News

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Spring Meeting – May 20

Our spring membership meeting will be held at the NCCAT building on Ocracoke on Saturday, May 20, at 10:00 AM. NCCAT is located right off the Silver Lake ferry dock. You do not need to be a member to attend and all are welcome.

Our guest speaker will be Margaret Miller Growe. Ms. Growe is the Executive Director of The Tamassee Group, which was founded in 2016 to promote cultural and environmental education via the conservation and preservation of significant natural and historical resources. Those of you who attended our 2022 Portsmouth Homecoming may have seen crew members who were filming at that time, working on a documentary of the history and the culture of the Outer Banks.

If you plan to attend the meeting, please make any needed lodging and ferry reservations ASAP, since there are a number of events taking place on Ocracoke at or around that time. We hope to see you there!

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Rest In Peace

James “Jim” Edward White III

April 24, 1949 – February 11, 2023

We regret to announce the sudden passing of board member Jim White. Many of you will remember Jim from the Portsmouth books he has written or Portsmouth homecomings he has emceed. Jim was an author, historian, educator, and a proud Portsmouth descendent. He and his wife Nancy have both been active in FPI activities over the years, whether it be work days at Portsmouth, meetings, or hauling around FPI supplies in Jim’s big truck. Jim’s arrangements are through Daniels-Sadler Funeral Home and the funeral service will be held on Saturday, January 18, at 11:00 am at Bethany Christian Church of Jasper, NC. Our thoughts and prayers are with Nancy and their family and friends during this very sad time.

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You Can Help!

We are very happy to report that FPI has been given a great opportunity to raise money for continued restoration work in Portsmouth Village. A generous donor has offered to match DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR any donations we receive between now and December 31, 2022, up to a maximum of $25,000. We have notified our members and would like to give anyone who loves Portsmouth as much as we do a chance to contribute, member or not. All donors will receive a confirmation letter for tax purposes. If you would like to take advantage of this opportunity to make a donation and have it matched dollar for dollar, you may send to it to FPI at P.O. Box 2303, Morehead City, NC 28557. All donations will be earmarked for restoration work only, and we will provide updates on this at our September meeting, in our newsletter to members, and also in posts to this page and our website after December 31. Thank you for your consideration! An example of restoration work in the village is shown here with the McWilliams-Dixon House in photos of the post-restoration house and the way it looked before restoration. Quite a difference!

The McWilliams-Dixon before and after restoration by the Park with help from FPI members.
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Fall Meeting – September 17, 2022

Our fall membership meeting will be held on Saturday, September 17, at 10:00 am at the History Center in Morehead City. Our guest speaker will be Heather Walker, director of the Eastern Carolina Foundation for Equity and Equality, who will speak on the “Middle Passage Presentation.” Jeff West, Superintendent of Cape Lookout National Seashore, will also speak. We will hold our election of officers for the next two-year term as well. This will be our first meeting in three years since pre-Covid, so please plan to join us! The public is always invited to attend, but members only may vote in the election. See you there!

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Homecoming Update

For those of you who are planning to go to Homecoming on April 23, you may now make your ferry reservations from Ocracoke to Portsmouth! Call the Austins at 252-928-4361. The round-trip fare is $25. See you there!

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Homecoming 2022 Notice

Due to increasing gas prices, the ferry from Ocracoke to Portsmouth with Rudy Austin/Portsmouth Island Boat Tours is being increased to $25 round trip per person.

FOR MEMBERS: You should have received – or will soon be receiving – your Homecoming Notice and raffle tickets. If you wish to purchase these tickets, please return them in the envelope provided, along with your check for the tickets – $1/ticket. This is a major fundraiser for us! The Homecoming flyer that all members receive will state $20 round trip, but the price was changed after our mailing went out. It is now $25 per person round trip.

We will see you on April 23!

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Homecoming – April 23, 2022

Plan to join us this year for homecoming at Portsmouth – April 23, 2022! Our theme will be PORTSMOUTH RISES – a fitting theme for Portsmouth’s survival of Hurricane Dorian and the cancellation of Homecoming 2020 due to Covid. WE ARE BACK IN 2022! Jim White, Portsmouth descendant, author and historian, has agreed to emcee our program again. As per custom, the first 500 attendees will receive our special pin, and new “Portsmouth Rises” t-shirts will be available along with our regular shirts, sweatshirts, notecards, etc. Bring your special covered dish to the picnic on the grounds and enjoy meeting old and new friends. This Homecoming will be a great opportunity to see for yourself what the National Park Service, Cape Lookout National Seashore, and Friends of Portsmouth Island have done to save this village after the devastation of Hurricane Dorian.

We urge you to start looking at lodging far in advance as you will want to stay on the island at least Friday night and possibly Saturday night if you are not from Down East or the upper banks. Ferries and lodging will both fill up early.