Research is half the fun, he said. It s like a treasure hunt. Curious Tales is on sale now at Old Books on Front Street, the Bellamy Mansion Museum, the Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site, Fort Fisher State Historic Site, Redix at Wrightsville Beach, the Federal Point History Center at Carolina Beach and Island True Value Hardware at Carolina Beach.
Fonvielle is already at work on More Curious Tales, and he said the series could run to several volumes. The next book will include the tale of Nancy Martin, Our Nance, who died overseas and was buried in Oakdale Cemetery supposedly in the cask of rum in which her body was transported.
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(includes “The Campaign,” “The Massacre” and “The Aftermath”)
With the help of seven renowned guests, the Unearthing 1898 series examines, dissects and faces the horrors of the 1898 Wilmington Massacre. Detailing the campaign that led a white supremacist mob to kill untold numbers of African-American residents, it is arguably the most important story in Wilmington’s history, not just for its bigoted savagery but also for the wide-reaching regression it brought to a city that found progression and the possibility of parity after the Civil War. It is proof that one story and even one day in the Cape Fear can have ripple effects for so many others. In this case, it also changed everything.
Four years ago, while out at lunch with a friend, I started drawing a logo on a thin and uncooperative napkin.
When I got back to the office, napkin in hand, I sketched out the shoddy design on a sheet of paper, even though the sturdier texture did nothing to help my lack of drawing skills.
Still, I managed to capture the image rolling around in my head of the words “Cape Fear Unearthed,” the first two stacked on top of the third with a shovel forming the “F” and dug into the “Unearthed.”
I was instantly inspired. In my gut, I believed I had created something truly special, even though at that point it was just an idea for a podcast telling the stories of local history, one episode at a time.