A retired NC Central professor and preservationist of African American history, Dr. Ben Speller of Edenton is a self-described collaborator who says that, despite the things that divide us, there’s more that we share in common than some may care to admit.
Our Coast
Whitehurst fishery: A Down East community on Lake Erie
Historian David Cecelski illustrates with photos and family lore the story of fishers from Down East Carteret County who found their way to Lake Erie more than a century ago.
1913 storm thrashed ships, and a rescue led to accusations
The fourth Atlantic hurricane of the season this month 108 years ago resulted in a handful of ships lost or aground along the Outer Banks, including one daring rescue that led to allegations of piracy.
Our Coast’s History: Varnamtown’s Fishermen 1938
Photographer Charles Farrell captured how mullet fishermen in the fall of 1938 “made do,” as historian David Cecelski explains, on Bald Head Island during the Great Depression.
Manteo museum a snapshot of Pea Island Station History
The tiny Pea Island Cookhouse Museum in Manteo tells the bigger picture of the Pea Island Life-Saving Station, manned by an all-Black crew from the 1880s to 1940s.
An epic Outer Banks bike trip in 1971 changed teens’ lives
Inspired by a pirate movie and David Stick’s Outer Banks history book, Kevin Duffus and his friends Gary Snyder and Bob Thurber rolled out of Greenville 50 years ago on a biking expedition that was brutal, exhausting and transformative.
Geographer explains origins of Outer Banks place names
Roger Payne recently published his second reference guide to the names of places along North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
Our Coast’s History: Remembering 1930s Sneads Ferry
Through Charles Farrell’s photographs of Sneads Ferry in the 1930s, historian David Cecelski learned the stories and people of the Onslow County fishing village.
Aviation, history buffs to celebrate Orville Wright’s birthday
In honor of National Aviation Day, Aug. 19, the public can purchase rides on one of the famous “Warbirds,” or World War II aircraft, the Avenger “Doris Mae.”
Coast Guard commissions cutter named for NC native
A recently commissioned Coast Guard cutter bears the name of an enlisted Coastguardsman from Carteret County, who received the Silver Star for his heroism during World War II.
Our Coast’s History: Menhaden Fishing Days
David Cecelski looks further into the work of photographer Charles A. Farrell, who documented fishing communities across the North Carolina coast in 1930s, including the menhaden industry in Beaufort and Southport.
Family researcher discovers Bertie County ancestor’s secret
John Bunch of Tampa, who spoke Saturday at the 10th Family History and Genealogical Fair at Hope Plantation, found answers in his research that confirmed what his relatives had long denied.
Figs to take center stage on Ocracoke Island this weekend
Ocracoke is set to host its eighth annual, three-day Fig Festival this weekend on the island, which has been home to fig trees for centuries.
David Stick was an example of the ideal coastal historian
David Stick, who literally wrote the book on Outer Banks history and founded the Outer Banks History Museum, represents an endangered species of local historians in the modern publishing world.
Hard times: Voices from the Great Depression on NC coast
Historian David Cecelski found interviews from the Great Depression from a seaman from Ocracoke, a country doctor from Lake Mattamuskeet, a Norwegian dredge boatman in Beaufort, a washerwoman in Elizabeth City and others.
Park Service to support Gullah Geechee corridor project
The National Park Service’s selection of a project to connect the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor with the East Coast Greenway in Brunswick County will bring national exposure, proponents say.
