A famous quote from the
1953 novel The Go-Between by British author L.P.Hartley, “The past is a
foreign country, they do things differently there” guides activities of the
Pine Knoll Shores History Committee.
Travel back to that
country. Investigate the history of our island and our county. Capture the
stories of locals. Discover old photographs and paper records. Learn how people
and events in local history connect with life and events in the larger world. Then,
contribute to our blog, our archives and our community exhibits.
The History Committee meets monthly, usually on the first Mondays at 1:00 PM at Town Hall in Pine Knoll Shores. To be certain of date and time, call 252-247-4353 x 10. You are invited to join us!
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Interested? Read On.
The committee is proud of
its visible accomplishments:
- Exhibit at the Bogue Banks Library celebrating the Town’s 40th anniversary
- History displays in the town hall lobby and boardroom
- History website – pineknollhistory.blogspot.com
- Monthly history article in the Shoreline
- State TAP Grant to improve the design of our archives
- "Beach Town in a Forest", an award winning exhibit at the History Museum of Carteret County
- A 2019 monthly photo calendar of Town sights and history
- Speaker program: "Wine & Cheese with Rodney & Alice"
But, not all we do is so
visible. This article provides information about efforts underway behind the
scenes.
The committee’s activities
are grouped into five main categories—You
might be interested in helping with one or more of the following:
Archive Management. This is the basic building block of much of our
activity—gathering material pertinent to the history of the town and what came
before the town. When individuals, groups or businesses make donations, the
material is assigned a unique accession number, entered into our database,
filed and stored in an appropriate location with attention given to any special
preservation the material may require. The focus of this task is to preserve
the material and to make it accessible to the public. Of course, a formal
letter of acknowledgement and thanks is provided to each donor. The Pine Knoll
Shore History Archive is located in Town Hall at 100 Municipal Circle Drive.
Oral History. The history of our town is documented in the written
word and in vintage pictures; however, it can also be captured in the words of
those who lived it. There are many individuals still here who witnessed the
earliest developments of PKS, some who knew and worked with the Roosevelts and
a few who knew Alice Hoffman and visited her home. They are resources that, as
time goes by, are quickly fading, and we are working to record their memories
and make them available for the future.
Historic Research. The process includes the use of personal knowledge
and experience, searching material in our archives, and reliance on many
resources in our nearby communities. We also search the Internet to get new
insights, discover links, develop conclusions, answer questions and solve
mysteries! The Internet provides material in a few hours that in the past would
have taken days, months or years of dedicated work to uncover. Exploring
a research subject today is nothing like it was when you were in college!
You’ll be surprised where a search leads and the links that you’ll uncover.
Writing, Publication,
Presentation, Display. This category
covers how we communicate and share our finds with the larger community.
Writing a compelling story based on research material is the starting point of
good communication. The committee has an editorial board that reviews all
written items for content and copyediting. The committee publishes an article
in The Shoreline most every month and provides historic background
write-ups for various town publications. We have provided history presentations
to several community groups including the Citizens Academy. We’ve displayed
parts of our archive collection in the Town Hall Board Room and Lobby display
cases, and mounted exhibits at the Bogue Banks Public Library, and the History Museum of Carteret County.
The newest tool for
communicating the history stories is our website pineknollhistory.blogspot.com.
Check it out.
Website Management. Developing and maintaining the website are ongoing tasks.
Keeping the site fresh and up-to-date is vital. In response to changing
technology and trying to make the site more accommodating, structural and
format changes are made from time to time. The underlying structure for the
site is a development tool called Blogger, a relatively easy-to-use and robust
product.
In Conclusion
If you’ve read this far,
perhaps some of the activities discussed interest you. The committee welcomes
visitors at all times. We meet monthly, usually on the first Monday of the month at 1:00 p.m. in Town Hall, but it's best to call to check for changes in the schedule. Come join the fun. We generally review progress on
current research and projects, plan for future activities and share stories.
Contact the committee at pkshistory@gmail.com.