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Alton Ballance shares stories inside the Ocracoke Lighthouse, 

 a symbol of the island since 1 823. 



Ocracoke Island is home to historic cemeteries 

 that offer a glimpse of generations past. 



Ballance says the influx of soldiers into 

 Ocracoke during World War II gave the Outer 

 Banks village "its first jolt into the modern 

 world." 



"The war forever changed Ocracoke," he 

 says, pointing to a Union Jack flag over the 

 tombstones. "It put a new face on it. When I 

 was a boy, there was an old man from Ocean 

 City, Maryland, who visited my grandmother 

 and called her 'Ma.' He had stayed in her 

 home during the war and came back here 

 every summer." 



Ballance's war tale is just one piece of 



Ocracoke' s rich history that he passes on to 23 

 teachers from across the state. For four days, 

 the Ocracoke native, teacher, author and 

 historian serves as a guide for the "Island 

 People, Island Culture" seminar. 



From a trek through a magical maritime 

 forest to a tour of a striking white lighthouse, 

 Ballance relates anecdotes and the colorful 

 heritage of the island to the teachers. 



Sponsored by the North Carolina Center 

 for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) 

 in Cullowhee, the seminar is one of many 

 offered by the nonprofit organization — from 



storytelling in North Carolina to electric 

 vehicle technology. The seminar, which gives 

 teachers an opportunity to renew their vitality 

 for learning, is open to any North Carolina 

 public school teacher employed for at least 

 three years. 



"The program allows teachers to 

 explore new interests and ideas," says North 

 Carolina Sea Grant marine education 

 specialist Lundie Spence. "It treats teachers as 

 professionals and rewards their past efforts. 

 The Ocracoke seminar is a prize on top of a 

 reward." 



This is the fifth year of the Ocracoke 

 seminar. "We chose Ocracoke as one site 

 because it is a wonderful place to observe 

 people's values and roots," says NCCAT 

 director Mary Jo Utley. "It is a week of 

 watching and learning about Ocracoke's 

 special culture and its wonderful school." 



The seminar begins in the commons 

 area at Ocracoke School that houses students 

 from kindergarten through 12th grade. 



Built from white juniper, the room 

 permeates with the sweet smell of cedar. 

 Photos of old fishers peer down from one wall 

 and smiling children from another. A mural of 

 Blackbeard — the famed pirate who dropped 

 anchor near the island — covers most of 

 another wall. 



"For this seminar, teachers get to meet 

 people and hear stories about Ocracoke's 

 daily life," says Ballance. "Until you sit at the 

 table and laugh and hear stories from local 

 people, you don't get a full appreciation of the 

 culture." 



As a tenth-generation Ocracoker, 

 Ballance relates many personal experiences to 

 the teachers — from carrying a dead body in 

 a station wagon across the sound by ferry to 

 teaching multiple subjects at a unique 

 school. 



"When I came back to Ocracoke School 

 in 1982 after teaching in Orange County, I 

 didn't realize how demanding the job would 

 be," he says. 



Ballance taught every subject on the 

 high school level except math — including 

 English, journalism, biology, health, physical 

 education and yearbook — and coached the 

 basketball team. Now, he teaches all high 

 school English classes and journalism and 



HIGH SEASON 2000 



