File:Coast watch (1979) (20651548192).jpg

Title: Coast watch
Identifier: coastwatch00uncs_16 (find matches)
Year: 1979 (1970s)
Authors: UNC Sea Grant College Program
Subjects: Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology
Publisher: (Raleigh, N. C. : UNC Sea Grant College Program)
Contributing Library: State Library of North Carolina
Digitizing Sponsor: North Carolina Digital Heritage Center

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In the shade of weeping willows in front of his Core Banks cottage, David Yeomans often entertains tourists by crooning "The Booze Yacht" — a ballard about a whiskey boat gone aground. "I learned this from my father who was a storyteller," says Yeomans. "He wrote some things and told stories sometimes. He would tell stories at fish houses." Coastal Legends Along the coast, storytellers also entertain audiences with ghost, pirate, hunting and Indian stories. One popular tale is "Maco Light," set in 1867 in Maco — about 15 miles outside of Wilmington in Brunswick County. After a caboose dislodged, conductor Joe Baldwin waved a light at an approaching freight train, according to North Carolina Legends, edited by Richard Walser. As the train plowed into the dislodged caboose, it decapitated the conductor's head. "Thereafter on misty nights, Joe's headless ghost appeared at Maco," the legend goes. During an 1899 campaign trip, President Grover Cleveland reported seeing the light — and so have hundreds of people through the years. But in 1977, the railroad tracks were removed and the swamp reclaimed the haunting grounds. "Joe seems to have lost interest in Maco. At least he has not been there lately," the legend ends. On Ocracoke Island, stories of Edward Teach — also known as Blackbeard the Pirate — abound. They include "The Pirate Lights of Pamlico Sound" in Charles Harry Whedbee's Legends of the Outer Banks and Tar Heel Tidewater. While on his ship the Queen Anne's Revenge, Blackbeard shot and crippled his mate, Israel Hands, at Teach's Hole. Later, he battled the British while aboard another ship. Toward the end of the fight, a British sailor killed Blackbeard and cut off his head, according to the legend. 'To this day at Ocracoke, some will tell you that the 'Teach lights' ABOVE: Newport Mayor Derryl Garner spins a historical tale about the days when Quakers first settled in Newport. are still seen on occasion both over and in the waters of Pamlico Sound." writes Whedbee. Blackbeard's ghostly ship is sometimes seen in the light of the waning moon. Some say the headless figure of Blackbeard can been seen in the dark of the moon as the body swims around and around Teach's Hole, searching for its severed head." Storytelling History Throughout coastal North Carolina, storytelling has become an art form. Years ago, people gathered at country stores, fish houses and front porches to exchange tales. One popular spot on Harkers Island was Cleveland Davis' store called "the beehive." One storyteller, Grayden Paul of Beaufort, earned a reputation for his innate ability to relate tall tales. "Grayden Paul was the best storyteller I ever heard," says Kemp. "He performed in the 1940s, '50s, '60s and '70s. He had a regular routine and amazing stories." Today, people tell stories at festivals and family reunions. "I love storytelling," says musician and storyteller Connie Mason. "People are hungry for it with e-mail and electronic devices. Continue d COASTWATCH 9

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