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| AC Hall design for Ocean Park with dune front deck, 1967 |
Elaine and I moved to Pine Knoll Shores in June 1996,
and a few days later Rachael and Robert Magnum one of our very nice neighbors
on Mimosa Blvd. stopped in to welcome us. We were already enthralled with our
new hometown with many nice people, town officials, many things to do and just
a great atmosphere for recent retirees.
Rachael, a true Southern Lady, asked, “Have y’all
been to the sittum?” “What’s a sittum?” we asked. She said it was the deck
where you sit at the beach at the end of Mimosa. “You mean Ocean Park?” we asked.
“Yes, we have been there and enjoy it.”
We hear the term “sittum” used
frequently now, but only recently, while reading “Early Sittum History” by Walt
Zaenker on the PKS History blog, did I learn when the term was first used. The
locally coined term “sittum” first appears in the August 1975 issue of the Pine Knoll Shore Line in a story published
by Betty Hammon and Mary Doll. Cres Yaeck’s son has credited Mary Doll and his
mom as the first to use the term.
In June 1996, Frank Link was the Pine Knoll
Association Ocean Park sittum chairman, and Charlie Kirshner was the PKA parks
chairman. They worked well together to organize volunteers and maintain the
park. Elaine and I found our selves at the Ocean Park sittum often to enjoy time
with friends, family or just to walk our dog. Along with other new arrivals, I
was recruited as a volunteer for sittum duty. Then it happened!
Three weeks after we moved to Pine Knoll Shores,
Hurricane Bertha hit our area of the coast on July 12, 1996. We stayed put in
our little rental home. A couple times when we could get outside, we walked to
the sittum with some neighbors to view the surf and what all was happening—and then
quickly returned home.
The storm seemed long and, at times, nerve-racking,
but we came through it fine, and our little rental home had no leaks or damage.
The beach was a different story, with severe sand erosion and extensive damage
to decks, beach steps, and oceanfront homes along the entire stretch of Bogue
Banks, including Pine Knoll Shores.
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| Oceanfront homes in Pine Knoll Towns following Hurricane Bertha. |
I confirmed with Jay Barnes, author of North Carolina Hurricane History, that
it was Bertha that took the oceanfront ends off of two of Pine Knoll Town
Homes. Severe erosion and moderate
damage occurred at Ocean Park Sittum and steps to beach.
Contractor Scott McMillan gave priority to repairs,
and contractor Robert Youngblood bulldozed sand back to the steps and sittum, where
numerous volunteers repositioned it, using shovels under the steps and sittum.
The steps to the beach and the sittum were never totally out of use because of
the quick work by contractors. This was a blessing because almost all oceanfront
steps along the beach were washed away or severely damaged including the decks
at Hammer and Memorial Park, which were closed for repair, causing occasional
large crowds at Ocean Park until they re-opened a few weeks later.
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| Bill Keefe (left) and Bob Murphy use shovels to reposition sand under the steps and sittum that was bulldozed following Hurricane Bonnie in 1998 |
Robert Youngblood and other contractors spent weeks
on the enormous task of removing debris from Hurricane Bertha all along Bogue
Banks—then it happened again.
On September 5-6, 1996, Hurricane Fran hit our area, causing
significant repeat damage, which included erosion and damage to beach steps,
decks and oceanfront homes. Fran compounded some of the damage and erosion
caused by Bertha; however, there were areas along the beach with severe damage and
other areas with much less damage. Ocean Park was more severely damaged by Fran
than by Bertha. The pilings for the beach steps and ocean side of the sittum
had severe sand erosion, and the steps and sittum were unusable.
Although Fran was considered a much stronger storm
than Bertha, the direction it took as it hit the coast and moved inland may
explain why the damage was more variable on the beach. Again, thanks to the
priority the Scott McMillan Builders gave the project, work began almost
immediately installing extensions on the pilings of the steps and ocean side of
the sittum, which had been completely washed out. Robert Youngblood again
pushed sand up to the structure, and volunteers shoveled it under the steps and
sittum, which were quickly put back into use.
It should be noted that northeasters following
Hurricane Fran also caused significant erosion and, sometimes, severe damage. Robert
Youngblood was contracted for additional sand replenishments by bulldozing.
Because of the heavy hit Pine Knoll Shores had taken from storm damage over a
period of time, he offered to do the last one at no charge, for which PKS
thanked him by letter in March 1997.
In June 1998, Frank Link, who had been an exceptional
PKA Ocean Park chairman for many years stepped down. Charlie Kirchner asked me
to be the new chairman, and I accepted. Frank would still be available as a
volunteer and would help when building design work was needed. Frank designed the
high-rise seats, which he also built in 1995 on the northeast corner of the
original sittum.
Charlie, Frank and the PKA Board had been concerned about the
sittum surviving hurricanes and northeasters since 1995 because of its design
and frequent repairs after storms. Frank was already thinking about design
improvements should a new sittum be needed at Ocean Park.
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| Ocean Park Sittum, pre 1995 Photo compliments of the Yaeck family. |
Almost two years after Hurricane Fran, during August
26-28, 1998, Hurricane Bonnie hit our coast and caused significant erosion and
some damage to Ocean Park steps and sittum. Again, McMillan Builders and Robert
Youngblood were quick to respond. The steps and sittum were repaired and were
never unusable, but the severe erosion around step and sittum pilings left it
very vulnerable to collapse if further erosion occurred.
The erosion was severe all along Bogue Banks beaches.
In addition, it was Bonnie that washed ashore thousands of auto tires that had
been placed as offshore fishing reefs onto the beaches especially Atlantic
Beach and PKS area. The tires had to be removed before Youngblood could push
sand up to the dunes.
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| Thousands of tires, which had been placed offshore as fishing reefs, were washed ashore by Hurricane Bonnie in August 1998. |
Bonnie was the final blow that set the stage for the
eventual loss of Ocean Park steps and sittum, which would occur later in May
1999. The erosion on the beaches was so severe tree roots that had been covered
by many feet of sand were exposed on the beach where folks currently set up
their chairs and umbrellas near the water. On the beach at the east end of Pine
Knoll Shores, not far from Hammer Park, sand erosion caused many cement gun
mounts that were installed during WWII to be exposed at the mid-tide area.
There
were areas in the dunes where erosion caused eight-foot-tall cuts in the dune,
and many layers of different- colored sand were visible.
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| Tree roots uncovered due to beach erosion - 1998 |
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| 1942, United States Marine Corps 50 cal machine gun training installation, located on the dunes in the vacinity of what is now Pinewood Circle. Photo compliments of Sonny Cunningham |
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| 1998, Machine gun mounts exposed by storm erosion, showing the extent of dune face movement during 45 years. |
Hurricane Bonnie lasted for three days in our area
and had a circuitous pathway on and off shore—it seemed to never end. This is
one reason sand erosion was so severe. Following Hurricane Bonnie, Robert
Youngblood was contracted to push sand after turtle nesting season ended in November.
Pushing sand in November was hampered by northeasters that seemed to cause more
erosion. Sand pushing was delayed until early 1999.
After a series of northeasters in the fall of 1998
and spring of 1999, a northeaster on May 15, 1999, caused severe erosion of
sand around the Ocean Park steps and all sittum pilings, resulting in the sittum’s
backward collapse, crashing down
onto the dune. The collapse occurred because the sittum pilings in the dune on
the north side, that could not be extended in the past, were completely washed
out, while the south side with extended pilings stood high in the air.
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| After a series of storms in 1998 and 1999, the sand erosion proved too much for the Ocean Park sittum and applied backward onto the dune, Pictured is Elaine Tempel. |
The area was condemned by the Pine Knoll Shores building
inspector, resulting in its being unavailable for use. The same thing happened
to many parks on the ocean side of Pine Knoll Shores. In June 1999, all debris
from the Ocean Park steps and sittum was removed by Robert Youngblood. During
May and June 1999, Charlie Kirchner, PKA parks chairman, and I, as Ocean Park chairman,
worked with a group from PKA, representatives of the Coastal Resources
Commission, tasked with enforcing CAMA (Coastal Area Management Act);
contractors; Frank Link, designer; and Stroud Engineers to come up with viable
alternatives to replace the sittum and steps and cement the walkway to the parking
lot.
Dick Wray was President of PKA at the time, and the association
had a very effective board of directors and PKA administrator, Robin Barnes. Two
possible plans were developed. Plan A called for a sittum on the ocean side of
the dunes as it was before, with steps to beach, and Plan B provided for the sittum
to be set back 30 feet inland and on top of the dunes with a wooden walkway to
a landing and beach steps. Plan B was selected by the board, put out for bids,
and ultimately awarded to Scott McMillan Builders.
The new five-foot-wide steps from beach to landing with
a flagpole on top of the dune, shower area and walkway to the sittum entrance were
complete by early August 1999 by Scott McMillan Builders, with Craig Lewis serving
as the carpentry foreman. The
construction included nine steps south down to a landing, seven steps east down
to a landing and five steps west down to the beach. This design is important
because in years to come a lot of the steps were covered up with sand, thanks
to sand fences—a very positive development. The new sittum was finished by the
third week of September. McMillan, Lewis and Youngblood lived in Pine Knoll
Shores at the time (and still do today).
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| The new beach access steps just after completion in August 1999, consisted of three flights of steps, one leading south, the second east, and the third headinf west. |
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| Beach access steps 2016. The sand fencing built up the ground level so that only four steps on the east flight are exposed. The remaining east steps and the west steps are in place under the sand. |
Craig Lewis, a skillful carpenter and builder for
McMillian and also an avid surfer, told me recently he remembers well working
on the new sittum when the winds got stronger and stronger. When it was almost
impossible to work, he looked out at the ocean and saw the biggest surf he had
ever seen. The new steps were not affected at all by the hurricane, however, it
did cause delay in construction of the sittum.
There had been some debate about having the sittum
out near the beach or set back in the dunes. The fact the sittum has been
secure where it is currently located for over 17 years is testimony to the
wisdom of the PKA board decisions in 1999.
Sand fences were installed near the base of the steps
along the whole width of Ocean Park in September 1999. They were angled based
on Scott McMillan’s recommendation and extended at least 20 feet toward the
surf. Scott always was a proponent of sand fences, and they were a key part of
the planning with Charlie Kirchner. Bill Stanley, soon-to-be-Ocean Park
chairman, supervised installation of sand fences with volunteers starting in
October 1999.
In the weeks following, one could observe how the
fences were starting to collect sand. It’s important to note that as far back
as 1994 sand fences were discussed and also installed at various times. Fences
were also installed in 1996 after Hurricane Fran, but the concept was always a
combination of sand fences and pushing sand after storms caused erosion. All of
those fences were washed out with hurricanes and northeasters in 1996, 1997 and
1998. The sand fences installed in 1999 eventually built up sand to the top of
the fences and more fences were installed at the higher level. In some areas,
sand is now three sand-fences deep.
The Town of Pine Knoll Shores developed a sand fence
program that was very effective in building back dunes, coupled with planting
vegetation to help hold the sand. Since the sand fences were installed in 1999
at Ocean Park and after buildup of sand, more fences installed on top, the new
dune has risen up to six feet to cover at least nine of the new steps to the
beach. All those steps are now under the sand. It is possible to stand on the
beach at the end of the walkway and look toward the steps and see nine steps
coming down to a landing, then three steps going down to sand level with the
walkway to the beach. The remaining nine steps that used to go to beach level
are totally covered with sand—due to the sand-fence effect. There has been no
bulldozing of sand on the beach since early 1999.
In late October 1999, I stepped down as Ocean Park chairman.
Bill Stanley became the new Ocean Park chairman and immediately worked with
volunteers and supervised completion of the sand fence on the dunes and
construction of a wooden handrail along the new cement walkway. The project is
now complete and has been in good use ever since.
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| Ocean Park, 2002 Google Earth - Time Back |
In the spring of 2000, Bill Stanley and volunteers
moved the shower area from the wooden walkway near the flagpole to the current
location because it was causing erosion of sand. In April 2013, under the
leadership of PKA President and Construction Foreman Dick Belanger and Ocean
Park Chairman Bill Steenland, volunteers built the handicap-accessible ramp
around the sittum to the beach, a most welcome addition. In February 2016, Ocean
Park Chairman Shannon Smylie, with PKA President and construction foreman Dick
Belanger and volunteers, rebuilt the shower area.
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| Ocean Park, 2015 showing the handicap-accessible ramp around the sittum to the beach. Carteret County, GISconnect |
The Ocean Park sittum and beach continue as a local treasure,
a very important asset for residents of Pine Knoll Association and PIKSCO to
enjoy for many years to come. The storms during the years 1996 -1999 impacted
many of the stairs and oceanfront decks all along Pine Knoll Shores as well as
putting some oceanfront residences at risk. Those affected worked as diligently
as the folks responsible for Ocean Park to overcome the challenges nature
presented—rebuilding, installing sand-fences and planting beach grasses—getting
everything back to shipshape condition. Perhaps those involved can document the
actions they took.
Post Author: Tom
Tempel