Daniels Day on Roanoke Island

Family ties bind Daniels kin, N.C. history

Family’s roots
Today, the Daniels family is hosting its 75th family reunion. Considering that the Danielses arrived on Roanoke Island 275 years ago, it’s no wonder that the name fills a page and half of the 2009 phone book. Some prominent Danielses:

• State Sen. Marc Basnight, a Manteo Democrat and son of Cora Mae Daniels
• Josephus Daniels, secretary of the Navy under Woodrow Wilson, ambassador to Mexico and the founder and publisher of the Raleigh News & Observer
• John T. Daniels, the surfman who snapped the photograph of the Wright brothers’ first flight

Want to go?
What: Daniels Day

Where: Bethany United Methodist Church, Wanchese

When: 3:30 p.m. today

Who: All are invited. Attendees are asked to bring a dish to share at the picnic after the program.
By Catherine Kozak
The Virginian-Pilot
© August 16, 2009

WANCHESE, N.C.

Melvin Daniels Jr. likes to tell a story about President Franklin Roosevelt, his fancy touring car and a group of dazzled Outer Bankers.

Roosevelt, in town in August 1937 to see "The Lost Colony," was seated in the car next to Gov. Clyde Hooey and U.S. Rep. Lindsay Warren, a Beaufort County Democrat and family friend who liked to play checkers with the young Daniels.

Daniels and four other boys were standing nearby admiring the car when the congressman leaned to the president and whispered. Next thing Daniels knew, a stern man was walking up to them.

"The Secret Service man says, 'Which one of you is Daniels?' " Daniels recalled.

"Five of us raised our hands."

It was soon determined, Daniels said, that Warren wanted him to go over to the car. "He said, 'Mr. President, I want you to meet the best checker player on Roanoke Island!' "

Daniels' reaction to meeting the president?

"It was a beautiful car."

Laughing at the retelling, Daniels, 86, said the story illustrates not only the proliferation

of Danielses on the island but also the proud history of one of the Outer Banks' largest and oldest families.

Today, the Daniels family is hosting its 75th family reunion in Wanchese at Bethany United Methodist Church - the same place it has been held every year since 1934.

Considering that the Danielses arrived on Roanoke Island 275 years ago, it's no wonder that the name fills a page and half of the 2009 phone book and that nearly all natives of Roanoke Island have some Daniels blood somewhere in their roots.

Typically, about 250 to 300 people attend the reunion. Daniels said it is nearly impossible to guess how many people all over the country belong to the Daniels family tree.

"There are oodles and oodles of them," he said. "Not only do the Danielses have handsome men," he said, pausing for a self-deprec ating chuckle, "but they also have beautiful girls. And they married Tilletts, Midgetts, Austins, Etheridges and Hookers. That has really added to it."

Those Danielses regularly on the court docket?

"We don't look in that direction," Daniels said dryly. "We don't recognize them."

Prominent members of the Daniels family include state Sen. Marc Basnight, a Manteo Democrat and longtime Senate leader.

Basnight's mother was Cora Mae Daniels, who played Agona in "The Lost Colony" for many years.

Cont.

http://hamptonroads.com/2009/08/family-ties-bind-daniels-kin-nc-history

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From the Ashes; a Golden Opportunity

From disaster to opportunity

Broadway costume designer rebuilds 'Lost Colony' wardrobe

By DAVID NICHOLSON | 247-4794

August 10, 2008

William Ivey Long has been called the busiest costume designer on Broadway with a career that spans more than 50 shows. But a tragic event hundreds of miles away from New York made this past year his busiest ever.

In September 2007, an early morning fire swept through the home of "The Lost Colony" on Roanoke Island, N.C., destroying more than 5,000 costumes that had been assembled over the show's 71-year history. Long grew up in the summertime world, and in many ways, he never left it. He maintains a home there, and for many years, has served as set and costume designer for the long-running outdoor drama.

"I remember great sadness and shock," says Long, recalling when he first heard about the fire. "It took me two months to realize that this was an opportunity instead of a disaster."

The "opportunity" meant a chance to redesign the show's entire sweep of costumes from a historical perspective using newly available research. Long canceled commitments on two Broadway shows to work on the "The Lost Colony" project. He and his 60-person staff worked in New York and at the North Carolina theater to build the 1,000 costumes needed for the show. Some funds came from state and federal park services, but the majority of the $2.7 million needed to reconstruct sets, costumes and stage buildings came from individuals.

Long has been associated with "The Lost Colony" almost since the day he was born. His father, William Long Sr., held many jobs there, including technical director from 1949 to 1962. His mother, Mary Wood Long, worked in the costume shop while playing several onstage roles, including the part of Queen Elizabeth I from 1949 to 1953. During his early childhood, Long recalls sleeping in fabric bins underneath the cutting tables of the costume shop.

Continued here:

http://www.dailypress.com/features/dp-gl_williamiveylong_0810aug10,0,962645.story

Supporting Lost Colony Drama is a Family Tradition

Fearing family continues tradition of support for The Lost Colony

Keeping the longstanding Fearing family tradition of generosity and support for The Lost Colony, Mollie A. Fearing & Associates has again renewed their $5,000 corporate sponsorship to offset overall costs of the production.Fearing's family ties to The Lost Colony story pre-date the symphonic drama. In the late 1920's her great uncle, the late D. Bradford Fearing chaired a committee that organized "The Pageant of Roanoke". The idea inspired Fearing and others who persuaded Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paul Green to write a play about Roanoke Island's famed "lost colony."

The elder Fearing, a local merchant and politician, oversaw the production its inaugural year and served as producer and general manager for many years until his death."When you're in our family, you are in service to The Lost Colony," said Grizelle Fearing, president of the Manteo insurance company. "As a kid, I saw The Lost Colony almost every night. Half of the family was in The Lost Colony every summer as costumer, actor-tech, principal, or board member and I was often there to help."Grizelle Fearing's mother, the late Mollie A. Fearing, was one of the production's greatest champions. A gifted hostess, "Miss Mollie" organized The Lost Colony's opening night receptions, board dinners and other social events for years, in addition to serving as a long-time officer and board member.

Fearing's husband, Tom McDonald (grandson of the late Irene Smart Rains, the show's former costumer) has long lent a helping hand, from creating exhibits at places like the Outer Banks History Center, alumni committee work, and even donating items for fundraising auctions from their personal collection. He performed in the show in his youth.

First staged in 1937, The Lost Colony tells the real-life story of America's "lost colony" of men, women and children who sailed from Plymouth, England, in 1587 to establish an English colony on Roanoke Island (N.C.). Predating Jamestown by 22 years and Plymouth by 35 years, the settlement disappeared with hardly a trace, leaving historians and archaeologists with a mystery that has never been solved.

Cont. here:

http://obsentinel.womacknewspapers.com/articles/2008/07/16/business/bus1692.txt

Lost Colony Drama is Back Thanks to the Generosity of Many

'The Lost Colony' returns, with new costumes
Posted: May. 31 10:37 p.m. Updated: 28 minutes ago

Manteo, N.C. — The longest running outdoor drama in the country – "The Lost Colony" – opened its 71st season this weekend with more than 1,000 new costumes, less than a year after a devastating fire.

Only a few costumes that were on exhibit elsewhere survived the September 2007 fire that destroyed the group's costume shop, maintenance building and storage shed. Damage at the Waterside Theatre totally nearly $3 million.

“The whole area ... is deeply rooted in history, and you just hate to see anything with historical value destroyed,” said Tony Duvall, of the Roanoke Island Fire Department.

However, Randi Winter, an actress from Apex, described the opening night as a “new beginning” for the summer show about the disastrous first attempt at a permanent English settlement in the New World in 1587.

Tony-award-winning designer William Ivey Long and his New York-based staff of 60 spent the past month in Manteo attempting to re-creating the costumes. They surrounded themselves with enlarged photos of costumes from previous years for inspiration.

"This has been the greatest challenge and, for me, the greatest assignment of my entire life," Long said.

Cont. here:

http://www.wral.com/entertainment/story/2971461/

View Queen Elizabeth's New Costume here:

http://www.wral.com/entertainment/image/2971500/?img_list=2971500%2C1951328%2C1801840%2C1803973%2C1811167%2C1999624&ref_id=2971461