Flying to San Juan
(Continued from page 22)
Pan American Airways
advertising poster
showing Alice Hoffman’s
route to San Juan in
1929 and featuring a
Ford Trimotor aircraft in
use at the time.—/mage
courtesy ofpanam.org
used to clean up after airsick passengers. Opening a window was the only way to escape
the smell. By the late 1920s, Pan American Airways, which flew over water, required
extensive first-aid and seamanship training for its steward trainees. It is noteworthy
that Alice opted for a steamship on her return from Puerto Rico, the SS Coamo,
docking in New York on December 2,1929.
The purpose of Alices trip was to visit her aunt, Eleanor Butler Alexander Roosevelt
and Ted Roosevelt. Ted, son of President Teddy Roosevelt and father of children who
as adults would develop Pine Knoll Shores, had been appointed governor of the U.S.
territory of Puerto Rico on September 9,1929. He and Eleanor were in residence at the
governors mansion, “La Fortaleza,” built between 1533 and 1540 in Old San Juan after
Spain had first colonized the island in 1493.
Ted was governor of Puerto Rico until 1932, at which time he was appointed
Governor-General of the Philippines. That appointment necessitated another trip
by Alice to visit the family in the Philippines in 1933. The Pan Am Clippers had not
expanded to cross the Pacific at that time, so she took a steamship.
Pan American Airways was founded in 1927 as a scheduled airmail and passenger
service operating between Key West, Florida, and Havana, Cuba. The following year,
aircraft, landing rights, terminal facilities and personnel were acquired. Pan American
moved operations from Key West to Miami to be more convenient for east coast
passengers arriving by train. The move to Miami’s 37th Street Airport was further
enhanced when it was established as a U.S. Customs port of entry.
Miami to San Juan is 1,400 miles, a flight of less than three hours today. The article
from The Beaufort News described about a two-day journey with an overnight in
Santiago de Cuba. With only the most rudimentary of radio communication, if any,
flight flying in 1929 was highly risky and avoided.
Interestingly, Santiago de Cuba indirectly played a part in the future establishment
of Pine Knoll Shores. Santiago de Cuba was the location of what was perhaps the
most memorable battle of the Spanish-American war, the battle of San Juan Hill. Col.
TTeodore Roosevelts organizational skills and leadership of the Rough Riders during
that war brought him fame and celebrity, which contributed to his growing popularity
^mong the masses. This popularity among the voting public supported his selection
a vice presidential candidate in 1900. The McKinley-Roosevelt ticket won handily,
^nd when McKinley was assassinated in 1901, Roosevelt assumed the presidency. He
tvas re-elected in 1904 and served until 1909. The legacy of his life and presidency
^dded luster to the Roosevelt name for decades. This legacy served his family well and
transferred to his grandchildren, who developed Pine Knoll Shores.
Soon after the U.S. victory on the battlefield of San Juan Hill and the surrender of
Santiago de Cuba, the Spanish sued for peace, ending the 15-week war. The result was
the 1898 Treaty of Paris in which Spain ceded ownership of Puerto Rico, Guam and the
I^hilippine Islands to the United States. Given his fathers history, it is not surprising
that Ted Roosevelt, Jr. would become provincial governor of both.
It is also not surprising that Alice Hoffman never hesitated to call on the Roosevelt
flame to have her way with bureaucrats and politicians and that, adventurous by
nature, she would risk a 1929 flight to Puerto Rico to visit the eldest son of the former
president and her niece Eleanor.
Amazingly, however, that flight took place a little over two weeks after the stock
market crash of October 29,1929, the beginning of the depression, and not long before
Alice Hoffman would make The Beaufort News in less light-hearted pieces concerning
her countless legal problems, court judgments, and lawsuits with the county. Her
financial woes would lead to the Roosevelt family’s ownership of her Carteret County
property.
Note: The Beaufort News issues from 1925 through 1944 are available on the Internet
at newspapers.digitalnc.org, a free service of the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center
of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
PKA News
ByAmry Cox
In June, Pine Knoll Association (PKA) had the kickoff and
first event of its year of 50th Anniversary celebrations. Salsa
Saturday gave the right tempo to activities at Brock Basin and
the picnic shelter. Folks who stopped by but were too shy to
dance with the instructor could snack on chips and salsa. The
weather was mild and the salsa was caliente. People boated by on the canal, walked by, rode
by in golf carts or just worked on their vessels while the music and entertainment soared.
(Continued on page 24)
Pine Knoll Association members enjoyed Standup Paddleboard instruction during one of the
HOA’s 50th Anniversary activities.—p/7ofos by Robert Cox
JulirgSIUuL I s TBsifihPrejiBS,