The following is the sixth in a series of articles focusing on those who have served Pine Knoll Shores in the role of mayor.
Robert "Bob" Gallo
As with our roster of exceptional
mayors and the town’s invaluable volunteers who have contributed mightily to
the fabric of Pine Knoll Shores throughout the years, everyone is from
somewhere else and has a story to share about their former life and what brought
them here.
Mr. Gallo is proud to say he was
born and raised in Brooklyn NY in 1930. While going to night school and getting
his degree at St. Johns University, he worked in computers before anyone knew
what they were (his words). He joined IBM in 1960 and was privileged to be a
part of the development of the 1401, the first commercial computer and the
Model-T of the industry. That was in a world before iPhones, laptops, iPads and
all our other devices. He then moved on to American Can Company and became the managing
director of their information services.
One Monday morning in 1970, Brad
Smith, one of the fellows who worked for Mr. Gallo, came into the office and announced
that over the weekend he had bought land in a place called Pine Knoll Shores. Others
in the office, knowing that Brad Smith was a frugal man, decided they had to
come down to see what enticed their fellow worker to make such a rash move. This
had to be checked out. Nothing could be that good, could it? Mr. Gallo and his wife fell in love with Pine
Knoll Shores and, over time, six others from his department also bought land
here. He bought his lot from the Roosevelt Trust in 1972, and many times has
said that buying land here was the best decision he had ever made. He wishes,
as so many others do, that he had bought several lots at the time. They built
their home in 1985, the year before retiring.
Did I mention we have a culture of
volunteerism in Pine Knoll Shores? Before the Gallo’s had a chance to move in,
they became volunteers. Mr. Gallo was drafted into the all-volunteer fire
department and Mrs. Gallo became involved with the EMTs. He laughingly told of
his introduction to the fire department. There was a fire at the country club;
all the volunteers ran to the club only to find that the volunteer responsible
for driving the truck had forgotten to stop at the station to pick it up. He
was a fireman for 10 years, ultimately becoming the fire captain.
Dave Hasulak, who was instrumental
in encouraging the Gallos to join the ranks of the volunteers, was on the Board
of Commissioners. Aubry Johnson, the commissioner responsible for the financial
functions of the town, retired in 1994. Because the town needed someone with
a financial background to fulfill his term, Mr. Gallo was a natural and stepped
into that role. He served under Mayors Hanan, Hasulak and Musgrave. At that
time, the pre-town manager era, town government was structured with each
commissioner being responsible for a different function of the town’s
operation. Mr. Gallo served as the finance commissioner as well as mayor
pro-tem. One day when he was on the golf course, he was hustled back to town
hall upon news that Mayor Musgrave had passed away. In that instant, he became
interim Mayor Gallo until he was confirmed at the next commissioner’s meeting.
Prior to 2003, the town’s mayors were chosen by their peers from within the Board
of Commissioners. Mayor Gallo was the last of the mayors to be a part of the
board.
Mayor Gallo’s primary concern when
he took office was the health of our beaches. Recent storms had taken a toll on
them and he introduced the idea of nourishment. Not all citizens saw the value
of adding sand to a beach knowing there would be future storms. But Mayor Gallo
was persistent and set about to find a way to finance the four-million-dollar
price tag. He spoke with a representative from the NC Department of Agriculture
and found them to be an eager partner. In fact, later when he believed we
needed a fire station that would enable the town to lower its rate from a six
to a five, thus reducing property owners annual fire insurance premiums, he
went back to the NC Department of Agriculture for financing to buy the old
Wachovia Bank building. Our fire and police are in that building to this day. Beach
nourishment continues to be one of the town’s top priorities.
Mayor Gallo will not take credit for
the town successfully buying the town’s water company from Carolina Water. That
feather belongs to Mayor Lamson, but he will admit he was instrumental in the
original thinking about the need to do so; he planted the seed.
Mayor Gallo recalls being the
financial officer involved in the building of St. Francis By the Sea Episcopal
Church in Salter Path. He also served as the president of the then Bogue Banks
Country Club.
Under his command, the commissioners decided it
was time to pay the town’s firemen. With an aging population, no longer could
the town recruit sufficient numbers of able-bodied volunteers to safely cover
all the duties of a fireman and all the what-ifs. While structures were getting
taller and more complex, the average age of the crew then was 65-66. Also,
during his tenure, the town applied for and received the Tree City designation
– an achievement we are proud we can say continues to this day.
Mayor Gallo emphasized that the
thing everyone treasures in Pine Knoll Shores is the closeness of community,
working together as a family with neighbor helping neighbor. As I said in last
month’s article about Mayor Kanyha, what makes Pine Knoll Shores so special? The lush maritime forest surrounding and
protecting us and the ocean and beaches where we can relax and enjoy the beauty
of our environment are critical features. But it is the people like our many
dedicated mayors and volunteers who share their talents as they create a much
richer environment for all who are fortunate to call Pine Knoll Shores home
that elevates us above all other communities.
Post Author: Kathy Werle with assistance of Ted Lindblad’s oral history interview, December 2018.
Published in The
Shoreline, August 2020.