Cataloochee Reunion

 Cataloochee Valley is deep in the North Carolina side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  It is very close to where I grew up and a place where some of my ancestors lived prior to the formation of the National Park in 1934.  In fact, my Uncle Gudger’s childhood home is now the National Park Visitor Center for the valley.

Every August since 1934 (with the exception of COVID) descendants of those pioneer residents gather on the second Sunday of the month at the old Palmer Chapel Methodist Church for a reunion.

Trish and I were there this past Sunday and I spoke at the church service for the third time.  The reunion is presided over by Steve Woody, whose paternal ancestors all came from the valley.  My father worked at the bank for Steve’s father, Mr. Jonathan Woody for thirty years.

The church does not begin to hold everyone and many people are at the windows or just visiting outside waiting for the eating to start.

After the big dinner in the grounds, people scatter to visit the homesites of their ancestors.  Many of them bring empty milk jugs so they can carry home water from the spring that hydrated their ancestors.  

We will be back next year to keep preserving the stories of this place and, most importantly, the people who settled and lived here.

Island Inn Project

 I first came to Ocracoke in 1967 when I was a graduate student at Duke University.  Our party ate at the Island Inn, which was at that time in its hayday. 

The building that later became the Island Inn was built in 1901 as the Oddfellows Hall.  The Oddfellows met in the second floor and the first floor was used as the school until a dedicated school building was built in 1917.

As years passed, the building was used as a dance hall, a private residence, Naval officers’ quarters, and, eventually expanded with side wings as the Island Inn and Dining Room. 

After the Inn closed for the last time, plans were made for purchase of the property by the Ocracoke Preservation Society with extensive outlines for its public use.  The project was significantly delayed by Hurricane Dorian and are now, at last, becoming a reality.

The old building has been stripped of its later additions back to its original 1901 version.  The building has been raised and is being restored.  The downstairs will be a new Ocracoke Visitors’  Center with upstairs office space for non-profit organizations.

What is happening right now, in addition to building restoration, is extensive work outside.  Under the magical direction of Debbie Wells, a beautiful garden area is coming to life with plants, art work, benches, and public restrooms.  The work is going well.

Located across from Books To Be Red, Spencer’s Market shops, and Eduardo’s Tacos, the garden area has its own Ocracoke Free Tram stop.  It will be a lovely place to stop, shop, picnic, or just sit and rest.

New Island School

 When Hurricane Dorian devistated the island on September 6, 2019, Ocracoke School was destroyed.  The school, which covers Pre-K through High School had approximately 150 students.

Since then, school has been held, first at a variety of sites on the island, then in a large temporary structure made of eight conjoined portable trailers.

It has taken nearly four years to remove remains of the former school, plan for, and build the new school building.  Scheduled initially for completion in April, the new building is now finally nearly ready for the opening of the new school year.

While part of the Middle School section and the school gymnasium could be restored, all of the rest of the building had to be replaced.  Now final inspections are happening just in time for the first day of school.

The teachers are facing a huge amount of work as everything had to be removed from the temporary portable building so it could be removed and then set up in the new classrooms.  Everyone might be exhausted as the year opens!  A lot of patience as well as excitement will be needed to get everything going after this long wait.

There will be an open house at the end of this month so everyone can see the new building. Leslie Cole, the school principal, and all the teachers are to be supported and congratulated, as well as the students, for persevering, leading, teaching, and learning through this difficult time.

Weekend Treat

 When Trish and I have the almost rare chance to be in the island on a weekend, we have a special treat we like to enjoy.  First, we sleep late. Then after coffee and hot chocolate in bed, we get up and walk over to Ocracoke Coffee Company.

The Coffee Company is just around the corner from our house and is itself in an old former residence.  Every morning is busy at the Coffee Company.  The wait line is usually about thirty minutes long, a time when we enjoy eavesdropping on vacationers as they share their adventures with one another.  We get to think about how far people have driven to get to spend their vacations at the very place where we already live!  We are spoiled.

When it is our turn, Trish orders some sort of coffee concoction and I (avoiding caffeine) get a Skinny Monkey…banana with honey and milk with a squirt of some kind of flavored syrup…maybe salted caramel! Then there are pastries to choose from…maybe we get enough for breakfast the following day as well.

We head out to the yard and continue to observe and eavesdrop while we have our leisurely morning treats.

The Ocracoke Free Tram makes a stop at the Coffee Company, so, after we have finished eating, we catch the tram and take the ride all around the village.  We end up at the Pony Island stop, which is back close to our house, and walk home from there.

This is our fun morning of being, as on many days in different ways, tourists at home!

Fig Festival

 Figs grow naturally and in great abundance on the island.  Every year people can figs and fig preserves and make island fig cakes.  This weekend is also the time for the Ocracoke Fig Festival.

The Festival is held at the Berkeley Barn and features music, a fig cake contest, dancing, booths with fig related products, fig trees for sale, food, and a silent auction.

Trish and I went down yesterday to check things out.  We looked a lot, shopped some, visited with friends, and had barbecue for lunch while there.   

Some of the silent auction items were fascinating, especially this decorated boot from Susan Dodd.

Community events like this are part of what makes living here so much fun.

A New Island Church!

 Through the years the Roman Catholic population on the island has been relatively small.  For a long time, the Priest from up the beach has come down on schedule and held Mass either at the firehouse or later at the United Methodist fellowship hall.  

With a great increase in our Hispanic population, there has arisen a much greater need for a more substantial Catholic presence on the island.  Now it is happening!

Due to substantial gifts of land, money, and resources, and coordination with the Diocese, a lovely Catholic chapel is moving toward completion.  It is located just behind the United Methodist Church off Schoolhouse Road.

Trish and I had an opportunity to peek inside this week with our builder, Woody.  Marble was being laid and the pews were being assembled.  You can almost see the beautiful recycled antique window above the altar area.  

On the Sunday of All Souls Day the Bishop will be here for the dedication.  What a beautiful asset added to our village.  We understand that weddings have already been scheduled after completion time.  

Congratulations!

Building A Basement?

 Trish and I have been trying to figure out how to add some usable storage space to our house so the garage can be fully empty and really be just a garage. We considered constructing a storage building in the back yard as that is what many of the houses in the island have.  Than we hit in a better idea…

Why not come off the back of the garage apartment building itself with a storage room that has a door directly into the building instead of a separate storage space?

So, we got hold of our friend Woody and he and his main builder, Armando, are well on the way.

When Trish asked me what we should call this little addition, I replied, “Why don’t we call it ‘the basement?’ After all, it’s going to be the home for all the stuff that might usually live in a basement.”

So, we are going to have the only “basement” on the island!  When we tell people here that we are building a “basement,” they look at us like we have lost all good sense.  Then, when it is explained, they too get a good laugh.

Watch out and you might see the finished product when all the work is done.