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The NEW BERN
7 WliKLY
Pei j^
't
Hundreds of New Bernlans
have purchased copies of Char
lie Whedbee’s book, ''Legends
Of The Outer Banks." It Is
a fascinating volume, of par
ticular Interest to those of us
who live In the coast country.
Whedbee Is no stranger here.
A member of New Bern's Scot
tish Rite Consistory, the Greffli-
vllle native has participated In
degree work at Spring and Fall
Reunions lor a great many
years.
It was throu£d> Masonry that
this editor and Charlie be
came friends a long time ago.
For what It may be worth, we
can testily that the warm per
sonality he projects on WNCT’s
morning show Is the way the
man really Is off camera.
As the book's publisher, John
F, Blair, says. It Is more than
a collectton of coastal legends.
It Is an affectionate portrait
of the people who dally pull a
living out of the treacherous
waters of the AUanUc.. .a tri
bute to the hardiness and
courage that has made the
Banker a rare breed.. .a breed
whose true stories are Indeed
stranger than fiction.
Whedbee's volume Is, to use
a trite expression, turly a
labor of love. As far back as
he can remember, he has been
a frequent visitor to the Dare
' Cpast, and he, his wife and tfaelr
do^, Chler Mant^ of frddn'tikg,'
are familiar summer re^dents
at Nags Head.
Charlie makes no claim
that all of the stories In his
book arefactual.Some he knows
to be true, some he believes
to be true because they were
told and retold to him by upright
and honest people, and the
rest he admits are Impossible
of verification or of refutation.
Among the tales that rate a
chapter are The Pirate Ll^ts
of Pamlico Sound, The Ghost
Deer of Roanoke, The Devil's
Hoofprlnts, A Door For St.
Andrews, The Witch of Nag's
Head Woods, Swanquarter
Incident, and The Riddle of
Shallotte Inlet.
It Is hardly surprising that
"Legends Of The Outer Banks''
holds appeal for us, since our
matern^ ancestors were the
Gaskllls on Portsmouth Is
land. One of Whedbee's stories
deals with Jim Baum Gasklll,
son of BUI and Annie GaskUl,
who Uved at Ocracoke.
However, the most Inter
esting chapter for us Is the
one about John and Amy Har
ris, and the miraculous way he
was saved from death during a
vicious hurricane that swept
the North CaroUna coast In
September 1933.
It happened to be the first
of many big blows we would
cover as a newsman during
the next third of a century,
and well do we remember that
22 Tar Heels lost their lives
before wind and tide subsided.
But for a remarkable Inci
dent, which we won't spoil by
revealing It before you read
Charlie's book, John Harris
would have been the storm's
23rd victim. It's a foregone con
clusion that this narrative, as
much as any other In the vol
ume, will linger In your mem
ory.
As Whedbee says, "Many
of ttie Inhabitants of these
storm-swept shore lines are
living legends In ttiemsblves.
Others have gone on to their
(CMitlnued on page 8)
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LAND OF THE SKY—Gary Natella, 12, and Perry
Natella. 8, of New Bern were a long way from home
when this picture was taken. Tounng Great Smoky
Mountains National Park, the two young sons of
Chick and Barbara Natella pause for a moment to sur*
vey the magnificent foliage around them. Naturally a
Natella always has his camera handy, but for the time
being they are content to feast their eyes on the
spectacular scenery stretching before them. You'll
probably notice, as we did, that the brothers as they
relax have their feet placed in exactly the same posi*
tion. It must be a family characteristic. You've missed
something wonderful if you’ve never seen the mouD'
tains of North Carolina in Autumn. Plan a weekend
trip in the first half of October, while Dame Nature
is wielding her paint brush lavishly in the hill country.