CityView Magazine

16 | April 2017 the way, none of Mims three boats contain bathrooms, so those who choose to drink, should take their time between gulps. e Power of Stories Mims says he has always worked to make the trips interesting by way of storytelling. When the business began, he had been giving tours to fellow fishers and would share fun facts about cat fishing in the river, but he found that people responded more to stories about the region's history. Shortly aer he switched the tour's focus, he found groups like the Salvation Army, the Wounded Warriors Program and the Blind Center that took an interest in his educational boat rides. "I am trying to educate people. I have always been a history buff and it amazes me how so many highly educated people, especially your college-aged people, don't know anything about their history. 'Vietnam, what?' 'e War of the South Pacific?' (Gen. William) Sherman came through Fayetteville and burnt the bridge down when he came through. at's an amazing feat, but kids today don't know about it." Much of what is known about American history is because of storytellers like Mims, whose passion and respect for the people who lived and died in our own backyards, has helped spur the interest of others. Passion is an ingredient that can sometimes be forgotten when teaching history in a classroom, but not by people like Mims, and certainly not by the people who lived it, like Gould. e reason we know that it rained on the night Gould and his companions made their escape; the reason we know that the eight men traveled 28 nautical miles in pitch darkness before making it into the Atlantic Ocean where they were discovered by the U.S.S. Cambridge of the Union blockade; the reason we know the name William B. Gould at all, is because Gould, like Mims, had one other notable title: storyteller. Gould maintained one of only three diaries in existence, written during the Civil War, by a former slave. It is believed that Gould learned to read and write from the Episcopal church as a child, which was rare, as teaching a slave how to read and write was illegal at the time. Gould maintained a curiosity and passion about the world around him, teaching himself French and soaking up whatever literature he could find. Aer gaining his freedom, Gould didn't leave his nautical days behind him, choosing instead to immediately enlist in the U.S. Navy. Aer the end of the war, Gould documented his visits to the northeastern United States, the Netherlands, Spain and many other countries. However, he chose to live the remainder of his life in the country he fought so hard to gain his freedom in, raising five sons who would follow in his footsteps, fighting in World War I and one son who fought in the Spanish-American War. Gould died in 1923, at the age of 85 in Dedham, Massachusetts. e day aer his death, the town newspaper described him as a "faithful soldier" and an "always loyal citizen." According to Mims, people are oen surprised by how quiet and undisturbed by the modern world the Cape Fear River remains. "ey go from Person Street, to a paved parking lot, to what looks like the Amazon River," Mims said. "Ten minutes aer leaving the dock, you'd think there wasn't another person anywhere in the world, except for maybe a few fishermen. Even though civilization is only a few hundred yards away, you don't see it beyond the trees." For those overwhelmed by the stresses of the modern world, a peaceful trip down the Cape Fear River, with nothing but the sounds of nature and stories of days-gone-by, may sound like the perfect escape. For William B. Gould, it quite literally was. For more information on Cape Fear River Cruises, prices and schedules, call (910) 709-1758. CV

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