THE BAREFOOT
BROKER o f E m e r a l d
Isle,
JimBatten
Jim Batten was one of Emerald Isle’s most unforgettable
characters in the short history of our small beach town.
There are many fondly told tales of his wry sense of humor,
broad smile, love of storytelling, how he was a World War
II hero flying B17s with his crew over Germany as a ball
turret gunner and then spent decades as a newspaper
editor with a special fondness for high school and college
athletics across North Carolina. What we, his Emerald
Isle Realty friends and family, love to recall is the quarter
of a century from 1975 to 2001 when he retired from
journalism, kicked off his penny loafer Bass Weejuns and
sold more real estate barefoot than brokers today can
ever dream of.
The bare feet, khaki shorts—or blue jeans depending on
the weather—simple oxford or polo shirt, thick locks of
silvery hair and twinkling, always twinkling hazel brown
eyes were surely part of his charm. But what all who knew
him truly appreciated about him was the intrinsic honesty
and ethics of this southern gentleman from the small
western North Carolina town of Wadesboro. Buyers and
sellers knew his firm handshake and his word were the only
guarantee they’d ever need that Jim truly had their best
interests at heart.
Growing up on a dairy farm, his work ethic came as
effortlessly as the summer days he loved. An early
love for words and the power of a good book to spark
his imagination meant he often did his older brother
Robert’s book reports and Robert milked Jim’s share of
the family’s dairy cows. Robert contributed to the war
effort by keeping the farm going; Jim flew those missions
over Germany. Post war, the GI Bill meant this returning
airman continued his love of learning at Davidson, then
Chapel Hill, and after marrying the love of his life, Mary
Harlan, a southern belle from Fayetteville, NC, spent his
senior college year at the University of Miami pursuing
his dream of becoming a journalist. Jim also found time
those college summers to lifeguard at Ocean Drive near
Myrtle Beach by day and then by night, help invent “The
Shag”. If you’re not from the Carolinas, this is a sweet,
shuffling dance just made for soft summer nights and
always best when the sounds of our indigenous beach
music are intertwined with the sound of crashing waves
on the shore.
Post college came years as sports editor for the
Fayetteville Observer in Fayetteville, NC, then later editor
in chief for the Jacksonville, NC Daily News. These were
fascinating years as America basked in the Kennedy era,
then weathered Vietnam and the civil rights struggles.
After the sudden passing of his sister, Mildred Batten
Simmons, in 1975, Jim and Mary took the helm of Emerald
Isle Realty. Now the tug of war began between his love
of the adrenaline rush of daily newspaper deadlines and
the idyllic promise of daily two mile beach walks; Emerald
Isle won. He and Mary relished the challenge of growing
Emerald Isle Realty from 100 vacation rentals to over
700 and both delighted in welcoming the families who
came to stay in the vacation rental cottages. Rental
guests fell in love with Emerald Isle, bought property
from Jim, became vacation rental homeowners and then
dear friends. Jim was a natural salesman with his gift for
intelligent conversation and discernment of what was the
ideal property for each buyer.
Darting around the island with the top down on his
British racing green MG, then later his jet black Alpha
Romeo convertible, Jim would wheel in, jump out, and
with boundless energy and enthusiasm for a man in his
sixth and seventh decade, show property, list property, and
on one famous occasion, wrote the terms for a potential
offer to purchase on a scrap of 2x4 lumber. The name of
the vacation rental cottage became “A Board Delight”.
One of the great joys of my life was having such a
generous and loving, charismatic yet compassionate man
as my father, business mentor and friend. By 1978 my
husband Mark and I had joined my parents at Emerald Isle
Realty, each of us with our unique gifts and contribution
to help ensure the success of our family business. With
immense pride, I can share how satisfying it is that our
adult children, Nathan, Allison and James are now taking
their place as the third generation to continue in our
footsteps at Emerald Isle Realty. Summers, our fourth
generation, our teenage grandchildren, love greeting our
rental guests at check-in time.
The heart and soul, the true spirit of Emerald Isle Realty...
we owe that all to Jim Batten, the Barefoot Broker.
Shortly after 9/11, Jim passed away after a brief illness.
I know the sweet spirit of my father, Jim Batten, lives on
today through each member of our Emerald Isle Realty
family and especially our talented sales team. They know
they are each their very best self when they emulate Jim’s
old fashioned honesty and gift for caring more about the
person than the transaction. Jim Batten, our Barefoot
Broker, lived the ethos of America’s Greatest Generation
every day of his life. Next time you are rambling barefoot
down the beach, think of Jim, smile, glance heavenward,
and take infinite joy in this most simple of pleasures. Jim
most certainly did.
SO
A
co
le
Julia Batten Wax
BROKER/OWNER,
EMERALD ISLE REALT Y
SUMMER 2019
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