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PART OF A SERIES
Mayor Jim Redfield—1973-1975
By Phyllis Makuck
I D
Reflections of Pine Knoll Shores
The following is an extract from a series of blogposts at pineknollhistory.blogspot.
com. The series features Pine Knoll Shores mayors between 1973 and 2003, which
were the years the Board of Commissioners selected a town mayor. Most of the
information comes from back Shoreline issues available on digitalnc.org/newspapers/
the-shore-line-pine-knoll-shores-n-c. Pine Knoll Shores History Committee member
Susan Phillips provided supplementary information from an internet search and
communication 'with Mayor Redfield’s son, James.
On August 1, 1973, Pine Knoll Shores voted to incorporate as a town, although
it had to wait until 1974 to get official state recognition. The August 1973 Shoreline
reported 146 of the towns 161 registered voters took part in making the decision;
120 were for and 26 were against. In addition to voting for incorporation, residents
elected, from a slate of 16 candidates, the towns first Board of Commissioners—
Jim Ramsey, Ruth Bray, Bill Doll, Waightsel Hicks, H.W. McBride and Jim Redfield.
Shoreline editors Mary Doll and Betty Hammon proudly concluded: “The newly
elected commissioners come from varied backgrounds and from all corners and
shores of PKS.” (Of course, in 1973, nothing much was developed west of todays
Pine Knoll Boulevard.)
At their first hoard meeting, commissioners selected Jim Redfield to be the first
mayor. He would preside over Board of Commissioner meetings and be the towns
primary spokesperson for one two-year term. Redfield was a member of Pine Knoll
Association (PKA), the only homeowner association in town in 1973 and, as such.
Pine Knoll Shores’ primary governing body prior to the town’s incorporation.
Why he was selected may be explained by the August 1973 Shoreline, which
provided the following personal profile:
JIM REDFIELD is a retired consultant to top managements of major
corporations, providing counsel in general management, organization,
long-range planning, and marketing. His 30 years experience in this field
will be of much value to him in his new role as mayor. Jim has a BA from
the University of Cincinnati. He and his wife, Carol, lived in New York
just prior to coming to PKS about a year and a half ago. They are both
eager fisher-people, photographers, and musicians, but their great love is
gardening, and their garden is glorious, both to the eye and to the palate.
Jim and Carol have a son, James, Jr., who lives in California.
In 1986, when the Redfields left Pine Knoll Shores to live near their son, the
Shoreline added additional details. They had come from Bronxville, New York, and
Jim had been a consultant with Cresap, McCormick and Paget, Inc.
We also learn that commercial and development interests had been working
against Pine Knoll Shores’ incorporation, and Jim Redfield was one of the town
leaders strongly supporting an “incorporated village.”
Many issues to come before the Board of Commissioners and Mayor Redfield
were basic to the town’s formation. Together they wrote ordinances that would
both reflect and determine the values, growth patterns and character of Pine
Knoll Shores; created a Planning Board and Board of Adjustment; established a
partnership with Atlantic Beach for fire protection; supported major ventures such
as a proposal for a marine resource center, which would become a state aquarium;
and formalized important volunteer
organizations, such as the Garden Club.
Other issues to come before
commissioners during Redfield’s term of
office were more mundane, such as street
lighting or speeders in the canals—and
some would remain issues long after
Redfield left office, such as proposals for
a third bridge from Morehead City to
Bogue Banks.
From a historical perspective, perhaps
Redfield’s biggest accomplishment
as mayor was the fight in Raleigh for
recognition of the town’s incorporation. It
was on April 11, 1974, that he announced,
“We are a town!” The Shoreline provided
this comment: “Jim Redfield’s hours of
anguished devotion to the cause were at
last rewarded.”
Appropriately, on September 7,1974,
with two state legislators present, Jim
Redfield presided over dedication of the
first town hall, which was a small building that had been the kitchen area of Alice
Hoffman’s house. (For a history of this building, see “A House Where Alice Lived”
at pineknollhistory.blogspot.com.
Jim Redfield, like future mayors, cared deeply about Pine Knoll Shores. He was
committed to preserving much of what was here but also had a vision for the future
and was willing to enter the fray to fight, when necessary, for what he envisioned,
whether that fight was in Pine Knoll Shores, Carteret County or the state. The May
1974 Shoreline concluded; “Jim Redfield, as Mayor, has had literally a full time job
and many times a hard and demanding one....”—an assessment that may explain
why he chose not to consider a second term.
Additional research has indicated that James Winston Redfield, Sr., born March
7,1906, died at age 91 in California on February 24, 1998, outliving his wife
Carolyn (“Carol”) by about a year.
James Winston Redfield, Sr.—Photo
by Susan Phillips from framed photos
in the Pine Knoll Shores town hall
tlte^
Join us for
THIRD Thursday forum at four
for a round-tah/e discussion on
“What’s This Age-Friendly Town Buzz
All About?”
Joan Lamson, Facilitator
Thursday, March 15, 4 p.m.
Pine Knoll. Shores Town Hall
Free and Sponsored by the Age-Friendly Advisory Committee
Next Third Thursday Forum at four:
April 19, 201S
IVIarch2018 I The Shoreline
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