THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 4, 1995 TAG: 9507060546
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 118 lines
Flags flap against front porches in the sultry afternoon sun. Hot dogs and hamburgers sizzle on backyard grills. Some people even have switched from imported to American beer in honor of this national holiday.
But many Outer Banks vacationers aren't celebrating only the anniversary of their country's independence from England today.
They're reveling in relatives - and freedom from work.
``It took a lot of guts to do what those Revolutionary soldiers did almost 220 years ago. And I'm glad they did it,'' said 74-year-old John Wood Foreman from a wooden rocker on the wide, wrap-around porch of his Nags Head cottage Monday.
``Most people nowadays don't even realize why we celebrate July 4 any more. It's just another day off work,'' Foreman said.
``It's a day for apple pie - and for family. And that, I guess, is reason enough to celebrate.''
Foreman and his wife, Edla, live in Elizabeth City. They have spent more than 70 summers on the Outer Banks. Their four grown children take turns staying at the family's oceanfront cottage from May through August.
But for the week surrounding Independence Day, all the relatives share the two-story structure. Teenagers teach toddler cousins how to tether inner-tubes offshore. Grandparents share afternoon naps with the infants.
During a half-century of Foreman reunions, the house has been pulled back twice from encroaching tides. Children have grown and had children of their own. And traffic has gotten so bad on the bypass that Foreman swears not to return to the barrier islands until the rest of the summer visitors have gone home.
``I won't come back to the beach until after Labor Day, when you can make a left turn again,'' he said as grandchildren fluttered behind notebook-sized flags flanking the front steps.
``This year, the Fourth of July is lasting so long,'' said Edla Foreman, 72. ``It started on Thursday for us. It won't end until this Thursday.''
Because Independence Day fell on a Tuesday this year, many people treated themselves to an extra-long weekend. Traffic began building on the Route 12 beach road Friday morning. By Monday afternoon, motorists were still coming - at a crawl.
Most visiting vacationers, however, didn't seem to mind. Carrying coolers and sand-encrusted children, they crossed the two-lane street, smiling in the warm salt spray. Tonight, they'll congregate for fireworks, friendship and finger food.
``It's getting pretty regular - this July 4 trip to the beach,'' said Portsmouth, Va., resident Angela Kittrell, who joins about 20 people at her husband's Kitty Hawk cottage for the annual holiday. ``We finally got this house for one July 4th and it just kind of kept building from there. We come here a lot each summer. But this is always the biggest party of the year.
``This year marks 10 Independence Days we've all spent together.''
When the gathering started, Kittrell said, most of the participants were young and childless. On Monday, toddlers splashed in garden hose streams on the back deck. Parents put up a volleyball net nearby.
``We used to go through 20 cases of beer for the week. Now, it's about 10,'' said Butch Kittrell. ``When you have kids, things kind of change. We still all get together, most of the same group, to celebrate. But we don't stay up to watch as many sunrises any more.
``Now, setting off fireworks on the beach is pretty much the highlight of the night,'' he said. ``Beer, baked beans and hot dogs every year. Independence Day means we'll all be at the beach. For us, that's freedom.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
DREW C. WILSON/Staff
Joshing on the front porch of the Foreman cottage in Nags Head
Monday, are, from left, Duncan Silver, 9, of Wanchese; Walker
Jordon, 11, of Aydlett; Dillon Silver, 11, of Wanchese; and Anna
Stevens, 6, of Elizabeth City. Below, Bruce Poore and his wife,
Linda, of Annapolis, Md., and Jim Meehan, right, of Arnold, Va.,
relax on a Kitty Hawk porch.
Graphic
FIREWORKS ACROSS THE ALBEMARLE
Want to put a little sparkle into your holiday? Several communities
are planning fireworks celebrations throughout the Albemarle area.
3rd Annual Fireworks Festival & Fair in Corolla. One of the biggest
bashes at the Outer Banks today is at the Whalehead Club in Corolla
from 4 to 11 p.m., capped by evening fireworks. Admission is $1,
with proceeds benefiting the restoration of the county-owned
Whalehead Club. Last year about 27,000 people came to the soundside
soiree.
Elizabeth City Jaycees Annual Fireworks Display. The waterfront
along the Pasquotank River will explode with color at 9 p.m. at
Elizabeth City's downtown area.
4th of July Fireworks in Hertford. Perquimans County will get into
the Spirit of '76 with fireworks at Missing Mill Park at 9 p.m.
Musicians and a dance will be held at 5 p.m.
Edenton 4th of July Celebration. The Chowan-Edenton Optimist Club
will sponsor an all-day gala including concessions, volleyball and
children's games at Colonial Waterfront Park in downtown Edenton
from 2 p.m. until the fireworks at 9.
Sand Sculpture Contest and Independence Day Parade in Ocracoke. The
competition will be held at the lifeguard station on the National
Park Service beach. For more information, call 995-4474. A parade
down the Ocracoke Village Main Street begins at 3 p.m., sponsored by
the Ocracoke Preservation Society.
Annual Independence Day Celebration at Manteo waterfront. Held from
1 to 9 p.m., activities include children's games, food, arts and
crafts, music and a street dance from 6 to 9 p.m. Fireworks to
follow.
Independence Day Fireworks at Cape Hatteras. Fireworks kick off 8:30
p.m. at the ferry docks in Hatteras, courtesy of the Hatteras
Village Civic Associaton and Volunteer Fire Department.
Lost Colony Anniversary Night. Fireworks will culminate the 58th
birthday of the Outer Banks outdoor theater performance tonight on
Roanoke Island. Call 1-800-488-50 about times and tickets.
4th of July in Ahoskie. A deejay will play music behind Hertford
County High School from 7 p.m. until about 10:30 p.m., with a break
during a fireworks display around 9.
by CNB