File:Coast watch (1979) (20473517109).jpg

Title: Coast watch
Identifier: coastwatch00uncs_13 (find matches)
Year: 1979 (1970s)
Authors: UNC Sea Grant College Program
Subjects: Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology
Publisher: (Raleigh, N. C. : UNC Sea Grant College Program)
Contributing Library: State Library of North Carolina
Digitizing Sponsor: North Carolina Digital Heritage Center

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serves as the assistant principal. He says the small school is 'like one big family." "In an environment where everyone knows everyone else, there is daily interac- tion among younger kids, older kids, teachers, family members and other people in the community," Ballance writes in his book. ferry Boat Captain Later, Ballance introduces the teachers to Rudy Austin, a tall and burly retired Hatteras ferry captain who now shuttles tourists to nearby Portsmouth Island. Austin weaves stories about the remoteness of the village that is accessible only by boat, ferry or airplane. "When I was a boy, they had only one nurse in the community," he says. "I broke my shoulder at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Since there was no X-ray machine on the island, a guy flew me in a two-seated plane to Buxton and then called the Navy base to take me to Oregon Inlet. From there, the Coast Guard took me through the inlet, and then I went by ambulance to Norfolk. By the time I got to the hospital it was 6 a.m." Austin has fond memories of belonging to a mounted Boy Scout troop that cared for Ocracoke's wild ponies. "Back then, we did everything on horseback. We even took the horses camping. That changed when the National Park Service took over caring for the horses." As a resident of the island for more than 58 years, Austin has seen many physical changes to the island. To find out how much the island has eroded over the last 125 years, he and fisher Gene Ballance spent the last several years developing a series of maps comparing the changes from 1750 to 1999. As Austin points to the north end on the map, he says, "it has been eroding at a steady rate of 10 feet a year. When I was a boy, the beaches were as flat as the highway. There were no dunes or grasses on the beaches. I used to see sea turtles crawling up and down the main road. When the Park Service planted grass, it did away with the natural replenish- ment process." However, he was surprised to find that the rest of Ocracoke is not washing away. "The south end isn't eroding," he says. "The north end has been the sacrificial lamb. If we allow the north end to wash away, the rest of the island will also wash away." The village is on the south end, but Austin also has strong ties to the north end. For many years, he was captain of the Hatteras ferry route. "If the north end goes out, we are ruined." Ocracoke Minister To get a glimpse inside a minister's life in a tiny village, the teachers meet Rev. Keith Sikes at the Ocracoke Assembly of God Church — a white-framed building nestled among small cottages. A tall, outspoken young man, Sikes is the church's 37th minister. While standing in front of the teachers seated in wooden pews, he gives an overview of the church. "The church is one of the few Assembly of God churches directly linked to the Azuza Street Revival in Los Angeles," the birthplace of the Pentecostal revival movement in the United States. "The front part of the building was constructed in 1941, and the back was given to the church by the Navy," Sikes says. "This building has gone through a lot," he says. "It survived the hurricane of 1944 when one member saw the top turned over and taken down the street. The building flipped and touched a power line, which kept the whole building from going over." Sikes says it's challenging ministering to a congregation of only 24 people. "The people are unique," he adds. "Since the Methodist minister and I are the only full- time ministers on the island, we are like community chaplains. We pastor everywhere we go. It is hard to even go to the Ocracoke Variety Store without pastoring. You have to leave the island to get away." At times, Sikes says the island's remote- ness is difficult for him, his wife and two young children who are home schooled. "We have a love-hate relationship with the island," he says. "My children's involve- ment with other youngsters is limited." Despite the difficulties of living in a tiny village, Sikes has been touched by the residents' compassion. "The people are good and family- oriented," he says. "They will quit their jobs to care for an elderly person. Mr. Clinton Gaskill who died recently didn't want to be in a rest home. So the community made up a roster, and people took turns caring for him. This touched me." After a member dies, Sikes says a local representative takes the body by ferry to a funeral home on Hatteras Island. After the body is embalmed, it is brought back to the island church where the remains are often viewed. "We usually don't have a service for two to four days after someone dies," says Sikes. "You have to wait for relatives to travel here." C o n t i n it e d COASTWATCH

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