Book: Blackbeard and crew born in Carolinas

BATH -- In a pirate-worthy broadside on conventional history, a Raleigh author claims that Blackbeard and many of his henchmen weren't rogue Englishmen, but sons of North Carolina landowners.

Most historical accounts contend that the notorious pirate known as Edward Teach or Thatch was from Bristol, England. But Kevin P. Duffus said his review of archives and genealogical research indicates that Blackbeard was probably Edward Beard, son of a landowner in Bath in Beaufort County.

"There's never going to be a smoking gun to determine who he really was," Duffus said of the pirate. "My version is a lot more plausible than what's been foisted upon us for nearly three centuries."
More Here.

Blackbeard the Pirate's Sword and Booty Discovered

Blackbeard's beloved ship Queen Anne's Revenge sank off the coast of North Carolina in the 18th Century, and now researchers have recovered a sword handle and some gold stashed aboard.

The sword guard you see to the left would have rested between the blade and the grip, and an x-ray revealed a little hole bored in it where you might hang a tassel - sort of the pirate sword equivalent of a cell phone charm.

Roy Mette Sings Pirate Songs

A little bit Sean Connery, a little bit Roger Moore, handsome, kind, generous, sweet: these are just some of the words never used to describe Roy Mette.

So what is he? He is a guitarist, singer and songwriter who has been performing since the mid ‘70s. He plays solo or in bands; covers blues, rock and folk and has a jolly good time doing it!

Roy has released 8 full length CD’s to date, the most recent, 12 Bars & the Blues, on the Blues Matters record label to whom he is signed. His next CD, Plugged, will also be released on the Blues Matters label.

Here's the songlist from his Pirates! album:

Port Royal
Calico Jack Rackham
Anne Bonny
Captain William Kidd
Bartholomew Roberts - Black Bart
Black Beard - Whispers In the Darkness
Israel Hands
Paradise Island
Mary Read
Jean Lafitte
Tortuga
The Articles of Black Bart & His Crew
Charles Vane
Captain Cooper / Captain Scarfield
Polly The Parrot of the Caribbean

Welcome to the Official World Grits Festival Headquarters

World Grits Festival: "The History of the World Grits Festival
In late 1985, the store manager of the St. George S.C. Piggly Wiggly Supermarket, Bill Hunter, was giving a broker of a large Grits company an order for grits. The broker made a remark that his company sure shipped a lot of grits into St. George, considering how small the town was and its meager population (around 2,000 at the time). A week or two later another broker from another major grits company made a similar remark about the large quantity of grits shipped into this small town. The manager spoke with the two owners of the Piggly Wiggly, John Walters and George Axson. They all agreed that if it proved to be true that we did consume a disproportionately large amount of grits that they would do some research to find out just how much we did eat."