Charles Blackburn worked at the Washington Daily News for a single year. It was 1975 and he was a young reporter who found his first newspaper job as a walk-in to the Daily News’ office. It was his first of many in communications.

Now retired, Blackburn has added a memory of that year in Washington to his anthology of short stories — “Sweet Souls” — that have appeared in literary journals and magazines across the state.

Blackburn’s story of Washington is about something that certainly doesn’t happen everywhere, but happens at least once a year in Beaufort County.

“It was in March of that year (1975), and a strange phenomena took place that, when people told me about it, I was skeptical about it,” Blackburn said.

That strange phenomena — the March nor’easter that empties the Pamlico River down to its mud base — made an impression on the young reporter. For Blackburn, it was an anomaly, especially when locals put on their hip waders and went wading out in the exposed mud for Civil War relics. That Civil War cannonballs and shells could be unearthed from the river bottom and draw munitions experts from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point to gather the century-old, still-live ammunition, is the basis of Blackburn’s story.

“(The Marines) would come up and collect them and defuse them and bring them back,” Blackburn said.

“Sweet Souls” is Blackburn’s first book, after a career first in journalism, then in public relations with Duke University and in the business world.

Blackburn will discuss his book at noon Sunday on UNC-TV on “North Carolina Book Watch.” The show will be re-aired the following Thursday at 5 p.m.

A native of Henderson, Blackburn said he’s returned to Washington since his one-year tenure as a reporter with the Daily News, most recently for a writers conference held at the Washington Civic Center.

“I was really amazed at how the place had grown,” Blackburn said, reminiscing about how Bill’s Hot Dogs was the only downtown eatery in 1975. “I enjoyed my time down there. It’s a very pretty town.”