“Ocracokers” author and native Alton Ballance is to talk about the isolated island’s growth from a fishing village to a tourist destination.
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Bebop drummer Max Roach kept coastal NC connections
Born in Newland near Elizabeth City, the late Max Roach was a pioneer in the mid-20th century New York jazz scene, and a civil rights advocate.
Ancestral odyssey: A Beautiful MLK Day in Piney Grove
Historian David Cecelski recounts spending the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in Piney Grove with descendants of Caesar Evans, who escaped from slavery during the Civil War, fought in the Union army, and later bought 228 acres in central Brunswick County.
In ’76, oilman Walter Davis made a bet on the Outer Banks
He grew up on a soybean farm near Elizabeth City and his billion-dollar empire included for a time Southern Shores in Dare County, a different sort of asset that paid off.
Designer Lilias J. Morrison: Homes should ‘blend into land’
Reared in Northwest England, surrounded by botanical gardens and history, the unlikely developer says she “became a builder because local builders wouldn’t do anything except beach boxes.”
For Dave Rohde, a passion for fishing was also a lifesaver
Well-known surfboard shaper Dave Rohde of Kitty Hawk is also renowned as an expert fisherman and guide, and he credits fishing for saving him from self-destruction.
The other coup d’état: Remembering New Bern in 1898
Historian David Cecelski uses old newspaper clippings to show how Wilmington’s bloody takeover was not the only example of the state’s well organized and propaganda-fueled 1880s-1890s white supremacy movement.
Tim Still’s no beach bum; his brand of lures is catching on
The Havelock resident, former college and pro baseball player and newspaper sports writer has turned his love of fishing into a growing enterprise.
Frank Stick finds success, designs signature Banks cottage
As the artist-turned-developer nears retirement age, his eye for opportunity leads to steadier finances, a new development project, a strained business relationship with his son, and the creation of another national park.
A future tied to tourism: Stick presses for national park
Fourth in a special series: Frank Stick’s Outer Banks development dreams having been largely dashed by the Great Depression and a hurricane, the conservationist landowner launched his calculated campaign to establish a seashore attraction.
‘Faith In the Future’: Troubles befall Virginia Dare Shores
In the third installment of our special series, the artist-turned-developer who dreamed of bringing tourists and wealth to the Outer Banks in the 1920s sees his hopes nearly dashed — and then came the Great Depression.
‘Millions Have Been Made’: Frank Stick changes careers
Second in our series: Frank Stick was looking to land more than a few bluefish when he visited the Outer Banks in the 1920s, the illustrator and sportsman saw opportunity here.
Uncovering the improbable tale of multifaceted Frank Stick
New series: Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Gil Gaul dives into newspaper clippings, archives and other sources to reveal the complex story of the New Jersey artist, outdoorsman, developer and speculator who filled miles of Outer Banks beaches with hundreds of houses.
Outrigger club completes second leg of coastal NC trek
Wrightsville Beach Outrigger Canoe Club paddlers recently completed a three-day, 125-mile journey from Swansboro to Cape Hatteras in a traditional oceangoing Polynesian canoe to raise awareness of risks to water quality.
Tonya Sanders’ love of fishing leads to online support group
The Wilmington native’s Facebook group, Female Fishing Fanatics, is open to all anglers, but is specifically a safe haven for women to be able to post their catches without fear of online harassment.
Petrels ‘little superheroes’ to researcher Kate Sutherland
UNCW researcher and Hatteras Island resident Kate Sutherland studies the chemical isotopes of the feathers from black-capped petrels, a difficult-to-study, endangered pelagic birds species.