The founder of the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center on Topsail Island, which she named in memory of her late daughter, was driven to protect the beloved ocean dwellers.
People
Holiday lights are aglow ahead of annual Waterfowl Weekend
The Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center is celebrating the holidays and heritage with its annual Waterfowl Weekend set for Friday through Sunday at the museum on Harkers Island.
Tuscarora War, hazel eyes: Researcher traces tribe’s lineage
There were numerous factors at play that sparked the Tuscarora War in 1711, historian and descendent Dr. Arwin Smallwood explains the tensions among the tribe that inhabited much of eastern North Carolina and the influx of colonists.
Pony Patrol marks three years of watchful eyes over herds
The third season for the persistently protective volunteers was off to a rough start with abandoned foals having to be removed from the herd, but summer turned around with a filly’s birth on Shackleford Island.
New Bern sailor killed at Pearl Harbor identified decades later
Navy Fireman 1st Class Edward Bowden, who was aboard the USS California on that infamous morning in December 1941 and interred as an unknown for more than 80 years, was laid to rest last week at Arlington, bringing closure for his surviving family.
Our Coast: The Shirt Factory in Morehead City, 1942
Historian David Cecelski in this installment of his photo-essay series, “Working Lives: Photographs from Eastern North Carolina, 1937 to 1947,” goes inside the Morehead City Garment Co. in the early days of World War II.
Coastal Federation lauds environmental stewards, volunteers
The North Carolina Coastal Federation celebrated 15 coastal stewards Saturday during the annual Pelican Awards ceremony for sharing “their time and talents, through leadership, education, hands-on projects, and volunteer efforts, to inspire others and create lasting change.”
Historic Whalehead Club to mark centennial in October
The centennial of the 21,000-square-foot art nouveau mansion and centerpiece of Historic Corolla Park will be commemorated in October with special tours and other ticketed events.
Riverkeeper, family man Rick Dove set example for advocates
He was an attorney, retired Marine Corps colonel, mentor, one of the first Riverkeepers in the Southeast and the original Neuse Riverkeeper — Rick Dove, 86, died Aug. 22.
Our Coast: Sawmill workers of the Roanoke River, 1938-1939
The next installment in historian David Cecelski’s “Working Lives: Photographs from Eastern North Carolina, 1937 to 1947″ series takes the reader to a sawmill, a handle mill, and a veneer plant on the banks of the Roanoke River in 1938 and 1939.
Historian explores the working lives of eastern NC 1937-1947
Historian David Cecelski introduces a series of photo-essays focusing on the working lives of people in eastern North Carolina just before, during, and after the Second World War.
Karen Amspacher fights for Down East, brushes off praise
When Gov. Josh Stein inducted the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum Director and nine others June 25 into the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest civilian honor in the state, Amspacher didn’t tell a soul.
Our Coast: Remembering Betty Town
Historian David Cecelski has “devoted a fair bit” of historical research to the people of Betty Town, how their land was taken, and how the community’s people were driven out of their homes to make room for the new town of Aurora, but there is much he doesn’t know.
How coastal Carolina shaped 20th-century poet AR Ammons
A.R. Ammons, the heralded, mid-20th century poet was known as “Archie” during his formative years working the family farm in Columbus County.
Groups dedicate marker for historically Black fairgrounds
A William G. Pomeroy Foundation Hometown Heritage marker recognizing the Atlantic District Fairgrounds, founded by people of color in 1920, was dedicated last month as part of a Juneteenth celebration in Ahoskie.
Dewey Hemilright advocates for US commercial fishing fleet
Forceful and outspoken, this passionate advocate for the commercial fishing industry has spent 30 years in the business and served in fisheries management.

















