Product Description

North Carolina's Ocracoke island has produced a remarkably cohesive community of islanders. For more than two centuries, these Ocracokers lived in relative isolation, enjoying the beauty and battling the destructive forces of the Atlantic. In the past two decades, tourists discovered this "unique fishing village by the sea," and the tiny island was forever altered. Alarmed at the dramatic changes in the island's character over the past generation, Alton Ballance set out to capture the story of Ocracoke and its people from the unique perspective of a native.

Ballance accompanies the people of Ocracoke on their everyday activities—fishing, hunting, boating—all the time recording their stories about events and people that have shaped the island's history. They have lived through hurricanes, and they remember their ancestors talking of the shipwrecks and daring rescues that occurred off the treacherous coast. During the many years when no doctor resided on the island, Ocracokers delivered each other's babies and attended to their own illnesses, sometimes with local cures.

When Ballance was growing up on Ocracoke in the 1960s and 1970s, the number of year-round residents hovered around 500. Now Ocracoke is a major tourist attraction visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year. As tourism has flourished, the island has become less isolated, and Ballance discusses the consequences of this development for both islander and visitor. The modernization that accompanies tourism has provided many benefits for the island, among them better health care and schooling and more jobs. Nonetheless, the Ocracoke of old is rapidly disappearing. This book is a tribute to that Ocracoke and her people.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1547044 in Books
• Published on: 1989-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 271 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Ocracoke, a small island off North Carolina and, as of 1980, home to 658 year-round residents, is a ripe subject, offering intrigue (early 18th-century Ocracoke was a haven for pirates), a romantic setting (wild ponies still roam there) and conflict (outside investors make land acquisition and ownership increasingly difficult for natives). But although Ballance, whose ancestors settled Ocracoke over 200 years ago and who teaches at the local high school, has researched his topic prodigiously and conducted copious interviews, he floats almost arbitrarily from topic to topic. Never does he challenge or probe, despite his stated goal of delving beyond the "quaint fishing village" stereotype. Why, for example, does an elderly woman from Ocracoke's one black family conclude a spirited account of her unruly childhood by stating abruptly, "I can't say that I really enjoy life"? A whimsical, warm chapter about mulleting and the technical skill, old-fashioned wisdom and physical endurance of two veteran fishermen is the welcome exception in an otherwise clumsy, cliche-ridden effort. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Alton Ballance has an appreciation for Ocracoke past, an understanding of Ocracoke present, and a concern for Ocracoke future.

David Stick

Alton Ballance . . . writes with affection and sensitivity about Ocracoke, its history, and the everyday life of its people.

Journal of Southern History

Well written and liberally illustrated with black-and-white photos, Ocracokers is very accessible.

Choice

Vivid and informative.

Carolina Style

Ballance has done a fine job of recording the old before it is gone.

Come-All-Ye

Customer Reviews

The People of the Outer Banks
"Ocracokers" describes the people, the village, and the island of Okracoke on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It's about as isolated a place as can be found in the eastern United States, still reachable only by ferry. Traditionally, a few hundred people eked out a living on the island by fishing, piloting vessels, and salvaging wrecked vessels -- of which there were plenty in the treacherous waters off Cape Hatteras. Blackbeard the pirate raided in these waters. In recent decades, Ocracoke has become a tourist destination, but it's still relatively unspoiled by the standards of ticky-tacky beach resorts. Most of the island is now a National Park

The author, a high school teacher, is a descendant of the early residents of Ocracoke and he interlaces stories of his own experiences with interviews of old-timers, historical accounts, and descriptions of present day (1980s) trends and issues. His chapter-long account of his mullet fishing expedition with a pair of old time fishermen is superb. He has chapters on hunting, churches, the school (94 students from K to 12), hurricanes, and history including World War II and the growth of tourism. He also devotes a full chapter to a bittersweet interview with the matriarch of the only African-American family on the island.

"Ocracokers" is a complete and authoritative account of life in a small unique community. The text is enhanced by black and white photographs, mostly of people, and maps of the village and island, although a better map showing places mentioned in the text would be welcome. It's worth your time to read the book and to visit Ocracoke.

Smallchief