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The Keeper's Times
The Old Baldy Foundation Community Newsletter
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Fundraising events are an integral part of The Old Blady Foundation.
These events allow us the opportunity to raise funds to execute our mission of historic preservation and education. More importantly, they allow us to create a gathering place to celebrate Old Baldy and its historical significance!
Make sure to save the dates and plan to celebrate and support the legacy of Old Baldy!
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Lighthouse Learners Program |
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!
The Old Baldy Foundation subsidizes ferry tickets and admission fees for classes taking a field trip to Old Baldy Lighthouse through the Lighthouse Learners Scholarship Program. This scholarship program awards funds up to $800 to qualifying, North Carolina fourth grade classrooms.
Preference is given to Title I schools; however, other schools may qualify. Scholarship funds are available through grants and private donations. The availability of scholarship funds varies year by year.
We are excited and overjoyed for the return of this program and share some of the history and magic of BHI with our community!
The Lighthouse Learners Program is in full swing for 2023 with 3 field trips under our belt thus far and many more to come!
Here is a look at the field trip schedule this month! If planning to visit Old Baldy on these dates, plan ahead and know that we are closed to the public from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and will re-open after our field trips at 2:00 p.m.!
By donating through this link, 100% of your donation goes to helping bring over a record - breaking number of students!
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We Need Volunteers!
We are in need of volunteers for our Lighthouse Learners Program!
As we all know "it takes a village to raise a child" and the same for making sure our Lighthouse Learners have an educational and unforgettable experience!
We would not be able to host field trips without volunteers! We always need helping hands to lead students from the ferry to Old Baldy, assist the climb, or maybe hint to the location of items on the scavenger hunt!
Want to become a volunteer? Please email our Educator, Jake at jake@oldbaldy.org!
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First 2023 Historic Happy Hour
Mark your Calendars! Historic Happy Hour's have Returned!
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On the picturesque grounds of Old Baldy, toast to history with the BHI community. Guest speakers from across North Carolina and Old Baldy Historian, Jake Grossman will host the festivities with different topics covering over four centuries of history. Enjoy complimentary beverages in the shadow of Old Baldy. Historic Happy Hour will occur of every month. Each month will explore a different topic of Bald Head Island History.
Included in your reservation is admission into the Museum and beer and wine. Space is limited and reservations are required!
Join us Tuesday, April 25th at 4:30 p.m. to learn about "What's Cooking?" during the Civil War in North Carolina. Featuring Speaker Desiree Bridge, from the Bald Head Conservancy. She is a historian, plus a bakery and pastry chef with a varied background. In her presentation she will discuss what foods were eaten in North Carolina during the Civil War and how they were prepared. Desiree will also talk about what locally sourced items could be used for to replace hard to come by items.
Tickets include beer and wine, 2 samples - Yaupon tea & hardtack, plus a recipe packet!
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Collections Spotlight
Written by Jake Grossman
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Moving from one of our smallest objects to one of our largest, lets check out one of our most recent acquisitions, a handmade crewel done by Generator Society member Lee Wester. Wester created the piece in the 1970's with one of the earliest depictions of the Bald Head Island logo. But who or what is the Generator Society?
The 1970s on Bald Head was a transformative decade in our history. Dirt tracks slicing through undisturbed nature, gave way to paved gold cart Wynds. Lots for cottages were carved and homes sprang up alongside our Palmettos and Live Oaks. The first group of people to construct here became known as the Generator Society. The Society included 19 families who lived on the island before paved roads, water, and power. The families took private boats in lieu of the ferry. Without running electricity they used gas generators to power everything from refrigerators to showers, hence the name; the Generator Society. Lee's husband and president of the first Bald Head HOA, Dr. Thad Wester, sums it up nicely -
The stories of adventure during those years are legend and always were reaffirmed during our campfires at the point, where good food, plentiful libation, generous conversation, reasonably good singing, and strong warm feeling always prevailed. We always felt so privileged and wondered why more weren't here enjoying the island and close friendships as we did.
The Westers passed the crewel down to their daughter Ginny Reeves who then loaned it to our foundation. It is currently on display alongside other Generator Society objects in our Smith Island Museum of History. If one is not sated from our display, do not fret! During NC Treasures Weekend, from June 9th-11th, we will be hosting a 1970s/Generator Society themed Historic Happy Hour. Don your grooviest 70's garb and listen to a presentation (followed by a book signing) by Mary-Kathryn Moore, Author of Bald Head Island: The Early Years: Memories, Mishaps, and Merriment. Check out old.org for more information!
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April Old Baldy Book Club Selection-
The Story of Cape Fear and
Bald Head Island
by Kevin P. Duffus
April's Book of the Month is The Story of Cape Fear and Bald Head Island by Kevin P. Duffus.
The beautiful full color coffee table book is a must for history enthusiasts. Spanning 500 years of history, "The Story of Cape Fear and Bald Head Island" is an evocative panorama of the past viewed from the sandy shores of one of America's most unique islands and capes. This meticulously researched chronicle presents a cavalcade of unforgettable characters - explorers, colonists, pirates, lighthouse keepers, Civil War soldiers and river pilots, lifesavers, and spectaculars and ecologists - men and women who have shaped the cultural heritage
of an incomparable place.
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