COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Hatteras light History, Engineering Honored 



Through the first half 

 of the 20th century, the 

 Cape Hatteras Lighthouse 

 was a beacon of safety in 

 treacherous seas. In recent 

 years, it also became 

 known for an engineering 

 feat. Both aspects of the 

 Dare County landmark will 

 be recognized May 5-6. 



The National Park 

 Service will rededicate the 

 light station in its new 

 location, away from an 

 eroding shoreline. An 

 architectural landmark, the 

 lighthouse will have a plaque citing the 

 move as the "most significant engineering 

 event of 1999," according to the Ameri- 

 can Society of Civil Engineers. 



The May 5 ceremony — which is 

 open to the public — is part of the 

 weekend's Lighthouse Keepers' Descen- 

 dents Homecoming. The park and 

 lighthouse will be open all day. For 

 information on the Web, go to 

 www.nps.gov/caha and follow news and 

 events links. While online, check out the 

 "live cam" views, including one from the 

 top of the lighthouse. 



Throughout the weekend, the public 

 will mingle with descendents of light- 



Cape Hatteras Ligfit 

 prior to move 



house keepers dating back 

 to the early 1900s. The 

 homecoming is expected to 

 draw 1 ,500 relatives from 

 across the country. Because 

 of facility capacity, those 

 programs will be limited to 

 the descendents. 



The Outer Banks 

 Lighthouse Society, with 

 the work of genealogist 

 Sandra Clunies, has 

 developed a database of 85 

 keepers and assistant 

 keepers, many from seven 

 core families. An executive 

 planning committee has worked with 

 volunteers to organize the homecoming 

 and gather information for a book, 

 Hatteras Keepers: Oral and Family 

 Histories. 



Proceeds from the book, published by 

 the society and edited by Cheryl Shelton- 

 Roberts, will help defray reunion costs. 

 Interviews include Jennie Fulcher, now age 

 94, and Edna Casey Gray, now 93, whose 

 fathers were assistant keepers in the 1910s 

 and 1920s. 



To see if you are part of the light- 

 house keepers' family, check the web at 

 www. outer-banks, com/hatteraskeepers. 



-KM 



Preparing for Natural Disasters 



East 



st Carolina University will host a 

 conference, "Of People, Places and 

 Progress: Extended Recovery in the Coastal 

 Plain," May 23-25, on the university 

 campus in Greenville. The conference is 

 co-hosted by the Eastern Area Health 

 Education Center. North Carolina Sea 

 Grant is a co-sponsor. 



Citizens, scientists and public officials 

 will focus on environmental change, long- 

 term effects, decision-making and public 

 health issues associated with natural 

 disasters. James Lee Witt, former director 



of the Federal Emergency Management 

 Agency, will be among the speakers. 



Eastern North Carolina still is 

 recovering from the effects of the cata- 

 strophic 1 999 hurricane season — massive 

 flooding in the wake of Hurricane Floyd. 

 The conference will highlight recent research 

 advances on coastal plain hazards. 



Contact Ronald Mitchelson at 

 mitchelsonr@mail.ecu.edu, or call 252/ 

 816-8308 for additional information. Or, 

 go online to www.ecu.edu/hazconf. 



-P.S. 



NC Boasts 

 True Blue Crabs 



A mini-documentary and Web 

 site, 'True Blue Crabs," promotes 

 the state's leading commercial 

 fishery in the face of competition 

 from cheaper imported crabmeat. 



Television producer Bill Hitchcock 

 of Newport developed the project 

 through the N.C Fishery Resource 

 Grant Program, funded by the North 

 Carolina General Assembly and 

 administered by North Carolina Sea 

 Grant. 



North Carolina produces more 

 blue crab than any other state — annual 

 crab landings here have exceeded 60 

 million pounds, with a value that 

 surpassed $30 million. 



But consumption trends are 

 changing. Five years ago the ratio in 

 the United States was 70 percent 

 domestic crab to 30 percent import. 

 Now those figures are reversed. 



'True Blue Crabs" points out 

 that the "blue swimming crab" imported 

 from Pacific countries is not the same 

 species as North Carolina's blue crab. 



The Web site www.nccrabs.com 

 allows you to view the video and order 

 a free VHS copy. The video also airs 

 on some coastal Time Warner Cable 

 public access channels. Call local cable 

 offices for air times. — K.M. 



COASTWATCH 3 



