Top Hat Tells Tales
A small river town on the coast of North Carolina with history bulging at its seams introduces a colorful character in a top hat.
Noel J. Chisholm, the man in the top hat, draws a crowd to the river bank. He starts his tales where three bodies of waters meet. To the left, he explains, is the Cape Fear River, to the right is the Intracoastal Waterway and in front of you is the Atlantic Ocean.
As they walk, Chisholm tells the crowd of river pilots, blockade runners, soldiers, slaves, pirates and lingering ghosts from the past. They follow a path holding on to every word out of his mouth. He tells of Indians and animal spirits and how they communicated.
Chisholm captivates the crowd with war stories and voodoo princesses. He includes the crowd in his story telling to make them feel they are a part of the tale that happened so long ago.
His words create vivid pictures leaving the crowd wanting more. For example, the tale of Stede Bonnet, the gentleman pirate, and the governor and pauper Smithville (now Southport) was originally named after, Benjamin Smith. And let’s not forget the old graveyard and the stories of the live oak trees.
Approaching the end of the tour, Chisholm recalls the names of the streets they followed: Lord Street, Howe Street, Dry Street and I Am Street.
Chisholm is from Long Island, NY. He has two daughters and has been telling tales in Southport for the past nine years.
He was a professional photographer for more years than he cares to remember. He took photos inside of submarines and airplanes as well as anyplace else you can imagine.
Chisholm retired from teaching photography after 21 years.
He studied history under Susie Carson, an 88-year-old woman who wrote articles on history for the Star News in Wilmington, NC.
After researching the tales, he started the tours in 1999.
If you’re ever at Whittler’s Bench on Bay Street beside Cape Fear Restaurant in Southport, pay attention and follow the crowd to the past with the top hat telling tales.
