Ocracoke Bomb Scare

I'll bet that got your attention. And it's true. Well, actually it was a hand grenade. Or at least that's the story I heard. Here's what's going around the village -- last night, around 7 o'clock the sheriff's deputies got word that workers discovered a hand grenade in the attic of a house they were remodeling. Anyone on the island who knew anything about grenades said, "Call the bomb squad from Cherry Point." No argument from me on that one.

As you may know, Ocracoke is a long way from Cherry Point. The bomb squad missed the Cedar Island ferry, so they "drove around" (the DOT ran a special Hatteras Inlet ferry for them about 2 o'clock in the morning).

In the meanwhile the road by the Coffee Company was cordoned off for hours, and nearby residents were evacuated. Must have been quite a scene.

The bomb squad put the grenade in a special protected box and in a matter of minutes the threat was diffused, and the road was reopened in the middle of the night.

I've heard the grenade was at least 45 years old,and I'm guessing it was from World War II. Seems to me like an odd thing to store in your attic for 60 years. And who knows how many children might have been rummaging around in boxes up there. Let that be a lesson for you all. Keep your WWII grenades locked up in a safe place!

I can't vouch for all of the above details, but I did see the cop cars in that vicinity last night when I rode my bike by just after 7 o'clock.

So another exciting adventure ends safely on Ocracoke Island! Keep reading our Ocracoke Journal for all the late-breaking island news.

(I related this whole tale to Lou Ann last night, and, not to be outdone, she told me about the lead story in her local newspaper yesterday -- some miscreant, in the dark of night, has been letting the air out of her town's blow-up santas! At least we don't have that threat to worry about. Not yet, at least.)

This month's Ocracoke Newsletter is Jamie Tunnell's story about Dory Fishing on Ocracoke's Beach. Click on the link to read it.