Saturday, January 01, 2011

Happy New Year!

'It was the first of January, in the new year, '48..." Thus begins one of the Outer Banks' best loved songs, the ballad of the "Charlie Mason Pogie Boat" which wrecked on Ocracoke's beach in 1948.

Written by Charles Stowe, this song was included in the 1977 release of an album of Outer Banks music, "Between the Sound and the Sea, Music of the North Carolina Outer Banks."

You can read more about this and other Outer Banks songs (and even listen to the first few verses) on the Smithsonian's Folkways web site: http://www.folkways.si.edu/TrackDetails.aspx?itemid=9498. My father, Lawton Howard even has a mandolin medley on the album.

Happy New Year to all of our readers...and welcome back for more news and stories about Ocracoke Island.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is a history of the early twentieth century Doxsee Clam Factory in Ocracoke village. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news112110.htm

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:16 AM

    Nice to have you back. Looking forward to many more interesting stories for 2011. I WISH YOU & ALL YOUR LOVED ONES NOTHING BUT THE BEST FOR THE NEW YEAR .

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  2. Anonymous6:32 PM

    One of my favorite tunes. You will also find a nice version of "The Charlie Mason Pogie Boat" by Martin Garrish on the CD "Ocrafolk Sampler Volume II."

    Available for sale at finer establishments on the island.

    No, I am not an employee.

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  3. Anonymous8:56 PM

    Philip, welcome back and all the best for 2011. I just learned of the difficult situation faced by the Island Inn last October and was wondering what the latest might be.

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  4. Anonymous6:30 AM

    There have been two articles written on the subject by Pat Garber for the Island Free Press. You can find them at this website: http://islandfreepress.org/CatLocalNews.html .

    Anyone out there got a million dollars to spare?

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  5. Anonymous8:27 AM

    I would like to think that our meeting after the Christmas Eve service at the Methodist Church was your inspiration for this blog subject. I can again confirm to those who don't believe me, my name is forever in song.

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  6. I am reluctant to publish anything about the Island Inn simply because I have no official or reliable information, however, I have been told that the Inn continues to be in the family of the current owners. I am hopeful that it will remain a respected Ocracoke inn for many years. All indicators point that way.

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