“Save our sand dunes” – Ocracoke Observer

By Peter Vankevich

Imagine this movie-worthy scene.

On the morning of August 15, 1973, Carolista Baum stood in front of a bulldozer at Jockey’s Ridge in Nags Head to prevent the tallest sand dune to the east from being leveled to make way for a row of condominiums.

The construction machine operator stopped work for the day.

A timeout was called, and after a series of activities by Baum, who mobilized the community and tirelessly lobbied local and state politicians, the developer abandoned the development project. This led to the creation of Jockey’s Ridge State Park in 1975, the most visited state park in North Carolina.

This famous incident was the subject of a chapter in Remarkable Women of the Outer Banks by Hannah Bunn West (The History Press, 2022).

The story is now beautifully told in the children’s book “Save Our Sand Dunes” (UNC Press, 2024) by West and co-author Ann-Cabel Baum, Carolista’s eldest daughter, who was playing on the dune with her sister Inglis and brother Gibbs that day when they heard the strange rumble of a bulldozer and quickly ran and told their mother.

Baum, who now lives in Raleigh, remains active and is vice chairman of the Friends of Jockey’s Ridge State Park.

“Writing this book with Hannah brought back so many beautiful memories,” she said. “Our mother was incredible. When she took charge, things started happening. She gave us kids petitions and at ages 3, 5 and 6 we asked visitors to sign them to save Jockey Ridge.”

With loving illustrations, this slim volume describes the history and natural habitat of this dune, which is estimated to be 3,000 to 4,000 years old.

In language that is easy for young people to understand, the story goes on to tell how Carolista and her three children took the initiative to save the ridge and transform it into a state park.

West, who grew up in Kill Devil Hills, said she was contacted by Ansley Wegner and Sheilah Barrett Carroll of the NC Office of Archives and History, Historical Research and Publications, whose goal is to publish more North Carolina history titles for young readers and who worked with Baum on an idea for a book about her mother and Jockey’s Ridge.

“George Barnes suggested me as a writer for the book after he read ‘Remarkable Women,'” said West. Barnes was the first superintendent of Jockey’s Ridge State Park and her softball coach for Parks and Rec when she was a child.

The book is beautifully illustrated with paintings by Outer Banks artist Larry McCarter and illustrations by Anne Marshall Runyon.

Runyon is the author of The Sheltering Cedar (Portal Press, 2007), which tells the story of Ocracoke’s wildlife on Christmas Eve.

Book designer Sheilah Barrett Carroll has masterfully woven text and images on every page.

Carolista Baum died in 1991.

In recognition of their efforts to save Jockey Ridge, a historical marker was placed on the North Carolina Highway in Nags Head in July 2023.