The Shoreline on Population Growth: 1973-1983

A newsletter named “Shore-line” first appeared in 1973, a year before the Town of Pine Knoll Shores received official recognition of its incorporation. Early residents Betty Hammon and Mary Doll had the foresight to realize the importance of having a vehicle for neighbors to get to know one another and stay in touch with what was happening locally. Pine Knoll Shores Shore-line (later Shore Line then The Shoreline) has, with a few short interruptions, existed ever since, changing formats over the years as the newsletter eventually became a newspaper. During most of this publication’s history, local volunteers have served as editors and writers. Its pages provide a documented story of the town and help us understand how Pine Knoll Shores’ population grew.

Bogue Banks State Park, 1923

In a search for information about Alice Hoffman's dairy business, a file in the State Archives of North Carolina titled "Documents regarding proposed State Parks on Bogue Banks" caught my eye. This file, containing 56 pages  of text along with numerous period pictures, assesses the feasibility of establishing a State Park on all or some of Bogue Banks. The various reports and studies span 17 years from 1923 to the 1940s. The earliest reports give a picture of the island nearly 100 years ago. It also reflects the socio- economic conditions and prevailing attitudes of the times. This post contains excerpts from that file that the author found illustrative, interesting, or surprising.

The complete document is available at The State Archives of North Carolina Digital Collections        http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll27/id/7413/rec/9

Clam Digger: A Landmark Inn

As of April 2016, The Clam Digger (also spelled Clamdigger) Inn has new owners. Before the start of the 2017 beach season, they erected a new roadside sign identifying it as “The Inn at Pine Knoll Shores.” The following post is an update of a September 2008 Shoreline article entitled “The Birth of a Landmark."

Flying to San Juan

The Beaufort News, November 14. 1929

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MRS. ALICE HOFFMAN TAKES AN AIR VOYAGE

         Miami, Fla., Nov 11 - Mrs. Alice Hoffman of Paris, 70-year old aunt of Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, was speeding southward this morning as a passenger aboard the Pan American Airways, West Indies air limited, en route to Porto Rico for a months visit with the new governor of the Island.

         Mrs. Hoffman was elated as she entered the plane here. She will lunch in the air between Havana and Camaguey today and stop overnight at Santiago de Cuba, arriving at Porto Rico Tuesday at 4:30 P.M.

         The Mrs. Hoffman referred to above owns a fine estate on Bogue Island and is known by a good many Carteret County people.

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Gabrielle Germaine Brard - Gabby

Alice Green Hoffman, who in 1917 bought Bogue Banks property that is now Pine Knoll Shores, had many people who worked for her. One of those was Gabrielle Germaine Brard (1908-1999). Known more familiarly as “Gabby,” she was an integral part of Alice’s life from 1931 until Alice’s death here on Bogue Banks in 1953.

Those 22 years were perhaps the most tumultuous of Alice’s colorful and eventful life. It was in that timeframe that she lost her real-estate holdings in Paris and New York, lost control of her property on Bogue Banks, and experienced declining health. The 46-year younger Gabby was with her through it all, yet research has revealed little about Gabby.

Beach Protection

The barrier islands that make up the Outer Banks of North Carolina are composed of sand. This sand is in near constant movement, resulting in an ever-changing shoreline—a process witnessed by anyone who observes the beach on a regular basis. The normal action of winds, waves, tides, and storms reduces the depth of the beach and erodes the dunes. Long-term records have documented the loss of shoreline along parts of Bogue Banks between 1936 and 1994 to be 120 ft., averaging 1 to 3 feet per year. As these islands change from uninhabited to populated, the erosion part of shoreline dynamics becomes an issue.