North Carolina Lighthouses

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2004-6-29

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VOICE ONE:

This is Shirley Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program,
EXPLORATIONS. Today we tell about the lighthouses that protect ships
sailing along the coast of North Carolina.

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VOICE ONE:

Lighthouses are built along coasts to signal to passing ships.
Lighthouses are tall buildings of wood or stone or brick with large
bright lights on top. Every night they shine lights to warn ships
about dangerous areas where there are rocks, low water levels, or
strong currents. The lighthouses along North Carolina's coast are
recognized as signs of safety for travelers at sea.

Over the years, fierce ocean storms have sent many ships crashing
into the North Carolina coast. Other boats have been lost in wars.
During World War Two, for example, German submarines sank many
allied transport ships in that area. History experts say more than
six-hundred ships have been wrecked near the Outer Banks of North
Carolina. Storms still uncover the ruins of wrecked ships along the
Outer Banks.

The lighthouses shine their signals to prevent more wrecks. Many
ships and lives have been saved because of the United States Life
Saving Service and workers at lighthouses along the coast.

VOICE TWO:

The Outer Banks is a group of narrow islands stretching along the
North Carolina coast in the Atlantic Ocean. The islands shelter
North Carolina's inland water passages. For thousands of years,
these barrier islands have survived severe weather. Every few years,
an ocean storm in the North Atlantic Ocean will move through the
Outer Banks with destructive force.

Each island of the Outer Banks has its own lighthouse with a
special design and history. In addition, each lighthouse has its own
signal which boats see from a distance. The different light signals
help sailors identify their position from the land. This helps them
judge if they are close to dangerous water passages. Today, the
light signals work on an electrical timing system. In the past,
workers living in the lighthouses had to turn the lights on and off.

VOICE ONE:

North Carolina's simplest lighthouse is on Ocracoke Island in the
southern Outer Banks. Ocracoke Lighthouse was built in
Eighteen-Twenty-Three. It is considered the oldest lighthouse on the
Carolina coast. Its signal is a continuous white light, which can be
seen almost twenty-five kilometers out at sea. Although the plans
used to build Ocracoke lighthouse appear normal, the building was
built off-center. As a result, it rises more sharply on one side.

Ocracoke Island is said to be the place where the pirate
Blackbeard lost his head in the early Seventeen-Hundreds. This
famous ocean robber was killed in a battle with a British officer
more than a century before Ocracoke Lighthouse was build. Lieutenant
Robert Maynard was protecting England's colonial interest in the New
World. Historians say he tricked Blackbeard into battle and then cut
off his head. Stories passed down through the years say that the
spirit of Blackbeard still walks around Ocracoke Island searching
for his head.

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VOICE TWO:

Many people agree that the most
recognized lighthouse in America is at Cape Hatteras, North
Carolina. The building stretches fifty-eight meters in the air –
making it the tallest brick lighthouse in the country. It was
completed in Eighteen-Seventy. Its signal shines a white light every
seven-and-a-half seconds. Ships thirty-seven kilometers from land
are able to see the signal.

Historians believe more people have read about, painted or taken
pictures of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse than any other lighthouse
in North America. It the picture on the official documents of the
United States Lighthouse Service. It is also a memorial to hundreds
of men and women who worked to make North Carolina's coast safe for
sea travelers.

VOICE ONE:

In Nineteen-Ninety-Nine, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was moved
more than nine-hundred meters. Officials wanted to protect the
building by moving it farther away from the ocean. Huge lift
equipment picked up the more than four-thousand ton building and
carried it inland. The lighthouse was then lowered onto a new
eighteen-meter square concrete support structure.

Engineers inspected the repositioned building. They declared that
it is standing tall and strong on its new foundation. Visitors can
climb to the top of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, but they need to
be in good physical condition. This is because
two-hundred-sixty-eight steps lead to the top of North America's
tallest brick lighthouse.

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VOICE TWO:

Another lighthouse along North Carolina's Outer Banks is the
Bodie (body) Lighthouse. Its history is quite interesting. The fifth
financial inspector of the United States Treasury Department built
the first Bodie Lighthouse in Eighteen-Forty-Eight.

Stephen Pleasonton's main concern while building the structure
was to save money. As a result, his workers were not permitted to
spend enough money to build a safe base. In addition, the building
was fitted with a light system that was not considered effective
even then. Shortly after it opened, Bodie Island Lighthouse started
sinking on one side. Workers soon had to leave it.

Several years later, the United States Congress ordered a new
lighthouse be built. In Eighteen-Fifty-Two, work began on a new and
improved structure. The second Bodie Lighthouse was to be
representative of a new look in lighthouses. It was shaped like a
circular cone, made of earthen bricks made hard in a fire. Its base
was built on supporting bars driven into the earth.

VOICE ONE:

The second Bodie Lighthouse was destroyed in the American Civil
War. Confederate soldiers from the south wrecked the building to
prevent the Union navy of the north from gaining a position to help
its ships. The structure was finally rebuilt and completed in
Eighteen-Seventy-Two. It rises forty-eight meters in the air.

Today, the Bodie Lighthouse needs several repairs. This is why
the building is not open to the public to climb. However, the
lighthouse signal is still recognized by passing ships. It is on,
off, and on again for two-and-one-half seconds each time, then off
for twenty-two-and-one-half seconds. Boats up to thirty-three
kilometers out at sea are able to recognize the Bodie Lighthouse
signal.

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VOICE TWO:

The most northern lighthouse on North Carolina's Outer Banks is
at Currituck Beach. Like the other lighthouses along the coast, the
Currituck Beach Lighthouse still serves as an aid to sailors. The
lighthouse runs its light signal from sunset to sunrise. The signal
is three seconds on, seventeen seconds off. The light can be seen as
far away as thirty-three kilometers.

The Currituck Beach Lighthouse remains unpainted to help tell it
apart from other lighthouses along the coast. This also gives
visitors a strong sense of the one-and-a-half-million bricks used to
build the building, which stands forty-seven meters in the air. The
Currituck Beach Lighthouse was completed in Eighteen-Seventy-Five.
It was the last major brick lighthouse built on the Outer Banks.
Visitors are permitted to climb to the top.

VOICE ONE:

Wild horses run free near the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. Horses
are not native to North America. Yet for more than four-hundred
years, these animals have run unrestricted along the northern Outer
Banks. Historians are not sure how the horses first arrived in
America. They believe either Spanish or English settlers transported
them. The wild horses are called Barbs. They are known for their
size, their ability to work hard, their easy movement, and their
long lives.

Historians say there was nothing but sea, sand and grass when
these Barb horses first arrived on the Outer Banks. A continual
increase in summer visitors over the past forty years has made
survival for the horses more difficult. Because of this, a group of
concerned citizens has built a fence to separate the horses from
people. This gives the about six-thousand hectares of land to live
on. The group is trying to make sure the animals will be permitted
to stay on Currituck Beach. Like the lighthouses, the wild Barb
horses are a traditional part of life on the Outer Banks of North
Carolina.

VOICE TWO:

This Special English program was written by Jill Moss and
produced by Caty Weaver. This is Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And this is Shirley Griffith. Join us again next week for another
EXPLORATIONS program on the Voice of America.


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