“Each generation takes the earth as
trustees. We ought to bequeath to posterity as many forests and orchards as we
have exhausted and consumed.” Arbor Day
founder, J. Sterling Morton. Pine Knoll Shores takes this motto seriously.
When
Pine Knoll Shores was presented its first Tree City USA Award in a 2000 Arbor
Day celebration, Alice Green Hoffman must have been smiling down on town hall.
Whether by intention or circumstance, the eccentric socialite who adopted this
island as her home, ensured that the
“Isle of Pines” would remain generally untouched by development during
her lifetime and beyond.
Miss
Gabrielle Brard, Alice’s companion of 22 years, remembers that Alice was
convinced that without the protection of the maritime forest, the dunes would
be destroyed and her “island paradise” would be lost. According to Miss Brard,
“Not only did Miss Hoffman cherish the trees, but she left standing orders that
no animal, not even a snake be killed on her land.”[i]
One early PKS resident, Phyllis Gentry, remembers visiting Alice’s home, Shore
House, as a child and having to navigate a winding driveway that bypassed many
stately old trees. She was told that Alice couldn’t bear to cut them down and
had built Shore House around them.
In a
previous post, Walt Zaenker, calls Alice “our first conservationist”— and
rightly so. Not only did her protective behavior preserve the maritime forest
surrounding her home, but also her reluctance to sell off any part of her
acreage made it possible for the land to pass unspoiled to her
conservation-minded Roosevelt heirs.
Having
inherited a passion and respect for the natural world from their grandfather,
President Theodore, Alice’s great nieces and nephews became the ideal
caretakers of a carefully planned, ecologically aware community. When most developers in the 60s were clearing
immense swaths of forest to erect cookie-cutter houses and stripping barrier
islands for development, the members of the Roosevelt Trust were consulting
with attorneys to draw up the environmentally sensitive and tree-friendly
covenants for Pine Knoll Shores.
The
earliest Declarations of Covenants and Restrictions for Roosevelt Property
stipulates that the “Property owner agrees to leave all vegetation, trees,
brooks, creeks, hillsides, springs, water courses and ravines in as near their
natural state as is compatible with good building and land use practices…. Variations
in this restriction must be approved by the Architectural Control Committee.”[ii]
In
the ensuing 47 years, PKS guidelines regarding general treatment and protection
of the land and vegetation, especially mature trees, have remained constant.
The original intent of preservation and wise management of our island and its
unique maritime forest has become a deeply ingrained community code.
Designated
as a Tree City USA since 2000, PKS is one of more than 3,400 communities across
the country that takes part in this Arbor Day Foundation program. Participating
cities range from metropolises like Denver, Colorado, to tiny villages like
Golf, Illinois. All of these communities have promised to manage their trees wisely
and fulfill the following four requirements set forth by Tree City USA
guidelines: 1) maintain a tree board or department, 2) have a community tree
ordinance, 3) spend at least $2 per capita on a tree management program and 4) celebrate
Arbor Day annually.
To
qualify, a tree’s circumference must measure eight feet at a distance of ten
feet from the ground. Two stately oaks, “The PIKSCO Oak” and “The McNeill Park
Oak,” met the criteria. The largest or “signature oak” stands at the entrance
of McNeill Park and was named “The Jake Tree” in honor of Jake Rife, a long-time
PKS resident and community leader. The Jake Tree was measured at an astonishing
ten feet, ten inches and displayed a branch spread of 80 feet.[iii]
The
Community Appearance Commission (CAC), which serves as the town’s tree board,
is also attempting to identify historic and irreplaceable trees through the
Pine Knoll Shores Heritage Tree Program. Any homeowner in PKS can apply to the
CAC to nominate a tree for heritage-tree designation. The only requirement is
filling out a simple form that can be picked up at town hall. Heritage status
is determined by “size, age, rarity and botanical, aesthetic or historical
value.”[iv]
The CAC will then inspect the tree. If satisfied that it meets heritage requirements,
the CAC will recommend it to the PKS Board of Commissioners, who will put it to
a vote. PKS Administrative Assistant Sarah Williams, who helped develop the
current program, reports that to date, two trees, “Irma’s Oak” at the home of
Jim and Barb Yankauskas, and another live oak on town hall grounds have been
approved for heritage status.
No
wonder you are smiling, Alice. Thanks to your conservation-minded legacy, Pine
Knoll Shores is all about the trees.
Post Author: Jean Macheca
To contact the author or the HistoryCommittee
[i]
Rider, Jan. “Woman of Mystery - Part III, The Isle of Pines, The Coastal Paradise of Mrs. Alice Hoffman." The Carteret News Times. Thursday, August 30, 1973, p. 1A.
[ii] North Carolina, Carteret County document, Declarations of
Covenants and Restrictions, Roosevelt Property, Sections one and three, Pine
Knoll Shores Extension. as per Map of C. C. King, Dated the 26th day of May
1967. Article 4, Section 5, p. 3.
[iv]
Trebbe, Pete. “Heritage Tree Program.” The Shoreline. vol. 10, no. 10
(April 2014).