Island Features

New Location Next to Studio 12 and
Ugly Mugs in the Kinnakeet Shoppes

A celebration of the restoration and relighting of the Bodie Island Lighthouse….WITH SLIDE SHOW

Sometimes reporters get attached to the subject of their coverage, especially if that subject is an underdog unjustly outshined by another that’s taller and more popular. And for reporter Catherine Kozak, the Bodie Island Lighthouse was her underdog.

On Thursday evening, the fully restored lighthouse was officially relighted, and it opened today for the first time to the public for climbing tours.
This is Kozak’s account of her climb to the top of the tower to see the magnificent and restored first-order Fresnel lens. Read more

Riding out the storm: Avon couple faces down cancer in Chapel Hill

Claudia Laskow, who relocated to the Outer Banks 23 years ago and is a Realtor at Outer Beaches Realty, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 and is undergoing treatment at the University of North Carolina’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chapel Hill. This is an article about the struggle that Claudia and her husband, Jan, face with the disease and about the welcoming place where she and other patients and their families can stay during treatment. Read more

Bodie Island Lighthouse’s long path back to glory had many twists and turns…WITH SLIDE SHOW

Even as birds nested where metalwork had rusted away and rain spit through broken glass and rotted window frames, the historic Bodie Island Lighthouse always had the fortune of a picturesque setting and appealing architecture.

But the 1872 brick beacon, which the Lighthouse Digest added to its Doomsday List just 13 years ago, has its own tale of survival, rescued from decades of budgetary starvation, careless neglect, and preservation perils.

On April 18, the black-and-white banded tower, now completely restored, will be opened for climbing for the first time and its rare first order Fresnel lens will be reactivated after a journey back to glory that was long and tortuous. Read more

Island Living: Getting married Hatteras-style

This column is for all the brides, visitors or locals, who choose Hatteras Island for their wedding and who share the revolutionary idea of not setting up an affair worthy of a Kiss concert but one that actually focuses on the whole “getting-married” thing in the perfect location for come-as-you-are celebrations.
Read more

Island People: Elizabeth Hanrahan nurses Ocracoke’s wild animals back to health…WITH SLIDE SHOW

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 in Dare County. She is always on call and rarely leaves the island. Read more

Everything you always wanted to know about the Hatteras Island spaceship….WITH VIDEO

Some call it an eyesore but to the throngs of the curious who stop to stare, the silver spaceship is probably one of the most fascinating objects on Hatteras Island. To visitors driving through Frisco, it screams, “Greetings, earthlings!”

“I am told by the Dare County Tourist Bureau that it is the second most photographed thing on the island – next to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse,” says spaceship owner and captain, Jim Bagwell. “People really believe that there are aliens out there.”

This story and video answer all your questions about how this unearthly piece of architecture landed on Hatteras. Read more

Island Living: Hatteras gone wild

We’ve all been there. You’re trying to relax on a desolate winter beach, sifting through shell piles or strolling along the ocean wash trying not to get your toes wet, when suddenly you are attacked by a giant demented pelican.

And, as if that’s not odd enough, there seem to be clusters of deer hanging out and taking up island space anywhere we go. We see them everywhere nowadays – grazing on the side of the road, running behind the Food Lion, trotting across our neighbor’s lawn, jumping across Highway 12 in Buxton, or standing in line in front of us at Subway.

Okay, I made that last one up, but, obviously, Hatteras Island has gone wild for the winter. Read more

Hurricane Irene: One year later

Hurricane Irene: Remembering the storm and its aftermath in photos….WITH SLIDE SHOW

Island Free Press photographer Don Bowers has put together a slide show on Hurricane Irene, which struck the Outer Banks with fierce wind and a massive soundside storm surge on Aug. 27 of last year. He selected photo that were taken on the day of the storm right through the recovery, repair of Highway 12, and the building of a temporary bridge over Pea Island Inlet.

Click here to see slide show.
Click here to see slide show. (IPad, IPhone and other non-flash compatible device users)

Hurricane Irene: Then and now….WITH SLIDE SHOW

Island Free Press photographer Don Bowers has recently gone back to many of the damaged areas he photographed after Hurricane Irene and shot photos of what those places look like one year later. There are on-the-ground and aerial photos to show what happened in a year.

Click here to see slide show.
Click here to see slide show. (IPad, IPhone and other non-flash compatible device users)

Hurricane Irene: A reporter’s look back after a year, Part 1

Island Free Press reporter Ann Bowers looks back at Hurricane Irene a year after the storm devastated the Outer Banks. In this first part of her reporter’s notebook she writes about the storm and the day after. Read more

Hurricane Irene: A reporter’s look back after a year, Part 2

Island Free Press reporter Ann Bowers looks back at Hurricane Irene a year after the storm devastated the Outer Banks. In this second part of her reporter’s notebook she writes about devastation and recovery, especially in the tri-villages. Read more

Small and efficient, FEMA trailers gave comfort to Hurricane Irene’s victims

FEMA trailers were a lifeline to several families who were living like nomads after Hurricane Irene, which slammed into the North Carolina coast one year ago. Metal structures that measured only 12 feet by 30 served as temporary homes for several families who crammed into them over the winter while insurance claims were settled and homes were repaired or rebuilt.

“It was a blessing,” said Jean Hooper, 77, of Salvo who lived in one for three months with her husband, Bert. “It had everything we needed -- a full size refrigerator, stove, double sink and a table with four chairs.” Read more

Ocracoke is recovering from Hurricane Irene’s economic beating

The off-season started in late August last year on Ocracoke, thanks to Hurricane Irene on Aug. 27.

“It was horrible,” Bob Chestnut, owner of Ride the Wind Surf Shop, said bluntly. “You can’t put a happy face on it.”

This summer, businesses are slowly recovering. Read more

N.C. Baptist Men stayed until the job was done

At the Rodanthe-Waves-Salvo Community building on Jan, 30 of this year during a community meeting to help hurricane victims, Billy Layton stood before the group and promised that the North Carolina Baptist Men would be in storm-ravaged area until August. At that time, he had agreed to build houses and to help with any rebuilding project as long as the materials were provided.

When islanders look back over the first year after Hurricane Irene blasted the Outer Banks on Aug. 27, 2011, they can see that Billy kept that promise. On Thursday, Aug. 23, the remaining four volunteers finished the mission with the delivery of a brand new picnic table. With all the work completed, it was time to clean up and move on. Read more

Paddleboarding: The equal opportunity watersport

Writer Jordan Tomberlin tried stand-up paddleboarding and she says it’s fun.

That’s her big take-away from the time she spent, over the past month or so, paddling borrowed or rented boards around Hatteras village.

She went alone and with groups. She went in the sound and in the ocean. She paddled quickly and furiously to get exercise, and she floated leisurely through the water, enjoying sunsets with old friends. Read more

Surfing: A promising beginning to the summer has since faded….WITH SLIDE SHOW

The tropical cyclone season got off to an early start this year with two named tropical storms in May and a hurricane in June. Though none came close to the Outer Banks, the three – Alberto and Beryl in May and Chris in June – produced some surf that was fairly short-lived in all cases.

Waves since then have been small but rideable most days. Read more

Dee Callahan: A homegrown Hatteras Island professional cook

Dee Callahan grew up on Hatteras Island. At her family home, as in many others, the staples on the dinner table were tinned meats, collards, potatoes, canned beans, peas, and corn. Her interest in cooking and baking began when she was a youngster and through the years, her styles and ingredients have changed. Today she is one of the island’s most sought-after caterers and cooks. Read more

Our Coast's Food: Keeping It Simple

Fresh from the water, dropped into a pan and seasoned with salt and pepper. Ask a native coastal North Carolinian what’s the best way to cook fresh seafood and this is the recipe you’re likely to get.

With the elaborate dishes that inventive chefs create at hundreds of restaurants lining the N.C. shore these days, it’s hard to remember why simple, traditional seafood recipes like roasted oysters or mullet and sweet potato stew endure -- until you sample their pure, delicious seafood flavor. Read more

Island Cooking: Outer Banks shrimp and grits

Elizabeth Wiegand, a cookbook author and writer of a blog about Outer Banks cuisine, writes about the history and origin of the now iconic dish, shrimp and grits. Included is a recipe from Chris Latimer, innkeeper and chef at the Seaside Inn in Hatteras village, who prepared shrimp and grits for a brunch during September’s Day at the Docks celebration. Read more

Island Cooking: Paella is a seafood feast

There are many recipes for paella and a great deal of innovation is acceptable. The protein used depends on the region and its food traditions. Rice, special short-grain rice, from the Spanish rice growing areas, is ideal. Read more

Roaming Ocracoke Inlet and Portsmouth Island

Off the coast of eastern North Carolina lies the remote, uninhabited island of Portsmouth, renowned for birds, seashells, surf fishing and history. Getting there from neighboring Ocracoke requires a boat ride through the serene beauty of Ocracoke Inlet. Along the way, you may learn about pirates’ lairs, Civil War forts, and an effort to save one of the last remaining brown pelican rookeries in the state.

Part of Cape Lookout National Seashore, Portsmouth Island has beautiful ocean beaches and soundside marshes that stretch its 22-mile length. Superior fishing, beachcombing and shelling await those who visit. Read more

Bodie Island and Hatteras lighthouses open for climbing on April 19

The Bodie Island and Cape Hatteras lighthouses will open on Friday, April 19. Guided tours will be offered at the Bodie Island Lighthouse and visitors can climb the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse at set intervals. The lighthouses will remain open through Columbus Day, Monday, Oct. 14. Tickets are required. Read more

First phase of Hatteras Island Ocean Center set to open this spring

After years of planning and preparation, construction has begun on the ambitious Hatteras Island Ocean Center project in Hatteras village.

And according to Eric Kaplan, the driving force behind the Ocean Center, the first phase of development—which will include an information center and a series of wetland trails that lead to a soundfront launching area—will be completed and open to the public sometime this spring. Read more

‘Hook, Line, and Hatteras’ tells the history of charter fishing on the Outer Banks

Last Friday, Aug. 10, a team of six designers, fabricators, curators, and archivists from the North Carolina Maritime Museum system wrapped up the bulk of their work on the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum’s newest exhibit—“Hook, Line, and Hatteras: Charter Fishing on the Outer Banks.”

The exhibit is the result of years of planning and preparation and, once fully completed, will celebrate the history of recreational fishing on the Outer Banks and will focus particularly on charter fishing in Hatteras. Read more

The call of the wild: Wolf howling is popular program

The caravan of vehicles slowly snakes along, traveling five miles down a dusty gravel road to way down yonder in the woods. Pickup trucks, sports cars, SUVs, station wagons and a Tioga RV camper with three bicycles strapped to its bumper carry mostly Outer Banks vacationers on a twilight excursion to hear red wolves howl in the Alligator River Wildlife Refuge in Dare County.

The Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1984 to protect and preserve unique wetland habitat and associated wildlife species, including the red wolf.

During the summer, the staff offers guided tours, giving adventurous visitors an up close look at resident bears and other wildlife and a chance to hear red wolves howl at sunset. On a recent humid Wednesday night in mid-July, 50 nature lovers are gathered for the regular Wednesday night wolf howling. They have traveled to this spot from Austin, Texas; Danbury Conn.; Raleigh; New Bern, and other places. Read more

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service maps wind farm concerns

A new map developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and recently posted online would appear to put a damper on future development of land-based wind energy projects in eastern North Carolina.

But Kathy Matthews, a service biologist who worked on the map, and Charles “Pete” Peterson said that shouldn’t be the case. Peterson is a professor and researcher at the University of North Carolina’s Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City. He helped lead a state-funded team several years ago that developed a similar tool for offshore wind. ....Read more

Opposition is brewing to injection wells for wastewater from fracking

A resolution up for a vote next Monday evening by the Dare County commissioners and a position paper from a regional water resources group in Onslow County are the latest indications of the fast-growing coastal opposition to using coastal aquifers to eliminate wastewater from hydraulic fracking. ....Read more

Citizen science program needs your help observing the weather…WITH VIDEO

Do you ever wonder how much rainfall you received from a recent thunderstorm? How about snowfall during a winter storm? If so, a new volunteer weather observing program needs your help.

The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow network, or CoCoRaHS, is looking for new volunteers across North Carolina. The grassroots effort is part of a growing national network of home-based and amateur rain spotters with a goal of providing a high density precipitation network that will supplement existing observations. ....Read more

Wind Projects are on the ropes, but not out

Land-based wind power projects in Beaufort and Pasquotank counties are still in the works, despite considerable challenges that have raised doubts about their future.

Progress on a third wind project in Eastern North Carolina that has not been approved yet by the state has also stalled, and there is a new proposal to build an innovative bird-friendly wind power demonstration project in Dare County. ....Read more

Student volunteer makes news saving cold-stunned sea turtles

Along with volunteers led by Liz Browning Fox, Cape Hatteras Secondary School of Coastal Studies sophomore Brittany Waterfield's efforts with cold-stunned sea turtles made multiple national news outlets through an Associated Press wire story earlier this month.

Waterfield is one of the original members of a student group trained by the North Carolina Wildlife Commission to handle and transport sea turtles. Her interest in animals and wildlife was a natural incentive for her to participate in cold-stunned turtle training sessions during the last school year. ....Read more

Ocean Acidification: Global warming's 'evil twin'

Few people are aware of what some scientists call the “evil twin” of global warming; ocean acidification. This equally serious threat is already showing up in the Pacific Ocean and polar seas, where the cold, nutrient-rich waters from the deep are naturally more acidic than surface waters. While the full brunt of ocean acidification is not expected to hit for decades, it is expected to affect marine ecosystems globally and might even factor into North Carolina's oyster decline. ....Read more

How will a new legislature and governor influence environmental policy?

The week’s public actions follow more low-key planning than began soon after the November election to ready an agenda that McCrory and legislative leaders say is aimed at fundamentally changing the way the state works. The new dynamic, which for the first time pairs a Republican governor and GOP supermajorities in the legislature, allows the new leadership far more latitude and far greater reach.

How that translates into environmental policy is still a question mark, but not for too long. Legislators are expected to gather in Raleigh only briefly before breaking for roughly three weeks while committees meet and budget writers get to work. ....Read more

Displaying history rescued from the deep is a tricky business

Back in the 1970s, no one thought twice of removing anything off of sunken World War II U-boats, from brass plaques to crew journals to torpedo hatches.

To this day, a treasure trove of historic items salvaged from U-boats sunk off the Outer Banks is safely stashed away in the private homes of divers. And without assurances from the German government and officials with the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras, hundreds of rare and well-preserved U-boat artifacts will likely remain cloistered from public view. ....Read more

New book details a horrific chapter in World War II history that unfolded off the North Carolina coast

Two years before the 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane devastated Ocracoke and Hatteras islands, a national tragedy had played out in the waters off the Outer Banks, and to this day, many Americans have little knowledge of the horrific slaughter that took place.

Kevin Duffus, author of the recently released book, “War Zone: World War II off the North Carolina Coast,” said that many who have attended his lectures and book signings about the U-boat attacks off the U.S. coast are astounded at the extent of the death toll, and how people lost their lives in such hellish circumstances --- blown to pieces, tossed alive into flaming seas, shot to death in mid-escape, deserted by would-be rescue ships, consumed by layers of discharged oil. Read more

A eulogy for an old Hatteras village friend

“With all the joys of life, it is inevitable that we will experience times of sadness as well. And it was sadness that I felt this morning just after daybreak as I grabbed my camera and headed out the door to visit an old friend. I knew it would be our last time together.”

Hatteras villager Buddy Swain says farewell to his old friend, which had been the oldest house in the village. Read More