Earl is O'Neal of the Week!

It’s one of over twenty books he’s written covering Ocracoke history and genealogy. Mention an O’Neal or two, however distantly related to the original three O’Neal brothers that settled on the island before the Revolution, and Earl will look them up in his exhaustive index. He’s got everybody in there.

Earl is a retired nuclear engineer who can trace his family’s tree back to the earliest settlers on Ocracoke. He grew up in Philadelphia, but always visited his grandparents on island, and now his home is on the same site where his grandparents’ house used to be. When he retired in 1990, he moved to the island for good. His love of island history led him to begin his writing career, and to volunteer for museums, history centers, and committees up and down the Outer Banks.

Earl has been awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina’s highest civilian honor, in recognition for his outstanding community service over the past twenty years.

At 82, Earl is the second oldest male O’Neal on the island. (Calvin, a former O’Neal of the Week, is the oldest.) When I dropped by to ask him some questions, he was watching basketball on TV. He turned it off immediately saying, “I hate to watch; I want to play.” Earl played football, baseball and basketball in his youth, using all of his 6 feet 5 inches to excel at sports.

OC: What do you eat at the Pony for breakfast every day?

Earl: One pancake, 2 soft poached eggs on top, and bacon. My niece, Cheryl Despo, brings me dinner most nights.

OC: If you couldn’t live on here, where would you live?

Earl: Over on the sound, near where Cheryl lives, on the old homestead.

OC: What if you couldn’t live anywhere on Ocracoke?

Earl: I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying here.

OC: What was your favorite thing to do on Ocracoke as a kid?

Earl: Run through the woods Up Trent, or go out sailing in Uncle Wahab’s skiff.

OC: What’s your favorite thing about Ocracoke now?

Earl: Writing about it.

OC: What book are you working on now?

Earl: All of the O’Neals, from the Outer Banks, to Wake County, to all over.

OC: What’s on your iPod?

Earl: John Golden, and some of the local groups. This morning I went to church – I listened to Ivey on the radio. He preached for a whole hour this morning and did a good job.