Hurricane Irene has passed Ocracoke By ~ Visitors Can Return!

As hurricane Irene bore down on Ocracoke Island, residents scurried about making last minute preparations for the storm and juggling the familiar fall-storm question “Do I stay or do I go?!”  With the evacuation called and school cancelled, Gary and Kitty Mitchell decided to head to Burlington, NC for a visit with Gary’s parents.  Fiddler Dave, Amy Howard, their son Lachlan, and friend, Jennifer Kidwell, travelled to Carrboro, NC for a small vacation, while Marcy Brenner and Lou Castro remained on Ocracoke Island to hold down the fort. 

Waiting for the ferry

Might as well have a picnic

Philip Howard is staying behind. . . better leave him some extra food!

The storm started coming through Ocracoke on Friday, August 26.  All throughout Saturday and into the night, residents pondered two questions . . . where did the flood waters go and were they returning?  Late into the evening, reports began to surface from Manteo and the mainland about high waters, but as the storm passed the expected backlash of this storm surge never came back to Ocracoke.  

Fiddler Dave and Lachlan attended a production of Paperhand Puppet Intervention in Chapel Hill

At the Carrboro Farmer's Market

Here is a brief Marcy storm report.

Our story is how many days does it take to move everything up and in for wind and high water, including dozens of instruments?!  And how many notes can Lou get in on the electric guitar before the power goes out again?  I wondered if any of the stitches I sewed on my quilt by lantern light would come out straight.  And the beauty of a twin cedar tree twirling around in the yard like a “weeble” wobbling and not falling down.

Mostly, I feel grateful.  And worried about our friends who took the brunt of Irene’s strength.

On Hatteras Island, Sunday morning light brought a much different story.  Hurricane Irene had cut four channels through the island severing power and traffic south of the S curves in Rondanthe. 

http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20110828/articles/110829710&tc=yahoo

Fortunately for Ocracoke, there is an island generator that can provide power for permanent residents.  As the equipment cannot handle a visitor population, it wasn’t until a week later that property owners and then visitors were allowed to return. 

Back to the olden days before electricity!

Although life is gradually returning to our small island, everyone relies on the summer and fall tourist trade to make it through the long winters.  With day-trippers cut out from Hatteras direction, the season remains somewhat uncertain.  Rumors abound that NC DOT will have road repairs by the third week of September, but there are so many variables in the repair involving weather and the ocean that there can be few guarantees.

Returning on the Swan Quarter Ferry with some pretty cool trucks!

            In the end as we keep Hatteras Islanders and friends from Down East all the way up the coast into Vermont in our thoughts, we can be thankful that hurricane Irene’s physical effects on Ocracoke were minimal.

Many treasures are washing up after the storm.

And more unusual visitors

 

For now, spread the word.  Ocracoke is fine and open for the fall season!

Not many visitors.  Time to have a Traditional Ocracoke Squaredance!

 

Molasses Creek records Stephen Foster’s “Hard Times Come Again No More”

Original sheet music for Stephen Foster's "Hard Times Come Again No More"

Marcy and Lou in at Soundside Studios

With all of the storm drama affecting the coast, we couldn’t help but think of Stephen Foster’s heartfelt song “Hard Times.”  Last week we went into the studio and recorded a version to share with all our friends.  Listen to it by visiting the Molasses Creek homepage at www.molassescreek.com.  The lyrics are below.  You can also download it from our site.  Feel free to share it with friends.

Renew Yourself at Ocracoke Island’s “Ocrafolk School,” October 23-28, 2011!

Every year, travelers retreat to the pristine beaches of the Pearl of the Outer Banks, Ocracoke Island, NC for fun, relaxation, and renewal.  But come the last week of October there is yet another great reason to journey to this remote destination.  The Ocrafolk School!  

This fall retreat for grownups is accepting registrations for its fifth year of week-long workshops and activities for adults. Classes with space still available are "Island Cooking" w/chef Debbie Wells,  "The Ocracoke Sampler" w/local historian Philip Howard, Capt. Rob Temple and Ranger Dave Frum, "English Paper Piecing (hand pieced quilting)" w/Debbie Block , and "Exploring Ocracoke Music" w/Gary Mitchell of the band Molasses Creek. This year's other offering, "Island Photography" with Ann Ehringhaus, is full and currently taking registrations on a waiting-list-only basis. All classes are limited to 6-8 students, and the registration deadline is Oct. 3.

            Debbie Wells is a local chef of renown, originator of Ocracoke's popular "Back Porch Restaurant" (featured in Saveur, Gourmet, Bon Appetite, The New York Times, and the Washington Post). Her "Island Cooking" class will emphasize local seafood, other meats, some old-time Ocracoke specialties, vegetables, 'Mexican day' with guest chef Eduardo and elegant desserts, and will include a visit to the local fish house and a clamming trip. 

            "English Paper Piecing" is an old method of hand piecing quilts. By basting fabric onto pre-cut pieces of heavy paper and joining the pieces together with a simple hand stitch you can create a quilt top of any size or design. After learning the basic method from Debbie Block, each participant will work on a design of their choosing using squares, diamond, triangle and/or hexagon shaped pieces.  No experience necessary but a love of fabric, color and quilts will help you to enjoy this class.

            Ocracoke Island is known for having quite a vibrant music scene. In the "Exploring Ocracoke Music" class, students will spend the week 'behind the scenes' with Gary Mitchell of the Ocracoke band Molasses Creek (award winners from A Prairie Home Companion) exploring and visiting the musicians, rehearsals, recording studios, history, venues and local radio that make it all happen. No musical experience is necessary, but certainly welcome.

             Philip Howard, eighth generation islander and descendent of the quartermaster on Blackbeard's ship, joins Capt. Rob Temple and ranger Dave Frum to bring alive Ocracoke history in the "Ocracoke Sampler" class. Students will hear island stories, see fifty-year-old Ocracoke home movies, be guided through ancient family cemeteries, read original Life Saving Service shipwreck logs, sail on the schooner Windfall 2, sing sea-chanteys, listen to traditional ghost tales, tour a preserved maritime forest, and much more.

            The school, which began in 2007, is held yearly the last full week of October and includes workshops exploring island history, culture, food, art, music and crafts through hands-on activities. In addition to the classes, students participate in group meals, music and other events throughout the course of the week. The Ocrafolk School is sponsored by the private non-profit "Ocracoke Alive".

For more information,  email gary@ocrafolkschool.org, call 252-928-4280 or visit www.ocrafolkschool.org.