In 2025, the Town of Carolina Beach celebrated its centennial anniversary. A vital piece of the town’s story is preserved in The Island Gazette, a local newspaper published by the McKee family from 1978 to 2023. As part of the centennial celebration, UNCW Library staff collaborated with the McKee family and other community contributors to digitize nearly all existing issues, making them available online through The Island Gazette digital collection.

Among the many boxes of newspapers transferred to the library, staff discovered another piece of local history: a magazine titled Pleasure-Island Magazine (later known as Carolina Coast Magazine). Published from July 1975 to at least October 1977 by Roger and Beattie McKee through Seaside Press, it appears the magazine may have served as the direct precursor to The Island Gazette.

Each cover features an original illustration by Beattie McKee. Inside, the issues offer a mix of local news, town history, and regular feature articles by community members. Highlights include a regular feature by Dr. Gilbert W. Bane, then Director of Marine Science at UNC Wilmington, and recipes shared by Lee McKee, Roger’s mother. 

Beyond its nostalgic charm, the publication is also a rich source for regional research. It documents key civic and environmental issues of the era – including the local impact of major environmental legislation passed in the mid-1970s – alongside business spotlights and in-depth coverage of historical and personal topics.

Researchers can explore the full run of Pleasure-Island Magazine and Carolina Coast Magazine via the digital collection or by visiting the Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History in-person during open hours. Special thanks to Digital Initiatives staff and students for their work to digitize these titles.

Happy spooky season!

Image sources used in this post:
Image 1: Pleasure-Island Magazine, Vol. 1 No. 1 (July 1975) 
Image 2 ("His beak..."): Carolina Coast Magazine, Vol. 3 No. 23 (April 1977)
Image 3 (Cooking with Lee): Pleasure-Island Magazine, Vol. 1 No. 7 (October 1975)
Image 4 (Halloween cat and pumpkin cover): Pleasure-Island Magazine, Vol 1. No. 7 (October 1975)
Image 5 (Halloween witch cover): Carolina Coast Magazine, Vol. 2 No. 17 (October 1976)

Find these titles in the Library Catalog:
Carolina Coast Magazine
Pleasure-Island Magazine

October is coming to an end. As the UNC Wilmington community prepares to celebrate a long-awaited Halloween holiday, the Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History is observing another occasion: American Archives Month. Every October, archivists share information about archives, historical records, and their value to the public. University Archives is celebrating both Halloween and American Archives Month by writing this week’s blog post about Apparition, a defunct UNCW creative magazine dedicated to all things horror, suspense, and Halloween. 

Many members of the UNCW community are familiar with Atlantis, the University’s student-led creative magazine. Since 1971, Atlantis’ team has carefully selected and published the prose, poetry, artwork, and photography of talented college students from across North Carolina. Apparition, a Halloween publication, was at different times sponsored by Atlantis and the UNCW English Club, though student organizational records do not clearly indicate which group created the magazine. An article from the October 5, 1977 Seahawk newspaper mentions both organizations in a campus-wide search for “suspense or horror short stories” for the Apparition, suggesting that the magazine was a joint effort between the two student groups. Although the circumstances surrounding Apparition's creation are uncertain, the publication clearly resembles Atlantis. Like Atlantis, it features short stories, poems, artwork, and captivating front covers.

There are few references to Apparition in student periodicals, but an article from the October 20, 1976, Seahawk speaks positively about the magazine. According to the article, the 1975 edition of the Apparition was so popular that every copy was gone within just two hours. Perhaps students were drawn to the magazine’s pumpkin-colored front covers and the intricate—although eerie—hand-drawn illustrations. Others might have been intrigued by the spooky poems and short stories that bore titles like “The Hunted,” “There were Footsteps,” and “Peering into the Darkness.”

Although the Apparition is no longer being published, you can still view this Halloween-themed magazine by visiting the CSENCAH Reading Room on the second floor of Discovery Hall during our open hours. Or, contact us to make an appointment.

Sources

• English Club, 1983-1988, undated, Box: 25, Folder: 10, University of North Carolina Wilmington Student Affairs Records UA-RG-11, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History, https://archivesspace.uncw.edu/repositories/4/archival_objects/136239.
• English Club Seeking Stories (1977 October 5). The Seahawk, page 13. https://digitalcollections.uncw.edu/digital/collection/p17190coll1/id/2298/rec/4.
• Lance Smith: Working With A Growing Magazine (1976 October 20). The Seahawk, page 12.          https://digitalcollections.uncw.edu/digital/collection/p17190coll1/id/3192/rec/6.