Marc of Honor
Some OBXers don’t like naming the new Oregon Inlet bridge for Marc Basnight. As a part-time resident and lifelong lover of OBX, I say they’re wrong, DOT is right and no one is more deserving of the naming honor than the long-time Senate leader, OBX advocate and education champion.
One objection you hear: Basnight was “just a politician.” Well, so was Herbert Bonner, for whom the old bridge was named. Bonner was the Congressman who got the money for the bridge in the 1960s. Basnight was the officeholder whose support was critical to building the new bridge, which is critical to the life, economy and survival of Hatteras Island and Ocracoke.
Some people down there don’t like Basnight because he’s a Democrat. A lot of OBX has gone Republican – as one local says, “to the right of Attila the Hun.” During 2016, Trump signs lined NC 12. These folks, of course, hate government. Except when a hurricane hits. Then they can’t get enough government fast enough.
Basnight was an unlikely character to become the dominant force in the state Senate from 1990 to 2010. He was a rough-hewn Manteo boy with a pronounced Hoi Toide accent. When Governor Hunt appointed him to the DOT board in the late 1970s, he showed up for the formal board photo in a brightly patterned sweater, Topsiders and “Outer Banks Argyles” – no socks.
He never lost the rough edges. He could be bull-headed and demanding. But it was usually on behalf of somebody who needed help or a hand up. He is well-read, surprisingly so, but he never lost a gift for malapropism. He once told a reporter he got a “prescription” to the Economist magazine.
Marc didn’t go to college, but he became a passionate champion for education and the UNC system. He spent his life boating and fishing in coastal waters, and he became a champion of clean water trust funds. He fought hard for fishermen and the people whose jobs depend on fishing.
He fought especially hard for better roads in that part of the state. During the bridge debate, a local confronted a friend of Marc’s and demanded, “What did Marc Basnight ever do for us?” The friend said, “Do you ever go to Raleigh?” “Why, sure, a couple of times of month,” the local answered. “Well,” Marc’s friend said, “next time you go, take old US 64 and see how long it takes you.”
I know how long: five hours, on two-lane roads crowded with slow-moving tractors and through little towns with narrow main streets and too many stoplights. Today, the trip from Manteo to Raleigh – or, preferably, Raleigh to Manteo – takes three hours.
Marc played a singular role in making OBX what it is today. Yes, sometimes it’s too crowded, especially in the summer on the beach or at our favorite restaurants. But there are jobs, opportunities, beautiful waters and the best beaches in the world.
And there are some damn fine restaurants, like Marc’s Lone Cedar. Back when he spent weekdays running the Senate, he spent weekends chatting with diners and refilling their tea. I recall him sitting down and talking with our son and daughter about the importance of getting an education.
These days, health problems have slowed Marc’s ability to talk and get around. You rarely see him at the restaurant. But friends and family say his mind is sharp and his spirits are strong.
In April, Governor Roy Cooper, who worked closely with Marc in the Senate, will dedicate the new bridge. It’s a stupendous structure, sweeping over the sound and rising high in the sky.
It’s right to name it for Marc Basnight. It will stand as a reminder that seemingly ordinary people can rise to extraordinary heights – and lift up a lot of other people.
Marc of Honor
Some OBXers don’t like naming the new Oregon Inlet bridge for Marc Basnight. As a part-time resident and lifelong lover of OBX, I say they’re wrong, DOT is right and no one is more deserving of the naming honor than the long-time Senate leader, OBX advocate and education champion.
One objection you hear: Basnight was “just a politician.” Well, so was Herbert Bonner, for whom the old bridge was named. Bonner was the Congressman who got the money for the bridge in the 1960s. Basnight was the officeholder whose support was critical to building the new bridge, which is critical to the life, economy and survival of Hatteras Island and Ocracoke.
Some people down there don’t like Basnight because he’s a Democrat. A lot of OBX has gone Republican – as one local says, “to the right of Attila the Hun.” During 2016, Trump signs lined NC 12. These folks, of course, hate government. Except when a hurricane hits. Then they can’t get enough government fast enough.
Basnight was an unlikely character to become the dominant force in the state Senate from 1990 to 2010. He was a rough-hewn Manteo boy with a pronounced Hoi Toide accent. When Governor Hunt appointed him to the DOT board in the late 1970s, he showed up for the formal board photo in a brightly patterned sweater, Topsiders and “Outer Banks Argyles” – no socks.
He never lost the rough edges. He could be bull-headed and demanding. But it was usually on behalf of somebody who needed help or a hand up. He is well-read, surprisingly so, but he never lost a gift for malapropism. He once told a reporter he got a “prescription” to the Economist magazine.
Marc didn’t go to college, but he became a passionate champion for education and the UNC system. He spent his life boating and fishing in coastal waters, and he became a champion of clean water trust funds. He fought hard for fishermen and the people whose jobs depend on fishing.
He fought especially hard for better roads in that part of the state. During the bridge debate, a local confronted a friend of Marc’s and demanded, “What did Marc Basnight ever do for us?” The friend said, “Do you ever go to Raleigh?” “Why, sure, a couple of times of month,” the local answered. “Well,” Marc’s friend said, “next time you go, take old US 64 and see how long it takes you.”
I know how long: five hours, on two-lane roads crowded with slow-moving tractors and through little towns with narrow main streets and too many stoplights. Today, the trip from Manteo to Raleigh – or, preferably, Raleigh to Manteo – takes three hours.
Marc played a singular role in making OBX what it is today. Yes, sometimes it’s too crowded, especially in the summer on the beach or at our favorite restaurants. But there are jobs, opportunities, beautiful waters and the best beaches in the world.
And there are some damn fine restaurants, like Marc’s Lone Cedar. Back when he spent weekdays running the Senate, he spent weekends chatting with diners and refilling their tea. I recall him sitting down and talking with our son and daughter about the importance of getting an education.
These days, health problems have slowed Marc’s ability to talk and get around. You rarely see him at the restaurant. But friends and family say his mind is sharp and his spirits are strong.
In April, Governor Roy Cooper, who worked closely with Marc in the Senate, will dedicate the new bridge. It’s a stupendous structure, sweeping over the sound and rising high in the sky.
It’s right to name it for Marc Basnight. It will stand as a reminder that seemingly ordinary people can rise to extraordinary heights – and lift up a lot of other people.