Join us for 2nd Saturday’s June 12, July 10 and August 14th for the documentary film Rescue Men: The Story of the Pea Island Life Savers. The film will be shown on those dates at 2:00 p.m. in the Indoor Theatre at Roanoke Island Festival Park. In addition, the June 12 showing will also be at 7 p.m. The showings are part of the Department of Cultural Resources state-wide 2nd Saturdays: History, Heritage, Arts & Fun events. The event is free and open to the public.
2nd Saturdays combine the unique power of the arts and heritage with lots of hands on fun each 2nd Saturday during the peak summertime vacation months of June, July and August. For families on a budget looking for fun things to do, for “staycations” and “tank of gas” outings, this program of the Department of Cultural Resources,www.ncculture.com, has an answer with 2nd Saturdays.
The film is produced and directed by Los Angeles based DreamQuest Productions.
View the trailer for the documentary, "Rescue Men" The story of the Pea Island Surfmen
At the core of DreamQuest Productions is over thirty years of experience in the film and television industry. The company's President Allan Smith is an award winning producer and director who started his career as a child actor at the age of 6. He has been involved in many films and also worked with: ABC; NBC; CBS; Good Morning America; Inside Edition; The History Channel; KPAL TV; The Howie Mandel Show; RTP TV and MyOutdoorTV.com. “We have been working on this feature documentary film for the past year and a half,” said Smith. “It has been an incredible journey and we feel very fortunate to tell this remarkable story.” DreamQuest has worked closely with: Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station Historical Site; the Outer Banks HistoryCenter; The Pea Island Lifesavers Museum in Manteo (Cook House project); the National Park Service Outer Banks Group and N.C. Aquarium on Roanoke Island as well as with many individuals throughout the area. The United States Coast Guard participated in the filming to recreate the breaches buoy drill.
The U.S. Life-Saving Service was formed in 1871 to assure safe passage of Americans and international shipping and to save lives and salvage cargo. Station 17, located on the desolate beaches of Pea Island, North Carolina and manned by a crew of seven, bore the brunt of this dangerous but vital duty. A former slave and Civil War veteran, Richard Etheridge, the only black man to lead a lifesaving crew was its captain. He recruited and trained a crew of African Americans to man Station 17. Benjamin Bowser, Louis Wescott, William Irving, George Pruden, Maxie Berry and Herbert Collins made up part of this team and formed the only all-black station in the Nation. Although civilian attitudes towards Etheridge and his men ranged from curiosity to outrage, they figured among the most courageous surfmen in the service, performing many daring rescues from 1880 to the closing of the station in 1947.
On the night of October 11, 1896 in hurricane force winds, one crew known as the Pea Island Surfmen accomplished the impossible. Led by Keeper Richard Etheridge, this historic all black crew etched themselves into history rescuing stranded sailors whose ships had succumbed to the harsh Atlantic. Rescue Men is the story of the men that manned the Pea Island Lifesaving Station on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Due to the heroics and accomplishments of these brave men and others like them in the U.S. Lifesaving Service, we now have what is called The United States Coast Guard.
The importance of the Pea Island Lifesavers cannot be understated. In 1880 and at a time of Civil War and Slavery, It was unheard of to have black surfmen in the position of authority, let alone keepers of their own lifesaving station. This story, never before told on film, is a remarkable journey of Richard Etheridge and his crew. They were a crew of heroes that made the most heroic rescues in the history of the lifesaving services. The actions of these men and the ability to put the issues such as sex, creed or color behind them, made countless rescues of people in the Graveyard of the Atlantic. This story has largely been ignored until now! Rescue Men will tell the story stressing the importance and the contributions these men made on the future of the lifesaving service and their being posthumously awarded, 100 years later, the “Gold Life-Saving Medal” the service’s highest peacetime honor, by the United States Coast Guard. Were it not for keeper Richard Etheridge and his men and their heroic actions, many would have died.
Don’t miss this exciting Outer Banks event.
For more information, call (252) 475-1500 or email FestivalParkInformation@ncdcr.gov.