Tag Archives: Waikiki Surf Club

Letter from legendary paddler/surfer Tom Zahn, c. 1950

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I found this fragment of a letter from the legendary paddler and surfer, Tom Zahn, among my dad’s papers. It’s the final page of a longer letter. I believe it was addressed to my dad, then president of the Waikiki Surf Club.

[text]Zahn mentions in the letter that he was 26 years old at the time, which would have been in 1950 (Zahn was born in 1924).

In the letter, Zahn mentions surfing great Tom Blake, who was Zahn’s mentor, along with surf figures like Joe Quigg (“constructed about 50 surfboards this summer”), and Gene Smith.

Zahn, a Marine veteran, also talks about his draft status (the draft had been reinstated in 1948).

“Please don’t think me yellow, but I feel one war is enough,” Zahn writes about his efforts to avoid a draft call by lining up a defense job.

ClippingZahn moved to Hawaii in 1953, and in October of that year paddled the Molokai Channel during Aloha Week’s Molokai-Oahu canoe race. He finished the successful solo crossing of the channel in 9 hours and 20 minutes.

Labor Day 1949

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–>Click here for more photos from the Labor Day regatta, Kailua Beach, 1949.

[text]Labor Day, September 5, 1949.

It was billed as the first annual Koolaupoko canoe and surfboard paddling regatta, held in Kailua under the sponsorship of the sponsored by the Koolaupoko Lions Club.

The Waikiki Surf Club emerged as the winner, defeating Outrigger and Hui Nalu for the honors.

A story in the Honolulu Advertiser the next day reported nearly 15,000 spectators attended the event.

I found several photos and clippings attributed to the event in my dad’s stuff. Just click on this photo for more.

A Waikiki funeral circa 1948

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It’s a funeral. That’s obvious.

Beyond that, I don’t know anything about this occasion. The photos were among my dad’s pictures and papers from the period around 1948.

The top photo shows a group gathered around what appears to be a funeral wreath, all wearing Waikiki Surf Club and swim trunks.

The middle photo is a gem. In the lead, a group of legends in surfing, paddling, and ocean sports. Second from the left looks like it could be “Toots” Minvielle, founder of the Molokai-Oahu canoe race in 1952, or perhaps Hui Nalu’s John D. Kaupiko. I’m just comparing to available old photos and trying to make a “match”.

Then there’s an unidentified man carrying a folded American flag. In the background, 4th from left, legendary swimming and canoe coach George “Dad” Center. Then, of course, there’s Duke Kahanamoku. All barefooted, bare chested, and ready to go into the water, followed by women in long dresses and several other men, at least on in a suit and tie.

The bottom photo shows canoes lined up on the beach in front of the old Outrigger Canoe Club, a scene played out again on a grander scale for Kahanamoku’s 1968 funeral procession.

Hopefully someone may be able to identify some of the other people and add some background to these photos.

Click any photo to view a larger image.

Waikiki Surf Club funeral

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