State

Tar Heel Towns By Scott Smith Carolina Beach This former coastal hot spot of the 1940s and ’50s is making a comeback of sorts. A stroll along the boardwalk in Carolina Reach isn't what it used to Ik-. Rut then, how could it he? hi its heyday as the "birthplace of the shag" in the late 1940s. Carolina Reach was the place to be in coastal Carolina, much like Myrtle Reach is today. You went there for the dancing, the rhythm and blues and. of course, the eight "juke joints" that dotted the miniature downtown district. According to Chicken I licks, who was once a main attraction as a shag dancer here in his youth. "Carolina Reach was just like a state fair 2*1 hours a day." Sure enough, with 500 people filling a 5.000-square-foot dance floor in the Ocean Plaza Ballroom every weekend night during the summer, this was a place you could call “happening.” The glory days lasted until the mid- 1950s. when many of the old shag dancers at Carolina Reach migrated southward to the Ocean Drive and Myrtle Beach city limits in search of bigger and belter dance floors. You’ll still find some of the old haunts of Hicks in Carolina Reach — and. yes. they're still shagging here — but it's done in more of a reminiscing fashion by some of the old regulars. Carolina Reach has changed. Most of the old buildings from the shagging boom times remain — so much so that you think you've stepped into a time machine at times — but this self-sufficient town of 4,800 about 15 miles south of Wilmington on what's known as “Pleasure Island" is in the midst of gaining a new identity after seemingly being suspended in time for years. The mayor. 54-yeanold Tony Loreti, spent most of his life in Philadelphia, Carolina Beach is much quieter these days. moving here on a lark eight years ago with little or no knowledge of what a "shag” was. On a sailing trip to the Florida Keys, he found himself anchor¬ ing in Carolina Reach one evening because a drawbridge wouldn't open in nearby Wrightsville Reach. A short search for maple syrup took him past some property that he considered a good buy. Today, he finds the place he calls home located on that same land and he is serving as this town's mayor for the third consecutive year. After moving down south in 1988. Loreti says he. along with other Carolina Reach residents, didn't like what was happening with the town. Instead of the clean-cut fun of the old days, the crowds being drawn to Carolina Beach were rowdier and show¬ ing up for more than just the dancing. Townsfolk decided something needed to Ik* done. Welcome to the Carolina Reach of 1996 — fun, more laid-back, family ori¬ ented. A 20.000-squarc-foot recreation cen¬ ter. $700,(M)() worth of landscaped park¬ ing lots, a new water-sewer project, new sidewalks and more lights for the dimly lit boardwalk — projects all completed in tin* last two years — have contributed to Carolina Reach's new look. Stroll down the boardwalk on a Saturday night and you can see a comeback is being made here. Small children ride the shoulders of their fathers, young couples pose inside old-style picture booths, seniors stand in line for ice cream. "Our boardwalk isn't Disneyland or Trump Castle yet. but we’re getting there.” Loreti says. “It's still an old-time beachfront boardwalk, but we're proud of it. We don’t want it to go away. Let's face it. General Motors won’t be putting a plant here, so we need that boardwalk for our economy so families can be entertained in the summer." This improved environment has led to a boom in development on and ofT the beachfront. Five new restaurants have sprung up. tons of bigger homes in the $200,000 range arc being built and con¬ dos are going up like mad, says Izireti. While some things change, others remain the same. They still hold the annual Beach Music Festival here in July. Tile town of Carolina Reach began to take shape in 1857 when 50 acres here were purchased by Joseph L. Winner. The town was originally set to be called St. Joseph, after Winner. About the biggest thing to happen here after Winner bought his property was a Civil War engagement between Confederate and Union forces after the capture of Fort Fisher in January 1865. Ry 1866, another gentleman, William L. Smith Jr., set out to buy a large amount of land in the area, including what is now the heart of Carolina Beach. With Smith providing a dock for steamboats, the town was renamed Carolina Beach. Ry 1925. when the town was incorpo¬ rated, it was home to many dance halls, hotels, clubs, bowling alleys and bingo parlors. The downtown marina, which has developed remarkably over the years, is a regular clocking spot for cruise boats. Today. Carolina Beach is one of the most independent beach towns for its size in North Carolina, with its own police and fire departments and water treatment plant. "Our area is now booming.” Loreti concludes. “We’ve taken care of some of our problems. There’s a reason for our new image." ^ Srott Smith is managing editor of The State. Phufciln Soul Smut t he Stalc/l ebniiiry 1996 ~ 10