A New Adventure - The First Pavilion
An excerpt from the book, The Beginning and Development of Holden Beach 1756-2000, by John F. Holden.

Conditions at Holden Beach and in Brunswick County had improved very little by the spring of 1939. There were no public utilities, electricity or telephones and no paved roads between US Highway 17 and Holden Beach. The ferry operators used the "jack stick" to pull the Old ferry across the Intracoastal Waterway.

Most of the visitors came and spent the day or afternoon on the beach and went home. My father and I agreed that the beach would have to attract more traffic before the State could justify paving the road from Holden Beach to US Highway 17, or to improve the Old Ferry. Our conversation influenced me to become interested in building a pavilion with a bath house. We discussed several options which would benefit our businesses.

Our decision was to install a light plant to produce electricity for his cottages, the Old Hotel, and my pavilion. We agreed on the following arrangements. He would purchase a 110-watt Kohler light plant. This plant would produce enough current to light all this buildings and my pavilion; however, it would not produce enough current to operate a refrigerator or an iron. We would share the cost of operating equally.

I purchased an electric water pump from Sears Roebuck and Company. It was equipped with a D.C. motor so as to operate on the electricity we produced. This water pump furnished enough water for our needs. Even though the cost of the water pump was only $39.95, money was so scarce I purchased the pump on a twelve-month installment plan.


The First Pavilion

The first pavilion was built the spring of 1939. There were four cottages west of Old Ferry Road and eleven cottages east, a total of fifteen cottages on the beach.

The Bolivia Lumber Company was the largest producer of pine lumber in Brunswick County. In fact, this was the only company that would deliver on Holden Beach. This company sold rough lumber (not dressed or processed in the kiln), or dressed processed lumber. The price of the rough lumber was about two-thirds that of the dressed lumber. Therefore, most builders used as much rough lumber as possible for economic reasons.

This was my first building, an experience I have never forgotten. There was no kind of power tools. In fact, electric hand tools and chain saws had not been invented.

I employed three men to help me build the first pavilion. Mr. Lee Galloway and his son Robert were good carpenters. Mr. Tom Galloway was a good carpenter and a boat builder. Each man earned $12.50 for five ten-hour days of work while building the pavilion. This was the standard pay in Brunswick County at that time and anyone was lucky to be employed.
Rough lumber was used in the foundation and framing because economic reasons. Since the rafters were rough two-by-fours, eighteen inches of overhang had to be dressed with a hand plane so it could be painted.

Lee Galloway and I had steel jack planes; nonetheless, I was fascinated with Mr. Tom Galloway and his old wood-stock jack plane about two feet long. No doubt his daddy and granddaddy had used it, but he could dress the overhang on the end of a rafter much quicker than either of us who had newer planes.

The pavilion was finished by June 15. Dad and I installed the Kohler light plant and the water pump the following week.
I was surprised when a music company in Wilmington, the one had introduced the juke box to New Hanover County , sent their representative to see me about placing a juke box at Holden Beach. They did install one at my pavilion. It did work, most of the time, he D.C. power caused frequent trouble.

Can you imagine playing the juke box for a nickel? Yes, a dime would buy a drink and play the juke box.

The pavilion and the juke box were added attractions for the cottage owners and their guests. I doubt that there was another juke box within twenty miles. There were not many renters on the beach at that time; most of the cottages were occupied by the owners. During the week the pavilion served as a club house for all the beach people to meet. Very few visitors came to the beach at night during the week. The pavilion was almost like a private club house.

Most families operated on a limited budget. Teenagers did not own cars and very few of the college students did. Most of the people who occupied the cottages walked down the strand to the pavilion at night. This trip was enjoyed by the entire family, including the family dog. Chasing the crabs on the beach created excitement. Very often little boys ended up with a pinched toe or the family dog with a pinched nose.

Parents who had small children usually brought a beach towel with them to the pavilion at night. The little ones could lie down and take a nap if they became exhausted before the family went back to their cottage.

Families enjoyed square dancing to the tune of "Under the Double Eagle" and the teen-agers had their choice selections when jitterbugging.

Those who experienced the early development period at Holden Beach will agree that love and respect existed among the cottage owners and their guests. There was a no "big me and little you." Thus the beach became recognized as "Holden Beach, the family beach." Very few people locked their cottages when coming to the pavilion at night or when shopping in Shallotte or Supply.

Many years Father and I shared the responsibility of providing mail service, delivering messages, taking families or groups on sightseeing tours. These services were done gratis, as hospitable gestures.

The old army truck I used to remove the trash and garbage from the pavilion and rental units during the 1950s and 1960s fascinated most children. They wanted to ride on it. Many times I would have to take a load of children to ride before I could haul the trash.

The following winter after a family had vacationed at the beach, the father asked his little son what he wanted for Christmas. The little boy told his father he wanted a truck "just like Mr. Holden's down at the beach."

Those children are now adults and many have families. Even though twenty-five or thirty years have passed, many of them stop by to express their appreciation to me for taking them to ride when they were children vacationing on the beach.