Ms. Doris Creecy has been a familiar face to locals on Roanoke Island for a long time.

This 90-year-old “Senior Delight,” the official title she is called by one of the several organizations she supports, is known by many. She is a frequent presence at events, especially programs close to her heart and those that include youth.

Standing tall, typically wearing a beautiful hat, a colorful outfit, and with cane in hand, this elegant lady cannot easily be missed. She and her daughter, Coquetta Laverna Conyers Brooks, are frequently seen. They are an often-noted twosome at community, church, and school events,

Ms. Creecy is not letting her age slow her down. She is always ready to encounter new experiences, learn more, and to talk about history, a topic she loves.

Born Aug. 1, 1935, in Wilmington, and a graduate of Clifton University in South Carolina, she was licensed to teach in four states: South Carolina, Virginia, New York, and North Carolina. On Roanoke Island, where she moved after teaching in Wilmington, she taught third and fourth grade students and served as a reading specialist at Manteo Elementary School from 1977 to 1990.

Thousands she taught in her lifetime have become educators, entrepreneurs, first-time homeowners, musicians, pastors, nurses, fishermen and so much more. The pivotal role Black educators played in Wilmington and the surrounding area during challenging historical times influenced her decision to teach.

She is a lifelong and proud member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. (AKSA) the first intercollegiate historical Black sorority. She has been a former board member of several organizations, including presently serving as an honorary board member for our organization, the Pea Island Preservation Society Inc.

Ms. Creecy can most easily be found at church each Sunday morning, sitting faithfully in her favored spot, front-row pew and left side of the sanctuary at Haven Creek Missionary Baptist Church. There she serves as a deaconess and as a Sunday school and vacation Bible school teacher.

This church is connected to the story of the Freedmen’s Colony on Roanoke Island, where thousands sought freedom and a safe haven during the Civil War. Her faith and love of God have always been primary in her life and teachings.

Ms. Creecy is perhaps best known as the founder of the Echoes of Heritage, or the shortened Echoes they are called, an a cappella singing group she formed shortly after moving to Roanoke Island. She is the directress and leader of the group.

Originally 12 singers, the Echoes have had three different sets of singers over time. Over the years they have performed at countless events under her guidance.

Ms. Creecy is the heart and soul of the group known for singing spiritual songs. Once she and a singing partner even had a regular Tuesday spot on a local radio station. Although the Echoes are not as active or big in number as in the past, still today at 90 years old, Ms. Creecy continues to receive requests to perform.

Today she and her daughter Coquetta, typically with two, three or four additional singers, occasionally delight audiences at selected events with spiritual songs. In recent years, they have performed at several events. This includes events held at the College of the Albemarle – Dare campus and other locations for programs sponsored by our organization, Dare County, and the Town of Manteo. Many of the programs she attends result in her warmly greeting adults who were former students.

As a born educator, she especially enjoys sharing her own experiences, including the joys, challenges and difficulties she faced as part of her own personal journey.

In recent years she and her accompanists have performed at three of our five annual Juneteenth “Sounds of Freedom” celebrations held at the Pea Island Cookhouse Museum, where the story of Keeper Richard Etheridge and the surfmen he commanded at the historic Pea Island Life-saving Station is told.

Ms. Creecy is a devoted supporter, always ready to raise awareness of this history. On several occasions theEchoeshave performed at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Day celebration held on Roanoke Island.

These events are two of her favorites. Seeing and watching her so passionately sing songs that serve as living history and which reflect her own personal journey is touching. It is also an important reminder of how the music inspires and unites.

Past members of the Echoeshave included many with roots on Roanoke Island. The late Dellerva Collins, who served as mayor pro tem and as a Manteo town commissioner for years, was part of the original 12. Likewise, the late Virginia Tillett and Naomi Augusta Collins, both pioneering community leaders and educators on Roanoke Island, sang with the Echoes.

Images showing women joyfully singing along with her who were known advocates for voices most often not seen or heard. Several through the years, past and present, are the descendants of those who lived on the Freedmen’s Colony or who are part of Ms. Creecy’s beloved church community.

When asked the most important lesson her mother has taught her, Coquetta quickly says, “to choose kindness always in spite of others.”

Her son Damian, a Manteo High School and Elizabeth City State University graduate, and who currently is pursuing a master’s in the computer engineering field, is someone Ms. Creecy is especially proud of.  She and her grandson are very, very close, Coquetta adds. 

When asked what lesson his grandmother has most taught him, Damian says, “never remain stagnant and to pursue improvement daily,” two lessons that also reflect the guidance Ms. Creecy has passed along to her many students over the years.

All are encouraged to help celebrate Mother’s Day this year by sending Ms. Creecy (or Ms. Pledger as some know her by her late husband’s last name) a special card. She has no idea of this request so please also help us to keep it a surprise! Without a doubt, the avid reader she continues to be, she will greatly enjoy reading these special cards on Mother’s Day.

Mother’s Day or any greetings may be sent to: Mrs. Doris Creecy, P.O. Box 1068, Manteo, NC 27954.

PEA ISLAND — Recently I had the pleasure of giving Johnnie Van Willis a tour of the historic Pea Island Cookhouse museum. Johnnie traveled to the museum from his home in Marshallberg, a historic fishing community situated on a peninsula in Carteret County and directly along the shores of the Core Sound.

Marshallberg has been characterized as a sleepy, close-knit village with a rich history of commercial fishing, boatbuilding and family heritage. Johnnie’s great-grandfather was Isaac Van Willis Sr. He’s the surfman sitting in the middle top row in the only known photograph of a “Checkerboard Crew.” This term was used in the U.S. Life-Saving Service, the predecessor to today’s U.S. Coast Guard, to identify racially mixed surfmen crews, crews with both Black and white surfmen, like a checkerboard.

In March 2023, a painting depicting this image was unveiled at the College of the Albemarle – Dare County Campus. Both the photograph and painting are on display at the “Cookhouse,” the shortened name for the museum housed in what once was a building in which surfmen cooked and ate their meals.

As background, Johnnie shares both his middle and last name with his great-grandfather and grandfather, Isaac Van Willis Sr. and Isaac Van Willis Jr. In spring 2018, Johnnie took a road trip with his wife and daughters in search of his great-grandfather’s grave. Through a friend, he had learned it was somewhere near the Marshall and Gussie Collins Trail, a trail named after my grandparents at the Collins homestead. They were part of a small and closely knit community of Black residents of Roanoke Island. It included those connected to the Freedmen’s Colony on Roanoke Island, as well as the rich Native American history here.

Like many Black people in their community, my grandparents were known for their hard work, family, friends, and record of service. They once owned a home and farmland near where the trail is now, including much of the property that surrounds the Dare County Governmental Center and not far from the Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge.

I had noticed when Johnnie and two of his daughters were walking on the trail and struck up a conversation with them. They told me they were searching for the gravesite but couldn’t find it, and they were super excited when I revealed that it was a just a few yards away. Leading them there, I sensed our special connection.

Johnnie did not know much about his great-grandfather, other than that he had worked several years in the Life-Saving Service.

I quickly realized the parallels and differences associated with our two families. My great-grandfather also worked in the service. We both had family members and friends who had lived in small, tightly knit communities and had grown up fishing, oystering, catching crabs, building boats, farming, hunting, and going to church together. Yet, we also shared the understanding that history shows the lives and experiences of our two families were very different, simply because of race. 

Born in January 1873, my great-grandfather, Joseph Hall Berry, began his career initially serving as a “substitute” surfman when the legendary Keeper Richard Etheridge commanded the historic Pea Island Life-Saving Station. He enlisted in February 1902, the same month that my father would do the same 37 years later. My great-grandfather Berry is also the only of several family members who served in both the Life-Saving Service and the Coast Guard. He retired in February 1917 after serving for 15 years.

The trail signage at Isaac Van Willis Sr.’s grave shows he served for 30 years. Given that Life-Saving Service stations that once stretched along coast were spaced about seven miles apart and that our great-grandparents worked at neighboring stations, in all likelihood they knew each other. They could have each lived on Roanoke Island, but I am uncertain where Isaac Van Willis Sr. may have lived. They also likely participated in joint rescues. Before motorized equipment was available, these rescues were especially difficult and dangerous, often requiring the manpower of several stations.

Today, Johnnie still chuckles when he recalls how we met. When I realized who he was, the first thing I told him was to wait a few minutes, that his visit was important and I needed to I grab a pen and piece of paper. Yet, as we stood talking, I realized that, other than knowing his great-grandfather spent several years in the service, Johnnie knew little about him. He died when Johnnie was just a small child.

Johnnie knew more about his grandfather, Isaac Van Willis Jr., had who worked in the U.S. Lighthouse Service at the Cape Lookout Lighthouse.

In 2018, I also knew little about Isaac Van Willis Sr., and the story of Checkerboard Crews. Yet, each time I looked at the gravesite, I sensed he was important. His prominent marker, which includes the Life-Saving Service emblem and information about his wife on the opposite side, has always intrigued me. I was delighted a few days ago to receive a call from one of Johnnie’s daughters telling me that she wanted to bring her father back to Roanoke Island and to visit the Cookhouse. The trip was quickly planned. Johnnie and his daughters were thrilled to see a framed copy of the 1910 photograph and the vibrant oil painting of the same, each showing Isaac Van Willis Sr. They had never seen either image before. The discovery even brought tears to one granddaughter’s eyes.

I also made Johnnie aware of a letter that I had discovered about Isaac Van Willis Sr. several years ago. I promised to search for it in the research material I have collected over the years. At the time he was Surfman No. 1 at the Oregon Inlet station, the position typically next in line to become Keeper. Although I haven’t looked at it for several years now, I still recall being surprised to find Keeper Richard Etheridge’s signature on it. He and several others had signed it in support of Isaac Van Willis Sr.’s desire to become Keeper. Before Johnnie left, I promised to search for it and send him a copy.

Likewise, although Johnnie did not have any pictures of his great-grandfather, he had brought along something very special for me to see. He showed me a cherished framed photograph of Isaac Van Willis Jr., a photograph showing him doing work inside the lantern at the Cape Lookout Lighthouse. He promised to send me a copy of the photo when he returned home.

After a day that began with a seafood lunch, then a long visit at the Cookhouse, and ended with a cherished joint return to the Isaac Van Willis Sr. gravesite, I have concluded that our chance encounter eight years ago was destiny, simply something meant to be.

The broader story of Checkerboard Crews is a planned topic for “Cookhouse Chats,” a new initiative for 2026 that started in February. These periodic chats are to provide information on lesser-known stories associated with the history that the Cookhouse represents. Our next planned chat will be announced soon. 

Presented in cooperation with the Pea Island Cookhouse Museum on Roanoke Island.

Of the many documents associated with the Freedmen’s Colony on Roanoke Island, a letter signed by Richard Etheridge and eight others, and with 58 other names shown, each marked with an “X”, is particularly important.

The undated letter, received on Dec. 25, 1867, is noted by the academic and author, Patricia Click in her scholarly book about the colony, “A Time Full of Trial.”

There will be two opportunities to visit the Pea Island Cookhouse Museum Feb. 28, from 10 a.m. – noon, or 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.  During each, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., the latest version of our short video, “A Checkered Past: The Story of Keeper Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers” will be shown. This 15-minute video, based on two events held during Black History Month in 2023, was recently revised to include additional information about our organization.  It features Pea Island Preservation Society Inc. board members, youth volunteers, and descendants of the Pea Island lifesavers who were interviewed.

For our organization, Black History Month is a reflective time, and especially to think about the Freedmen’s Colony on Roanoke Island and the U.S Life-Saving Service (and later, the early U.S. Coast Guard station) at Pea Island.  Both are important to fully understand the history of the Outer Banks.

Keeper Richard Etheridge, who grew up enslaved on Roanoke Island, is perhaps most known for his leadership and the legacy associated with the Pea Island station.  Following his death in May 1900, the station remained staffed primarily with Black surfman crews until it was deactivated in March 1947 and officially decommissioned two years later.

Etheridge’s association with two letters about the Freedmen’s Colony are not as well known.  The first is a letter he co-authored in 1865 with a fellow solider, William Benson, protesting the mistreatment of those left behind at the Freedmen’s Colony.  A framed typed version of it hangs at the Cookhouse. 

The second letter, a photo of one page included here, shows Etheridge’s signature and eight others.  This page is one of two signature pages that accompanied the undated letter.  The full letter includes the names of fifty-eight men with an “X’’ mark, a practice used to indicate a person was illiterate.

Often when the Freedmen’s Colony story is told what many focus on are the several missionary teachers who arrived from the North and the sawmill provided to build 500 small homes, each with a small portion of land to raise crops.   Also frequently mentioned are the churches and schools freedmen also helped to build to have their own places to worship and be educated. 

This undated letter reminds us of another important, yet unfortunately often overlooked part of the story – that in the end thousands who came to the Roanoke Island colony and other Freedmen’s Bureau locations established during the Civil War were ordered to leave – sometimes forcefully, and sometimes cruelly and even brutally.  

On Feb. 28, during the morning and afternoon, the Cookhouse Museum will be open to visitors. This year Cathy Steever a researcher and friend to our organization will join us. Cathy has been uncovering the remarkable story of the Freedmen’s Colony on Roanoke Island for several years. She is especially drawn to the colony’s everyday realities — work, schooling, housing, faith resilience and hard choices families faced during and after the war. Lately, she and I have been collaborating on research findings, especially the stories that best reflect the challenges and difficulties those who lived on the Freedmen’s Colony faced, and lesser known stories.

The complete undated letter will be read and interpreted on Feb. 28. The noted letter portrays what life was like for the freedmen and their objections to being forced to leave. 

Those who had hoped to see the “First Light of Freedom” as the memorial at the Fort Raleigh site reads, pleads for a short extension of time to stay and for leniency “having been thrown out without shelter” as the noted letter received on Christmas Day in 1867 reveals.

Given the small size of the Cookhouse, those interested in visiting are requested to RSVP indicating if the morning or the afternoon session is preferred.  Those who have a special connection or interest in this history are especially encouraged to come.  Those who plan to visit are also requested to RSVP us at: friends@peaislandpreservationsociety.com. Given the small size of the Cookhouse, RSVP’s are requested soon so we can plan accordingly.

‘Cookhouse Chats’

As director of outreach and education, I am also pleased to announce this special opening on Feb. 28 is also the start of PIPSI’s latest initiative, “Cookhouse Chats”.  These selected chats will focus on less known or newly discovered stories as well as potential future collaborations with interested parties.  

The next planned chat, one about research findings pertaining to “checkerboard crews,” or mixed-race crews, will be announced in the spring. 

Presently, by email request the Cookhouse is “open by appointment only” preferably for group visits and special events.

Note: The Feb. 7 event described below has been rescheduled for Feb. 21 because of weather-related issues.

Those who know me best often hear me say I wear two hats. One is to help raise awareness of the story of Keeper Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers. The other is to raise awareness of my father and his family who have deep ties to Roanoke Island and a remarkable record military service.

I am thrilled to speak of both on Feb. 7 and to help celebrate a momentous occasion, the fifth anniversary of The Water’s Edge museum.

The accompanying mini-exhibit will be the first outside exhibit there.

An invitation to speak at this event is something I would have never imagined when I first visited Oxford, Maryland, on March 29, 2025. The Water’s Edge had opened just a few years earlier and was new to me. I had never heard of or seen it before.

My niece, a frequent visitor to the Eastern Shore and an avid reader, happened to come across an article about the museum during a stay nearby. During a trip I made to Maryland last year, she urged me to visit the Oxford museum with her and her mother, my sister. Little did I know then what would lie ahead. I still feel the joy I experienced walking in The Water’s Edge for the first time.

I was immediately reminded of the Pea Island Cookhouse Museum on Roanoke Island. Many know me for my connection to this museum. I have helped manage, operate and raise awareness of this museum’s history for several years. Simply known as “the Cookhouse” this museum is a small structure built in the 1930s at the Pea Island station where surfmen cooked and ate their meals.

This historic station was the only U.S. Life-Saving Service (USLSS) station in the country with an African American commander and an all-Black crew. My great-great-uncle served under Keeper Etheridge, as did my great-grandfather. My great-uncle, father and other relatives also served at the Pea Island station. The station was staffed primarily with Black commanders and surfmen crews from January 1880, when Etheridge took command, until March 1947, when my father, Herbert M. Collins, the last surfman left in charge, closed its doors for the last time.

The USLSS station at Pea Island is most known for the Oct.11, 1896, rescue of an all-white contingent on board the shipwrecked E.S. Newman during a fierce hurricane and in the middle of the night. Etheridge and his crew were posthumously awarded the prestigious U.S. Coast Guard Gold Lifesaving Medal for this daring and heroic act in March 1996, some 100 years later.

Another captivating fact is that before becoming a surfman and commanding the Pea Island station, Etheridge grew up enslaved. He had also served with the 36th Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops during the Civil War, enlisting with other men on Roanoke Island to join the fight for freedom. By the time the war ended he had earned the rank of sergeant.

As a visual learner, when I first entered The Water’s Edge I was immediately moved. The colorful images on the walls, particularly the portraits and scenes of daily life in Oxford made me think of my father, grandparents, great-grandparents. The scenes reminded me of my father growing up on Roanoke Island during a time when church, community gatherings, and services were so important to the small community in which he lived.

I imagined him as a young child sitting in the church with his parents, grandparents, cousins, and friends. I imagined a community gathering with food, music, dancing and well wishes as he and his twin brother left Roanoke Island together at just 17 years old, and at their father’s urging, to join the Coast Guard. I imagined the smiles and the sorrow, particularly my grandmother’s likely tears as she watched them leave knowing there was little opportunity for them to succeed if they stayed.

When I returned to my home on Roanoke Island, I quickly sent The Water’s Edge more information, including a video. I also invited members of their staff to come to Roanoke Island to learn more. That resulted in staff members visiting the Cookhouse and staying at my home this past summer.

My talk will include showing the short video, “A Checkered Past: The Story of Keeper Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers.” There will also be other images including three, 4-foot-square oil paintings associated with my father’s career, part of my family’s collection, on display for the first time. The artwork is part of an ongoing family creative effort to preserve my father’s life story, and in a creative way, a project we began after his death in March 2010.

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity on Feb. 7 to wear my “two hats,” one to tell the story of the historic Pea Island station and the other, the story of my father and his family. As a kid, my father and superhero grew up longing to wear a surfman’s uniform.

The picture on the event flyer was commissioned by the late portrait artist John de la Vega. It is based on a photograph of my father shortly after he first reported to Pea Island and as he told me, before his uniform arrived. Thankfully that uniform did arrive, which I am sure put a big smile on his face. He often recalled growing up as a kid longing to wear a Coast Guard uniform one day.

In March 1947, he left Pea Island proudly wearing that uniform. He would serve for 34 years, the longest of anyone in his family.

Saturday marks the 129th anniversary of one of the most daring ocean rescues in the history of the U.S. Life-Saving Service, the predecessor to today’s Coast Guard.

On Oct. 11, 1896, during hurricane conditions and in the darkness of the night, Keeper Richard Etheridge and the all-Black surfmen crew he commanded at the Pea Island Life-Saving Station — Benjamin Bowser, Dorman Pugh, Theodore Meekins, Lewis Wescott, Stanley Wise and William Irving — saved all onboard the shipwrecked E.S. Newman.

Among the survivors were the captain, his wife and 3-year-old son, and six others.

At the time of the rescue, its depiction was limited to just a short paragraph in some news sources. There was no mention of an all-Black crew having performed the rescue. While now many more are aware of the heroic rescue, the story is still not widely known. Today is a special time to remember it, and to think about the history the Pea Island station represents.

Before selected to take command of the Pea Island station in January 1880, Etheridge had served as the lowest-ranked surfmen at a neighboring station. After he assumed command, and throughout the period the station was active, it was staffed primarily with Black commanders and all-Black surfmen crews, long after Etheridge’s death in May 1900.

In 1949 the Pea Island station was decommissioned, but it had been deactivated a couple of years earlier. In March 1947, my father, Herbert M. Collins, the last left in charge, locked the station’s doors for the last time and turned in the keys to his superiors.

Perhaps just as remarkable as an “all-Black” surfmen crew working on the North Carolina coast decades ago is that Etheridge, the first Black or African American to command the Pea Island station, grew up enslaved. Before being selected, he had also served with the 36th Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops during the Civil War, helping the Union to free thousands who were once enslaved.

The family history of many who served at the Pea Island, like that of my own father, is also tied to the story of the enslaved. Likewise, the family history of many who served at Pea Island, like my father and other family members who served there, is also tied to the Native American, Algonquian-speaking tribes who once lived along the coast. In fact, although most known for being the first Black or African American to command the station, it is noteworthy that in a 1932 Coast Guard magazine article written by Rodney J. Benson and currently available online, Etheridge was described as being “part Indian.”

The 1932 article asserts the “Pea Island station never had a pure strain negro keeper, white or Indian blood having blended with the African strain.” The article is one of, if not the earliest written mention, as it describes, of “checkerboard-ed” crews, a term used to identify stations with both white and Black crewmembers. It is also reflective of a period when people who served at lifesaving stations along the North Carolina coast were categorized racially in one of two ways, either being white or Black, to determine their status and rights, no matter their racial mix.

The 100-year delay the Gold Lifesaving Medal was finally awarded to the Pea Island crew is a reminder of the challenges and obstacles men who were known as being “Black” in U.S. Life-Saving stations and the early Coast Guard faced. Yet, as the unjustified delay teaches, still many bravely and honorably served.

Etheridge’s selection as keeper in January 1880 made him, as is described on the Coast Guard webpage, “the first African American station keeper in the service and first minority member of any kind to command a U.S. base of operations.” Likewise, at the time of my father’s death in 2010, he was described in a Coast Guard press release as a “Coast Guard Legend,” and especially “in light of the challenges that African Americans faced” during the era he served.

After Etheridge’s selection, and until my father locked the doors for the last time, the Pea Island station was known as being one of the best on the coast.

Perhaps as remarkable as the heroic rescue of the shipwrecked E.S Newman, is the incredible 67-year period the Pea Island station was staffed primarily with Black commanders and crews, especially given the political and social climate at the time. These men faced incredible obstacles. This included serving during the Wilmington, North Carolina massacre and the Jim Crow era in the South.

Having researched and studied the history of the Pea Island station for well over 10 years now, when speaking of it I say that today I understand the smile on my father’s face as he opened the doors of Pea Island Cookhouse Museum to the public for the first time. Likewise, today I better understand the tears William Charles Bowser, his cousin, and who had served at the station before him, displayed when he first learned the Coast Guard’s highest honor, the Gold Lifesaving Medal, would be awarded to Etheridge and his crew.

The anniversary of the Oct. 11, 1896, rescue of nine onboard the shipwrecked schooner, the E.S. Newman, is an important reminder of this history. It is also important to remember the brave men at Pea Island are credited with performing some 600 rescues.

The Pea Island Cookhouse Museum on Roanoke Island is dedicated to honoring their service and legacy. Presently the museum is open for group tours by appointment only. To make an appointment for a group visit, contact the Pea Island Preservation Society, Inc., otherwise known as PIPSI, by email at: friends@peaislandpreservationsociety.com

Special to Coastal Review

MANTEO — Today is an important time to remember the legacy of Keeper Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers.

On Jan. 24, 1880, Etheridge, who grew up enslaved on Roanoke Island and fought with the U.S. Colored Troops during the Civil War, became the first Black person in the nation to command a U.S. Life-Saving Service, or USLSS, station.

The discovery and subsequent investigation of a shipwreck close to the USLSS station at Pea Island, that had not been discovered while the surfmen were on duty led to a recommendation that “Keeper Geo. C. Daniels be removed immediately; cause, false swearing, and his personal acknowledgment of his unfitness for the position. That surfmen L.B. Tillett be discharged; cause, neglect of patrol. That surfman Charles L. Midgett be discharged for cause, not competent for lack of experience as admitted his testimony.”

The final report dated Jan. 16, 1880, led to the appointment of Richard Etheridge to the position of Keeper. The title Keeper is the official title used by the USLSS for the commander or the person in charge of a station. The investigative report making Etheridge’s appointment official was stamped and approved on Jan. 24, 1880. The approval accepted the recommendation that “Richard Etheridge, colored (now a surfmen at Life Saving Station No. 16, Dist. No. 6) be appointed as Keeper of Life Saving Station No. 17, Dist. No. 6 in place of Geo. C, Daniels.”

The findings describe Etheridge as having a “strong robust physique” and being “intelligent, and able to read and write sufficiently well to keep the journal of a station,” and as being “one of the best [surfmen] on this part of the coast of North Carolina.”

At the time the recommendation for his appointment was made he worked as a surfman at the neighboring Bodie Island lifesaving station. Blacks who worked as surfmen in the USLSS were the lowest in rank, and those who cared for horses, cleaned and cooked, in addition to their other duties.

Etheridge’s selection was remarkable, especially considering his appointment occurred not long after the end of the Civil War and he had grown up enslaved. His selection also marked the beginning of a 67-year period, which includes the Jim Crow era in the South, the Pea Island station was staffed primarily by Blacks.

Year after year, men, like my own father, Lt. Herbert M. Collins, proudly served. At the time of his death in March 2010, a U.S. Coast Guard release described his passing as “The Death of a Distinguished Coast Guard Legend,” a title he earned, undoubtedly by the examples set by the legendary Keeper Etheridge and others who worked at the Pea Island station before him.

He is best known for being at the Pea Island station the duration of World War II and helping to decommission the station in March 1947. The story of “Freedmen, Surfmen, and Heroes,” a registered trademark and the words surrounding our new checkered life-ring logo, is the story of Blacks who served at the Pea Island station from Jan. 24, 1880, when Etheridge first took to command until March 5, 1947, when my father shut and locked the doors of the station for the very last time.

Today also calls us to remember the challenges Keeper Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers faced daily because they were not white. Their 100-year delay in being awarded the prestigious U.S. Coast Guard Gold Life-Saving Medal for their most famous rescue — the daring rescue of nine people aboard the shipwrecked schooner E.S. Newman during a hurricane — is poignant reminder of this.

Our motto, “Their fight is our fight.” is intended to be a bold reminder of the challenges Etheridge and others faced, and during a period in which people were labeled as strictly as being either Black or white to determine what rights and opportunities they were afforded. It also is symbolic of time when a lifesaving station that employed both Black and white surfmen was commonly referred to as having a “checkerboard crew.” On the Outer Banks, there were a handful of such stations, including the Pea Island station, before Etheridge took command.

As we remember Etheridge’s selection as Keeper, today is a reminder of the importance of sharing stories and information associated with the historic station, stories such as those reflected in the unidentified photograph accompanying this release. The stunning photograph shows two white men, who appear to be the ones in charge, sitting in front of an all-Black crew shown standing behind them. The photograph is believed to have been taken sometime in the late 1930s, and after George Pruden, a Black commander of the Pea Island station, had retired. Pruden would later contend the actions which prompted his decision to retire were motivated by others’ desire to place a white commander in charge of the Pea Island station.

Ironically, a copy of the photograph first came to my attention a few years ago, but it is fuzzy at this point as to exactly when or how. During the early stages of my involvement with the Pea Island Preservation Society Inc., I recall seeing the photograph, but can’t recall the details. I remember thinking the photograph confirmed my father’s accounting of reporting to white commanders who were in charge at the Pea Island station during his early service there and before his uncle, Maxie M. Berry Sr., was placed in charge. Given my father is not shown in the group of men standing, I speculated the photograph was taken sometime in the late 1930s before he first reported to the Pea Island station in February 1940. At the time, however, I was new in my journey to learn and do more to raise awareness of this history, but made a mental note to learn more about it one day.

Fast forward to the spring of 2023. You can imagine how delighted I was when the photograph came to my attention again. I was thrilled to be invited to the home of Jackie Wenberg, who showed me the photograph along with photographs of other Midgett family members. She was pleased to learn I thought one of the individuals, the man on the left, was Palmer Midgett and the other on the right, William L. Scarborough, two individuals whose names are reflected in my father’s USCG file as being his superiors when he first reported to the Pea Island station.

She quickly agreed one of the individuals, the man to the left was her uncle, Palmer Midgett, and the other likely Scarborough. However, she admitted she knew little else about the photograph other than it was found amongst the items in the home she was living, a home her uncle Palmer and his parents once lived. Nonetheless, I was thankful to see the photograph again, and that she voiced no objection when I told her I planned to write about it one day when the timing was right.

Releasing the photograph on this special day, Jan. 24, the date of Etheridge’s selection as Keeper is intended to encourage the sharing of information, especially new information, or information that is not widely known regarding the Pea Island station before, during, and after Etheridge’s Jan. 24, 1880, appointment as Keeper. Those who have such information are requested to contact the Pea Island Preservation Society, Inc. by sending an email to: friends@peaislandpreservationsociety.com.

Guest commentary

To stimulate discussion and debate, Coastal Review welcomes differing viewpoints on topical coastal issues.

MANTEO — Recently, I was presented with an exciting opportunity to board the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Richard Etheridge while it was temporarily docked at the USCG Shipyard in Baltimore and had ventured this far north for the very first time.

It had been over 10 years since I last boarded the cutter when it was commissioned into service in 2012 in Florida, during which time I became the director of outreach and education for the Pea Island Preservation Society Inc. (PIPSI), an organization devoted to sharing the history of the historic all-Black Pea Island United States Life-Saving Service Station (USLSS) led by Keeper Etheridge.

I knew it would be a perfect opportunity to share information about our Freedmen, Surfmen, Heroes education initiative, a program aimed at teaching this history to youth, including, in particular, the unique and fascinating story of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Richard Etheridge and its connection to the Pea Island station.

The Cutter Richard Etheridge, based in Miami, Florida, is the second of the Coast Guard’s Sentinel-Class Cutters. In 2012, the cutter was commissioned into service in Port Everglades, Florida, in honor of its namesake Richard Etheridge, who was once enslaved on Roanoke Island, fought for freedom during the Civil War, and became the first African American in the nation to command a USLSS station.

On Jan. 24,1880, Etheridge, who at the time was the lowest ranked surfman at a neighboring station, was selected to be the Keeper (the person in charge of a lifesaving station) at the Pea Island station. For 67 years, starting in January 1880 when Etheridge took command and ending in March 1947 when the station closed, the lifesaving station at Pea Island was staffed primarily with Black surfmen in the USLSS/USCG. It is the only station in USLSS history manned by an all-Black crew, and one of only two all-Black lifesaving stations in Coast Guard history, the other being a station in New York re-activated for about two years during World War II.

Etheridge and his crew are most known for their Oct. 11, 1896, rescue of all onboard the shipwrecked schooner E.S. Newman (the captain, his wife, three year old son, and six others) on the North Carolina coast late at night and during a hurricane. The rescue resulted in their being awarded the USCG Gold Lifesaving Medal, albeit posthumously and some 100 years after the E.S. Newman rescue occurred. This prestigious medal is the Coast Guard’s highest honor for a daring and heroic rescue. The U.S. Life-Saving Service is the forerunner to the Coast Guard.

For me, visiting the cutter was also deeply personal, as my father had served at the Pea Island station the duration of World War II. He was the last left in charge and helped to decommission the station in 1947. I knew firsthand how important his service at Pea Island and his Coast Guard career was to him.

A visit to the cutter would also allow me the opportunity to talk with the crew about his experiences after attending a segregated USCG boot camp in 1939 and afterwards serving on a cutter as a mess attendant, a servant to white officers on the ship, before being transferred to Pea Island after repeated requests. I had heard him talk often about shining shoes, making beds, and serving meals when forced to joined the USCG as a mess attendant, as enlisting as a mess attendant was the only option available for Black men joining the Coast Guard at the time.

The cutter visit also presented an unexpected opportunity to bring members of my family who live in Maryland with me to the shipyard.

Our recent visit exceeded expectations. It was wonderful to interact with the crew, and quite frankly for me an emotional moment, as I looked at their faces and saw their interest in learning the history associated with the cutter’s namesake and hearing about my father’s life. Likewise, my family loved meeting the crew. Everyone had a wonderful time and especially enjoyed boarding and touring the cutter from top to bottom and learning of its role in the USCG.

As the Oct. 11, 1896, anniversary of the rescue of the E.S. Newman is upon us, it is important to remember the challenges and inequities men like Etheridge and my father faced daily during their lifetime. The anniversary of the rescue of the shipwrecked E.S. Newman calls us to remember this history and to think of why Etheridge and his crew would never live to wear or know of the prestigious medal they received.

A quote from one of the new ensigns on the USCGC Etheridge, a recent 2023 Coast Guard Academy graduate, is perhaps the best reminder of what the story of Keeper Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers teaches us today. In an email sent to me a few days after our visit she wrote “… the crew that attended was very impressed and we left with a greater sense of pride … Thank you for inspiring us and pushing us to think about the importance of our history so we can prevent the negatives and impulse the positives.”

See our guidelines for submitting guest columns. Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of Coastal Review or our publisher, the North Carolina Coastal Federation.