June 6, 2014 — While the Menhaden Chanteymen no longer perform as a group, locals and visitors will have a rare opportunity to hear from one of the group’s members about the Menhaden Fishing Industry and the people that worked it. Ernest Davis, one of the original Chanteymen, will make a presentation at the NC Maritime Museum in Beaufort on Friday, June 20 at 3:00 p.m. Mr. Davis’s appearance is being made possible by the Old North State Medical Society, Jacksonville Chapter.
The Menhaden Chanteymen consisted of retired African American fishermen who previously worked off the coast near Beaufort. The group, during their working years, used singing to synchronize the pulling of their nets of menhaden, or shad.
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