Joan Collins, director of outreach and education with the Pea Island Preservation Society Inc., relates how she happened to meet Johnnie Van Willis of Marshallberg and the discovery of what their two families have in common.
People
First document to declare independence celebrated in Halifax
The first official action taken toward Independence by any colony was commemorated this past weekend with numerous dignitaries and more than 300 turning out for “Halifax Resolves Days.”
Ocracoke decoy festival to highlight Eddie O’Neal’s carvings
Lifelong waterman and islander Eddie O’Neal is the featured carver for this year’s Ocracoke Island Waterfowl Festival Friday and Saturday in the Ocracoke School gym.
The day Mrs. N.F. Harper sang ‘Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior’
Historian David Cecelski reflects on the interviews from the oral history project, “Preserving the African American Experience in Pamlico County, North Carolina,” which he calls “an invaluable historical record of life on the North Carolina coast throughout the 20th century.”
‘Black Church Crawl’ to be immersive, historic experience
The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridors’ North Carolina Summit is offering an immersive tour highlighting the history of Black churches in Brunswick and New Hanover counties.
Our Coast: At the Whales, Whaling Symposium in Beaufort
Historian and author David Cecelski writes about the talk he gave earlier this month on bottlenose dolphin fishery at Hatteras Island during the annual Whale and Whaling Symposium in Beaufort.
1,000 pounds of flounder, deep roots grew ‘epic’ family legacy
For the Rose sisters in Beaufort, the “calling” of the family fish house and seafood restaurant means long hours, scars on their hands and a defiant refusal to let the commercial fishing way of life slip away.
Saved from demolition, Rosenwald School still needs help
The National Register of Historic Places-listed structure was described in 2016 as the only graded public school that, from the 1920s-1950s, served both local African American and Native American students in the Pleasant Plains community.
Moses Grandy’s eventual freedom came at great cost
Second of two parts: Moses Grandy, born enslaved in Camden County, made three attempts to purchase his freedom, and he secured his family’s freedom, too.
Enslaved in Camden County, Moses Grandy knew its cruelty
A highway marker erected last fall honors Moses Grandy of Camden County, whose life story helped elevate understanding of the institution’s brutality and increase calls for its abolition.
Former Sea Grant Director BJ Copeland leaves coastal legacy
Dr. B.J. Copeland, 89, who died Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, influenced coastal science and management in the state for decades.
‘Smell of money’: Menhaden Chanteymen’s music still echoes
The last surviving member of the Menhaden Chanteymen of Beaufort’s former industry has died, but while “Fishtowne’s” processing plant and its associated aroma are in the past, the once-proud laborers’ work songs live on.
Illustrated guidebook for Dismal Swamp’s snakes gets update
First published in 1992, “An Introduction to Snakes of the Dismal Swamp Region of North Carolina and Virginia,” has been revised with minor updates on species and taxonomy.
Jean Beasley, passionate sea turtle protector, dies at 90
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.
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.
