February 22nd, 2022
The Keeper's Times 

The Old Baldy Foundation Community Newsletter
Hours of Operation at Old Baldy

Closed January & February 2022

Reopening Date: Tuesday March 1st

March Hours:
Tuesday- Saturday 10-4 (Last Climb at 3:30 pm)

CLOSED SUNDAY & MONDAY

(Historic Tours reopening date TBD)
Save the date!

Help Old Baldy kick off 2022 with the return of the "Sip on Soup Cook Off" hosted by Island Hardware. The event was orginally planned for the Holidays of 2021 and it was postponed due to the rise of COVID cases in our area. With the island a buzz for the Easter Holiday, we are thillred to present our rescheduled date of April 14th!

Gather around the deck at Island Hardware with your friends and family to celebrate the season by sampling different soups from professional chefs and home cooks alike.
Have a favorite soup recipe? Consider entering the competition as a home cook! Not interested in cooking? Join in the festivities and taste all the soups and vote for your favorite! 
Return form to events@oldbaldy.org by Friday April 8th
Thank you to our generous sponsor Island Hardware for making Sip on Soup possible!

In addition to hosting the event, Island Hardware will be raffling off a coveted shibumi shade. Don't miss your chance to win one of the hottest beach accessories out there!
Sip on Soup proceeds all go to helping bring 4th grade students on an unforgettable field trip to Old Baldy!

While all fundraising events play an integral role in the mission of the Old Baldy Foundation, the Sip on Soup cook-off proceeds go directly to our Lighthouse Learners Scholarship fund! The Old Baldy Foundation subsidizes ferry tickets and admission fees for classes taking a field trip to Old Baldy Lighthouse through this program. This scholarship program awards funds up to $800 to qualifying, North Carolina fourth grade classrooms. 

Every year (with the exception of 2020 & 2021 due to COVID cancellations), hundreds of fourth grade students take a field trip to Bald Head Island, North Carolina, to visit Old Baldy, the state's oldest standing lighthouse. Field trips to Old Baldy Lighthouse are an unforgettable educational experience!


We are thrilled to be scheduling and reviewing scholarship applications for 2022! Cancelled field trips were one of the many casualties from the COVID impacted years. We can't wait for the return of this program and share some of the history and magic of BHI with North Carolina students!
By donating through this link, 100% of your donation goes to helping bring over a record breaking number of students!
Join Old Baldy as a volunteer for these upcoming Field Trips!

With field trips scheduled for this spring, we are looking for volunteers to help assist in making this a memorable experience for each student! Volunteers help orient the students through the lighthouse, museum, a tour of Fort Holmes and more. 

Please reach out to director@oldbaldy.org to volunteer!
2022 Event Calendar is here!

We are excited to announce our 2022 calendar of events. After two years of cancelled celebrations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are hopeful this is the year we can gather again. Make sure to save the dates and plan to celebrate and support the legacy of Old Baldy! 
2022 Sponsorship Opportunities! 

The events hosted by the Old Baldy Foundation have become a highlight of many islander's year! View our sponsorship opportunities to take your support of Old Baldy to the next level. 100% of your sponsorship contributions will go to mission based work.

By supporting the Old Baldy Foundation as a sponsor, not only will you be directly helping the Old Baldy Foundation work to preserve Old Baldy as a beloved monument to North Carolina, but you will receive exclusive access to the events and unique marketing opportunities.
Reach out to abby@oldbaldy.org to discuss customizing a sponsorship package to meet your needs or if you have a service to provide for an in-kind sponsorship!
Coming Soon!

Old Baldy Book Club

Old Baldy staff and historians have craftily selected books over many years to create an inventory relevant to BHI and its robust Maritime History available in our gift shop. To highlight these selections, we will be selecting a book every month to feature in 2022! If you are a bookworm, history buff, or looking to connect with the community, consider taking part in our upcoming book club.

Each month a new book will be selected. Some will be history books telling heroic tales of lighthouse keepers, pirates, soldiers, and more! Other selections will highlight North Carolina culture, including some cookbooks. Staff members will highlight unique stories, recipes, and passages from the book of the month and lead discussions about them! To participate, follow Old Baldy on Instagram and Facebook. There will be multiple posts, videos, and talks about the book throughout each month. Join the discussion! Let us know in the comments how these books have impacted and inspired you! 
March Selection-
The Life and Tryals of the Gentleman Pirate Stede Bonnet by Jeremy R. Moss

What better way to kick off our book club with a piece of literature that highlights an iconic and familiar face to Bald Head Island- The Gentleman Pirate, Major Stede Bonnet. 

Old Baldy staff members will dive into the book and explore how Stede Bonnet went from a wealthy landowner to the life of piracy! 

Last year, author Jeremy Moss joined Old Baldy for a Historic Happy Hour covering this well-researched book. Staff members will have unique insight from Jeremy himself to share as we read this book together! 
This book was selected for March with anticipation for the new HBO Max series that chronicles Stede Bonnet's adventures; Our Flag Means Death, premiering on March 3rd. While the series will focus more on the spirit of piracy than historical accuracies, reading this book will be the perfect complement to the show! 
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