The Mighty Atom

More than 50 years ago, when I was a teenager, I enjoyed frequenting fairs and flea markets. One pitchman that always captured my attention was "The Mighty Atom" (Joe Greenstein [1893-1977]).

In the twilight of his career, the strongman continued to demonstrate his remarkable talents. He was in his late 60s and still able to drive a twenty penny nail (held in the palm of his hand, and cushioned only by a folded up handkerchief) through a 2" plank. He also bent horseshoes and steel rods, but only after lecturing the crowd about fitness and healthful eating habits.

Afterwards he sold bottles of his special liniment and bars of his hand-made soap. Atom's Supreme Soap was made from "lemon, coconut oil, & castile," and billed as "A Perfect Skin Cleanser."

For my birthday Amy gifted me with Ed Spielman's out-of-print book, The Mighty Atom, The Life and Times of Joseph L. Greenstein. It is a fascinating read.

Here is a YouTube video of The Mighty Atom in action (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7jQ-KL2Z_o):


In the spirit of Joseph Greenstein, Village Craftsmen has for sale Ocracoke Island's very own Andromeda Soaps, "dedicated to offering an alternative to the mass produced unnatural items that line our grocery aisles."

Click on the photo to see Village Craftsmen's selection of Andromeda Soaps.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of the recent skirmishes islanders have had with North Carolina legislatures over the issue of ferry tolls...and a 1955 newspaper editorial advocating free, state-operated ferries across Hatteras Inlet. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news082113.htm.

Portsmouth

I have written about Portsmouth Island a number of times. It is a magical place, suspended in time. Several days ago our local on-line "newspaper," the Ocracoke Current, published an article by John Soltes that documents his recent visit to Portsmouth.

Portsmouth Scene by Jim Fineman

Henry Pigott's House by Philip Howard

You can read the Current article here: http://www.ocracokecurrent.com/70662

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of the recent skirmishes islanders have had with North Carolina legislatures over the issue of ferry tolls...and a 1955 newspaper editorial advocating free, state-operated ferries across Hatteras Inlet. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news082113.htm.

Vs and Ws

Many years ago John McWilliams came to Ocracoke to teach school. McWilliams was a Scotsman who had been living in Washington, North Carolina. His speech was distinctive. In particular, he pronounced his "Vs" as if they were "Ws." Island children soon took to imitating him.

A half century ago it was not unusual to still hear teenagers talking about "willages in Wirginia." You might even hear remnants of this permutation occasionally today.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of the recent skirmishes islanders have had with North Carolina legislatures over the issue of ferry tolls...and a 1955 newspaper editorial advocating free, state-operated ferries across Hatteras Inlet. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news082113.htm.

Deviled Clams

In October of 2011 I posted a few paragraphs about Ocracoke Island recipes. A couple of days ago I made another batch of deviled clams.

I had frozen several bags of clams that I had harvested this summer. Partially frozen clams are easy to open, especially with my dad's homemade clam opener (pictured below, in the upper right hand corner under my knife).

Here is a typical island Deviled Clams Recipe, by Mrs. Hilda Scarborough [my mother's & my notes in brackets]:

24 clams -- large -- ground [about 2 cups of clams, with juice]
2 cups bread cubes (crust removed) [1/2 cup bread crumbs...I used rolled oats because Amy is gluten intolerant]
1/2 cup butter [3 tbsp butter]
1 small onion
1 tbsp [1 tsp] Worcestershire Sauce
1 tbsp chopped parsley
2 [1] eggs -- slightly beaten
1 cup rich milk or light cream [no milk unless it is too thick]
[1/4 tsp mustard]
[a little salt, pepper, & paprika {my mother was Hungarian!}]
[celery & green pepper]

Melt butter in heavy frying pan, saute onion till soft. Remove from fire. Add clams, bread cubes and W. sauce, dash pepper, add eggs. Return to fire (medium, not too hot). Gradually add milk. It may not take all of it as you want it fairly thick. Keep stirring till cooked through.

Put in buttered shells or casserole. Sprinkle with fine bread crumbs and dot with butter. Put in fairly hot oven and brown (about 375 degrees) [bake at 350 degrees until brown].

Here is a photo of several baked deviled clams. They are good some! 
















Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of the recent skirmishes islanders have had with North Carolina legislatures over the issue of ferry tolls...and a 1955 newspaper editorial advocating free, state-operated ferries across Hatteras Inlet. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news082113.htm.

Dipping Vats

Years ago horses, cattle, sheep and goats wandered on Ocracoke Island as on an open range. There were at least two dipping vats filled with an insecticide laced liquid into which islanders herded their livestock to purge them of parasites. One vat was located under an oak tree between the schoolhouse and the health center. Another was behind the Wahab Village Hotel (now Blackbeard's Lodge).

The following account is from the National Park Service web site:  http://www.nps.gov/ethnography/research/docs/caha_ethno_v2.pdf.

Bankers who still had sheep in the 1950s had to get rid of them or pen them when the highway was built.

When the State required two dipping vats to be built and utilized, Ocracokers had difficulty getting some of their wilder stock to cooperate. “One or two horses were gored that was trying to pen them. Several men were run up trees.” Individual cattle could be identified by brands or marks notched in their ear when the calf was born. If a stockman were found to have undipped livestock, they had to appear in court. “That was an expensive thing, because they had to go by boat to Swan Quarter.”

“I recall my father making two trips, because he had not dipped his cattle. The judge said if you can’t dip them, kill them. So, he and others went down with rifles and shotguns. They were just slaughtered, the whole herd was killed out. I’m talking about the ones that was up on the north end, the wild ones never did come up in the village.”

A man recalled helping burying the freshly shot cattle when he was a boy. One of the men shooting the cattle was a Coast Guardsman with a 30-30 rifle. “They thought they killed all of them. We happened to look way down on the point and we saw one standing near the sound a mile down there. He killed it with the first shot.”

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of the recent skirmishes islanders have had with North Carolina legislatures over the issue of ferry tolls...and a 1955 newspaper editorial advocating free, state-operated ferries across Hatteras Inlet. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news082113.htm.

Valentine Wade

In 1756 Valentine Wade was one of the first six people to purchase a half acre lot on Portsmouth Island. Three years previously, the North Carolina Colonial Assembly had passed a bill "appointing and laying out a Town on Core Banks, near Ocacock [Ocracoke] Inlet, in Carteret County."

According to Kenneth Burke in his book, The History of Portsmouth, North Carolina From Its Founding in 1753 to Its Evacuation in the Face of Federal Forces in 1861, Wade became Portsmouth's Justice of the Peace.

Valentine Wade also ran a tavern. In 1759 affidavits were presented to the Council accusing Wade of permitting and encouraging "disorderly persons to dance and play at cards and dice in his house upon the Lord's Day."

Burke says that "Wade was ordered to appear before the Council and explain his conduct in view of his official position," but he does not report on the outcome of the appearance.

Interesting. I wonder what happened. 

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of the recent skirmishes islanders have had with North Carolina legislatures over the issue of ferry tolls...and a 1955 newspaper editorial advocating free, state-operated ferries across Hatteras Inlet. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news082113.htm.

Sunset Video

My grandson, Eakin Howard, made the following video this summer from the deck of the Wilma Lee. Enjoy.



Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of the recent skirmishes islanders have had with North Carolina legislatures over the issue of ferry tolls...and a 1955 newspaper editorial advocating free, state-operated ferries across Hatteras Inlet. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news082113.htm.

Ocracoke Light

Lou Ann volunteered to periodically open the base of the Ocracoke Lighthouse again this summer for the benefit of island visitors.

To prepare for the inevitable questions, Lou Ann read as much about the lighthouse as she could. While she was re-reading Ellen Marie Fulcher Cloud's book, The Ocracoke Lighthouse, she came across this statement by [John] Blount (1752-1833): "At the entrance, on Ocracoke Island, a lighthouse is erected, exhibiting a revolving light, which you leave on your starboard hand entering the inlet. The time of each revolution is two minutes. It is elevated 75 feet above the water."

Lou Ann had never heard that the Ocracoke beacon was once a revolving light. Nor had I.

A few minutes on the Internet yielded this information from "Bulletins and Other State Intelligence for the Year 1854" published in the London Gazette in 1855:

"At the same time [December, 1853] the present revolving light at Ocracoke, about 23 1/2 nautical miles to the southward and westward of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, will be changed to a --

Fixed White Light,

with a focal plane 75 feet above the level of the sea....

By order of the Lighthouse Board,
THORTON A. JENKINS, Secretary

Treasury Department,
Office Lighthouse Board,
December 1, 1853"

As they say, you can learn something new every day. 

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of the recent skirmishes islanders have had with North Carolina legislatures over the issue of ferry tolls...and a 1955 newspaper editorial advocating free, state-operated ferries across Hatteras Inlet. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news082113.htm.

Swimming in the Ear

I recently learned another old-time island expression -- swimming in the ear. It means dizziness.

We can add this term to several other Ocracoke words about health and illness: dose, doasted, quamished, zeezes, quinsy, rising, scours, sprangles, and Patsy Lab.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of the recent skirmishes islanders have had with North Carolina legislatures over the issue of ferry tolls...and a 1955 newspaper editorial advocating free, state-operated ferries across Hatteras Inlet. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news082113.htm.

Lou Ann at the Fringe

Many of our readers had an opportunity this summer to hear Lou Ann's performance of her original piece "A Baptist Girl's Guide to Sex, Love, and Happiness."

From Friday, August 16 to Sunday, August 25 Lou Ann is sharing this performance at the Indianapolis Fringe Festival.

Three early reviews have all awarded Lou Ann 4 star ratings. This is some of what they had to say:

• "I could have listened to her for hours." (http://www.nuvo.net/indianapolis/2013-indyfringe-festival-review-guide/Content?oid=2660713&storyPage=9#.UhTWGW3XpQ1)
• "Touching, personal stories from every stage of life come to life when shared by expert storyteller Lou Ann Homan." (http://missionintrigueindy.com/a-baptist-girls-guide-to-sex-love-and-happiness-fringe13/)
• "Honestly, I would listen to [Lou Ann] read the phone book." (http://www.indyfringetalk.org/2013/08/a-baptist-girls-guide-to-sex-love-and-happiness-review/)

If you are in the Indianapolis area, stop by and attend one of her performances. Here is the schedule and more information:  http://indyfringe.org/fringe13/baptist-girls-guide-sex-love-and-happiness.

Ferry Tolls

Readers who follow North Carolina news are aware that Ocracoke residents and visitors have been fighting to prevent increases to ferry tolls in the state. This month's Ocracoke Newsletter is an update on the current state of affairs re. ferry tolls, and a reprint of a 1950s editorial advocating that the state take over operation of the Hatteras Inlet ferries...and that they be made free to the traveling public.

You can read our latest Newsletter here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news082113.htm.

Cunjered

To be "cunjered" on Ocracoke Island is to be assailed by multiple calamities....when one thing after another goes wrong. This term almost certainly derives from slave culture, where it was believed, for instance, that a well could be "cunjured" by throwing graveyard dirt into it.

"Cunjured," of course, is a corruption of "conjured" meaning "to summon (a devil or spirit) by magical or supernatural power." 

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of Infant & Childhood Mortality on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072113.htm.

Coins

Cattle, sheep, goats, and horses grazed on Ocracoke Island in the late 1800s. Their constant foraging led to "the time of the blowing sand." Not only were houses and outbuildings threatened by the blowing sand (sand would sometimes pile up around windows and doors, making it impossible to open them), but a number of graves were uncovered at the edge of the village.

I have heard stories of boys looking for coins (large pennies) in the vicinity of old cemeteries. The coins had been placed over the eyes of corpses. After the wooden casket deteriorated, and the sand blew away from the graves, the coins were sometimes left exposed.

Almost all of the island's livestock was removed to the mainland in the 1950s, leaving only a remnant herd of Outer Banks ponies. Vegetation has reclaimed most of the denuded areas of the island. The dead can once again rest in peace...and old coins are left buried with them.

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of Infant & Childhood Mortality on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072113.htm.

Shoes in the Wall

"One of the more unusual customs I’ve run across is the placing of worn shoes in the walls of buildings when they are constructed.... The Romans likely brought the custom to Britain....

"In Britain, worn shoes have been discovered walled up over windows, doors, or in chimneys, but also in staircases and under floorboards....

"Shoes are a symbol of good luck.... To put them near windows and doors indicates they were meant to prevent evil from coming inside.

"The notion of shoes as protectors dates to the 14th century when John Schorn, rector of North Marston, Buckinghamshire is purported to have cast the devil into a boot."

From http://joannawaugh.blogspot.com/2010/05/shoes-in-wall.html

Several times cousin Blanche has told me about remodeling that was done to an island home many years ago. They were removing plaster from the old Job Wahab home (located where Sam Jones' "homeplace" is today -- on Silver Lake Drive, on the western shore of Silver Lake harbor) when they discovered a pair of child's leather boots inside the wall.

This is just one more indication of the influence of British folklore on Ocracoke Island. 

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of Infant & Childhood Mortality on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072113.htm.

Mistaken Identity

After I posted on yesterday's blog I was reminded of Sam Tolson, the Portsmouth Island native who was arrested in Elizabeth City because authorities mistook him for John Wilkes Booth.

Sam Tolson
http://www.nps.gov/calo/historyculture/tolson.htm

I have mentioned Sam Tolson in several posts in this blog. You can read them all here:
http://villagecraftsmen.blogspot.com/search?q=Sam+Tolson

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of Infant & Childhood Mortality on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072113.htm.

Whitey or Flip?

Which one of these characters is James "Whitey" Bulger, former organized crime figure from Boston charged with racketeering, murder, conspiracy to commit money laundering, extortion, & narcotics...and which one is Philip "Flip" Howard, island historian, square dance caller, storyteller, and owner of Village Craftsmen?

Whitey or Flip?

Whitey or Flip?

Or, are they the same person, as many islanders believe...a "chameleon" and fugitive from the law now hiding out on a remote island? You be the judge!

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of Infant & Childhood Mortality on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072113.htm.

Garden Spider

Not long ago I stepped onto my front porch and was confronted by a large spider. The black and gold garden spider (Argiope Aurantia) had built its distinctive web attached to a porch post. The thick zigzag down the center of the web is known as a stabilimentum. Apparently, even biologists are unsure of its function.

The next day the spider was gone. Too bad...he (or she) was quite a decoration.

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of Infant & Childhood Mortality on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072113.htm.

Storm

Click on the link below to see two photos of an impressive thunderstorm at Ocracoke Inlet yesterday.

http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-outdoor-photos/530287-thunderstorm-ocracoke-nc.html

We had rain, thunder, and lightning on and off all day, especially after dark. It was awe-inspiring...and humbling.

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of Infant & Childhood Mortality on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072113.htm.

Star

In May I published an article about my Uncle Marvin (Marvin Wyche Howard -- A Life Well Lived). I wrote the following paragraph about his service In WWII:

"The United States entered World War II December 8, 1942. In 1943 Marvin was commissioned Major in the Army and took command of the dredge Chester Harding. The Harding and several other sea-going hopper dredges were fitted with 3-inch deck guns and 20-millimeter antiaircraft guns, and sent to Europe. Marvin, promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, was designated commodore (a senior U.S. military captain who commanded squadrons of more than one vessel). He was the first Army officer to become commodore of a fleet of merchant vessels, in this case four dredges that crossed the Atlantic."

A few days ago my cousin Dallie showed me the star (from the pennant that flew on his vessel) that Uncle Marvin brought home after the war.

Hand written on the star are these words: "US DREDGE Chester Harding Homeward Bound Pennant 1945 Commanding Officer M.W. Howard, Ocracoke, N.C."

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of Infant & Childhood Mortality on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072113.htm.

Meteor Shower

My alarm went off at 3 o'clock this morning. I staggered down stairs and stepped outside. I was hoping to spend an hour lying in my front yard scanning the heavens for meteors.

No such luck...the grass was wet, and the stars were obscured by clouds. Lightening flashed in the sky.

Last night and tonight are the prime times to view the Perseid meteor shower. Shooting stars will be visible about once a minute if the sky is dark and clear.

If you missed the cosmic display last night, as I did, you have one more optimal opportunity late tonight or early tomorrow morning before dawn.

To read more about the Perseid Meteor Shower follow this link:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/08/09/perseid_meteor_shower_2013_catch_the_falling_stars.html

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of Infant & Childhood Mortality on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072113.htm.

Ocracoke Portrait

"People think they're coming to the end of the world, and they're coming to the center of it, they just don't know." -- from Ocracoke Portrait, by Ann Ehringhaus.

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of Infant & Childhood Mortality on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072113.htm.

Bonfire

Last month a group of friends gathered on the beach to watch the sunset, marvel at the nearly full moon as it danced with the clouds, and enjoy toasted marshmallows.

Lou Ann snapped this photo with my camera. You can see at least a dozen marshmallows on the ends of metal skewers.

A few of them made it into "s'mores." 

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of Infant & Childhood Mortality on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072113.htm.

William Howard

In the summer of 1718 William Howard, one time quartermaster on Blackbeard's flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, was arrested in Virginia as a "vagrant seaman."

Reflecting his (and Blackbeard's) cozy relationship with North Carolina Governor Charles Eden, Eden's "very dear friend" John Holloway, "one of the chief lawyers" of Virginia, was retained to defend William Howard. 

Accused of "not having the Fear of God before his Eyes nor Regarding the Allegiancy due to his Majesty nor the Just Obedience he Ow'd to the Laws of the Land," and associating himself "with one Edward Tach and other Wicked and desolute Persons" Howard was found guilty of "Pyracy and Robbery committed by him on the High Seas" and sentenced to be hanged by the neck.

Fortunately for William Howard (and his Ocracoke descendants!) the King's "Act of Grace" arrived in the Virginia Governor's office the night before Howard's scheduled execution, and he was released.

Whew!

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of Infant & Childhood Mortality on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072113.htm.

San Ciriaco

From a personal letter written in August, 1899, immediately after the powerful San Ciriaco hurricane pummeled Ocracoke Island with winds of 120 mph:

"As darkness came on, the wind and rain increased. We couldn't see a thing, and everything in the house except babies were perfectly quiet. Poor little Minnie was coiled on a corner of the bed expecting to be washed away. Mrs. Hooker read a chapter in the Bible, then Miss G. Styron prayed, then Mrs. Hooker. The house was rocking and water was sloshing just like a boat...The water was rising then very fast... from eight until ten o'clock nobody but the ones that were there could realize how awful it was."

Hurricane San Ciriaco lasted for 28 days (the longest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded), killed nearly 3,500 people in Puerto Rico, and had the highest Accumulated Cyclone Energy in history.

Take a look at the following link (if you scroll down the page you can locate coordinates close to Ocracoke's which are Latitude: 35-06'53'' N &
Longitude: 075-58'52'' W) :  

http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/at18993.asp?MR=1

No one on Ocracoke Island died in this storm, although two men on a sailing vessel were injured and listed in critical condition when the storm abated.

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of Infant & Childhood Mortality on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072113.htm.

National Lighthouse Day

Today is National Lighthouse Day. In celebration, the National Park Service is offering a 30 minute ranger talk at the Ocracoke Lighthouse, today at 6 pm.

The base of the lighthouse will be open following the program.

As most of our readers know, parking is very limited. The NPS requests that you walk or bike.

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of Infant & Childhood Mortality on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072113.htm.

Sunrise

This morning I just want to share this "sunrise from Pamlico Sound" photo I took about a week ago.

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of Infant & Childhood Mortality on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072113.htm.

"Baptist" Girls?

This past Friday and Saturday nights Lou Ann, Sundae, and Marcy delighted enthusiastic audiences with story and song. Lou Ann's performance of her original piece, "A Baptist Girl's Guide to Love and Happiness" resonated with all of the ladies...and entertained the men, too.

Sundae, Lou Ann, & Marcy

After their stellar performance the stars treated their partners to pizza from the wood-fired oven at Dajio's.

Ocracoke Island is brimming with talent. Whenever you are on the island be sure to check the bulletin board at the Post Office for current announcements of coming events.

(The lovely flowers are from Chester at Annabelle's Florist on the Back Road.)

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of Infant & Childhood Mortality on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072113.htm.

Marsh

When many people think of Ocracoke they think only of our beautiful beaches. Of course, there is much more to this island. In addition to our award-winning Atlantic coast beach we have miles and miles of pristine sound side shoreline with marshes and shallow water teeming with life. This view is of Pamlico Sound, and was taken from the Hammock Hills Nature Trail.

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of Infant & Childhood Mortality on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072113.htm.

Sea Turtles

The National Park Service is inviting visitors to attend sea turtle nest excavations!

Baby Sea Turtle Heading to the Ocean

A park ranger will be on hand to answer questions while biologists uncover the nest. To find out when and where call: 252-475-9629.

Notice usually occurs one day in advance, so check this number often!

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of Infant & Childhood Mortality on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072113.htm.

Happy Birthday Philip!

Good Morning to all of you readers!

I wanted to let you know that today is Philip's birthday. I haven't read his blog for today, but it might be about fishing or the hurricane of 1899! I am sure he did not announce his birthday.  It is also the celebration of Lachlan's birthday as well!

So, for today, let's celebrate Philip and the gifts he brings to all of us.

Happy Birthday Philip!

Hurricane Alex

Nine years ago on this day Tropical Storm Alex was rapidly intensifying. By the next day, August 3, Alex had reached Category 2 status. When the western eye wall passed over Ocracoke it brought wind gusts of over 100 mph, soundside flooding that inundated hundreds of automobiles, and significant beach erosion.

I thought my daughter Amy and her husband David might name their son, born August 2, 2004, Alex, but they were adamant. They would name him Lachlan. In spite of the damage from the storm, August 2, is an extra special day for us because Lachlan was born exactly 60 years after I was. (It makes it easy for me to remember how old I am!)

Happy Birthday Lachlan!

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of Infant & Childhood Mortality on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072113.htm.

Trained Bear

I have heard reports that a traveling entertainer came to Ocracoke many years ago (sometime in the 19th century) with a trained bear. Apparently the bear performed circus-type tricks and was a highly popular amusement.

I was reminded of the bear when I read this passage about Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor from 1220-1250:

"Frederick did everything on a grand scale. Popularly known as Stupor mundi (wonder of the world), the young king of Germany, Italy, Sicily, and Burgundy always traveled with a large entourage that included foot soldiers, knights, officials, pages, slaves, dancing girls, jugglers, musicians, and eunuchs, together with his exotic menagerie of lions, leopards, panthers, bears, and apes, all led on chains, hunting dogs, hawks, peacocks, parakeets, ostriches, and a giraffe. A caravan of camels transported his supplies, and Frederick himself would ride at the head of the procession, while at the rear an elephant carried a wooden platform on its back on which were perched trumpeters and archers with crossbows." (from The Man of Numbers, Fibonacci's Arithmetic Revolution).

I suppose just one trained bear was sufficient to impress Ocracokers.

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of Infant & Childhood Mortality on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072113.htm.