One develop- 

 ment rests snug 

 against the town's 

 main strip. Founded 

 in 1977, Carolina 

 Shores is a private 

 community of about 

 725 homes and 

 condos tucked 

 behind tall pines, 

 trimmed lawns and 

 meandering golf 

 courses. Most 

 residents are retirees 

 from the Northeast. 



In 1990, this 

 community was 

 annexed by Cala- 

 bash, taking the town from just under 

 300 acres and 150 residents to more 

 than 1,000 acres boasting a population 

 of more than 1,200. Although most 

 people find their new neighbors to be 

 friendly, the marriage hasn't always 

 been a pleasant one. Now, long-time 

 Calabash residents are outnumbered on 

 the town council by newcomers. The 

 imbalance of power and the groups' 

 different backgrounds have led to lively 

 town meetings, held the first Tuesday of 

 every month. One local jokingly calls it 

 a "civil war." 



Yet the differences go beyond 

 regional disputes. Many Calabash 

 natives work in public service or at the 

 restaurants and shops. Some are still 

 commercial fishermen like the Nances, 

 who send out their shrimp boat, Miss 

 Chandee. Most didn't go to college, 

 and a few didn't finish high school. 



The Carolina Shores retirees have 

 led different lifestyles. "Most are from 

 professional occupations," says 

 Carolina Shores resident Jerry Dale. 

 Dale is president of the Carolina Shores 

 Resort Homeowners Association, 

 whose members are condo-owners only. 

 He moved to Carolina Shores in 1987 

 from Pittsburgh, Pa., after 31 years in 



Droves come for the seafood. But like other coastal communities, 

 Calabash is experiencing growing pains as more people settle in the area 



Over the years, the small streets 

 of Calabash's dinner district 

 nave retained their character. 

 Restaurants have tkeir original 

 signs and original owners. 

 Gnarled, mossy oaks skade 

 tke parking lots and korder 

 stopligktless, sandy streets. 

 Skrimp koats and skrimp skacks 

 dot tke waterway, wkile tidy kouses 

 kide among tke skops. 



financial management with U.S. Steel. 



Like Dale, many Carolina Shores 

 residents come from larger cities, where 

 they participated in high-powered local 

 governments. In a town of fewer than 

 200, Calabash natives have led com- 

 paratively easygoing lives. 



"Most of the people (from Carolina 

 Shores) have direct, more orderly ways 

 of doing things politically," says 

 Russell Price. "(Calabash) folks are 

 not so used to being so structured." 



"Carolina 

 Shores has stringent 

 rules and guidelines 

 for property mainte- 

 nance," says Dale. 

 The community has 

 its own governing 

 bodies to sustain 

 these rules, including 

 the Property Owners 

 Association and 

 Resort Homeowners 

 Association. "The 

 people of Calabash 

 don't want any part 

 of that," he says. 

 "They feel if 

 Carolina Shores 

 gets the upper hand, all these rules 

 will be imposed on them. 



"In essence, the old residents have 

 some basis for that rancor," Dale says. 

 "They thought, here were a bunch of 

 Yankees impressing their ideas on this 

 sleepy little fishing village .... You 

 can't fault people for wanting to 

 preserve a lifestyle they've had for 

 more than 20 years. 



"But it can't stay the same sleepy 

 place," he adds. "Fact is that it has 

 become a tourist-based community." 



Dale is right. Increase tourism 

 and development, and things change 

 whether you want them to or not. 

 There is a real need for rules and plans 

 to protect the land and its inhabitants. 

 But many Calabash natives need 

 tourism to survive. 



"Therein is the conflict," says Dale. 

 "(We have) two philosophies about 

 where this community is going to go." 



During the last several years, many 

 issues have riled the groups. One 

 Calabash resident mentions the now- 

 abandoned plan to build a boardwalk 

 along the water. It would' ve been 

 lovely, she says, but how would the 

 boats deliver her seafood? 



There are also complaints about 



14 MAY/JUNE 1996 



