Barrier Islands offer Visitors Many Historical Features

We recently spent a few days on the East Coast, and part of that time we stayed in the community of Duck, a part of what is known as the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This is a long string of islands, the length of the North Carolina coast line, and separated by a narrow stretch of water called the Intracoastal Waterway.

Originally, there was not much on these islands except sand - surrounded on all sides with water. Eventually, small villages developed on the islands with interesting names such as Nag’s Head, and the most famous of all, Kitty Hawk.

 Wilbur and Orville Wright owned a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, which they had opened in 1892. However, while a prosperous business, it was not enough to satisfy the intelligence and mechanical ability of the brothers. And one of the dreams they held was the possibility of flight.

While a few others had explored the possibilities, mostly in terms of glider flights, the Wrights realized that they had as much chance as anyone for developing a successful flying machine. For several years, they developed their theories (several of which are still used in today’s jets,) and by 1903 they were ready to test their machine in the air.

Kitty Hawk was the chosen site, as it offered the conditions the Wrights felt were needed: flat, treeless terrain, steady winds and soft sand for landing. After three years of testing,  December 17, 2003, was chosen as the date for the first powered flight. The plane was hauled, with the help of some of the local residents, to the top of Kill Devil Hill, a 90-foot dune. This was a serious event for Wilbur and Orville and they came dressed as one would for an important ceremony, in coats, ties and bowler hats.

There was no runway on the sand dune. Instead, the flying machine was sent racing down the dune on a monorail, and when it reached the bottom, Orville, at the controls, lifted the plane off the ground. The flight lasted only 12 seconds and it didn’t go very far, but for the first time, a manned heavier-than-air machine left the ground under its own power, moved forward at a constant speed, and landed again. Altogether, four flights were made that day. (The plane was damaged on the fourth flight, and that ended the flying for that season.)

Today, the grounds around Kill Devil Hill are part of the National Park Service, with an interesting visitor center, markers where the four flights landed, and a monument at the top of Kill Devil Hill, with easy walkways to get to the top.

Heading south from Kitty Hawk, one crosses the Oregon Inlet (so we felt right at home) and enters the group of islands that comprise the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Toward the southern end of Hatteras Island is Cape Hatteras and the well-known Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. While lighthouses are familiar sights to us in the Pacific Northwest, or maybe because they are, we always like to see lighthouses in other places, too.

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is the tallest brick lighthouse in the world. Built in 1870, it is 208 feet high. There are 260 steps to the top - and we didn’t know whether to be sorry or pleased that the lighthouse was closed for climbing when we were there. (Those of you with bad knees and hips will recognize this dilemma.)

It was originally constructed to guide ships around Cape Hatteras, one of the most dangerous spots on the Atlantic Coast. Cape Hatteras has been the site of hundreds of shipwrecks through the years, and has been nicknamed the “Grave yard of the Atlantic.” The Cape Hatteras Light house is also a part of the National Park Service.

The approximately 60-mile stretch of Hatteras Island is a great place for bird watching, too. Two of the rare birds  one might be fortunate to spot are the American Oystercatcher, a large shorebird with a long red bill, and the small Piping Plover, on the federal list of endangered species.

In the center of the Intracoastal Waterway is Roanoke Island, and the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. This was the location of America’s first settlement by Europeans; the birthplace of America’s first European child, Virginia Dare; and the site of our country’s longest unsolved mystery: the Lost Colony.

Sir Walter Raleigh obtained a charter from Queen Elizabeth “to inhabit and possess all remote and heathen lands not in actual possession of any Christian prince.”

The first landing on Roanoke was for exploration, searching for anything that would add to the wealth and power of England. The second trip was intended to found a permanent colony. Families, along with a few soldiers, came hoping to settle here in the New World.

Roanoke was originally just a stopping point and they had planned to found their colony further north. However, by the time they arrived, the boat’s pilot refused to go any further, arguing it was too late in the year. Furthermore, the colonists were not well prepared, having neither the skills nor the supplies to maintain themselves for long enough to establish an agricultural society. And to make matters worse, there had been some problems with the Indians on the first visit, so this new group was met with hostility.

John White, who had been on the first trip to Roanoke as an artist, had been made Governor of the colony. As supplies grew very low, he returned to England for the much needed replacements. However, his timing was bad. The English had begun fighting the Spanish Armada, and it took White three years to find a ship to take him back to Roanoke.

When White arrived, there was no one to be found. The only clue was the letters “CRO” carved on a tree and on a post the word “CROATAN,” a nearby island. Sir Walter Raleigh made several attempts to find the lost colonists over the next 12 years, but no trace was ever found. The best guess is that they were attacked by Indians and either killed or assimilated into the local tribes.

Today, one can walk the grounds where the Lost Colony was founded or spend some time in the Visitor Center, where there is an interesting movie portraying the events leading up to the return of White; in the summer, there is an Elizabethan theater that reenacts the story.

This might give you the idea that there is no shortage of things to do and see in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. And that’s just what we managed to squeeze in to about two days.

One thing we didn’t find, however, were antique shops. We only drove by one, and it was closed. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any there - it would be strange if there weren’t - but we didn’t see them.

The other thing you won’t find are any hills. This is, without doubt, one of the flattest areas we’ve ever been in.

And today, over 100 years after Wilbur and Orville introduced the world to powered flight, it is a popular and busy area. The parts of the Outer Banks that are not part of the National Seashore are filled with homes, places to stay and places to eat. It's a great vacation spot.

Donna Miller
 

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Civil War Cards Were Patriotic

The American Card Company made special playing cards during the Civil War, which were called Union Playing Cards. A colonel took the place of the usual king; a goddess of liberty was queen; and a major was the jack. The four suits were eagles, shields, flags and stars.

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Seattle Bandleader Drawn To Politics By Newspaper Campaign

...a note from history

One of the most colorful politicians in Washington history was a bandleader named Victor Aloysius Meyers. His path to leadership in the state was unconventional, starting as a joke by the Seattle Times.

Meyers was a moderately successful bandleader in the 1920s, although his career was more or less confined to the Northwest. Toward the end of that decade, he turned a Seattle garage into the first nightclub in the area. It soon went broke - Meyers never did have much success at money management.

In 1932, the race for mayor of Seattle brought forth a collection of poor candidates and complete apathy in the voters. The Times didn’t want to support any of them. Instead, it decided to propose its own nominee and make a joke of the entire campaign. The staff looked around for the most unqualified person they could find.

Vic Meyers was their man. They paid his filing fee and promised him front-page publicity. This sounded good to the bandleader.

A pair of reporters was assigned to Meyers. Their job was to write witty sayings for Vic to “ad lib” and provide speeches for the times when these were necessary. Humor was the prime ingredient required, and suited friendly, likable Meyers very well.

In the talks, other candidates” speeches were parodied to the point of ridicule and their campaign promises exaggerated to absurdity. Meyers began to throw in several suggestion of his own. One of these was that the city should operate a saloon, which would be made a monopoly by city law and should produce enough revenue to pay all municipal expenses. This proposal, in the middle of Prohibition, caused many  outsiders to think the people of Seattle had gone mad.

What the Times didn’t plan on was that Meyers would begin to take his campaign seriously. During the last week before the election, there was even fear that he might win. He told a group that he would like to be mayor for a term: “I think I would have a lot of fun at the job and I certainly can use the wages.”

His defeat on election day did not stop him. At the first opportunity, he traveled to Olympia to file for governor. However, he didn’t have enough money to pay the filing fee.

Next, he asked the filing clerk, “what else do you have that’s important?”

He found there was just enough in his wallet to file for lieutenant governor and have bus fare back to Seattle left over.

In the election that fall of 1932, he won. Riding in on a tide of Roosevelt popularity, the bandleader now had the job of presiding over the state senate. He packed the appointive offices with out-of-work relatives and friends. Actually, however, he did a good job of running the senate smoothly throughout his term, to the relief and surprise of almost everyone.

Eventually, Victor Meyers ran again for mayor of Seattle and was defeated in 1946. He did, however, make a political comeback in the 1950s and was elected secretary of state.

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