Learn how the kid surrounded by walnuts in the hills of California who wanted to be an engineer ended up spending most of his life by the sea in North Carolina where he is a respected marine scientist and a N.C. Coastal Federation board member.
Our Coast
Our Coast’s Food: Oyster Stuffing
Hardly a cook on the N.C. coast gets through the Thanksgiving season without thinking about oyster stuffing, a dish so luxurious it begs a silver dish rather than a place inside the holiday turkey.
African Roots in Brunswick County
Southeast North Carolina’s heritage is infused with the culture of West African descendants. The Gullah or Geechee people are known for their story-telling, rice-based cuisine and fishing traditions.
Coastal Sketch: Peggy Birkemeier
For someone who says she’s not a “beach person,” Peggy Birkemeier, a N.C. Coastal Federation board member from the Outer Banks, has caught on nicely.
The Starriest Sky on the East Coast
Cape Hatteras National Seashore could become the first “dark sky park” in the world that’s on a coastline. Its brilliant nightscape of stars is an environmental, economic and scientific resource.
Pelican Award: Troy Outland
There’s a working waterfront for fishermen in Manns Harbor, thanks in part to this guy’s leadership. Find out why the N.C. Coastal Federation presented Troy Outland with a Pelican Award.
Our Coast’s Food: Muscadines
Clerks at snooty wine shops may turn up their noses at the notion, but our food writer celebrates North Carolina’s native grape.
The Tale of a Fish House Liar
Rodney Kemp is somewhat of a celebrity in Morehead City for telling entertaining stories about local history. And sometimes they’re actually true. He’s keeping alive the old coastal tradition of the fish house liar.
A Sign of Fall: Mullet Fishing on Bogue Banks
Autumn officially started last night, and soon the fishermen of Salter Path will latch their dories to the old tractors and head out to the beach in search of jumping mullet.
Storms, Whales and Refugees
A great hurricane drove the Ca’e Bankers from Shackleford Banks to Harkers Island, Salter Path and a place they called the Promise Land, but not before they took the most famous whale in N.C. history.
Ca’e Bankers
Old photos and artifacts, like an old whale gun, tell the story of the hardy fishing families who once lived in Diamond City and the other settlements near the Cape Lookout Lighthouse.
A Celebration of Watermen
The annual Day at the Docks festival in Hatteras is a confirmation of the strength of community, heritage and the living traditions of the island’s watermen.
Coastal Sketch: David Paynter
Meet David Paynter, treasurer for the N.C. Coastal Federation’s board of directors. When he’s not bird watching or kayaking on Hewlett’s Creek, he’s trying to protect it.
Alligator River Refuge
The watery wilderness that is the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge is 30 years old this year. The red wolves, the red cockaded woodpeckers, the black bears and, yes, the alligators should be rejoicing.
Our Coast’s Food: Dining Over the Century
Dining culture at Wrightsville Beach wasn’t always flip flops and ice-cold white wine. Our food columnist tells how it’s changed over the last 100 years.
A New Clue Into the New World
A historic document could unlock leads about the mysteries of English colonization on Roanoke Island, perhaps even the fate of the so-called “Lost Colony.”
