Ocreecoke, Ahcracoke, Ocracoke

"Ocreecoke, sir; we've arrived at Ocreecoke!"

I can still hear Danny Garrish reciting that line in the original production of A Tale of Blackbeard, a musical written by Julia Howard in the 1970s, and performed for a number of summers on the island (in the old school recreation hall [now the Topless Oyster Restaurant], and on the porch of the Community Store). Danny portrayed the cook aboard Blackbeard's ship, and stole the show when he sang "Ocracoke Cutie."

It is not unusual to hear native islanders talk about "Ocreecoke" (the accent is always on the first syllable, a long "O," of course). I've never heard our beloved island called "Ahcracoke," but that's how it's pronounced on the following web site (the page may not load properly in Firefox, but it will in IE):

http://www.pronouncehow.com/english/ocracoke_pronunciation

As Captain Rob said (tongue in cheek, of course), "Did you realize we've all been mispronouncing 'Ocracoke'????"

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of the unique "Ocracoke Greeting." You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news022113.htm.