“So this is the final issue,” announces Mayor Ken Haller in the June 1978 edition of what has become the Pine Knoll Shoreline. Throughout 1977, founding editors Mary Doll and Betty Hammon expressed their lack of time and energy for keeping the paper going. However, by adding George and Moni Eastland to the staff and having the paper appear quarterly rather than monthly, they hoped to continue. The March 1978 issue appears on schedule, but by June, the plan has fallen apart.
Recalling a song from the Sound of Music, Doll and Hammon end, saying:
…we’re in this crazy planet full of crazy people, somersaulting around in the sky, and every time we turn another somersault, another day goes by and “There’s No Way to Stop It.” But in this case, the last somersault has been turned and we would like to quit while we are ahead, as the expression has it….
They are not quitting without a sense of achievement. “We wanted very much to help PKS’ers pull together and incorporate.” Pine Knoll Shores, they conclude, “…certainly has developed into a friendly and cooperative enclave and we did incorporate with the help of the N.C. Legislature.”
The town is firmly established. It will continue to grow, and infrastructure development to support that growth is underway. George Eastland writes in March 1978, “Plans for the new town hall-fire-and-rescue complex are continuing apace, with construction expected to begin within the next 90 days and completion later this year.” The construction timetable may be overly ambitious, but plans for acquiring fire and rescue equipment and for having trained volunteers to use the equipment are in progress.
This 1977 newspaper clipping photo was taken by Susan Phillips from a town scrapbook.
Carolina Water has “erected and placed in service a new 150,000-gallon tank, along with an additional deep well….” Carteret-Craven Electric is soon to begin building a “30,000 KVA electric sub-station” on Roosevelt Drive that will “improve its service to the growing community.”
Ordinances and zoning regulations are in place. The Community Appearance Commission has a new staff and, together with strong homeowner associations, will continue “to maintain housing and landscaping standards that will harmonize with and enhance the already attractive qualities of the community.”
Also supporting a sense of community are ongoing volunteer efforts and organizations such as the Garden Club, Ancient Mariners and Country Club. All are well established and have activities that will continue to bring members of the community together whether or not events are reported.
We know, as Ken Haller expresses in his farewell message in June 1978, “…some day a new Shoreline will rise, Phoenix-like, to carry on the traditions established by the old.”