SQly summer 2013

Hyde County’s Country Magazine Published Quarterly Summer 2012

Cover Photo by Jessica Swindell

Swan Quarter Jewel Priced to SELL in Swan Quarter, NC. This Victorian home is a must see in order to fully appreciate the word restored to mint condition. The detailed work and added features illustrate the planning that went into restoring this amazing home inside and outside. This unique Victorian home features 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. Hardwood oak

$130,000 Over 2000 sq 3 bed rooms 2 1/2 baths Amazing Sunsets & Harbor & Water Views Call Owner Ingrid Lemme 252-565-2098 or Lake Landing Realty Click here FOR SALE

BY OWNER LISTING

interior design in the dining area, as well as beaded board in the bedrooms. In proximity to this location are: the Pamlico Sound, Intercoastal Waterway, several National Wildlife Refuges, and only a walk to the Swan Quarter - Ocracoke Ferry. In addition, the Outer Banks is only a little more than an hour away. Excellent

floors showcase the entrance way, living room, dining room and downstairs bedroom. New appliances have been installed in the custom build kitchen, along with new hardwood cabinets, granite countertops and tile flooring.

To incorporate the original motif of the home, exposed beams over a new ceiling were used as part of the

workmanship, raised 8foot (historic treatment), beautiful views of the fishing boats, Swan Quarter Bay and sunsets, make this Victorian Home a unique find.

( Completely rewired, insulated, all new siding, roof, windows, screened in porch, swing, build in library, large washer & dryer and and and.

There is a large shed, newly painted on the property as well for storage.) Ideal for raising a family and / or weekend retreat from Raleigh or Norfolk for people who like

boating and fishing and fresh seafood. This one of a kind house is only a short walk from the harbor and the fishing boats, the NEW Hyde County Court House, Swan Quarter Community Park, MATTIE ART CENTER etc. Swan Quarter is protected by a 17 mile long dike. This property was the first time 6 month ago listed for $179000 and was already in contract... www.SwanQuarter.net

Photo Margie Brooks - Please see the last page as well.

P U B L I S H E R : I N G R I D L E M M M E - E D I TO R I A L S U P P O RT: M A RG I E B RO O K S

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Quote of the Quarter

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“There is a hardiness to Ocracokers, too, as one would expect in what began as a small fishing village and never entirely shed that persona. But here, too, there are shops, artists, writers, tourists, casual strollers, bicycle riders. There is a strong sense of community.” ~ Ray McAllister

DEAR READER

Ocracoke

"The Pearl of the Outer Banks."

Ray McAllister is the author of three award-winning books on the North Carolina coast: Topsail Island: Mayberry by the Sea, Wrightsville Beach: The Luminous Island, and most recently, Hatteras Island: Keeper of the Outer Banks.

Did you ever try to get Hyde County out of your mind? I mean packing up and leaving and not looking back? It’s true - Hyde County gets under your skin and that includes the mosquitoes and the Island.

My daughter-inlaw Neli recently had company from Bulgaria.

Her sister Yordanka and her fiancée Tihomir visited for two

‘Keeping the Cool’ and Warm, depending on the Season

“Getting it right the first time” it says on his business card and I can assure you he got it all done and the AC fixed on his first visit.

weeks and I showed them all around Hyde County for a day, including Lake Mattamuskeet, the Lodge, the nature preserves, lunch at Martelle’s and Mattamuskeet Seafood Company.

Of course we took photos of the boats in the harbors and the fields and then some. They loved it just as much as I do, always will. Have a great summer. Love Ingrid Gibb’s Heating & Air Conditioning Maintenance, Sales & Service.

252-943-7582

Lady of the Quarter Kelly Norton Pellegrino Founder of Hyde County NC Animal Friends Promoting adoption and rescue of stray, abandoned, and unwanted dogs of Hyde County NC.

...On the Board Walk...

Boat of the Quarter

The Lady Cynthia

Kid of the Quarter

Leo Haven Swindell, he is 6 yrs old and is in Kindergarden.

Teen of the Quarter

Miss Hailey Williams

Couple of the Quarter

Phil & Bea Emmert

Website of the Quarter www.hydecounty.org

Business of the Quarter

Hyde County’s Mattamuskeet Seafood Fresh Domestic Seafood with NO Preservatives...

Man of the Quarter

Cory Carawan of Mattamuskeet Seafood

Lady of the Quarter

Kelly Norton Pellegrino, Founder of Hyde County NC Animal Friends

Organization of the Quarter

Hyde County NC Animal Friends Promoting adoption and rescue of stray, abandoned, and unwanted dogs of Hyde County

Business of the Quarter

Mattamuskeet Seafood Wholesaler for North Carolina Fine Crabmeat and North Carolina Oysters Mattamuskeet Seafood is a wholesaler for North Carolina fine crabmeat, jumbo lump crabmeat, backfin crabmeat, claw meat, cocktail claws, Crabber's Choice Premium Crab Cakes and North Carolina Oysters. The company was opened in 1983 and remains family owned and managed. After working in the commercial seafood industry for many years, family members decided to take the next step and build a crabmeat processing plant. The seafood that they brought to the docks was then manufactured and sold to wholesale markets.

Over the years, they have grown and gained a valued reputation for quality and freshness of our crabmeat, which is marketed under the Clearview label. Thhey were the first company to pack crabmeat in a clear container to display Hyde County’s exceptional product. www.mattamuskeetseafood.com

Fresh Domestic Seafood with NO Preservatives...

Man of the Quarter Cory Carawan of Mattamuskeet Seafood

COUPLE OF THE QUARTER PHIL & BEA EMMERT Phil and Bea Emmert are our Couple of the Quarter! The couple lives in the Hyde County community of Makelyville. Phil is originally from IN, where he worked for Dow Chemical Co. for 13 years. At the age of 37, he graduated from Johnson Bible College and entered the ministry. He has lived in Hyde County since 1979 and is

currently the minister at Rose Bay Church of Christ. He and Bea have been married for 22 years. Bea was born in Engelhard graduated from Washington High School. She has done a little of everything, from commercial fishing to waitressing! She retired from the Department of Social Services in 1998, after 23 years service.

She was a Hyde County Commissioner from 2003-06 and currently serves as Secretary/Treasurer for the Hyde County Community Development Board of Directors. Phil and Bea are both active in many

Photos by Chief Jeffrey Stotesberry

community causes and have made a lifetime commitment to helping others. They enjoy spending time with their children (7 children between them) and 15 grand-children, who are scattered throughout NC, NJ and TN, when they come for a visit.

MATTIE SUPPORT THE ARTS AND YOUR VERY TALENTED LOCAL ARTISTS! At long last, we finally have a sign and just in time for the upcoming tourist season. Still to be installed is the smaller swinging sign underneath announcing "visitor information-public restrooms".

The MATTIE Arts Center, located on the first floor of the former Hyde County Courthouse, 10 Oyster Creek Road, Swan Quarter, is NOW OPEN! The Center offers various classes, a gallery stocked with local artists' work, public restrooms and visitor information.

MATTIE Art Center's sales gallery will be open from 9 AM to 4 PM

Thursdays through Saturdays starting April 18th through May 25th, 2013.

Beginning Memorial Day weekend, we will be open Thursdays through Sundays from 9 AM to 4 PM. We feature both local and area artists' work in all media - from crafts to fine art, all depicting local area flora, fauna, and scenery.

SUPPORT THE ARTS AND YOUR VERY TALENTED LOCAL ARTISTS!

MATTIE Arts Center 10 Oyster Creek Rd. Downtown Swan Quarter Historic Courthouse building We have started accepting art work on consignment in the Gallery. Please feel free to contact me to discuss.

Thank you, Judy McLawhorn MATTIE Arts Center 252.943.8991 jhmclawhorn@aol.com www.hyde1854courthouse.org

What Are Those White Birds?

BY COLEMAN DAVIS

You’ve seen them – the leggy, white birds that wade in marshes, probe wet fields, and poise along ditch banks. But what are they? Chances are good that the white waders you have watched are great egrets, snowy egrets, immature little blue herons, or white ibis. Once you know a few key field marks, identification of these birds is easy!

The great egret (EE-gret), tallest of our white waders, stands about three feet tall on skinny black legs. Its feathers are all white – no black on its wing-tips. The key field mark is its long, bright

yellow bill. It hunts by stalking; it wades a bit and then waits almost motionless until an unsuspecting frog or fish moves. Then, zap! Lunch! Shorter and smaller than the great egret, standing about two feet tall, is the snowy egret. Remember the black legs and yellow bill on the great egret? Just reverse that for the snowy – it has yellow feet and a black bill. The snowy egret’s plumage is all white year round. It eats fish, crustaceans, frogs, and snakes.

A third white wader is the little blue heron. Little blue heron? Yes, in its first year, the little blue is…

Immature Little Blue Heron - Photo by George Bissinger

Snowy Egret Photo by George Bissinger

... white! The little blue is slightly taller than the snowy egret, but that can be hard to tell in the field. The best field mark for the immature little blue is its grayish-green bill – it isn’t black like the snowy egret’s or yellow like the great egret’s. The little blue hunts by stalking its prey; it eats fish, frogs, crustaceans, small rodents and insects. The last white wader is the white ibis (EYE-biss). It stands about two feet tall but is often bent

White Ibis - Photo by Coleman Davis

Great Egret - Photo by Anne Blythe forward as it probes wet soil for invertebrates. Its key field mark is its long, down-curved, orangered bill. Now that you know the

difference, take a drive along the Mattamuskeet Refuge Entrance Road where you can practice your white wader identification skills year round.

On our cover is a photo by Jessica Swindell, featuring her son Leo Haven Swindell. Leo is 6 yrs old and is in Kindergarden, he plays tee-ball and his favorite thing to do, in his own words are "help daddy clean the roof! It's my ‘favoritest’ thing ever". His best friend is his Daddy.

Jessica is married to the love of her life AJ Swindell Jr. and they have 5 children: Anthony Lee-13, Leo Haven-6, Endiigo Leilani-5, Elora Finn Anastasia-2, Sebastian Kai Reverie-10 months old.

They reside in Engelhard, NC. You can find more photography from Jessica on her Facebook page "Jessica Lee Photography" (-https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-Lee-Photography/166284547351)

AUNT BETTY’S CLABBER BISCUITS And how one person’s lifetime love of cooking continues to make a difference…

One day when she was nine years old, Betty Louise Spencer skipped school. She didn’t really like school anyhow, and she had to walk a couple of miles to get there, so she just decided to stay home that day. The adults in her family had left very early that morning to go into the fields to pick cotton. On his way out, her father had called out to the children that it was time to get up and get ready for school. Teeza (that was her father’s nickname for her) bounced around on the bed so the metal bed springs would squeak and her father would think she was getting up – but she’d already decided she was not going to school that day.

The other children left for school and there she was, home all alone!

Once the decision had been made, Teeza faced two dilemmas. One was the repercussions her truancy would surely pose, and two, what to do all day long all by herself ? The answer came to her pretty

quickly: she’d cook a meal and have it waiting when everyone arrived back home. Now Teeza was no stranger to the kitchen.

Often when her mother wanted to punish Teeza, she’d make her stay in the kitchen with her while she cooked. Though Teeza had never cooked on her own before, she had watched her mother many times and had

no doubts that she could do this herself.

She found some dried blackeyed peas and put them on to soak. She looked for some meat to put in the peas, but could only find some meat grease.

Soon, she had the peas simmering on the stove.

Then she decided she would make some biscuits. She mixed plain flour, some salt and baking powder and shortening together, along with another very prized ingredient – clabber.

Now, I have to regress a little and tell you folks who are too young to know, what clabber is.

Way back then (this would have been the 1940s) you milked the cow and if the unpasteurized milk was not refrigerated it turned sour and it would produce cream and clabber. The top layer was cream (also another prized ingredient – more on this later) which would be scooped off and kept separately. The next layer would be the clabber which was often eaten with brown sugar and cinnamon or

molasses. But clabber could also be used instead of fresh milk in biscuits. Thus, Teeza found the stash of clabber and added some of that to her made-fromscratch biscuits.

Next she decided that she would also make a cake. She mixed 4 cups of flour, 2 cups of sugar, 4 eggs, and some of that prized cream mentioned earlier. It seemed to be lacking something, but right about then she spied a jar of prunes on the shelf. Teeza knew that canned prunes was one of her father’s favorite things so perhaps adding them to the cake would take his mind off the most certain punishment her day in the kitchen might bring.

Eventually the adults came home and as they neared the house, Teeza could hear them: “Somebody’s in the house!” “I smell something cooking!” In short order, Teeza’s secret was discovered. Her daddy was a little upset about his prunes and told her that her cake looked like ‘chewed up tobacco.’ But when they had all tried it, he told her mother to cover up the other half of that cake for him to eat later. And he eventually told her he was going to let her

“slide” this time, but she had to go back to school the next day.

Thus began Ms. Betty’s love of cooking, and even to this day, although she might have to sit down and rest some in between tasks, she still loves to cook. She still makes biscuits, but alas, without the clabber! She married her husband Craig at age 16 and became a mother at 22. She has 3 daughters and a son who she has raised (along with one grandson she also raised). She has 9 grandchildren and 18 great-grand children.

Ms. Betty was recently honored with a Community Service Award by the Hyde County Branch of the NAACP. I shared a table with her that night. I learned how her door is always open and about the many people she has fed throughout the years. I know that she has also provided a place for many to lay their head at night. I was intrigued and wanted to know more. In this day and age, when there is so much violence and so many people doing bad things why would she still be doing this? I wondered.

She explained that her mother had set a good example by always cooking and sharing with others. Then she went on to tell

me that her husband (who passed away several years ago) used to sing a song that went something like this: “If Jesus should come and knock on your door, would you open your door and let him come in – or would you turn him away? If Jesus should come and knock on your door for a place to lie down, would you welcome him or turn him away?”

Those words seem to be the mantra that Ms. Betty has lived her life by. Many folks have crossed the threshold of her home in Engelhard over the years, and it doesn’t matter whether they are black or white, she doesn’t turn anyone away.

They all call her “Aunt Betty” and continue to turn up at her door, at all hours of the day and night. They’ll get something to eat and a place to rest, and all she asks in return is that they don’t smoke in her house and not be involved in drugs. It is not unusual to visit her home and see every chair, two couches and the beds filled to capacity.

Ms. Betty will be sitting in her chair sure of one thing: “I’ve never had much, but as long as I have God, it will be alright.”

BY MARGIE BROOKS

Swan Quarter Equipment

82 Hwy 45, Swan Quarter, NC Phone: 252.924.0017

Village Consignment, Crafts, Custom Mats/Framing Shop 35 Highway 45, Swan Quarter, NC Phone: 252-926-5121 (evenings)

MEET HYDE COUNTY MANAGER BILL RICH It’s a new day in Hyde County and islander Bill Rich, as the newly appointed county manager is eager to help.

Rich, who began officially on March 1, hit the ground running, attending many meetings, including all three

ferry toll hearings held by the NCDOT, since he began.

“So far I love it,” he says with his ready smile. “There’s something new every minute. I love the pace of it. ” Rich, who lives on Ocracoke with his wife Jennifer, will spend four days a week on the mainland where he will stay at his family farm near the Pungo River. He will be on Ocracoke Friday through Sunday.

Bill Rich at his Ocracoke home

Rich, a Hyde County native, a 1968 graduate of Belhaven High School and of UNC in 1972, has spent his career as a real estate manager and developer in Hyde County and all over Virginia and eastern North Carolina. He is the proprietor of The Rich Company, which has offices in Elizabeth City and Washington, and Rich and his brothers Bob and Cy own Rich Brothers Farms in Hyde County.

“I’ve never had to apply for a job in my life,” he says with a laugh when asked about his resume. “I had to craft a resume.”

Rich expects to use his four decades in business to better the county.

“I like putting projects together,” Rich says about his real estate career. “I got to put together zoning, infrastructure, helping families...”

As such, he had to attend many city or county commissioners’ meetings to get approvals for his projects. So he knows how governments work.

In Elizabeth City, The Rich Company has changed that city’s landscape with several waterfront and commercial projects since 1975. Rich Brothers Farm used to manage almost 100,000 acres of farm and timber land in Hyde County.

“We farmed it until it was ready to be leased out,” he said.

At the same time, Rich served as president and overseer of the Mattamuskeet Drainage Association with controlled the pumping and drainage of more than 60,000 acres of land.

Among his other projects, Rich owned and operated Agriworld Farm Management, which managed thousands of acres of farm and timber land for several German, Austrian and Japanese owners in Eastern North Carolina. He also developed and managed the Woodlake Golf and Country Club community outside Pinehurst.

Rich’s experience helping families come to agreements over land bequests should be useful in dealing with the conflicting viewpoints that often arise in the world of local government.

But as a local native, he already has an edge. “I know most of the people in Hyde County,” he says.

On Ocracoke, where Rich has vacationed all his life and has had property since 2007, Rich helped secure the land that will lead to a baseball field for local youths.

He has been chairman of the Ocracoke Planning Board, and though he had to give up that

position, he will still participate as the county manager.

“We need to find more money other than through taxes,” he says about Hyde County. More sales tax revenues and more jobs are some goals, and he’s confident in his department heads.

“I’m very impressed with our employees,” he says, of which he has 150.

Rich is excited about all of the challenges ahead.

“They got someone who understands the business side of government,” Rich says about his appointment. “It’s good for me and I hope for the people.”

BY CONNIE LEINBACH Photo below: Bill Rich advocates for no ferry tolls in Raleigh in March.

HANRAHAN Every so often, Ocracoke islanders will glimpse a petite woman in the village running with a net after a bird and fearlessly capturing it.

Elizabeth L. Hanrahan is a wildlife rehabilitator, whose home in Jackson Circle also serves as a rehabilitation hospital to a variety of wild adult and baby birds recovering from injuries. She is the only one in Hyde County, although she has two colleagues up the beach. She is always on call and rarely leaves the island.

Hanrahan’s home and grounds, which she shares with her husband, Calvin, a physical therapist, are clean and tidy (and must remain so, according to licensing standards). Her free-standing “clinic” is a raised shed Calvin built for her behind their home.

Inside, Hanrahan triages her patients and has a variety of cages, equipment and medical supplies.

A freezer in the clinic holds a variety of items for her work, including bird and animal cadavers that she sends to research facilities.

At the close of 2012, Hanrahan helped 160 birds on the island, such as gulls, loons, pelicans, crows, mocking birds and cormorants. That total is way down from what she used to do when she lived in Edenton— about 300 a year. She also rehabilitates snakes, turtles and other native species.

There also are bags of frozen mice which are food for recovering crows, raptors and falcons, she says.

Her license does not allow her to work with “rabies vector” animals, such as raccoons, skunks or bats, and she does not work with domestic animals because that could be crossing the line into veterinary medicine.

Inside her home, she raises meal worms for birds.

“People don’t realize how many mice you need for this work,” she says, explaining that she purchases 200 to 300 mice a year. “You have to split the mice and spill their guts,” she says.

After their time in the clinic, injured birds can go outside to any one of four areas she has for them to regain their wing strength, such as her screened-

in porch where the passerines, or song birds, go for therapy.

“You don’t interact with baby birds (or ducks) or they will habituate on you and come back,” she says.

A cage about 20 feet tall towards the front of her property can hold pelicans, gulls and the three varieties of falcons found on the island— peregrine, merlins and American kestrels.

“This is also baby bird day care,” she explains. The otherwise bare cage contains a couple of ledges and a few kiddie pools—where pelagic (or water) birds learn or relearn to swim and self-feed.

Hanrahan takes rehabilitating birds to the north end of the island to teach them to swim and fish. Each bird has to be released into its native habitat, and she cannot release anything into National Park Service land that didn’t come from the park.

Wildlife rehabilitators must have a state permit and license from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. While Hanrahan does not get paid by any organization or agency to do this work, she

has to submit reports on her work to federal agencies. It is all done on her own nickel—the supplies, equipment and licenses, although she can take the purchases for her work off her taxes.

Because she is licensed by the federal government, individual donations to her for her work are tax deductible, she says.

She also has applied for grants to pay for some of the cages.

Helping wildlife has been a passion for Hanrahan since she began volunteering at her local humane society in her native Gainesville, Ga., years ago where she was a vocational education teacher. She has an undergraduate degree in business administration and master’s degrees in vocational education administration and special education.

Eventually, she became executive director of the society

where they occasionally got some wild animals.

says. “It’s against the law to keep wild birds.”

“Emotionally, (the humane society) work drove me nuts,” she says about the euthanasia aspect of it.

This is why Hanrahan is always on call to pick up an injured bird at any time on the island.

After she left the humane society in the mid-1980s, she embarked on formal training in wildlife rehabilitation and found her true calling.

“If you have a cat attack, you need to get (the birds) on meds right away,” she says. “If (people who’ve found an injured bird) wait a few days, it may be too late.”

Along with rehabilitating injured birds, Hanrahan does her best to educate people who find injured birds.

She is full of the argot of her profession and information about the various bird species she assists.

“Don’t go on the internet to learn how to feed wild birds,” she says, shaking her head.

“Don’t feed them milk, dog food or cat food. This can be life threatening. There are seven different categories for birds and you have to know which of these seven the bird is in as to what to feed it.”

“Every bird (I help) is my favorite,” she says.

Moreover, she says, individuals are legally not allowed to foster wild birds themselves.

“Birds are federally protected,” Hanrahan

For more information on learning to be a wildlife rehabilitation specialist, or questions about injured wildlife, Hanrahan can be reached at 252-928-2604.

BY CONNIE LEINBACH

ENGELHARD MEDICAL CENTER HAS NEW PROVIDER ~

BY JAMIE TUNNELL CARTER When people choose the life along the road less travelled, they choose peace and quiet over blaring horns and urban noise. They choose seeing the stars over stoplights. They choose a way of life that in many ways is more simple, but at the same time challenging.

With the Engelhard Medical Center’s open doors, they do not have to choose to live without the medical care they deserve.

The Engelhard Medical Center opened in 2004. It is one of 30 rural health centers that operates with help from the N.C. Office of Rural Health and Community Care. Before that, the private practice of Dr. Liverman served Hyde County for over 50 years and the waiting room of the new building is now named in his honor.

The current building opened on October 4, 2009 on Highway 264 in Engelhard with great fanfare from across the state. It was a big step up from the trailer by the fire department closer to town that had offered medical services for five years.

That old trailer moved 500+ miles across NC to Andrews,

NC to be reused for a health center there.

This brand new, 6,000-squarefoot clinic came to fruition because of the strong will of the community. Leaders secured more than $1 million in grants and donations to build it. It was a collaborative effort involving the community, the Golden Leaf Foundation, The Duke Endowment, the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, and the NC Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Rural Health and Community Care.

Earlier this year, UNC –TV did a piece on rural health care in North Carolina and the Engelhard Medical Center was featured. It concentrated on the

extreme challenges that are faced by communities in rural areas to get consistent, quality healthcare when cities are located 50-100 miles away. That hinders people from getting the medical care they need if they have no transportation or extra time and money to make the trip.

Without a full time provider at the Engelhard Medical Center over the past several years, the community has depended on

traveling to nearby cities for their medical care. The Engelhard Medical Center hired a full-time physician’s assistant who started at the medical center in March 2013.

The medical center is open Monday through Friday, 8 am – 5 pm, with an hour lunch break.

This consistent schedule will help Hyde County residents and visitors utilize the medical center for their primary care, annual exams, child

immunizations, and urgent visits.

Another hindrance to medical care for those in rural areas is insurance and the costs associated with medical care.

The Engelhard Medical Center participates in Medicare, Medicaid, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Medcost, and Tricare plans. These are some of the most popular plans of residents and visitors of Hyde County, including the current insurance

plan of those employed by Hyde County Government and the Hyde County School system. For the uninsured, the Engelhard Medical Center is fortunate to participate in a program offered by the NC Office of Rural Health. The Medical Access Plan, or MAP, is a sliding fee scale discount program based on family size and income that will allow qualified participants to pay a copay amount. Patients must bring in proof of income and meet the guidelines that the state has set.

No one is ever turned away based on their ability to pay.

Donald Spradlin, PA-C, the newly hired provider, will implement the electronic medical record system to help with the efficiency of record keeping, speed up prescription processing, and improve the reports for quality improvement. This will benefit patients and staff and allow the

medical center to meet reporting guidelines easier.

A snapshot of the patients of the Engelhard Medical Center last year shows that 38% are uninsured, 30% have private insurance, 18% have Medicare, and 16% had Medicaid. The majority of visits focus on disease management like diabetes, hypertension, and

heart disease, making the Engelhard Medical Center the medical home of many patients for their regular and preventative care.

The medical center and health department work together closely to fill the broad range of needs for Hyde County residents and visitors. Most

recently, they are both participating in a telemedicine project to help shorten the distance even more to specialty care and give Hyde County residents and visitors access to care they would have had to travel hours to get to before.

Under the direction of Cheryl L. Ballance, the director of the Ocracoke Health Center, Engelhard Medical Center has become part of collaborations with hospitals, clinics, and other medical centers in eastern NC to expand services to get broadband internet service, telemedicine, and more opportunities to offer extended care.

It is the hope of the medical center’s staff and board of directors that the Engelhard Medical Center would continue to flourish and meet the needs of Hyde County and its surrounding population.

Photos by Michael Adams and Margie Brooks

BOOK OF THE QUARTER OCRACOKE: THE PEARL OF THE OUTER BANKS

By Ray McAllister and published by

demise, German U-boat attacks off Ocracoke’s coast, and the role of the iconic 1823 Ocracoke Lighthouse.

Here, too, are portraits of ferries full of visitors, a legendary herd of once-wild ponies, miles of nationally honored beaches, the charmingly unpaved Howard Street and the poignantly serene British Cemetery – along with the inside stories of what draws families back year after year, generation after generation.

ISBN: 978-0-615-71678-7 $19.95 hardcover.

The $19.95 hardcover, the fourth book in the author’s North Carolina coastal series, is a look at the history, the people and the continuing allure of the remote, white-sanded island that draws tens of thousands of tourists each year.

Ocracoke tells the island’s story from the early days of Native Americans and European explorers to today’s artists, musicians, fishermen and bicycle-riding tourists. Along the way, it shares the stories of Blackbeard the Pirate’s bloody

Published April 29, 2013.

5 x 8, 242 pages, B&W photographs Ocracoke also presents a striking new proposal from Dr. Stephen Leatherman, the worldfamous Dr. Beach, to enhance Ocracoke’s reputation as a world-class walking village.

Ocracoke: The Pearl of the Outer Banks is a delightful look at what makes Ocracoke special – and likely always will.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ray McAllister, editor of Boomer magazine, in Richmond, Va., is a former columnist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He is the author of Topsail Island: Mayberry by the Sea, Wrightsville Beach: The Luminous Island, and Hatteras Island: Keeper of the Outer Banks. All three, which were published by John F. Blair, Publisher, have won multiple awards and gone into multiple printings. This is his first book for Beach Glass Books. www.raymcallister.com

JUST NEVER KNOW WHAT’S COOKIN’ AT THE HYDE AWAY CAFE IN SWAN QUARTER! Daily Specials!

Hyde Away Cafe 81 NC Highway 45 Swan Quarter, NC 27885-9380 Local: (252) 926-0046 Click for directions!

The 14th annual Ocrafolk Festival will showcase new and returning artists this year on Ocracoke Island, NC, on June 7-9, 2013. The weekend is presented by Ocracoke Alive, and celebrates music, storytelling, and artisans from the NC coastal region and beyond. In the 2012 Coastal Living Magazine, the Ocrafolk Festival was rated as one of the top fifteen island festivals in the world.www.ocrafolkfestival.org

This lovely field of bright yellow is a sight to behold as you travel east on US 264 near Engelhard. The crop is rapeseed and it is harvested just like wheat, about two weeks earlier than a wheat crop. The plants are about 3 feet tall. In Hyde County it is harvested for canola. It will be processed by East Carolina Soybean Producers, LLC at their facility in the Grassy Ridge area of Hyde County. Canola was also grown here about ten years ago. It is used for edible oils and biodiesel products. - MB