The Pea Island Preservation Society (PIPSI) Inc. will present the special program “PIPSI, Past, and Present” at the College of the Albemarle – Dare on Saturday, February 22, at 3:00 pm.
The program will feature three short videos which highlight PIPSI’s latest efforts to bring the forgotten story of Keeper Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers to life.
Elijah York, the owner of The Standard Picture Company, a media production company based in Asheville, North Carolina, collaborated with PIPSI to produce the three short videos. After learning of and discovering a new perspective on this forgotten story, he began closely working with PIPSI to bring awareness to this aspect of American history.
“Through the use of animation, with a blend of on-site interviews, Elijah’s hope is to provide a visually engaging narrative, a narrative that reveals the truth of this history and its significance today,” stated PIPSI in a press release. “His vision is to produce content to reveal more information about the relationships between the lifesavers and the parallels we can compare to present day. He desires to explore more aspects of the story by providing a more dignified and theatrical approach.”
Elijah’s approach is in line with PIPSI’s “Freedmen, Surfmen, Heroes” education initiative, a program structured to raise awareness of this forgotten history in an engaging way.
“PIPSI is pleased to collaborate with Elijah and show the outcome of their latest combined efforts,” stated the organization
Elijah will speak at the February 22 program and will film portions of the event. After viewing the three short videos, participants will be asked to discuss content and provide feedback. Participants will also be afforded the opportunity for a short “one-on-one” on-camera interview with Elijah at the end of the program.
PIPSI is also interested in obtaining feedback and collecting new stories of those who served at Pea Island or interacted with the crew in some special way.
As reflected on the plaque which hangs at the Pea Island Cookhouse Museum site, numerous individuals on the Outer Banks who share the same local last names served at the station. PIPSI is interested in sharing information about the entire history of the station, including stories that have not yet come to light.
On January 24, 1880, Etheridge, who grew up enslaved on Roanoke Island, became the first Black individual to command a U.S. Life-Saving Service (USLSS) station when selected as the Keeper of the Pea Island station.
The station remained staffed primarily with Blacks for 67 years, until March 1947 when Herbert M. Collins, the last left in charge and who grew up on longing to be a surfmen one day, closed and locked the doors of the station for the very last time.
The brave surfmen at Pea Island are credited with performing some 600 rescues. The most famous by Etheridge, and his all-Black crew, the Pea Island Lifesavers, was the October 11, 1896, rescue of all on board the shipwrecked E.S. Newman during a hurricane. In March 1996, some one-hundred years later, Keeper Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers were posthumously awarded the U.S. Coast Guard’s Gold Lifesaving Medal for this daring and heroic act.
The one-hour program is free and open to the public. Due to limited seating, however, early arrival is encouraged. At the end of the program light refreshments will be served.
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