News

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Homecoming Updates!

Please remember to call the Austins at 252-928-4361 for your reservation over to Portsmouth on April 30. The early boats are filling up, so call now!

If you haven’t made your ferry reservations yet, call 800-293-3779 for the Cedar Island and Swan Quarter ferries or go online at www.ncferry.org. Remember there are other events going on that week so reservations should be made now to ensure you get the time you want. The Hatteras ferry is free but you should account for possible lines and a longer trip over to Ocracoke than in prior years.

At Homecoming the first boats will begin going back to Ocracoke at 2:00 pm. If you are staying on Ocracoke Saturday night or not in a rush to catch a ferry back, stay a little longer and catch a later boat back!

Please remember to bring food and beverage to share, and fried chicken and meats are especially welcome! Label your coolers and any food containers/dishes you need to pick up. Remember you won’t have to carry any of this to and from the dock – we will do that for you!

Please call Rosanne Penley at 828-439-5424 or Kathy McNeilly at 828-443-0597 if you have any questions or concerns. Leave a message and we will return your call. Or you may e-mail Rosanne at Rosanne.Penley@gmail.com.

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Homecoming Update/Schedule of Events

As of this writing, March 19, there are a few motel rooms available on Ocracoke for Friday and Saturday nights. They are the Cove Bed & Breakfast, the Silver Lake Motel and the Ocracoke Harbor Inn.

On Friday afternoon there will be a special photography exhibit of Portsmouth Island at the Ocracoke Preservation Society museum down by the ferry docks. This will be held from 4:00-6:00 p.m. and all are invited. Please come out and support the museum and the exhibit.

Schedule of Events include:

9:00 – Buildings/tents open, registration
9:30 – Christening service in church
10:00- Hymn singing in church / children’s activities begin
10:30- Group picture at the church
11:00- Homecoming program under the big tent
12:00- Dinner on the grounds
1:00 – Buildings reopen and children’s activities resume
2:00 – Boats begin returning to Ocracoke

Buildings scheduled to be open at this time are the Visitor Center (Salter House), Post Office, School, Henry Pigott House, Washington Roberts House, Gilgo House, and Lifesaving Station.

New this year is a special descendant tent for all to gather to look at photos, scrapbooks, family trees, etc. in celebration of our Portsmouth families.

Cape Lookout National Seashore will host the kids in a rousing game of croquet with a special Portsmouth theme. We also will be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Seashore and the Centennial of the National Park Service!

Be sure to get your raffle tickets to get your name in the hat for the beautiful Portsmouth quilt you will see displayed in the village, as well as a beautiful canvas painting of Henry Pigott’s house and other great prizes. You will have plenty of time to check out our new Portsmouth t-shirts and tote bags.

Please bring food and beverage to share for the meal – meats are most welcome – and label any food containers/coolers.

Stay tuned for updates!

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Homecoming 2016 Details!

Join us Saturday, April 30, as we celebrate “The Families of Portsmouth” and the 50th Anniversary of Cape Lookout National Seashore and the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service! You will want to be a part of this!

Reservations to Portsmouth should be made by calling Rudy Austin in early April: 252-928-4361. Please do not call before April 1st. The cost of the ride to Portsmouth is $20 per person round trip.

The NC Ferry service often changes schedules. Contact them directly for reservations to Ocracoke. (800-293-3779 or www.ncferry.org.).

There will be a special Descendant Tent for
Portsmouth families to gather and share their photographs , family trees, scrapbooks, and memories. There will be people under the tent to help, and your family treasures will be well cared for as you choose to attend the different gatherings during the day.

The Post Office will be open to stamp your mail from Portsmouth, there will be hymn singing in the church once again, and there will be some very special family christenings in the church as well. There are special events planned for children also. The Homecoming Program will be held under the large tent and we will have a special celebration of Cape Lookout’s 50th Anniversary and the National Park Service’s 100th Anniversary! And as always, the best food in the world will be served after the program – food that we have all brought to share. Ice, water, paper products, and tables and chairs will be provided. Everyone needs to bring food to SHARE and any beverage you prefer. Please label your food containers and coolers so you may find them easily on the way back to the dock.

New Portsmouth t-shirts will be available as well as other Portsmouth items.

Boats returning to Ocracoke will run as long as needed to get everyone off Portsmouth.

Contact numbers for more information are: Kathy McNeilly (828-448-0597) or Rosanne Penley (828-439-5424)

Visit our website and our Facebook page (Friends of Portsmouth Island) for any news or updates to this schedule.

NOTE: IN CASE OF INCLEMENT WEATHER, HOMECOMING WILL BE HELD AT THE ASSEMBLY OF GOD CHURCH AT OCRACOKE LOCATED ON LIGHTHOUSE ROAD.

We understand a lot of the motels at Ocracoke are already booked, so start making reservations now if you haven’t already. Bring the whole family and rent a cottage from one of the rental agencies on the island. Some of the motels have cottages for rent also.

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Merry Christmas!

We would like to wish all our members and readers a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We look forward to lots of great things happening at Portsmouth Village next year, and we hope you’ll be a part of it. Have a safe and happy holiday!

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Core Sound Waterfowl Weekend

Thanks to all those who came by and visited with us at the FPI exhibit this past weekend! It was good to talk with so many about Portsmouth and hear their Portsmouth stories as well. Special thanks to Kathy McNeilly, Rudy and Pat Austin, Chester Lynn, Frances Eubanks and Rosanne Penley for tending the booth. We gave out a lot of membership forms and Portsmouth Homecoming information.

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Come See Us This Weekend!

If you’re planning to go to the Core Sound Waterfowl Weekend event December 5-6, come by and visit us at the Portsmouth community exhibit booth upstairs at the museum. There are lots of Portsmouth items on display and we will have some Homecoming 2016 information for you. We look forward to seeing you!

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Henry’s House

This past weekend was a fun one at Henry’s for 6 FPI members who volunteered their time to do repair work on the outbuildings around the house. We would like to thank Jim and Evelyn Mink, Phelps and Sharon Forrest, Gregory Gilgo, and Rudy Austin for all their hard work. They replaced the roof on
Henry’s shed and repainted the shed, made new steps for the summer kitchen, fixed the door on the outhouse, and did some work on the dock. We appreciate the Park providing large containers to haul off the old lumber, roofing, etc. We look forward to our next work project in the spring. If you would like to be involved, please contact Rosanne Penley at Rosanne.Penley@gmail.com or 828-439-5424.

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Portsmouth is Open!

We’re happy to report that Portsmouth Village is open after last week’s flooding. You won’t be able to get across the tidal flats from the beach, but the village is open via ferry and/or boats. No damage reported!

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No Portsmouth Update Yet

We have had no update on Portsmouth after the heavy rains and high tides that affected the area due to Hurricane Joaquin that remained offshore. All of Cape Lookout National Seashore remains closed, and we are waiting for them to reopen and assess any damage at Portsmouth. Ocracoke remains flooded with no ferry access. We will update you as soon as we know something.