My dad arrived in Honolulu on on the Lurline on May Day, May 1, 1939. He brought his brand new Dodge Club Couple, Squadron Green, along with a couple of surfboards. He was 25 years old.

He had hustled a job in the Honolulu office of his employer, the San Francisco-based Dohrmann Hotel Supply Company.

A month later, he wrote to a California girl who he had known in high school, describing his reaction to landing in the islands. Here’s his description of his new job.

My job in Honolulu is much to my liking. I am the only white person in the employ in our branch out here. Mr. Wong, a Chinese, is managing the store. He is about sixty years of age now and the secret of this move is that if I fill the bill and if I like the country I will automatically work in. So as it is I’m just and still a flunky although I’m enjoying the association with the orientals. In our branch here there are two chinese men, two hawaiian men, one japanese man also a chinese girl and a japanese girl. All are very fine people and speak english except when among their own kind.

You can read his full letter here.

In any case, here’s a photo of at least part of the small Dohrmann office in Honolulu. There’s a calendar in the background that I unfortunately can’t read, although I’m guessing this was taken soon after his arrival.

The color has been added to the original.