Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Historical researcher Kevin Duffus to focus on NC lighthouses in Asheboro library talk

Kevin Duffus
ASHEBORO – North Carolina historical researcher Kevin Duffus will return to the Asheboro Public Library for “From a Fire on the Beach to a Diamond in the Sky: The Evolution of Lighthouses and Light-keeping in North Carolina,” at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 23.

His talk is free and the public is invited.

Duffus will use historical drawings and maps to present a wide-ranging discussion of North Carolina’s colorful, five-century heritage of guiding mariners along its coast. He will shed light on the earliest attempts to guide a ship ashore, and the first known Carolina shipwreck.

He also will outline the development of lighthouse technology and architecture, and talk about times when the lighthouses were burned, blown up or battered, and when lightships were sunk during wars and storms.

He’ll share stories about roguish lighthouse keepers — including one accused of purposely wrecking ships, and others who helped steal their own lenses.

Duffus, who lives in Waynesville, is an award-winning author, researcher and filmmaker who has made significant discoveries about North Carolina’s coastal history. He has received a Peabody Award and an Edward R. Murrow Award among other honors.

His research has led to the re-discovery of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse’s Fresnel lens and to new understandings of the pirate Blackbeard, his crew, and the nature of his treasure.

His books include War Zone, World War II off the North Carolina Coast;  The Last Days of Blackbeard the Pirate: Within Every Legend Lies a Grain of Truth;  and The Lost Light: A Civil  War Mystery — The True Story of the Extraordinary Odyssey of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse 1854 Fresnel Lens.

Duffus’s appearance is made possible by funding from the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide non-profit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Friends of the Library.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6803.

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