Friday, April 13, 2018

Rondthalers

In March, 2012, we published an Ocracoke Newsletter about the Rondthalers of Ocracoke Island.

Theodore and Alice Rondthaler were teachers at the Ocracoke School for fourteen years, beginning in the late 1940s. Theodore, (1899-1966) was the son of Rev. Howard Edward Rondthaler (1871-1956), a distinguished Moravian pastor who later served as president of Salem College, and still later was consecrated bishop of the Southern Moravian Province. Rev. Rondthaler was married to Katherine Boring, a Philadelphia Quaker.

In 2016 Molly Grogan Rawls wrote an article, "Four Generations of Rondthaler Men," for the Winston-Salem Time Traveler.

Rawls notes that Theodore was born in Forsyth County, and after considering several possible career choices, decided to become a teacher. In 1927 he married his father’s secretary, Alice Keeney. Before moving to Ocracoke, Theodore was a school principal in Forsyth County and Alice worked as a teacher. Theodore was also a musician and an outdoorsman.

You can read more here:
Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is a history of Village Craftsmen (1970 - the Present). You can read the Newsletter here: https://www.villagecraftsmen.com/history-village-craftsmen-ocracoke-island/.

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:59 AM

    All this charming walking down memory lane stuff but what if some Up-start wants to move to this village. What is the best way to curry favors with the locals and who is the go to resident for getting things done? It seems everyone that said they would move to Canada after the election should try your village first. Someone with a steady revenue stream on the mainland would do well or a silicon valley trust fund kid- I would imagine - I could be wrong, I usually am and I'm sure some commentor will set me on the path of knowledge or maybe not

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    1. My advice is not to try to "curry favors with the locals" but to just be yourself. Ocracoke people value genuineness. The secret to making it on the island is to be creative and flexible. Ocracoke is not for everyone. A steady revenue stream or a trust fund will not guarantee contentment on Ocracoke. Much better are a love of nature and a commitment to community.

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  2. Anonymous4:15 PM

    your right if you are looking for action packed adventure-Ocracoke is not the place for you. the last time I saw ocracoke it looked pretty messy. storms? what? a lot of decay, rotten wood, no paint on houses, junk in yards, gravel....gravel seems to be everywhere, on the streets, the sidewalks, parking lots, all over....

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  3. Anonymous2:09 PM

    Sadly to say but you are right. Nantucket and Cape Cod have nothing on Ocracoke except for PAINT. Those houses are always kept up. Always painted and look clean, it shows pride in where you live. I LIVE ON CAPE COD! There is no reason the folks on Ocracoke and not scream louder - I LIVE ON OCRACOKE, I LOVE OCRACOKE, A AM LUCKY THAT I LIVE ON OCRACOKE ISLAND!...friends of my husband went to ocracoke last year and where shocked at the trashy sights, trash dumpsters next to the road, hundreds of signs, and decay. COME ON BE THE OCRACOKE YOU USE TO BE. BE PROUD THAT PEOPLE ARE TAKING THEIR VACATION TIME AND MONEY TO OCRACOKE. I Love Ocracoke but clean it up. Storms or no storms. My husband and I will still spend time there but it would be nicer if it was cleaner.

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  4. Anonymous9:05 AM

    speaking of Cape Cod, I know OI does not need advice from someone who has never stepped foot on the OBX (Yet) Is OI as down on its heels as some would suggest, does the Hyde COunty lack a program to distribute recycled paint - free- as my county does. Could the OI adopt the practice of planting those roses that seek the sun and cover the roofs of homes on Nantucket. Martha Stewartize OI, she sees a good idea tweaks it and you think it was hers all Along! Put some pizazz in the piza/porch you wax eloquently about. I am going to search google images for OI houses/scenes/ etc and OI residents should too as this is the Window of your world. wow the above remarks by others is sobering.

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