Our Coastland Then and Now from The Coastland Times

Outlook 2020 THE COASTLAND TIMES

Our Coastland

then and now

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Outlook 2020 Edition

CONTENTS

from The Coastland Times

Bridges: Connecting the Outer Banks ...................................................................................... 5

Theresa Schneider Publisher

The Elizabethan Gardens: 70 years of beautiful inspiration ...............................................8

Mary Helen Goodloe-Murphy Staff Writer Danielle Puleo Staff Writer Philip S. Ruckle Jr. Staff Writer Hannah Russ Marketing Consultant For additional copies, stop by our office at 207 Queen Elizabeth Ave., Ste. 10 in Manteo. Contact us by calling 252-473-2105, emailing news@thecoastlandtimes. com or by mail at PO Box 400, Manteo, NC 27954

A snapshot of Dare County’s history ......................................................................................10 Hyde County – 315 years old: ‘Some of the best people that you will ever find anywhere’.......................................................................................................................................14 League of Women Voters celebrates 100th anniversary ...................................................16 Real estate: Selling the Outer Banks ......................................................................................18 Tyrrell County – 281 years old: A ‘genuinely friendly place to be’................................. 20 Modern ferries traverse historic routes ..................................................................................22 Dare County – 150 years old: Land of beginnings ..............................................................24 Owens’ Restaurant a place for food, family and tradition ................................................26 Currituck County – 352 years old: A sportsman’s paradise ..............................................28 Conner’s Supermarket: Now in third generation, Buxton store carries everything from ‘PBR to caviar’ .................................................................................................................... 30

Bridges: Connecting the Outer Banks

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THERESA SCHNEIDER PHOTO

The William B. Umstead Bridge connects the north end of Roanoke Island to the Dare County mainland.

by Mary Helen Goodloe-Murphy mhgm@thecoastlandtimes.com For the longest time, Outer Banks residents traveled by small boat across inland waters.

But in 1927, Dare County leaders started the long campaign to build bridges connecting Dare County to its far-flung boundaries, to North Carolina and to the world.

That year, the county’s Board of Commissioners passed a resolution to build a causeway connecting Roanoke Island with Nags Head. To finance the project, the board floated a bond issue and built the bridge.

Washington Franklin Baum, a county commissioner from Wanchese, pushed for that new connecting bridge. In 1928, the newly built draw bridge was opened.

“It took local initiative and daring and private investment to begin the long and costly process of making the Outer Banks accessible at last, but today there are five beautiful modern bridges in or connecting with Dare County . . .”

David Stick, “Dare County: A History.” 1970.

The toll was a quarter.

In 1962, a new bridge was officially dedicated to “Wash” Baum. In 1994, a replacement bridge was dedicated and again Washington F. Baum was remembered. The new bridge is 82 feet high, eliminating the need for a draw.

The Wright Memorial Bridge, Dare County Bridge No. 16, opened Sept. 27, 1930. Local businessmen built this wooden bridge that opened up northern Dare County to Beating the toll visitors. The bridge con“In 1927, each person used to be charged a toll of 25 cents to nected mainland Currituck cross the bridge over Roanoke Sound. That was when the bridge County to Kitty Hawk. was first built. In order to beat the toll some of us would hide in Some 36 years later, the rumble seat of my Model-T. the wooden bridge was “One time Rondal Lewark and I were shut up in there, and replaced. In 1997, a parallel the others could not open the seat when we arrived on the other side of the bridge. We had to ride all the way to Kitty Hawk span, Dare County Bridge before they could get us out.

No. 35, was completed.

“We were headed to the Soundside Pavilion where Capt.

The Wright Memorial Dan Hayman ran a dance hall. I thought that we would smother Bridge carries NC 158 before we got there.”

“Memories of Manteo and Roanoke Island, N.C. as told by Cora Mae Basnight,” by Susanne Tate. 1988

across Currituck Sound.

In 1915, the State Highway Commission, the precursor to today’s Department of Transportation, was created. It wasn’t until after the Depression and World War II that the state agency started paying much attention northeast North Carolina.

The State Highway Commission purchased both toll bridges and made those bridges free.

In 1955, the commission started Dare County Bridge No. 9. The connection between Manns Harbor on the Dare County mainland and the north end of Roanoke Island was completed in 1956.

Called the William B. Umstead Memorial Bridge, this structure brought U.S. 64 across the Croatan Sound. The Umstead bridge was the biggest state project of the 1950s, reports NCDOT. William Bradley Umstead, May 13,

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MARY HELEN GOODLOE-MURPHY PHOTO

In 2007, all seven Ocracoke Island bridges were replaced at one time. The project shut down NC 12 starting Jan. 2, 2008. During the project, only fourwheel-drive vehicles were permitted to drive a beach route between the National Park Service campground and the pony pens to get to Ocracoke village or the ferry to Hatteras. This new bridge is over Quarks Creek. The project included removing wooden bridges and replacing the bridges with wider concrete structures. The work was concluded in 74 days. Conventional construction would have taken two years.

DHR PHOTO

Left: The Herbert C. Bonner Bridge is dwarfed by the new Marc Basnight Bridge over Oregon Inlet, which opened in February 2019.

1895 to Nov. 7, 1954, was an attorney, a congressman for six years and North Carolina governor or two years.

The final connection to the mainland started in 1960 and was completed in 1962.

The Croatan-Alligator Bridge Association started lobbying for this bridge in 1951.

The Lindsay C. Warren Bridge, also known as the Alligator River Bridge, carries U.S. 64 over the Alligator River. The two-lane bridge with a swing span is “technologically significant” in its use of long-span welded girders.

Lindsay Carter Warren was a lawyer, state legislator, a congressman for 16 years and served as comptroller general of the United States from 1941 to 1954. He instituted many reforms in the General Accounting Office.

After his retirement, he spent time on the Outer Banks. He participated in the dedication of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, celebrating his bill of 1937, which created the first national seashore. In 1959, he returned to the North Carolina Senate.

On May 10, 1962 he attended the dedication of the Lindsay Warren Bridge connecting the mainland of the state to the Outer Banks area. He was unable to attend the dedication of the Lindsay Warren Visitor Center at the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site in 1966.

The last connection needed for Dare County was a bridge across Oregon Inlet. A private ferry operation ran across the inlet. The state purchased the operation.

The Herbert C. Bonner Bridge crossing Oregon Inlet was dedicated in 1964.

It carried NC 12 and served as the connection between northern Dare County and Hatteras Island.

The bridge to Hatteras Island was past its design life. It took NCDOT, elected officials and citizens nearly 30 years to replace the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge, Dare County Bridge No. 72.

Construction started March 2016.

On Feb. 25, 2019, the Marc Basnight Bridge was opened to the public. The new bridge replaced the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge. Basnight represented North Carolina’s First Senatorial District from 1984 to 2011 and was the longest serving president pro tem of the North Carolina Senate. As part of the bridge dedication ceremony, more than 2,000 people walked the 2.8-mile span.

Another bridge, the longest in North Carolina, is the Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge, Dare County Bridge No. 54. The 5.2 mile, fourlane bridge connects Roanoke Island with Manns Harbor on the Dare County mainland.

Dedicated Aug. 16, 2002, the bridge

alleviates traffic congestion and provides another evacuation route. Several thousand people attended the dedication, including North Carolina Governor Mike Easley and actor Andy Griffith, who made the crossing in one of his antique automobiles.

Some additional bridges in Dare County include the Richard Etheridge Bridge, regarded as an interim bridge, built to span an inlet which severed NC 12 on Hatteras Island.

Dare County Bridge No. 43, the Cora Mae Basnight Bridge, makes the connection between Manteo and Roanoke Island Festival Park.

In Hatteras village, two bridges cross Slash Creek, Nos. 8 and 63.

Now under construction is a Rodanthe Bridge. The $145.33 million project elevates NC 12 from the southern end of Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge into the village of Rodanthe on Hatteras Island. NC 12 at the S-curves was severed by Hurricanes Irene in 2011 and Sandy in 2012. The Rodanthe bridge will bypass.

Construction was started July 2018. The bridge is expected to open in the fall of 2021.

CAPE HATTERAS NATIONAL SEASHORE PHOTO

Rise in Oregon Inlet bridge under construction, February 1963

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The Elizabethan Gardens: 70 years of beautiful inspiration

The adventurous spirit of the Elizabethans stretched wide across the mighty Atlantic and inspired expeditions to a small island called Roanoke nestled among the barrier islands. The details and mystery of this history was memorialized in an outdoor production called The Lost Colony in 1937. After seeing a 1950 performance of the drama, several women, all members of the North Carolina Garden Club, were inspired to petition their organization to answer the question “What if the colony had stayed and thrived here?”

The women thought for certain the colonists would have built estates and fashioned gardens much like the ones they left behind in Queen Elizabeth’s England.

It was an adventurous project to undertake, but 17,000 women in the club were ready for the challenge.

History details the tremendous odds facing the brave explorers and colonists who ventured across the Atlantic.

Likewise, history tells us of the obstacles faced by the Garden Club of North Carolina as they began to create their historic garden.

For it’s not just ideas that create a garden. It also takes capital, just like any business.

But the world was different in the 1950s. Women did not run Fortune 500 companies. And until the 1970s, they couldn’t

sign up to have credit cards.

Applying for loans was often not possible either, yet the Garden Club was undeterred.

They acquired the site for the gardens, collected private funds, hired an architect and moved forward with ambition and determination.

Paul Green, Pulitzer prizewinning playwright of The Lost Colony and dear friend of The Elizabethan Gardens, remarked in a letter to Mildred Howard, then board chair: “The whole of North Carolina is proud of The Elizabethan Gardens and prouder still of the lovely and imaginative women who gave it birth. All of us have a bounden duty in the future to measure up to you and it.”

Over six decades later, the garden they created has blossomed into a living memorial that continues to inspire and delight those who seek to “explore” the shores and beaches of the Outer Banks. And The Gardens has indeed lived up to its remarkable beginnings.

“Ours is a history of inspired beauty, led entirely by the women of the Garden Club of North Carolina,” remarked Linda Davenport, current president of The Elizabethan Gardens board.

She added, “On the brink of our 70th anniversary, we reflect how growth, change

COURTESY THE ELIZABETHAN GARDENS

Top photo: State and local Garden Club members proudly posing at the official opening of The Elizabethan Gardens August 18, 1955. The idea to build the gardens was first discussed 70 years ago in 1950. Incredible that in just five years it came to fruition.

COURTESY THE ELIZABETHAN GARDENS

Bottom photo: Out of the wilderness, the women of the Garden Club of North Carolina created a living memorial. In this archival photo taken a few months before their official 1955 opening, they review construction plans alongside the Sunken Garden.

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COURTESY THE ELIZABETHAN GARDENS

The 2019 Butterfly Festival saw record

and community has always been a part of our story.”

“Although ours is not a perilous journey, we have labored to complete several projects that have spanned the years, and the community has always joined together with us in our endeavors,” explained Davenport.

What was the compass that has steered this ship? A strategic plan instituted decades ago – a torch, passed from board to board as each group took control of the helm.

“We have truly seen the fruition of our planning these past years,” remarked Davenport. A new children’s educational play area and a house for butterflies are recent projects in The Gardens she added. “It’s been a journey that really says a lot about how the community has walked with us along the way.”

“Several years ago, we met with families and listened to their ideas

and suggestions. We took notes from this meeting and then invited help from university students in landscape design classes at NC State. Students from the class were tasked with taking these ideas and creating blueprints for new garden areas. These designs allowed us to see what was possible and strengthened our community vision. And just like the founders of our gardens, we took these bold ideas and worked on a plan to bring them to life.”

With financial gifts from community partners like the Gaddy Foundation, Percy W. and Elizabeth Meekins Charitable Trust, Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, Outer Banks Community Foundation, Dominion Foundation and various individuals, clubs and businesses from across the east coast, these plans became a reality.

What The Gardens and community created has truly blossomed.

“We saw record increases in visi-

crowds in The Elizabethan Gardens.

This project was the fruition of years of planning, guided by local and statewide support.

tors this spring when our John White Butterfly Center and Discovery Cottage opened,” shared Carl Curnutte, executive director. “It has been an exciting time, indeed. The energy and joy that the butterflies and education and play area have brought to our spring season is unprecedented. We like to think that our founders are smiling down on us with pride.”

The Elizabethan Gardens are typically open seven days a week.

Hours vary according to the season.

The Gardens are closed for certain holidays and the month of February.

Visitation is by paid admission. Events, workshops and educational programs highlight each season. For more information, visit elizabethangardens.org or contact them at 252-473-3234.

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A snapshot of Dare County’s history

Dare County was founded February 3, 1870 by Act of the General Assembly.

In 1870 Dare County was populated with 2,778 people. This year, 150 years later, Dare County has a population of over 35,000 residents. The county has created a website, dare150.com, full of information and photos to showcase the area’s rich history.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Lit – 1870 The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was first lit on December 16, 1870. Built as a replacement for the 1803 lighthouse that had fallen into disrepair, the new lighthouse was installed with the same Frensel lens used in the original lighthouse.

Bodie Island Lighthouse Lit – 1872 The Bodie Island Lighthouse, actually the third lighthouse by that name, was lit on October 1, 1872. It was built as a replacement for the second Bodie Island Lighthouse which was destroyed during the Civil War. At a cost of $140,000, work

began in November 1871. The two previous lighthouses were located south of Oregon Inlet.

Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station – 1874 In 1874, the station was the first United States Life-Saving Station built in North Carolina. On Aug. 16, 1918 the British ship Mirlo was torpedoed by the German submarine U-117. Captain John Allen Midgett of the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station and his men rushed to the rescue fighting through 18-20 ft breakers to reach the 51 men on the Mirlo. Two lifeboats from the ship escaped the flaming water surrounding the tanker, but the third had capsized.

Fighting through the flames, Capt. Midgett found the lifeboat and pulled six men from the ocean. Four more trips total through the breakers and they rescued 42 of the 51 crew onboard the Mirlo.

Little Kinnakeet Life-Saving Station Built – 1874

Wright Brothers National Memorial photo

Little Kinnakeet Life-Saving Station was constructed in 1874, one of seven stations built along the North Carolina coast that year.

Kill Devil Hills Life-Saving Station Built – 1878 Built in 1878, the Kill Devil Hills original life-saving station was home to local surfmen who responded to numerous shipwrecks along the coast. While not on duty, the surfmen also aided the Wright Brothers.

In 1986, the building was moved to Historic Corolla Village and restored.

Pea Island Life-Saving Station Built – 1878 Built in 1878, the Pea Island LSS was the first station commanded by an AfricanAmerican, Captain Richard Etheridge. In 1896, a severe storm blew the E.S. Newman bound for Virginia, 100 miles off course and ashore two miles south of the station.

Etheridge and his crew, anchored to shore by two strong surfmen Etheridge had tied together, entered the perilous waters on a surfboat ten times. They rescued all nine aboard the E.S. Newman and the first and only all black life-saving crew was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal by the Coast Guard. The station burned down in 1880 and was rebuilt that year and then rebuilt again in 1896.

Buffalo City Mills – 1888 Buffalo City Mills, a timber and mill company from Buffalo, NY purchased more than 100,000 acres on the Dare County mainland and set up operations. They logged prized hardwoods like juniper and in its heyday was the largest timber company in Eastern North Carolina. As the lumber industry began to dry up, Buffalo City turned to bootlegging liquor. North Carolina was a dry state before and after prohibition from 1908-1937 and Buffalo City saw the advantage of this. The rye whiskey they made was known up and down the east coast as East Lake whiskey.

It was so popular, rivals copied the label to

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up their sales. When prohibition ended, the people of Buffalo City slowly moved away for better opportunities.

Town of Manteo Incorporates – 1899 Already named the seat of government for Dare County, the community of Manteo incorporated in 1899. Manteo became Dare County’s first municipality when Mayor William G. Forbes and six town commissioners signed the charter and made it official.

First Official U.S. Weather Bureau Station – 1901 The U.S. Department of Agriculture determined that a two-story frame and brick building be built for the Weather Bureau in Hatteras village. Though construction was completed in 1901, the official Hatteras Weather Bureau Station was commissioned and occupied on January 1, 1902.

Fessenden’s First Radio Transmission – 1902 In March of 1902, Reginald A. Fessenden successfully transmitted and received the human voice with devices he created, sending a 127-word voice message from a transmitter tower at Cape Hatteras to a receiving tower on Roanoke Island (the contents of the message are unknown).

First Flight – 1903 On Dec. 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first flight in a powered airplane. “The Flyer” flew 120 feet in 12 seconds followed by three more successful flights later that day, the longest of which was 852 feet in 59 seconds.

Dare County Courthouse – 1904 The courthouse was built in 1873 along the waterfront. Then, in 1904, it was moved across the street and given a new fire-proof brick façade. Today the building still sits on this site and is home to the Dare County Arts Council.

Washington Baum Bridge Built – 1928 In 1928, a draw bridge connecting Nags Head and Roanoke Island was built.

Leading the push to connect the two was Washington Franklin Baum, a Dare County commissioner.

Wright Memorial Bridge Opens – 1930 The Wright Memorial Bridge opened to the public on September 27, connecting mainland Currituck to Kitty Hawk over the Currituck Sound. The original bridge featured a wooden span with an arch at the east end declaring Dare County the Birthplace of Aviation and the Birthplace of the Nation.

Hwy 158 Completed – 1931 Once the state highway through Kitty Hawk and Nags Head beaches was completed, it was possible to drive from Point Harbor on the Currituck mainland to Manteo or Wanchese over modern bridges and highways.

Wright Brothers National Memorial – 1931 Groundbreaking on the Wright Brothers National Memorial happened in 1931. The monument was erected in 1931 and 1932 at a cost of $285,000. It was constructed of Mt. Airy granite under the direction of U.S. Army Engineers. The monument is sunk thirty-five feet into the hill and rises sixty-one feet above it. Originally designed as a lighthouse, it was not used for that purpose after it was discovered that mariners confused it with existing lighthouses. It was taken over by National Park Service in 1933.

Dare County Library Opens – 1935 On March 14, 1935, the Dare County Library opened to the public. Located above a business in downtown Manteo, the Manteo Woman’s Club donated 14 books

CAPE HATTERAS NATIONAL SEASHORE PHOTO

Families visiting the grounds of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in the 1950s.

to start a library. By the 50s, the library had several thousand books and purchased its first bookmobile. Today, the bookmobile no longer exists but the Dare County Library has three branches and belongs to the East Albemarle Regional Library System.

The Lost Colony Play Opened – 1937 The Lost Colony is the nation’s longest running outdoor drama. Written by Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Green, it has run every year since 1937 at Waterside Theatre on Roanoke Island. In 2013, the production won a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre.

Downtown Manteo Fire – 1939 September 11, 1939, a fire broke out at Standard Oil Company in downtown Manteo. Around three hours later with the aid of firefighters from Elizabeth City and Norfolk, Va., the fire was put out. But not before it raged through over half of downtown’s closely erected wooden structures.

Dare County Regional Airport – 1942 Since 1942, Dare County has been served by a small airport. A public airport was under construction at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, which prompted the U.S. Navy to abandon its plans to con-

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struct a Naval Auxiliary Air Station at Cape Hatteras and instead focus on this airport, on Roanoke Island, which had a similar runway configuration.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore Established – 1953 In 1933 Frank Stick, conservationist and artist, published an article about his dream of seeing land in Cape Hatteras become a National Park for all to enjoy. In 1937, the plan was approved by the federal government. Stick convinced Henry Phipps, partner in Carnegie Steel Company, to donate his land of over 1,000 acres to the state to avoid paying taxes on it and thus began the long process of establishing the national seashore. In 1953, twenty years after Stick first proposed it, enough land, roads and infrastructure were gathered to establish the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and open it to the public.

Town of Kill Devil Hills Incorporated – 1953 As the story goes, rum strong enough to kill the devil washed up on shore and locals stashed the rum in the dunes. And, that’s how the Town of Kill Devil Hills got its name. The name traces back to the early 1800s but the town wasn’t incorporated until 1953.

William B. Umstead Memorial Bridge Built – 1955 In 1955 the William B. Umstead Memorial Bridge was built, connecting mainland Dare County Manns Harbor to the north end of Roanoke Island. Umstead was a North Carolina senator and the state’s 63rd governor.

Lindsay C. Warren Bridge Built – 1960 The Lindsay C. Warren Bridge, also known as the Alligator River Bridge, was built in 1960 and carries US 64 over the Alligator River. The draw bridge connects mainland Dare County with its inland neighbor Tyrrell County.

Town of Nags Head Incorporated – 1961 Though some were lost and some added throughout the years, the strip of old cottages known as Cottage Row have

much remained the same since Nags Head incorporated in 1961.

Ash Wednesday Storm – 1962 In 1962 the Ash Wednesday Storm pummeled the Outer Banks as well as most of the east coast. For three days and five high tides, wind and waves wreaked havoc on the Outer Banks, becoming one of the top ten worst storms in the United States, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Dedication of Herbert C. Bonner Bridge – 1964 The Herbert C. Bonner Bridge spanned Oregon Inlet from Bodie Island to Pea Island for 57 years from 1963 to 2019. In 1964, the bridge was dedicated to Herbert C. Bonner, who for almost 25 years represented North Carolina’s First Congressional District. The bridge is no longer in service, but a portion of it will remain for use as a fishing pier. The debris from the Bonner bridge is enhancing three artificial reefs north of the inlet.

COA Offers First Dare County Classes – 1969 In 1969, College of the Albemarle began offering Dare County classes in borrowed facilities. In 1984, the college’s first satellite campus opened in Manteo.

Jockey’s Ridge State Park Established – 1975 In 1973, after Carolista Baum planted herself in front of the machinery about to begin a development at the base of Jockey’s Ridge and halting its work, the People To Preserve Jockey’s Ridge was organized. Appealing to the government and backed by a petition, the people asked that Jockey’s Ridge be named a State Park.

One year later it was declared a National Natural Landmark. And one year after that in 1975, the NC General Assembly found the funds to create Jockey’s Ridge State Park.

Town of Southern Shores Incorporated – 1979 Originally considered part of Kitty Hawk, the Southern Shores resort incorporated in to the Town of Southern Shores in 1979.

Wanchese Marine Industrial Park – 1981 In 1981, the Wanchese Marine Industrial Park opened in order to promote and offer business opportunities that were marinerelated. The complex has businesses ranging from marinas, commercial fishing, charter boats and boat building. In 2015, the park had an annual impact to the State of North Carolina of $105 million dollars.

Town of Kitty Hawk Incorporated – 1981 The area was referred to as Kitty Hawk in the middle to late 1700s, but made famous by the Wright Brothers in 1903. It wasn’t until 1981 that Kitty Hawk incorporated into the Town of Kitty Hawk.

Elizabeth II Unveiled – 1987 August 18, 1987 marked what would have been the 400th birthday of Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the Americas. The Elizabeth II was constructed as part of that celebration and was modeled after the ship the settlers would have sailed on to Roanoke Island.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Move – 1999 On July 9, 1999, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was placed on its new foundation, 2,900 feet from its original location.

Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge Built – 2002 In 2002, the Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge was built, adding a second route connecting mainland Dare County to Roanoke Island.

Town of Duck Incorporated – 2002 Residents of the village of Duck voted to incorporate on November 6, 2001. Out of the 410 registered voters, 113 ballots were cast against incorporating and 171 ballots in favor of incorporation. Duck officially became a municipality on May 1, 2002.

First Beach Nourishment Project – 2011 In 2011, Nags Head began the county’s first beach nourishment project. The project spanned 10 miles and added up to 4.6 million cubic yards of sand to the beaches

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in south Nags Head down to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore boundary.

The Coastal Studies Institute – 2012 In 2012, the multi-institutional Coastal Studies Institute was completed. The institute is now a part of East Carolina University with collaboration from NC State, UNC Chapel Hill and Elizabeth City State.

Flat Top Cottage Tours Begin – 2013 In 2013, tours of the historic Southern Shores flat top cottages began as a way to bring attention to and preserve them.

Originally built by artist Frank Stick after World War II, the homes can become historical landmarks if their owners so choose.

Less than half of the original 80 flattops Stick built still stand today.

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Marc Basnight Oregon Inlet Bridge Built – 2019 On February 25, 2019, the Marc Basnight Bridge over Oregon Inlet was opened to the public. The new bridge replaced the Herber C. Bonner Bridge.

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Hyde County – 315 years old:

‘Some of the best people that you will ever find anywhere’

by Danielle Puleo danielle.puleo@thecoastlandtimes.com Hyde County, a coastal county along the eastern edge of North Carolina, is a hidden gem. With its endless farm lands, abundant fishing areas and diverse creatures, Hyde is a wildlife lover’s dream. Not to mention, the community comprises a tight-knit group of neighbors-turned-friends with gracious hearts and open arms.

Hyde County was established in 1705 under the name Wickham Precinct, which was later changed to Hyde Precinct in 1712 in honor of Edward Hyde, the governor and lord proprietor of North Carolina at the time.

Although Hyde has experienced perhaps more boundary shifts than any other county in the state, it has maintained its small town feel and natural beauty.

Merita Lewis-Spencer, the longtime Register of Deeds for Hyde County, has lived in the area her whole life. She reminisced on the days when Hyde was a prosperous place, one with restaurants, grocery stores, tractor companies and a population of 10,000 to 13,000 people.

In the 1930s through the 1950s, business was good. The Mattamuskeet Lodge was a popular hunting lodge, drawing in people from around the country. Spencer said the lodge would host functions for the community.

Fishing, hunting and farming had always been a huge part of the culture of Hyde.

“For a lot of our men and women, the main source of their income is being commercial fisherman and farmers,” Spencer explained.

Logging was also a big business in Hyde and gave residents good job opportunities. After forest fires engulfed logging business buildings and some of the landscape itself, people had to go elsewhere for work, Spencer noted. This was not the only reason people were driven away from

COURTESY CAPE HATTERAS NATIONAL SEASHORE

Ranger interpreting exhibits, Ocracoke Visitor Center, 1963.

the area.

“Then people started to leave,” she started, “because people were going to war and left the area.”

Spencer said in present-day, the population is about 5,400. The county has maintained its funeral home and bank, but most of the restaurants and stores have closed up and moved on.

Despite the hardships the county has had to face with losing a significant number of residents, it has managed to preserve what people have always come to the area for.

Lake Mattamuskeet draws tundra swans, geese and ducks. Bass run rampant below the lake’s surface and bears can be found beyond the brush. Not to mention, Ocracoke Island serves as a breathtaking site for visitors around the world.

“People used to come to go to Ocracoke to be married on the island . . . I thought that was wonderful because you know that surely they had beautiful places in their

own states, but they enjoyed coming to the Outer Banks and that’s why they chose to go to Ocracoke,” Spencer said.

Ocracoke still draws high numbers of tourists each year, even after being hit heavily by storms and hurricanes. The Hyde community never ceases to come together to help their neighbors in need.

“One of the most important things is the people here . . . they are some of the best people that you will ever find anywhere,” Spencer said. Due to the small population, Spencer has seen the residents of Hyde County come together her whole life.

From grocery store owners to county workers to the farmers and fisherman that speckle the docks and farms that span the green fields of Hyde, everyone takes care of everyone.

“Farmland stays in the same family for generations,” Spencer said. She added, “As a whole, the county government works together . . . we have good, loyal county employees.” Spencer said, if anything, it’s

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the people of Hyde County that make all the difference.

Although tourism would perhaps get the county back to the same bustling place it once was, Spencer shared that the residents are content with the laid-back lifestyle and are comfortable with their small, close communities.

“Some days at lunch, I go down to the boat ramp and I see different people down there coming in and out from their boats; I see wildlife down there and it’s just a beautiful place to go and relax . . . and that’s how the whole county is.” A place to get away, take a break from the hustle and bustle of the big cities and draw in the picturesque

landscape Hyde offers.

Small, secluded, but nonetheless breathtaking, Hyde County is one for the books.

It may not be the same as its neighbors, but the county reminds everyone that the beauty of life lies right beneath our feet, and the people are what make a place all the more special.

16 • Outlook 2020

League of Women Voters celebrates 100th anniversary

by Danielle Puleo danielle.puleo@thecoastlandtimes.com In July of 1919, history was made when Congress passed the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote. After marching, lobbying, lecturing and battling a societal stigma, women proved that anything is possible if you believe in it enough.

After achieving what some may say was the most radical change at that time in America, the League of Women Voters was founded on Feb. 14, 1920 to preserve a hard-fought reform. Led by Maud Wood Park, the first national president of the League, members have fought for equal voting rights, led democratic reforms and have spent countless hours serving as educators for the public throughout the country.

In June of 1987, Dare County was officially recognized as a unit of the North Carolina LWV. At that time, the league was composed of members from the town of Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head, Manteo and unincorporated areas of the county.

In 100 years, the LWV has made a significant impact on Dare County. Fran Kapinos, co-president of LWV Dare, explained that the purpose of the organization is “to promote political responsibility through informed and active participation of citizens and government, and to act on selected governmental issues.”

In the time since its inception, the league has brought awareness to offshore drilling, telemedicine, voter services, state constitutional amendments and much more. The LWV has made their presence known in the community and educates the public on a regular basis.

“There’s advocacy for some things like seismic testing that are right here and now issues very germane to our com-

munity that we provide more information on,” said Nancy Birindelli, treasurer of the Dare LWV. The men and women that decided to become LWV members had varying reasons for wanting to join. Birindelli was a government major in college; her small, citizen-activated community found governmental issues and voting rights extremely important. Judy Lotas, co-president, is an activist for the Equal Rights Amendment. Through the League, she had worked tirelessly to educate people on what ERA means and how to get it passed.

James Cofield, LWV vice president for Dare, said he joined because of Lotas; she had invited him to a luncheon. “I have been involved in voter issues for more than 50 years, from voter registration to redistricting issues. It was a good fit,” Cofield said.

The LWV is a non-partisan organization, but finds it crucial to bring awareness to pertinent issues of the region as well as the nation and continue to fight for equal rights. “The fight for women’s rights did not stop when the amendment passed way back when,” Birindelli said.

The Dare League offers a multitude of services and community events to help get everyone willing and able involved.

Kapinos explained that the League hosts Voter Registration Day, town candidate forums, ERA presentations and publishes a Citizen’s Guide every year.

The Citizen’s Guide is the League’s biggest fundraiser of the year. Annually, the guide is updated to reflect changes in the county. It includes important contacts and resources in Dare County and 7,000 copies are distributed to local business, restaurants, libraries and town halls.

Earlier this year, members of the league went to each of the six towns in Dare

DREW WILSON COLLECTION, COURTESY OUTER BANKS HISTORY CENTER

First Dare League of Women Voters members.

County to talk about and answer questions on the ERA. “All six towns signed resolutions in support of ERA,” Lotas said.

Several members also went to Raleigh to speak on ERA. Surprisingly, a younger age group was present at the event. “We were really impressed that it was a lot of youth,” Kapinos said.

In terms of how the League has grown over the past 100 years, Birindelli said, “One of the biggest things is that the membership has increased and the inclusion of men has made a difference. They are a very important aspect of what we do because they have another voice and it’s important in the community to know that they are with us as members.”

Kapinos added that the League has changed with the culture of the county.

“Over the years as issues change, we have programs on those issues that we want to focus on at that time.” Staying relevant has always been a major priority to the League so that their members and the community can have a better understanding of what goes on in the world around them.

“I sometimes think we are the only local voice for particular things, and there’s a lot of misinformation out there in the world,” said Birindelli. “We can offer an opportunity for people to hear unbiased

Outlook 2020 • 17

standpoints.”

The League has always tried to have one main guiding light, which Cofield mentioned: fundamental fairness. Through every meeting, presentation, forum, class and election, the LWV has and always will be there to guide, educate and connect people by standing behind the notion that fairness and truth will lead you to overcome any obstacle. Even amending an entire nation’s constitution.

COURTESY LVW DARE

Above: Members of the League of Women Voters from Dare County in Washington D.C. DANIELLE PULEO PHOTO

Left: Dare League of Women Voters Board of Directors members. Shown, from left, are Vice President James Cofield, Co-President Judy Lotas, Appointed Director Marty Hamed, Treasurer Nancy Birindelli and Co-President Fran Kapinos.

18 • Outlook 2020

Real estate: Selling the Outer Banks

by Philip S. Ruckle Jr. philip.ruckle@thecoastlandtimes.com Although Dare County makes up just a small portion of the United States as a whole, it has long been viewed as having prime real estate dating as far back as 1584 when Sir Walter Raleigh sent about 100 men to the New World to establish an English fort and settlement on the north end of Roanoke Island. That site was abandoned and the following year another party of 110 English colonists, including women and some children, came to Roanoke Island in July of 1587.

However, when Capt. John White returned in 1590 with much-needed supplies, there was no sign of any colonists.

Settlers had already migrated here from north of the current Virginia state line when King Charles II issued a land grant in 1663.

It was around the mid-1600s that a permanent settlement was finally established here. Then, in November of 1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the United States Constitution. Manteo, a major focal point for business and trade, became a government center in 1873 with the establishment of a post office and the town was incorporated 26 years later.

According to the writings of historian David Stick, even with some big-time early property transfers, any organized real estate activity was slow coming to the Outer Banks.

When summer tourists began showing up in the 1830s, there were very few government rules or regulations.

In 1870, using parts of Currituck, Hyde and Tyrrell counties, the General Assembly voted to create Dare County, named for Virginia Dare, who was the first child born of English parents in America. In 1920 the General Assembly took away from Currituck the north banks area of Kitty Hawk Bay to Caffey’s Inlet and added it to Dare.

Roanoke Island was already seeing orga-

PHILIP S. RUCKLE JR. PHOTO

Birth of the flat-top cottage, dwellings characterized by their no-pitch roofs and clean, mid-century modern lines that blended in with the dunes, is credited to artist and developer Frank Stick. Popular in an area that is now Southern Shores, 80 of them were built with less than half them remaining. This structure at 13 Skyline Road in Southern Shores is home to The Outer Banks Community Foundation, a public charity established to help meet local needs.

nized land development at the turn of the century and Nags Head, just a short boat ride across the sound from Manteo, was one of the first beach areas eyed for development where individual lots were transferred by metes and bounds descriptions. By the latter part of the century, however, regular summer visitors became more interested in locating their cottages closer to the ocean, and there was more development activity.

As word got out about the Outer Banks paradise, an influx of northern sportsmen soon took place and large tracts of land from Currituck to Ocracoke were put together for private hunting clubs.

Then, in 1926, Allen R. Hueth and Frank Stick came to the Outer Banks from Asbury Park, NJ on a fishing and hunting trip. Falling in love with the place, they envisioned a resort community spread from Kitty Hawk to Hatteras and went to work buying up Outer Banks real estate.

Hueth and Stick purchased an ocean-tobay tract in 1927 began developing it under the name of Virginia Dare Shores. It was the first full-scaled planned real estate development on the Outer Banks with a pavilion designed to host concerts, dances and other programs for excursion patrons coming in by steamboat from Elizabeth City and the Tidewater area of Virginia. In 1928, the pavilion also served as headquarters for the 25th anniversary of the December 17 first flight commemorative festivities and banquet.

Vehicular access to the Outer Banks was extremely limited, with most roads composed of sand, clay or mud. The first Roanoke

Sound Bridge opened to traffic in 1928, followed by the first Currituck Sound Bridge two years later. In time, the State of North Carolina built an asphalt road connecting the two wooden structure toll bridges, Virginia Dare Trail, opening the area to tourists with more moderate incomes.

It also helped make 16 miles of land from Kitty Hawk to Nags Head prime oceanfront property.

At the end of World War II, Frank Stick acquired an option on a 2,600 acre ocean to sound tract north of the Currituck Sound bridge causeway. David Stick, Frank’s son, noted that his dad paid $30,000 for a fourmile stretch of barren beach, sand hills, wood, swamp and marsh called Southern Shores.

Today, that area – incorporated into a town in 1979 – is valued well over $430 million.

According to the younger Stick, back then, paying $25 for a state privilege license was all that was needed to be in the real estate business. There was no requirement to know anything about either real estate or running a business.

Development continued to take place and, a couple of years later, a representative from the North Carolina Association of Realty Boards came to Manteo to discuss the advantages of local agents forming a Dare County Board of REALTORS®. There was, however, little interest with only about a half dozen becoming members by the mid-1950s when the legislature passed a real estate licensing law.

The Dare County Board of REALTORS® was chartered in November 1962 and has

Outlook 2020 • 19

since become Outer Banks Association of REALTORS®. While the pioneers from those days are no longer with us, there are a few agents around that remember what it was like selling the Outer Banks.

“It was extremely time consuming,” said David Perrot, now with Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty. “To find out what was on the market, we had to drive around to find a sign and call around to find out what was for sale.

There was no MLS (Multiple Listing Service).

The Coastland Times was our MLS. Then we had to work out the commissions with the listing agents and it was always different.”

Perrot went on to say before the advent of today’s technology, when agents did find a sign they then looked for a pay phone to start

offered Jackie Ricks-Sample, who has been with Sun Realty since the day that company was formed.

After starting out in rentals in the 1970s, Ricks-Sample moved over to sales and said she has not regretted it.

“We had a contract on one side and all the contingencies on the back,” she explained.

“Now contracts are 30 pages.”

Ricks-Sample agreed with Perrot that computers changed everything.

“Not only are MLS properties available quicker,” she explained, “DocuSign® allows multiple parties at locations all over the world to complete a transaction within the same day.”

“I can remember having to make call after

PHILIP S. RUCKLE JR. PHOTO

The Steve and Sally Gudas home on Wax Myrtle Trail has been designated a Southern Shores Historic Landmark is one of about three dozen remaining flat-top cottages built from Outer Banks materials by developer Frank Stick in the 1940s to early 1960s.

the sales process. Computer systems existed, but were all slow dial-up connections.

“When we did get MLS, by the time it was published, the list was two weeks old,” Perrot continued. “I would spend half a day on the phone looking for properties and half the day in the tax office checking those properties. We were real excited when we got a fax machine, but we had the only one. Nobody knew what it was or what it did. “ Perrot said just as technology has changed how transactions are made today, the prices have changed as well. Many of the oceanfront lots that once went for $40,000 are now going for close to $600,000 with others approaching a million.

Another change has been the paperwork needed.

“There was a lot less paperwork,” Perrot said.

“Back then there was a one page form,”

call,” she continued. “Then after getting the listing having to sit in front of another agent to interview with them to see if they would be willing to co-broke the listing with me.

Then there was the financing, as much as 18 percent.”

In time, Ricks-Sample was able to negotiate her own contracts, adding that while times were good, there were tough times too.

Like having to learn the foreclosure and short sale processes when the market was down in the mid to late 2000s.

As in most places, the market has had its up and down periods.

Johnnie M. Robbins Jr. is another agent that remembers those shorter and simpler contracts.

“I sold a house for just under $90,000 and the contract was one page,” he explained. “All the terms on one side and the instructions on the back. Today with all the disclosures and

other stuff, contracts run 25 to 40 pages.”

Less paperwork did not mean there were less sales.

Robbins remembered closing one deal and then mentioning to the buyer that the lot on each side was for sale and available.

“He took them both at $10,000 each,” recalled Robbins. “And a friend that was there with him asked if there were any more lots around. I showed him some and he bought seven lots. So that morning, I got offers to purchase nine lots.”

But not all lots were as easy to show.

“Ocean Sands had some paved roads and there were some roads in Whalehead that were paved,” said Robbins. “But Ocean Sands had a guard gate and to get through the gate, you had to have a reason to be there.”

Although there were some paved roads in Ocean Sands and at Whalehead, everything else was sand and required four wheel drive.

Robbins added that some of the Virginia developers drove down from Sandbridge Beach in Virginia along the oceanfront.

“The paved road ended at Wink’s Store,” explained Robbins. “Whalehead has the first paved roads and there were clay roads to Ocean Sands, but you needed four wheel drive to get to Whalehead.”

Once the road to Duck and beyond was paved in the late 1970s Corolla became a hot spot when Dick Brindley developed Corolla Light and property sales all over the northern beaches exploded.

But the agents will tell you there is more to real estate sales than just the property transfers.

“It was a good time,” said Ricks-Sample.

“The beach was smaller and it was easier to know the property inventory and a lot of the people involved. Some of us were best friends.”

And friendships have become a key part of life on the Outer Banks.

In addition, Robbins recalls meeting Jim Bailey, a retiree from Ohio who was looking for a place to live and a job. Robbins introduced him to Francis Meekins, longtime owner and publisher of The Coastland Times, and Bailey was soon selling advertising up and down the beach. After a couple of months, Robbins ran into Bailey and asked how he was doing. Bailey said he was doing well and in fact had more friends here on the Outer Banks in two months than he left in Ohio after living there all his life.

20 • Outlook 2020

Tyrrell County – 281 years old: A ‘genuinely friendly place to be’

by Danielle Puleo danielle.puleo@thecoastlandtimes.com Tyrrell County was established in 1739, but its history stretches long before its founding.

According to David Earl Davis’s book History of Tyrrell County, the area where the county sprawls out today was first inhabited by a Native American tribe known as the Secotas. They were a hunter-gatherer group that lived strictly off the abundant land beneath their feet.

English settlers first appeared in Tyrrell around 1584 and had run out the Secotas by the early 1700s.

Davis writes that in 1680, Captain Thomas Miller and Colonel Joshua Tarkington of Edenton took an expedition across the sound to stumble upon the county. They found it to be “A Heart’s Delight.”

Tyrrell County has always been a land of opportunity, where wild game and fishfilled lakes flow freely. The Scuppernong River attracted settlers due to its “rich soil, good fishing and game-filled woods,” wrote Davis.

Around 1710, plantations started to pop up on the land. Tyrrell County at the time was known as the “South Shore,” and planters took to the large fields to establish their homesteads. They were a group satisfied with living the “simple, easy life.”

Self-supporting, the settlers that found their home along the South Shore built their own homes, raised their own meat and vegetables, made their own clothes and cared for the sick.

In the early days of Tyrrell, there was little opportunity for education, and children were taught by either tutors or their parents to read and write. It wasn’t until 1797 when the first private school was established: Phelps Academy.

Davis writes that George Burrington

AYCOCK BROWN COLLECTION, COURTESY OUTER BANKS HISTORY CENTER

Hunting has been a big part of each county’s culture that hugs the northeastern coast of North Carolina.

became governor in 1724, and his time in office led to many improvements throughout the county. This included the installation of roads, bridges and even a ferry system. Mackey’s Ferry was started during Burrington’s time as governor, and was the first water link between the Albemarle Sound and the South Shore.

Many immigrated to the county around this same time period. Davis documented that between 1724 and 1725, “thousands of families moved to the colony.”

In the late 1720s, an act to appoint part of the Albemarle County lying on the southern side of the Albemarle Sound and Roanoke River led to the creation of Tyrrell Precinct. This precinct encompassed the counties of present-day Tyrrell, Dare, Washington and Martin. The area was known as “Saint Andrew’s Parish.”

At its time of establishment, Tyrrell contained about 1,500 people, with about 25% of the population being enslaved. It

started to grow in population as the years progressed, but did not have a functioning courthouse until 20 years after the building was already standing.

It wasn’t until about 1840 that the Town of Columbia really began to take off. Planters were still making quite the living for themselves, and education was finally growing. Miss Mary Mann founded Columbia Academy, which was the forerunner of today’s Columbia High School.

The average farm was about 50 acres at the time, and in 1870 the last partition was made to Tyrrell County, splitting it from the now functioning Dare County. Tyrrell is now about one quarter of the size it started out as.

The years that followed led to a lot of change. In the early 1880s, Columbia was a small village with wooden houses and a miniscule population. In 1908, the Norfolk and Southern Railroad extended its track to Columbia, wrote Davis, and two trains left Columbia daily, carrying cotton, lumber, livestock and even passengers. Access to the rest of the world was finally made.

By 1915, three public schools had been established in the county. The first drugstore opened in 1915 by C. B. McKeel, according to Davis, and 1920s Tyrrell County resembled “the wild western town we once saw at the ‘horse opera’ on Saturday night, or on television today.”

The physical nature of the county changed throughout the 1930s and 1940s, shifting from an older wooden town to a more modern, brick house lined one. Road improvements were made to accommodate not only farmers and suppliers, but school buses as well.

Agriculture shifted post-war from potatoes to corn, and the lumber industry boomed along with commercial fishing, Davis wrote.

In the years that followed, however,

Outlook 2020 • 21

Tyrrell decreased in size dramatically.

The county had the smallest population in North Carolina in 1960, counting only 4,500 residents.

Town manager of Columbia Rhett White said the population has remained the same since then, fluctuating between 4,000 and 5,000 residents from the 1920s up until present day. White grew up in Tyrrell County, moving away after college and returning years later to settle down.

White said he has seen the economy change since he was a little boy. “The economy was farming, fishing, hunting and lumber and timber,” White shared. “The small farms are gone, replaced by the corporate farms that are here today.”

White said the combination of multistate corporate farms and family corporate farms have moved in, and those that lived and worked on the smaller farms back in the 1960s have moved on.

The 1970s brought a massive amount of land clearing. White said that he watched the forested area that once covered the county get cleared to make way for farming. “There were areas of land that had been in trees ever since . . . Sir Walter Raleigh’s crews tried to explore the area,” White said. “We have farms that stretch for miles now.”

As for the community, however, the tight-knit group of residents have continued to be a predominantly working class that cares for one another. Sheila Cumiskey, director of Career & Technical Education for Tyrrell County Schools, has lived in the area for almost her entire life and describes the people of the county as her “extended family.”

“Everyone has a lot of similarities here, no matter who you are,” she said. “Everyone has a very common vision that we realize there are things we don’t have here, but

that’s okay because we have a lot of things that larger areas don’t.”

Cumiskey said there is hardly a day that goes by that she doesn’t see many people she has come to know and love. Although the county lacks some resources, the community pulls together to overcome the challenges they face together.

“A perfect example is remote learning,” she noted. “We many times do not have reliable internet, but we figure out a way for our kids to get the best we can offer in spite of that.”

White and Cumiskey agreed that the area is laid back and a “genuinely friendly place to be.” “We have salt of the earth kind of people,” said Cumiskey. “The people here seem to appreciate everything that we have.”

Although remote in nature and wild in surroundings, Tyrrell County embodies abundant water, forests and wildlife.

22 • Outlook 2020

COURTESY HYDE COUNTY

Far left: Silver Lake Ferry COURTESY NCDOT

Left: M/V Hatteras

Moder� ferries traverse historic routes

by Mary Helen Goodloe-Murphy mhgm@thecoastlandtimes.com Sounds and rivers dominate the Outer Banks and for centuries served as primary transportation arteries.

In 1915, the first vehicles arrived on the Outer Banks and drivers wanted to move those vehicles across the waters.

The history of North Carolina’s ferry division starts with entrepreneurs creating makeshift ferries in the 1920s.

At Oregon Inlet, Capt. J.B. (Toby) Tillett of Wanchese hooked up a tug-and-barge towing system. Eventually, he built wooden trawler type ferry. In 1934, the State Highway Commission started subsidizing Tillett’s business to reduce fares. In 1942, another agreement between the commission and Tillett eliminated tolls completely.

In the early 1940s, another entrepreneur, T.A. Baum, started a ferry business across the Croatan Sound between Manns

Harbor and Roanoke Island. Baum used two 10-car capacity wooden ferries. In 1947, his widow sold the franchise to the state to become the first route of the new ferry operations. This ferry route would end with the opening of the Umstead Bridge across the Croatan Sound.

About four years later, Tillett sold his operation to the state. This ferry service ended in 1963 with the opening of the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge.

As roads were completed, demand for ferry service between Hatteras and Ocracoke islands increased. Frazier Peele met the demand with a four-car wooden ferryboat. Sometimes the shoreline was so shallow, Peele couldn’t make landfall and customers drove vehicles through salt-water to land. His ferry operated from 1953 to 1957 when the state purchased his business.

Another route was established crossing

the Pamlico Sound. The West India Fruit and Steamship Co., owned by a family in Sea Level, built a 128-foot ferry to cross the Pamlico Sound between Atlantic and Ocracoke. In 1961, the state purchased the ferry and instituted its first toll ferry. In May 1964, the operation was moved to Cedar Island for deeper water.

The Currituck Sound ferry service started in 1962 for the purpose of transporting Knotts Island school students to schools in Currituck.

On July 1, 1974, the North Carolina Ferry Division was formed.

Today, the state’s ferry system is the second largest in the nation. Only Washington has a larger ferry fleet.

During times of emergencies, the ferry system moves people out of harm’s way.

Most recently, for Hurricane Isaias, the ferry division evacuated 3,538 people and 1,710 vehicles from Ocracoke on the CAPE HATTERAS NATIONAL SEASHORE PHOTO

Ferry unloading, Ocracoke, North Carolina, 1958.

Outlook 2020 • 23

Hatteras, Swan Quarter and Cedar Island routes.

North Carolina’s seven ferry routes Knotts Island - Currituck: Created in the fall of 1962, this route is the world’s longest free ferry. It links NC 615 to the mainland, across the Currituck Sound between Knotts Island and Currituck. The route was created to shorten travel time for Knotts Island school children to county schools on the mainland.

Hatteras - Ocracoke: Service began across Hatteras Inlet in 1953 to connect the islands of Hatteras and Ocracoke. The route links NC 12 and is part the Outer Banks National Scenic Byway. The route is the busiest in the system.

Swan Quarter - Ocracoke: The newest route in the system had service start across Pamlico Sound between Swan Quarter and Ocracoke in 1977. The route was created to connect residents of Ocracoke to the county seat for Hyde County.

Cedar Island - Ocracoke: In 1961, service was started between Cedar Island and Ocracoke to provide a connection for NC 12 to the mainland. The route is part of the Outer Banks National Scenic Byway.

Bayview - Aurora: Service started in 1966 to connect NC 306 across the Pamlico River. The route connects workers at mining companies in Aurora to homes on the north bank of the river.

Cherry Branch - Minnesott Beach: To complete NC 306, service across the Neuse River started in 1973. This route is used heavily by workers at the Cherry

Point Marine Corps Air Station to commute to and from their homes in Pamlico County.

Southport - Ft. Fisher: In 1965, service across the Cape Fear River was designed to connect visitors traveling between attractions north and south of the mouth of the Cape Fear.

Emergency Route between Rodanthe and Stumpy Point. The route provides an alternative when the northern end of Hatteras Island is inaccessible by vehicle. It runs on an as-needed basis.

North Carolina’s three classes of ferries Hatteras Class, with a draft of four feet, travels the routes with shallow waters.

Sailing for the North Carolina Ferry system are the Ocracoke (1990), Cape Point (1990), Thomas Baum (1995), Frisco

(1990), Chicamacomico (1990), Roanoke (1993) and Kinnakeet (1989). NCDOT is phasing out this class of ferry with a capacity of 30 vehicles.

River Class, with a draft of six feet, is double-ended, eliminating the need for the vessel to turnaround at the docks.

In this class are the Croatoan (2003), W. Stanford White (2003), Hatteras (2006), Neuse (1998), Southport (1996), Fort Fisher (2000), Floyd J. Lupton (2000), Daniel Russell (1993), James B. Hunt (1984), and Rodanthe (2019). This ferry class has a capacity of 40 vehicles.

Sound Class, with drafts between six and seven-and-a-half feet, sails the waters of the Pamlico Sound. Running the sound routes are the Carteret (1989), Cedar Island (1994), Silver Lake (1965), Swan Quarter (2011) and Sea Level (2012).

CAPE HATTERAS NATIONAL SEASHORE PHOTO

Aerial view, ferry on north landing, Ocracoke Island, 1966.

24 • Outlook 2020

OBHC POSTCARD COLLECTION, COURTESY OUTER BANKS HISTORY CENTER

Wright Brothers National Memorial.

Dare County – 150 years old: Land of beginnings

by Danielle Puleo danielle.puleo@thecoastlandtimes.com Dare County was founded in 1870 with a population of 2,778 and an already rich history. Today, around 35,000 residents call Dare their home and contribute to the beautiful landscapes, growing industries and preserved past that the county holds.

Dare County was named after the first English child born not only to this particular area, but to the New World. That would be the start of many firsts for Dare.

Dorothy Hester, public information officer for the county, said, “If you look at our OBHC POSTCARD COLLECTION, COURTESY OUTER BANKS HISTORY CENTER

Kill Devil Hills Lifesaving Station.

seal, it says we are the land of beginnings.”

Beginnings such as the first flight by Orville and Wilbur Wright, who flew their plane 120-ft. in 12 seconds in 1903 along the dunes of Kitty Hawk.

Beginnings like the first wireless transmission that took place on Roanoke Island in 1903 by a man named Reginald Fessenden. He successfully transmitted the first varying musical notes from Buxton, which were received 48 miles away on the island.

Beginnings like the formation of the lifesaving stations started by local surfmen

who would respond to shipwrecks along the coast. The Kill Devil Hills lifesaving crew aided the Wright brothers off duty; the Pea Island crew rescued nine passengers off a ship that was steered off course by storms.

Dare County has served as a spot for many beginnings. Through its growth, the county has paved the way for an influx of cultures, ideas and people that have all shaped Dare to become the successful place we know and love.

Robert Woodard, chairman of the Dare County Board of Commissioners, explained that he has watched the county grow over the past 50 years: “I can remember as a kid coming down here to Kill Devil Hills. We had 300 yards of beaches . . . it was quiet.” Woodard thought back to when the county was established; the only means of transportation to the island was by boat or ferry.

Over the last 150 years, bridges have been built to connect the mainland to Roanoke Island to the beaches of the Outer Banks. The fishing industry has thrived due to the easy access of the Gulf Stream from the inlets that line the shores. The education system has made progress, now allowing students to continue their education at the area’s community college and providing dual enrollment opportunities as well as state-of-the-art institutions for learning.

Although the Outer Banks was not the first beach community in the country, it has long served as a resort area, attract-

Outlook 2020 • 25

COURTESY NANCY AND WAYNE GRAY

Left: Boatbuilding has long been a prominent industry on Roanoke Island.

OBHC POSTCARD COLLECTION, COURTESY OUTER BANKS HISTORY CENTER

Below: Main Street in Manteo.

ing people from around the world to its pristine beaches. Due to the economic engineering that surrounds the county, Woodard said it is everyone’s mission to protect the beach as much as possible.

Over $100 million has been spent in the last ten years to preserve one of the most sacred components of the county; one that has been around long before the first colonists ever found Dare.

Through all this change, the county has been able to safeguard one crucial part what makes Dare so unique: its atmosphere.

Woodard explained it best: “You can still come down here and park your car, climb the tallest sand dune on the east coast, take a piece of cardboard with you

and sit on it and slide down. You can still drive to the beach, park at a beach access, take your chair down to the ocean and watch some of the most pristine sunrises that you’ll ever see. You can drive over to the soundside and watch the prettiest sunsets. You can still go to a restaurant and eat some of the finest seafood that you will ever eat on the east coast. You can still drive down to Oregon Inlet and throw your fishing line in the water and none of that has changed. That is what makes us

so unique.”

Dare County has witnessed a lot of firsts. Beginnings are an important part of the process involving success. However, this county has managed to perpetuate its small town feel, its welcoming community and its gorgeous views.

Moving forward, there is no doubt the next 150 years will bring about more change to Dare. But the overall feeling that this county offers so much more than a place to live will never go away.

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26 • Outlook 2020

COURTESY OWENS’ RESTAURANT

Clara Mae Owens Shannon, second from left, and her husband Lionel have managed Owens’ Restaurant for several years and now daughter and son-in-law Peaches and Jim Eckhardt run the business.

Owens’ Restaurant a place for food, family and tradition

by Philip S. Ruckle Jr. philip.ruckle@thecoastlandtimes.com It doesn’t take visitors long to realize that Owens’ Restaurant in Nags Head is more than just a place to eat.

In operation since 1946, the restaurant at 7114 South Virginia Dare Trail holds the unique distinction of being the longest continuously run family owned restaurant at its original location in North Carolina.

“It started right after World War II,” said Robert V. “Bobby” Owens of Manteo. “It was a small 20 to 25 seat restaurant and over the years it grew with four different sections. It has never closed.”

Owens said as a teenager he helped mix the cement to make the blocks used to build the restaurant owned and operated

PHILIP S. RUCKLE JR. PHOTO

Owens’ Restaurant at 7114 South Virginia Dare Trail in Nags Head.

by his parents, Bob and Clara Owens.

“They had a successful hotdog stand in downtown Manteo near where the Tranquil House Inn is today,” explained Owens.

After that venture burned down in the Manteo waterfront fire, the Owens family decided to move to Nags Head.

Friends and relatives thought moving to the beach was a crazy idea. It was, however, before there was much Outer Banks tourism making people wonder why anyone would move to a strip of sandy beach in Nags Head. The only thing around the new location was the fishing pier and another restaurant, Sam & Omie’s.

“People thought they were crazy,” Owens added.

When Nags Head turned out to be a

tourist mecca for the Outer Banks, the Owenses were then seen as visionaries.

After first catering to local fishermen, the business grew as visiting sportsmen eventually made it a favorite feeding spot.

Then there was the rush of summer season tourism.

Along the way, more than one family member has grown up in the restaurant’s kitchen and dining room.

Bobby’s wife Sarah was a convert. When she was old enough, Bobby’s sister Clara Mae Owens joined the family business.

Then, when she married Lionel Shannon, that brought him into the family business.

Today, the Shannons’ daughter and her husband, Peaches and Jim Eckhardt, are in charge. There is also considerable help from their son Leo Woodard and several other family children, siblings, nephews, cousins and longtime employees.

“Our employees are like family,” said Peaches.

“And we have staff who have been here with us 30 years,” added her husband Jim. Walking through the restaurant is in some ways a lot like taking a museum tour.

Loaded with memorabilia, there are U. S. Lifesaving Service logbooks, photographs and other historical artifacts that provide a detailed look at the dedication and commitment required to rescue survivors from the many “Graveyard of the Atlantic” shipwrecks that now rest off the North Carolina coast.

But it is more than a brief look at history that has brought a number of distinguished movie stars, NC governors and a lot of other people through the res-

Outlook 2020 • 27

taurant doors for weddings, anniversaries and other celebrations. Known for its fine cuisine, Owens’ Restaurant excels at serving the best appetizers of soups and salads, ribs, scallops, crabmeat and lobster bisque, along with an almost endless list of seafood specialties and wide assortment of beef.

A fine dining destination for visitors and locals alike, the restaurant has something else that has drawn people back year after year for seven decades. It’s the feeling of being with family.

While many of the daily operations are run by aunts and uncles, parents, grandparents, it’s almost as if many of the patrons passing through the front door are adopted into the family as well.

“It’s all about family,” said Peaches.

“Most of our staff have been here several years and we have customers coming back for 20 years or more.”

Adapting to the current travel and dining restrictions, the Eckhardts have added outdoor dining and carryout services.

According to Jim, there are often more than 100 carryout orders a day.

“People are really taking advantage of takeout,” Jim explained. “People call in orders and Leo watches a video camera for when they pull up in back. When they arrive, he takes out their orders to them.”

COURTESY OWENS’ RESTAURANT

The original building where Owens’ began still stands in Nags Head, and has been expanded as the business grows.

“We learned a lot with the governor’s first order that only allowed takeout,” said Peaches. “We moved a lot of tables out and they are in storage at the (Owens’) hotel.

We make sure everyone can keep their social distances. We do all we can to keep everyone safe.”

That’s what family does – look out for the wellbeing of each other, making Owens’ Restaurant a family restaurant in every way.

28 • Outlook 2020

Currituck County – 352 years old: OBHC POSTCARD COLLECTION, COURTESY OUTER BANKS HISTORY CENTER

The Whalehead Club at Currituck Heritage Park.

by Danielle Puleo danielle.puleo@thecoastlandtimes.com Three hundred fifty-two year old Currituck County was established in 1668, after King Charles II gave what is now North and South Carolina to eight lord proprietors. The Albemarle area was split into four precincts: Currituck, Pasquotank, Perquimans and Chowan. These four precincts became the first counties of North Carolina.

Rich in history, Currituck has maintained its roots while growing and expanding in the modern age. Home to over 27,000 residents, the county offers picturesque sites and a vast, unique geography that beckons visitors to delve into the past while embracing what Currituck is today.

Randall Edwards, public information coordinator for Currituck County, walked through the halls of the old historic courthouse while explaining what the county has seen and endured over the past 300 years.

“We have quite the history.”

By 1739, the Currituck precinct became Currituck County. In the early 1800s, enslaved county residents were involved in

A sportsman’s paradise

a slave revolt, leading to trials and executions. The county jail, having been rebuilt twice since its first construction in the late 1760s, still stands beside the courthouse today.

In 1775, the Currituck County Regiment of Militia participated in the Battle of the Great Bridge, which resulted in the capture of Norfolk by the Patriots, followed by the complete destruction of the city three weeks later, ending the rule of the British Crown in Virginia.

The property where the historic Jarvisburg Colored School sits was gifted from William Hunt in 1868 and construction began on the Currituck Beach Lighthouse in 1873, culminating two years later. This lighthouse, with its distinctive red exterior, was left unpainted, granting visitors the pleasure of marveling at each individual brick that makes up the 162 ft. tall structure.

The 1800s were prominent in Currituck’s history, marking it as an area full of fishing villages with a peaceful way of life.

The Intercoastal Waterway, part of the Albemarle Chesapeake Waterway, plays a vital role in servicing vessels and separates

the southern and northern mainland areas of the county.

Currituck eventually gained the reputation of being a “sportsman’s paradise.”

Edward Knight, a Philadelphian who frequently visited the Outer Banks, built what is now known as the Whalehead Club in 1925. “Edward Knight used to come down and hunt, and he opened it up as a hunting club,” Edwards shared.

Hunting and fishing were always largely intertwined with the history of the county.

Edwards said that people from the northern states would frequent the coast seasonally, hunting, fishing and boating long before the area became a sought-out vacation destination.

Along with the Whalehead Club, other affluent industrialists opened hunting clubs, such as the Pine Island Club and Currituck Shooting Club, to offer a place for hunters, fisherman and those that wanted to get away for a week and submerge themselves in the abundant wildlife to stay.

Modern Knotts Island ferry services started up in 1962, and in 2008 the J.P Knapp Early College School was founded to round out just some of the many note-

Outlook 2020 • 29

worthy events to occur in Currituck County.

The county is home to the largest population of Banker ponies, descendants of Spanish mustangs believed by some to have come from a Spanish expedition during the 1500s. Others think these horses can be traced back to the Lost Colony or Ponce de Leon. These wild beauties can be found roaming on the four-wheel-drive-only area of Corolla, where they are protected and responsibly managed by the Corolla Wild Horse Fund.

The intricate expanses and dynamic past are woven into

the unique offerings. Preservation of what was accomplished hundreds of years ago intertwines with the bustling new times throughout the county. Currituck remains a place of new discovery, full of memories and ventures for all to enjoy.

DANIELLE PULEO PHOTO

Above: Currituck County Courthouse DANIELLE PULEO PHOTO

Left: Currituck County Jail

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30 • Outlook 2020

Conner’s Supermarket:

Now in third generation, Buxton store carries everything from ‘PBR to caviar’

by Mary Helen Goodloe-Murphy mhgm@thecoastlandtimes.com The Conner family has been selling groceries, sandwiches, drinks and coffee on Hatteras Island for 61 years.

In the fall of 1959, Bernice and John Conner Sr. along with son John “Johnny” Jr. and daughter Merian moved from Windsor to the northern tip of Hatteras Island. The new business was operating Pea Island Campground Store. The store – a concession leased from the National Park Service – sold Bernice’s sandwiches and drinks to folks waiting for the ferry and to fishermen at the campground.

Johnny Conner was 10 years old when

“From the everyday to gourmet, PBR to caviar, you can find it all at Conner’s Supermarket!” his family moved to Hatteras Island. He spent his time with the Coast Guardsmen from the Oregon Inlet station and folks running the ferry. He and his family lived above the store in an apartment with running water. Electric power came from a generator.

The campground was “not a check-in, check-out deal,” says Conner. Campers found a place and settled down.

A year later, in October 1960, the Conner family was visiting Chicamacomico. A call

came from the Oregon Inlet Coast Guard Station. The store was on fire. The Conner family raced back to watch their business destroyed. At the time, only the Hatteras village fire department existed.

After the fire, John Conner Sr. worked at the Rodanthe Pier and Motel while his family lived in a trailer parked in the motel parking lot.

To Buxton the family journeyed. John Conner Sr. rented the Buxton Shopping Center from Mr. and Mrs. E.P. White. The business, originally operated by George Fuller and Edgar Hooper, was beside Ormand’s Clothing Store. An art studio now occupies the building.

In the mid-1960s, the family built its first store on the current site. A 2,000 square foot concrete block building housed the new business, Conner’s Independent Neighborhood Store.

In 1970, newly married Johnny Conner brought his bride Rauna home to Buxton and into a partnership in the grocery business with John Sr. and Bernice. Johnny’s return established a family tradition.

In 1975, the store was renamed Conner’s Cape Hatteras Supermarket and a new 5,000 square foot metal building was built, alongside the concrete block building. In that building, John Sr. made fishing lures under the name Conner Lead (as in sinkers) and Lures. Those lures are still available at Conner’s Cape Hatteras Supermarket.

The business grew. Johnny and Rauna became sole owners of the supermarket in

1981. A couple of years later, the concrete building was purchased and the last section of the main store was added. In 2006, a new storage building was added to the site.

In 1994, the family tradition continued. Johnny and Rauna’s oldest daughter Angela and her husband Neil Tawes moved home to Buxton to run the business. Daughter Rebecca followed in 2002.

Rebecca’s husband Travis Salyers joined the staff in 2007.

The store is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week. The address is 47468 NC 12 in Buxton.

“Today, the Conner’s Supermarket tradition started by John and Bernice Conner is now in operation by the third generation of the Conner family. It is an honor to carry on what our grandparents started,” says the store’s website. “We work hard to stay on top of trends in the grocery world while continuing to carry all your old favorites.

We love to partner with local vendors and strive to carry the best local produce and North Carolina made products. From the everyday to gourmet, PBR to caviar, you can find it all at Conner’s Supermarket!”

Outlook 2020 • 31

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