while they did not land on Ocracoke, casualties sometimes washed up on the island’s shores, which is what happened on May 11, 1942, when the bodies of two British sailors from the torpedoed H.M.T. Bedfordshire were discovered on the beach. Two more bodies were discovered later.

Islanders rallied and a family donated the land to England for the burials.

Of the four sailors buried in this small patch of England, Sub-Lt. Thomas Cunningham and Ordinary Telegraphist Second Class Stanley Craig were the only ones identified.

The Ocracoke community, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Coast Guard Auxiliary, and the Friends of the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum have worked together to care for the gravesites and honor these British sailors each year since.

This 84th remembrance ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 8, and afterwards attendees are invited to a light luncheon in the Ocracoke School Commons.

The Bedfordshire was part of the Royal Navy Patrol Service (RNPS) and was one of 24 trawlers the British government pressed into service as advance-guard mine sweepers and escorts for British supply ships.

Representatives from the British Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy will take part in the ceremony as will members of the United States Coast Guard, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, North American representatives of the RNPS and students from Ocracoke School.

A similar ceremony will be held the day before at the British Cemetery in Buxton.

It honors Fourth Engineer Officer Michael Cairns and an unidentified sailor killed when German U-boat 203 sank the British armed tanker San Delfino off Pea Island on April 10, 1942.

Donations from the public contribute to landscaping the garden area and hosting the luncheon.

The events are organized by the Friends of the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, the Ocracoke community, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the National Park Service.

Local and visiting volunteers provide the physical labor at the site, overseen by a local representative of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

An Ocracoke restaurant caters the luncheon, served by community volunteers.

Businesses, residents, and visitors are encouraged to make a donation to help support the luncheon.

Please donate online at ocracokepreservationsociety.org/donations or make checks payable to Ocracoke

Preservation Society with “British Cemetery” in the memo line and mail to: OPS, Box 1240, Ocracoke, NC 27960.

OPS is also seeking volunteers for the reception. For more information, contact Warner Passanisi at admin@ocracokepreservationsociety.org, or 252-928-7375.

Military officers salute the memorial wreaths. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer

Safety reports 2026

0

Safety reports are in the print issues of the Ocracoke Observer, which publishes monthly from March to December.

Winter safety report 2026
Ocracoke sheriff deputies reported a quiet winter on the island.

Sgt. Rob King said the deputies have only had some traffic stops from Jan. 1 to Feb. 15.

This is the time of year when the deputies take continuing education courses or go on vacation, as do other islanders.

He said a couple of the deputies are taking classes in standardized field sobriety testing ahead of the tourist season.

In the same period, the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department reported two medevacs, one electrical fire, one false alarm and one EMS assist.

Fire department volunteers recently took training in personal protective equipment.

The company is on the lookout for a used ladder truck that will go from 50 to 80 feet high.

Volunteers are always needed and welcome. Semi-monthly meetings are held on Thursdays at 6 p.m. in the fire hall. March meetings are March 5 and 19.

March 2026 safety report
Ocracoke continues to be quiet while winter winds down and the visitor season begins, but the Hyde County sheriff’s deputies had a new thing to deal with recently.

Captain Joe Smith reported in the period from Feb. 16 to March 15, they have had to escort five homeless folks off the island.

Smith said they were five separate men and women who got on the Pamlico Sound ferries. One woman had a grocery cart full of stuff.

“People called us as soon as she got off,” Smith said. Then the deputies drove her and the four men to the north end where they got on the ferry going to Hatteras, from where they continued onward.

They all were going up the beach, he said.

Ocracoke has no services for homeless people.

“This isn’t the place for them,” Smith said.

He also stressed that the shoulder area of Irvin Garrish Highway across from Howard’s Pub is not a junkyard.

A flatbed trailer that has been on the side of the road for a while will be towed if no one claims it.

Smith also reported 27 traffic stops, which included two fender-bender accidents with no injuries.

In the same period, the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department reported one medevac and one false alarm.

April 2026 safety report
A few more homeless people have been recently spotted on Ocracoke, said Captain Joe Smith of the Hyde County Sheriff’s Office.

This was during the period of March 16 to April 15 when three more got onto one of the Pamlico Sound ferries but were intercepted soon after they debarked.

Smith said all were driven to the South Dock and put on a ferry to Hatteras.

He said no one is allowed to sleep overnight in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore except in designated camping areas.

And on Ocracoke, he does not want to see people sleeping in their cars, or private property unless they are invited.

He is looking into getting the Hyde County commissioners to enact an ordinance prohibiting sleeping in cars on Ocracoke.

A homeless woman with a grocery cart full of stuff who got off one of the ferries in March subsequently made it to Manteo, he said.

She got caught stealing, was in the jail there and got bailed out, he said. She later was arrested in Nags Head trying to steal another grocery cart.

“We’ve had very little trouble, and I’d like to keep it that way,” he said, adding that Ocracoke has no services for homeless people.

Smith said the island remains quiet ahead of visitor season, although he reported 34 traffic stops.

There were four noise complaints about people in back yards. There were two drunk disturbances, one at a house and one at a hotel.

He reported a couple of marijuana charges and one underage youth drinking charge. In the latter case, he said the youth had a forged ID card that had scanned successfully at a liquor store.

The Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department reported the following for the same period:

Three false alarms; one EMS assist and one medevac.

Islander and current director asks Ocracoke to support Mark Carawan for Tideland board

0

Tideland Electric Member Cooperative supplies the electricity to Ocracoke. Each month, members receive its magazine “Carolina Country,” which also includes “Tideland Topics,” a magazine specific to this area. The May print issue contains information about two men running for a District 2 seat on the board of directors and a paper ballot. Those two are incumbent Mark Carawan of Scranton and challenger Jeff Credle of Sladesville, both of Hyde County. The paper ballots are specific to each magazine/member so that they can be registered for a chance to win a $500 electric bill credit, said Heidi Jernigan Smith, Tideland communications director. The ballots must be received in the mail by May 12.

The May Tideland Topics online his here, but the ballots are only in the print magazine.

The letter below is from islander Vince O’Neal, who serves on the Tideland board.

It is with great pleasure and my absolute and wholehearted endorsement to announce that Mr. Mark Carawan is running again for the position of Director District 2 on the Tideland Electric Member Cooperative.

Mr. Carawan has been a loyal and dedicated board member for TEMC members for many years. and listed below is testament to his professional knowledge he provides.

A sampling of his professional knowledge and unwavering dedication to TEMC and more specifically to Ocracoke members include:

Instrumental in having the large generators that provided the island with power when the cable was cut on the Oregon Inlet bridge project a few years ago.

In April 2020 helped oversee the installation of the energized armor submarine cable that replaced the overhead conductors on pole road, a $4.5 million project.

In September 2024 helped to steer the relocation of 17 poles on Highway 12 on the north end of Ocracoke Island. He will be supporting the effort to move 25 more poles towards the sound side of Highway 12 here in the near future to help ensure Ocracoke Island’s power is maintained.

Another project that he will be instrumental in will be the replacement of 2000’ of cable and splice cabinet on NPS Prong Road, a $2.6 million undertaking to help secure power for the Island.

We are living in very fragile and delicate times here on the island as indicated with all the pending TEMC projects listed above and it is critical to have someone of Mr. Carawan’s knowledge and expertise in these perilous times. Below is his bio so please take time to read and vote for our future.

Mr. Mark Carawan is a lifelong resident on a family farm in Scranton community of Hyde County, except for four (4) years at UNC-Charlotte. Mr. Carawan retired, 2019, as Faculty Lead Instructor, Electrical/Electronics Engineering Technology Program, Beaufort County Community College, with 33 years continuous service. He established “HYCO Engineering Services” as an owner-operator specializing in electrical engineering solutions in manufacturing processes. Mr. Carawan holds an Unlimited Electrical Contractor’s License, NC, and was awarded certification in Electronics Engineering Technology-CET by NICET. He continues to teach as an adjunct instructor at BCCC. Mr. Carawan and his spouse, Pam are active members of Mt. Olive Church of Christ.

  • Bachelor of Engineering Technology in Electrical Engineering, UNC-Charlotte.
  • First elected as Tideland EMC, Board Officer, May, 2020 from among the Board with almost six years of consecutive service as Board Secretary.
  • President, Tideland Electric Care Trust, since inception, that provides energy assistance and local scholarships.
  • Fire Chief, Scranton VFD, 1999-2025, Assistant Fire Chief, 2025-Present.
  • “Beaufort County Community College Instructor of the Year,” 1997.

–Vince O’Neal

The General Assembly is back in session with one major goal: passing a long overdue state budget.

0

Editor’s Note: Ocracoke remains in a wait-and-see position as state lawmakers finalize North Carolina’s budget, with several key issues carrying significant local impact. Funding for the N.C. Ferry Division, N.C. Department of Transportation allocations that could affect N.C. 12 on the Outer Banks, as well as decisions on Medicaid and public school funding, are all under close watch by island residents and officials.

To help keep the community informed, the Ocracoke Observer has partnered with NC Local, expanding its coverage of statewide policy decisions and their potential effects on coastal communities like Ocracoke. Through this collaboration, readers can expect more in-depth reporting on budget developments and other state-level issues that shape life on the island.

By Will Michaels
Senior Reporter for State Issues; NC Local will@nclocal.org

Reminder: every two years, North Carolina lawmakers are supposed to pass a state budget, funding public services from education and health care to roads and public safety. But last year, they did not.

Republican leaders in the state House and Senate have been in a prolonged stalemate, largely over tax rates. They adjourned last fall without a budget and there has not been any movement on one since then. The result? North Carolina is still the only state in the country without a working budget. As this short session gets underway, the question remains whether or not – and how quickly – House and Senate Republicans can come together on their differences.

I reported on how the lack of a state budget affects everyday life last month, but it’s still just as relevant today.

The state continues operating without a budget because of a law that allows for ongoing spending at last year’s levels. But that approach freezes key decisions about a wide range of policies, and leaves state employees like teachers without raises or cost-of-living adjustments they may have expected.

When the state House ended its first day Tuesday afternoon, at least a dozen other reporters and I gathered around Speaker Destin Hall.

“The budget talks continue,” he told us. “And I’m optimistic more so than I have been in the past that we’re going to get a budget done and a good budget.”

Hall did not go into many specifics, except in a question about raises for the more than 70,000 people employed by the state.

Because a budget did not pass last year, state employees did not get their expected salary increases. Hall said the House would strive to “hold folks harmless on salary increases,” but left open the possibility that they might not get raises retroactive to last year.

“That may take the form of somewhat being retroactive. It also may be a onetime bonus to make up for some of that time where the increases weren’t there,” he said.

Some Democratic lawmakers are trying to force a deadline through a bill that would cut off pay for legislators if they don’t pass a budget by the end of the fiscal year (June 30), but it is unlikely to pass.

Another key area of funding in the budget is Medicaid. Higher-than-expected costs mean the program is short by hundreds of millions of dollars, with the state Department of Health and Human Services estimating it will run out of money next month.

So, both the House and Senate advanced House Bill 696 to fund North Carolina’s Medicaid program at least for now. It moves $319 million in reserves to fill the shortfall and keep the program running through this fiscal year.

The bill needs another vote in the House and Senate next week before it goes to Gov. Josh Stein for his signature. If it doesn’t pass, DHHS has warned Medicaid recipients could see a delay, disruption or even denial of benefits. More on Medicaid here.

BY THE NUMBERS 🔢

297: days the 2025-2027 budget is overdue
58: bills filed on Tuesday, the first day of the short session
$319 million: amount lawmakers are moving to fill North Carolina’s Medicaid funding gap
22: the width in feet of the red-carpeted stairs in the legislative building. After the first two years of wear and tear (1963-65), building officials decided to block off the grand staircase, making it purely decorative.

Couple wins OPS quilt raffle three times

3
Sylvia and Dave Nestor with their 2025 quilt. Photo courtesy of Sylvia Nestor.

By Connie Leinbach

The quilt gods have been shining on Dave and Sylvia Nestor, who since 2012 have won three quilts raffled by the Ocracoke Preservation Society.

The Nestors, of Spotsylvania, Virginia, won the 2025 quilt, the 2018 and the 2010 quilts.

And the couple is over the moon about their luck in winning these quilts, especially the last two since they lost the first one.

“It was a dream come true when we won the first one,” Sylvia said.

That was back in 2010.

The couple and their family typically rent a house on Hatteras and visit Ocracoke during that time.

“We only bought five tickets, but it was a dream come true,” she said about winning the 2010 quilt.

Two years later when the family returned to Hatteras, Sylvia had not brought the quilt with her and while they were away, their Virginia home burned to the ground.

Everything was lost.

“The car, everything,” she said. “I was crushed. It was so hard. That quilt was my most cherished possession.”

So, in 2018, after dropping $50 or $100 on quilt raffle tickets, the couple was surprised again when they won the raffle

Sylvia sleeps with that one and makes sure to bring it along on their vacation and now, after capturing last year’s quilt, Dave has one, too, she said.

“We want to give back to the Ocracoke community,” Sylvia said about their support of the raffle, and to win a quilt three times is “unheard of.”

“I can’t tell you the joy we get just being able to have the island with us in these quilts,” she said. “It’s a joy beyond description.”

This year, Sylvia will bring a big container of fabric scraps to donate to the Ocracoke Needle & Thread Club, whose members create a large hand-sewn quilt each year for the raffle.

This year’s quilt features a center panel of the Ocracoke lighthouse and a few Ocracats, designed by island artist Barbara Adams.

“It’s special because she is such a great artist,” said Debbie Leonard, club spokesperson. Raffle tickets are available for purchase at the Ocracoke Preservation Society museum, 49 Water Plant Rd. It is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

The all-volunteer club, which began in 1976, creates their quilts to benefit island nonprofits—a large quilt for the OPS and a throw-sized one for the Ocrafolk Festival,

They also will make a throw-size one for the Firemen’s Ball auction, she said.

They used to make more quilts each year, but the membership has dwindled in recent years and welcome more members, no matter the skill level.

No experience is necessary, Leonard said. The club members will teach anyone.

Anyone interested in learning the craft can contact Leonard via their Facebook page.

This year’s OPS quilt sports a design by island artist Barbara Adams. Photo by Debbie Leonard
The Ocracoke Needle & thread Club are, from left to right, row 1: Julie Hines, Deborah Ralston, Ann Borland
Rear: Debbie Leonard and Elizabeth Dyer. Not pictured, Arleen Burley and Nancy Carlson

Islander asks Ocracoke to support Jeff Credle for Tideland board

2

Tideland Electric Member Cooperative supplies the electricity to Ocracoke. Each month, members receive its magazine “Carolina Country,” which also includes “Tideland Topics,” a magazine specific to this area. The May issue contains information about two men running for a District 2 seat on the board of directors and a paper ballot. Those two are incumbent Mark Carawan of Scranton and Jeff Credle of Sladesville, both of Hyde County. The paper ballots are specific to each magazine/member so that they can be registered for a chance to win a $500 electric bill credit, said Heidi Jernigan Smith, Tideland communications director. The ballots must be received in the mail by May 12.

The May Tideland Topics online his here, but the ballots are only in the print magazine.

The letter below is from islander Albert O’Neal.

Editor:

I’m writing to express my long-time support for my friend Jeff Credle who is running for a seat in the Tideland EMC board of directors.

Jeff is a lifelong resident of Hyde County mainland but has always maintained a close relationship with his friends here on the island.

When Jeff retired in 2017 he and his wife Gina founded Currituck Oyster Company they commercially raised oysters in the Pamlico Sound with their sons Zack and Ethan.

Jeff’s career includes many years with the NCDOT Ferry Division, where he retired as Manager of the Bayview-Aurora ferry Terminal. He also helped manage ferry operations at the Stumpy Point to Rodanthe and Stumpy Point to Hatteras emergency ferry route after several Hurricanes that made Hwy 12 impassable.

He is no stranger to what it takes and the importance of maintaining access and services to our Island. Jeff also served as Hyde County Manager and Emergency Management Coordinator in the late 1990’s which was a time we had multiple Hurricanes hit Ocracoke. He worked closely with then County Commissioners David Styron and Wayne Teeter on our pre-storm preparedness and post storm recoveries.

the Tideland EMC Board and would give us another voice on that board in Carolina ountry magazine that all Tideland Members receive. It is important to cast your ballot

I would appreciate all my friends and neighbors supporting Jeff.

–Albert O’Neal, Ocracoke

Swan Quarter boat access renamed for local conservationist Kelly Davis

0
Swan Quarter Boating Access Area in Hyde County has been renamed the Kelly N. Davis Boating Access Area at Swan Quarter in honor of the former NCWRC Commissioner who represented District 1 from 2019 to 2026. Photo courtesy of the NCWRC.

By Stephanie Caplan
The most-used state-managed boat ramp in Hyde County was renamed “Kelly N. Davis Boating Access” in a ceremony in Swan Quarter on April 22.

Davis, whose career has been dedicated to protecting wildlife, was honored at the close of her six-year term representing District 1 on the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC). She is the first woman to serve on the statewide commission.

“It takes a very special occasion for us to rename something,” NCWRC Executive Director Kyle Briggs told the crowd of 35 colleagues, family members and friends at the event.

According to the agency, this is only the second time a North Carolina boat access area has been renamed.

Davis’s career was in wildlife biology and conservation, primarily with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She has lived in Hyde County for 46 years, a place she loves.

“This community and its natural richness are part of who I am and what I value,” she said. “Welcome to paradise,” Davis began her remarks after a blue tarp was lifted to reveal the new sign bearing her name.

The Kelly N. Davis Boating Access is located at 278 Oyster Creek Road.

Kelly Davis arrives at the naming ceremony. Photo by Stephanie Caplan

True to accolades from NCWRC leadership, Davis turned the event meant to honor her into an opportunity to praise and thank others.

 “It’s been a real privilege to work with some of the best, most dedicated people in the country — biologists, foresters, law enforcement officers and so many behind the scenes who make the resource beautiful, safe and available.”

Fellow Wildlife commissioners from across the state spoke of Davis’s passion, wildlife knowledge and friendly, accessible demeanor.

“Kelly is a most outstanding and knowledgeable commissioner. In my tenure, she is easily one of the best,” said the longest-serving commissioner, Wes Seegars, who championed the renaming effort. He has served since 1997. “She is so thoughtful in her discussions and decisions … to honor her service to the state was a very easy decision,” he said, adding that the renaming motion passed the 21-member Commission unanimously.

At-Large Commissioner Joseph Budd traveled from Winston-Salem to the ceremony and said he already misses Davis’s wisdom and perspective.

“She really made the resources that we’re blessed with in our state come first in our decisions,” he said.

Those resources go beyond traditional hunting and fishing game species.

“It was good to have Kelly in that role. She got you to think about not just hunting, but the non-game animals like frogs and turtles that just don’t get the attention,” said District 7 Commissioner David Hoyle. “Anything to do with hummingbirds and bees, she’s on it.”

District 1 Commissioner J. Carlton Cole echoed those sentiments: “She was my mentor,” he said. “Her hard work speaks for itself and there is no one more deserving.”

Davis has been working to protect wildlife and educate the public for decades. Hyde County Manager Kris Cahoon Noble attended the ceremony and remembered meeting Davis for the first time as a little girl on a 4-H outing. Davis was conducting a demonstration at Lake Mattamuskeet and walked to the front of the room draped in a long snake.

“I thought she was the coolest lady that ever lived,” Noble said.

Coming from the front lines with the U.S. Forest Service, Davis said she understands the important role played by those who are “the face of the agency.”  During her tenure on the NCWRC, she said she has been impressed with the staff’s competence and friendliness and always knew if a member of the public had a question, she could connect them to an expert who was professional and responsive.

One of those frontline employees attending the event was Jaime Jallet.  

“I’m so passionate about conservation,” she said. “A smile and kindness go a long way to make people care about our beautiful natural resources. Maybe there’s a regulation you’re not thrilled with, but this is the reason,” she said, motioning to the boat ramps and glistening water. “We want this to be accessible for them, long term.”

Davis will continue her conservation efforts with Lake Mattamuskeet and the Swan Quarter Watershed Steering Committee, in addition to focusing on bird and pollinator habitat and helping manage her family’s land.

Ever the ambassador for Hyde County, Davis closed the ceremony by extending an invitation to everyone in attendance – all 35 of them  –  to come enjoy lunch at her house.

Hyde County Conservationist Kelly Davis, flanked by fellow N.C. Wildlife Resources commissioners, stands in front of a new sign unveiled at a ceremony in Swan Quarter on April 22 honoring her service on the commission. The public ramps at 278 Oyster Creek Road are now called Kelly N. Davis Boating Access. Photo by Stephanie Caplan

Ocracoke events April 27 to May 3

0
Ocracoke volunteers will be hard at work on Saturday afternoon (May 2) cooking and preparing the fish fry dinners at 4 pm to help Milly King (of Buxton) with her leukemia battle. From left are Alex Garrish, Jenny Mason and Lucy O’Neal. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer

Monday, April 27:
Ocracoke School Middle School baseball at home vs. Hatteras. 4 pm. Community Park 

Wednesday, April 29:
Howard’s Pub: Ocracoke Rockers kick off the Ocracoke Invitational Surf Fishing Tournament, 8 pm

Thursday, April 30:
Ocracoke School varsity baseball at home vs. Columbia. 4 pm. Community Park. We will celebrate our seniors as soon as the game is over.

Ocracoke Invitational Surf Fishing Tournament.

Friday, May 1:
“What’s Happening on Ocracoke,” Guest Jamie Tunnel Carter, CEO of the Ocracoke Health Center, 11:30 am, WOVV 90.1 FM on the island and wovv.org.

Ocracoke Oyster Company: Gin & Salt, 7 pm

1718 Brewing Ocracoke: Kate McNally, 7 pm

Ocracoke Invitational Surf Fishing Tournament pig picking dinner. Community Center. 5:30 pm

Saturday, May 2:
Fish fry & bake sale fundraiser to help Milly King (of Buxton) with her leukemia battle at the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department Cook Shack, 4 pm; live music from 4 to 6. See flyer below.

1718 Brewing Ocracoke: Dune Dogs fundraising concert for Millie, 7 pm.

Ocracoke Oyster Company: Ray Murray, 7 pm

Sunday, May 3:
Church services:
Ocracoke United Methodist Church, 11 am
Ocracoke Life Saving Church, 11 am
Stella Maris Chapel: Sunday Mass time at 4:30 pm but it is important to confirm because a priest may not be available to visit the island.  Go to Masstimes.org and type in the zip code 27960, look for Our Lady of the Seas.

1...456...513Page 5 of 513
© Ocracoke Observer 2026 All rights reserved.