Friday, February 20, 2009

George W. Truitt, Jr./ Ocracoke Fish House

On February 20, 1928 the four-masted schooner, George W. Truitt, Jr, carrying over 600,000 feet of lumber, en route from South Carolina to New York City, encountered a 40 mph gale off Cape Hatteras and ran aground at Ocracoke. The captain and all seven crew members were rescued by breeches buoy, "saved by the heroic efforts of the coast guardsmen from Ocracoke, Hatteras Inlet and Creed's Hill stations" as Captain H.D. Goodwin of the Fort Macon Station expressed it.

Today the sky is clear and the wind only about 10 mph, with temperatures expected in the low to mid 40s by midday. Coastal schooners are a thing of the past, and shipwrecks thankfully infrequent. But water and weather continue to shape life on Ocracoke and the Outer Banks. As I write major renovations are being done on Ocracoke's fish house, thanks to the efforts of many local individuals and a major grant from the Golden Leaf Foundation. You can read more on the UNCTW web site: http://www.unctv.org/ncnow/ncrising/ocracoke.html

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter provides more information about the majestic live oaks on Ocracoke Island. You can read it here.

To read about Philip's new book, Digging up Uncle Evans, History, Ghost Tales, & Stories from Ocracoke Island, please click here.

7 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:43 PM

    According to information available on the internet-- A grant from the Golden leaf Foundation to the Ocracoke Foundation (Robin Payne) totaled $407,710. If the ocracoke Foundation is a non profit organization why is their web site a dot. com(mercial) rather than dot.org(ganization) Also, according to the link posted here, the Waterman group needed $325,00 for a lease $175,000 for renovations and $36,000 for expenses to keep five or six guys fishing?? I am puzzeled to say the least. Also in the story the NC legislature was considerding funding $500,000 toward the project. Also who is the "commercial" fisherman who owns the lease that the Waterman a nonprofit group is leasing the Fish house from?? if the Waterman don't own the building why are they paying for the renovations??

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  2. Anonymous2:55 PM

    OWWA has a web site under construction -- when will they start to implement their long term goals of employment diversity, funding for youth programs, and cultural preservation through education and research. Fish House Economics 101 -- the US dept of Agriculture gave them $100,000 grant, hyde County ponied up a bridge loan to cover the cost to purchase the Fish House from WHO ?? the owner of the Fish House has gone nameless in countless accounts of this project!! How many Hundreds of thousands of dollars was spent to secure financial security for the next 70 years for. Where is the transparency in this Non profit organization if they are asking for donations they need to be accountable to the public and report their administrative costs . Any Non profit should keep their administrative costs below 25 per cent of the budget. Pleas this sounds Fishy enough already

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  3. Anonymous4:05 PM

    My goodness, is sounds like the stage has been set for the Ocracoke Fish House to rehearse an encore performance this summer.

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  4. Anonymous5:56 PM

    Wow. You all did not need Obama for this economic stimulus package.!!!! I sure HOPE the wisdom and ingenuity behind this coupe is shared with others on your depressed economic zone. Have rental rates dropped like house prices throughout the country?? Follow the money.

    Good luck tourists on your ferry ride pack plenty of ice!!

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  5. Anonymous6:59 AM

    Is it true the Ocacoke Island Fish House is on Twitter?

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  6. Twitter? I don't know. Frankly, I don't even know what Twitter is. I'm really a Luddite-wannabe even though I have embraced the computer and the internet. But I don't want to get any more involved. Maybe our readers can answer your question.

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  7. Anonymous8:15 AM

    It would be nice if the Fish House was on Twitter-- because it is a communication tool -- a posting on Twitter is an answer to the standing Question "What are you doing?" and some would like to know what are they doing with all that MONEY!! OBAMA Twitters --Congress was Twittering during his most recent address to Congress. I think that was rude they should have been listening. . Maybe a photographer would have taken a picture of one of them "Listening" and then someone could have turned that into a poster.


    I hope people on Ocracoke try to keep up with what is happening in the western US/Mainland .

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