Created just in time for the 35th Anniversary of the Rose Buddies (scheduled for September 2018) in Elizabeth City, NC. The Rose Buddies tradition started in 1983 when a few locals started greeting incoming boaters with wine, cheese and roses from their own rose bushes for the ladies. Elizabeth City’s original waterfront ambassadors have passed on, but the town still offers Rose Buddies Receptions when they have five or more boats in the harbor. The original rose bushes were transferred to the marina and yes, there are still roses for the ladies.
A little History about the Original "Rose Buddies"
"One Sunday after church, Fred Fearing and Joe Kramer decided to host an impromptu wine and cheese party for boaters visiting the recently completed docks at Mariners' Wharf.
Kramer clipped roses from his yard, and Fearing collected wine, cheese, chips and cups. That reception at the Pasquotank River waterfront in 1983 for 17 boats was the start of a popular local tradition that continues today.
The men were dubbed the "Rose Buddies" and eventually would attract national attention to Elizabeth City, NC."
"Kramer died in March 1987. His family transferred his rose bushes to Mariners' Wharf, and Fearing continued to host the parties for another 20 years."
"If there were more than five boats, he would host the party at the waterfront - fewer than five, and he would invite the boaters to his house on Fearing Street."
"The retired mail carrier died near the end of the fall boating season in 2007. He was 93."
Story can be read here
Today, the Elizabeth City Visitor's Center and fellow volunteers carry on the tradition making Elizabeth City a "Harbor of Hospitality"
