Hurricane "Triplets" Turn 16
Their moms, Amy, Joanie, and Heather, got to skip out on storm prep and trade it for labor and delivery.
"My theory is it had something to do with the barometric pressure," Heather commented. "An oddity for sure in a village this small."
Joanie mentioned another day in 1921 when two babies (her dad, Fowler O'Neal and his dear friend Charlie Morris O'Neal) were born the same day. They were both born at home, on the island, with the same midwife attending and running back and forth!
Times change, and these three mothers-to-be left the island to give birth at three different hospitals. And those of us at home on the island (blissfully ignorant of the tide that would rise the next day) were all delighted to learn about the three new babies!
The kids' extended families all include O'Neals, Howards, and Garrishes.... they are all cousins of one kind or another. (Probably only the late Earl O'Neal could figure it out...)
From their stormy beginning, the babies have all taken different paths, even experiencing growing up on Ocracoke in different ways. They are the same (surrounded by island family) and different (Aurora lives off the island; Lachlan is homeschooled; Brandt has four siblings).
And this year, they celebrate their sweet 16 birthday on the eve of yet another tropical storm that'll become a hurricane on its way to Ocracoke. Happy Birthday, young'uns!
Lachlan Wesley Tweedie Howard is the oldest, born at 10:08am at Albemarle Hospital in Elizabeth City, NC to parents Amy Howard and David Tweedie. He's lived his whole life on Ocracoke, most of it right on the eponymous Howard Street next door to his grandfather, Philip Howard, and across the street from the Howard family cemeteries.
The Howards trace their Ocracoke ancestry back to William Howard, the first colonial owner of the island to reside here. (He just might be the very same William Howard who was Blackbeard's quartermaster.) The Tweedies haven't been here as long; David moved to the island in 1993 to join the band, Molasses Creek.
Lachlan is homeschooled, and banked a small fortune selling seashells in his front yard for years by competing with the other family business, the Village Craftsmen gallery.
Growing up around performers and in the Ocracoke Alive family (his dad is the director of the non-profit arts organization), Lachlan has performed in the Ocrafolk Opry, volunteered for the Ocrafolk Festival, and met musicians from all over the world. He worked on behind-the-scenes tech for his grandmother Julie Howard's musical, "A Tale of Blackbeard," and recently collaborated with cousins Zoe and Eakin Howard to film an alternative "Message in a Bottle" video starring Eakin.
At age 16, he enjoys playing the concertina, playing video games, and hiding (cardboard) heads around the house for his mom to find.
Aurora Dawn Schraffenberger-O'Neal is the daughter of Joan O'Neal. She was born in Carteret General Hospital in Morehead City, NC at 4:21pm.
Joanie's parents, Fowler and Chloe O'Neal, caught the last ferry off the island before Alex to head to the hospital to meet their eighth grandchild. (Joanie's older brother and sister already had seven kids between them.)
Aurora has lived on Ocracoke off and on; a few weeks ago she moved back to Alaska! Joanie has been back and forth to Alaska many times, working as a teacher and school principal, in several different places. She even named Aurora after one of her favorite towns in the frozen north. Aurora was supposed to be born in Fairbanks, AK, but wildfires there caused such bad air quality that very-pregnant Joanie got permission from her doctor to fly home to NC. (Joanie says Aurora "was born in a crossfire hurricane.")
Aurora and Joanie spent the summer of 2014 and were both in the revival cast of "A Tale of Blackbeard." They moved to Ocracoke last year in time to experience Hurricane Dorian, which flooded their family home on Fig Tree Lane where Joanie grew up and where they were staying with grandma Chloe.
Aurora spent her sophomore high school year at Ocracoke School. She liked being on Ocracoke, especially because she could spend time with her uncle, Bobby O'Neal.
She'll do her junior year in Barrow High School; possibly online depending on COVID cases in the area. She'll also have dual enrollment with Ilisagvik College, which is the only tribal college in Alaska and the northernmost in the U.S.
Aurora enjoys hiking, nature walks and learning about nature and animals. Her other hobbies include baking, doing makeup, and photography.
Grayson Brandt O'Neal, born at 7:13pm, is the youngest of the "triplets" but the middle child of five at home. He joined big brothers Hunter and Ethan when he was born at Outer Banks Hospital to parents Heather and Fletcher O'Neal. Another brother, Will, and a sister (finally!), Maranda, followed after Brandt.
Brandt has lived on Ocracoke his whole life, on Lighthouse Road near his grandparents Kathy and David O'Neal and great-grandmother, Merian Belle Hoggard. (She's Brandt's "Nanny" and made baby blankets for all three hurricane babies; blue for the boys and pink for Aurora.)
Brandt will be a junior at Ocracoke School this year. He works at Back Porch Lunch Box, and on his family's oyster farm,
Devil Shoal Oysters. He loves nature and living things, and likes observing all the various marine life that lives around the sanctuary of the oyster farm gear.
Brandt has played baseball and basketball throughout middle school and high school on Ocracoke, and was also on the archery team. He enjoys boats and commercial fishing with his dad.
His favorite class is shop class, and he's considering a career in constructions. Brandt loves hanging with friends, and his little sister!
