Leonard Meeker

In a recent blog a reader left this comment: "We first stayed on Ocracoke in 1973 and way back then it seems we noticed a fairly large house with sloped roof almost directly opposite the C. Guard station - on the other side of the channel into the lake. Do you know who built it? Or who lived in it? A long time ago we were told that it was where the mystery writer Mary Ellen Bradford ?? stayed from time to time. We tried to find a Mary Ellen Bradford but it was a dead end. Can you shed any light on any of this?"

I believe the reader is referring to the home of Leonard (1916-2014) and Beverly Meeker, wonderful people who have contributed much to the Ocracoke community. If I remember correctly, the house was built sometime in the 1980s.

Leonard was a remarkable man whose life included a distinguished public service career in government and work with non-profit organizations focusing on social justice law.

2005 Photo by Oliver White
Courtesy Ocracoke Observer

It was always a delight to visit with Leonard and Beverly, either joining other island friends for dinner around their dining room table, or sipping Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and discussing local and world affairs on their screened porch overlooking Pamlico Sound.

I am not familiar with Mary Ellen Bradford. If she ever visited Ocracoke I am not aware of it.

Leonard died at the age of 98 in his home in 2014. Peter Vankevich wrote a detailed obituary in the Ocracoke Observer: https://ocracokeobserver.com/2014/12/05/leonard-meeker-1916-2014-2/. Beverly continues to live in the home.

This month's Ocracoke Newsletter is the dramatic story of life-saver Rasmus Midgett and his rescue of the crew of the barkentine Priscilla in August, 1899. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news052116.htm.