Page 13 - Sea Level 2019

Pawleys took pictures on vacation and wrote fly kites, clean fish, steer boats, sing songs,
on them to record the dates and places they swing racquets, slice tomatoes, grill steaks,
wanted to remember. We found a photo of shuck corn, shred lettuce, play records, paint
eight young people sprawled on the sand and pictures, tend gardens, toot horns, toss balls,
boldly inscribed, “Oh, you Pawleys Island greet friends, walk beaches, pet dogs, pile
trip. August 1911.” sand, run miles, ride bikes, pick berries,
Through all these changes however the bake pies, peel shrimp, fry oysters, dig clams,
essential nature of Pawleys has remained surf waves, take naps, teach kids, drink beer,
immutable and for the cover of our book sip wine, count stars, recite poems, browse
we chose a photo that sums up that timeless bargains, visit graves, buy art, tell stories,
trip to Georgetown “would be incomplete
character. It features Esther Sampson watch movies, rock chairs, mix cocktails,
without taking a look at Pawley’s Island, greet sunrises, admire sunsets, spread
which is coming into some notoriety as a friends from Georgetown. “Their attire was Kaminski, relaxing on the porch of her home, blankets, inflate toys, build castles, arrange
which was originally built in the mid-19th
summer resort.” Tourists were attracted by the pretty formal for a beach outing – suits and century as the Summer Academy of All Saints flowers, love life and avoid work. But there’s
same natural conditions as the first settlers, a ties, stiff collars, long skirts – but a touch of one thing Pawleys people do best. Nothing
wide flat beach as Tighe described it “which playfulness shows through,” Lee and I wrote. Church. And on the final page we tried to at all.”
“The men and women in the two lower describe exactly what has drawn people to
slopes gradually from the sand hills out to
ranks have exchanged hats and one fellow is this narrow strip of land on the edge of the
any depth at sea. Bathing on such a beach can
wearing a wide-brimmed bonnet tied below ocean for 200 years. Underneath Esther’s
scarcely be excelled anywhere.”
his neck. The Observer had announced that picture we wrote: “People do lots of things
By 1902, when the Sunday Observer was
‘Several dances are on foot to take place at Pawleys to amuse themselves. They read
hailing the opening of the area’s “famous
during the next few weeks,’ and these young books, bait hooks, cast lines, find shells,
summer resort,” steamboats were regularly
people were probably gracing the dance floor sink putts, throw clubs, row kayaks, raise
bringing visitors up the Waccamaw River
that evening after strolling the sand during sails, knit sweaters, deal cards, solve puzzles,
from Georgetown and depositing them at
the day.”
the Hagley and Waverly landings. Most then
Tourism sparked other alterations.
made the trek across the Waccamaw Neck
Some private homes
to Pawleys by horse-drawn carts, but for a
were turned into
few years in the early 20th century a railroad
boarding
built by the Atlantic Coast Lumber Company
houses to
whisked travelers from boat to beach in a
accommodate
matter of minutes. (Storms destroyed the the new visitors
railroad in 1906 and it was never rebuilt.) who might stay for
On June 22, 1902, the Sunday Observer only a week or two, not the
wrote that the summer season on Pawleys whole summer. Bars and bowling
“promises to be a gay one. Indeed there is alleys, dance halls and ice
no better place anywhere to be entertained cream shops sprouted up.
properly.” That summer a picture taken on But the center of summer life
the beach showed “The Strollers Club,” a remained the beach and like
group of young people that included many all tourists everywhere, travelers to

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